Volunteers for The Lord

Our musical friends requested that we join them for a mixed quartet to sing at our church, and to also sing for other occasions. We volunteered. Then our musical friend heard of a minister who needed some live music for his radio broadcast. We volunteered.

Both of our families lived 20 miles from our church, and we both had 3 small children each, so you might say this was a hardship, but we were happy to do this. It meant our families needed to stay all day in the city with our church as our base.

We did not ask the radio preacher for payment and were not offered any, because this was out of the goodness of our hearts. So on Sundays, we would stay after church bring a pot luck in the church kitchen, and then go to our friends Radio service; then back to our church for evening worship.

As time went on, our children, and our adult flesh began to weary. After many months of our “giving graciously,” we finally told the preacher that we were sorry but we could no longer sing at his radio broadcast.

His remark was NOT, thank you for all your sacrificial giving to my ministry, but instead we heard the words, “Well, you just can’t depend on anybody these days!”

I suppose it was a flat way of the preacher certainly letting the air out of our tires!!

I am wondering if all the volunteers at your ministry and/or church are appreciated for all of their hard work. Often we take for granted those who labor without pay, and they willingly do so as a gift unto the Lord.

There are Sunday School teachers, the choir, worship team, the band, the board members, those who head up committees, workers who bring flowers to the Sunday services, those who set up tables for fellowship time, and not to be forgotten, and those who tend to the babies in the nursery. I know there are others, because some churches depend on volunteers to clean the church, to count the offerings, to manage the books, tend to the landscaping, set up communion, and other work all given freely as unto the Lord.

Just because someone does a job well, does not mean that it is a life time commitment. There is a season when it is time for a break, and someone else needs to volunteer. And when the volunteers decline, give them the gratitude they deserve and let them know they have been appreciated.

I am not saying that all volunteer workers should be paid a salary, but a word of gratitude given from time to time, would be like jewels of gold being offered.

Now it is my time to say an enthusiastic, “Thank you, thank you, readers who volunteer to keep coming back to read my stories.”

Double thank you to all those who leave comments, and to those who click “Like” on Face-book. I appreciate you all, and my heartfelt thanks to you for reading and for sharing my blog with your friends.