The Apostle Paul speaking
“Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. I Corinthians 12:1, 4-6, 27-28
I recently had a dear sister in Christ share with me her desire to find her ministry at Grace Harbor Church. She told me that she believes she has found her ministry as an “assistant” doing various things behind the scenes, or volunteering in the office, and then she added: “whatever needs to be done”…. which stirred my heart to realize that right before me was the perfect example of someone called to be a Minister of “Helps”! Perhaps you have never heard of this Gift, but I assure you that it is biblical and listed in scripture. Let me show you.
I Corinthians 12 is a wonderful chapter that teaches us about how God gives a variety of spiritual gifts to those in the Church. Paul compares the Church to a human body, and explains that each part of the “body” serves a purpose for the greater good of the Body and to the glory of God, all under the direction and leadership of the “Head” which is Jesus Christ, our Lord. I encourage you to take some time and read the entire chapter; for Paul begins by saying that he does not want us to be “uninformed” about such things. There are so many gifts listed in our passage today that we could discuss today such as the leadership of apostles, the proclaiming of the prophets who spoke the Word of the Lord, the teachers who lead and guide the flock to learn and apply Truth, miracles (wouldn’t we ALL be blessed with a miracle in our lives!) the gift of healing in a world filled with disease, pain and death…. but the one little gift tucked away in this list above is the one I want to show you, and that is the gift of HELPS. Have you heard of it before? Do you know what it is? Do YOU have this gift?
Essentially, the Greek definition for the word "Helps" used in 1 Corinthians 12:28 is, "antilepsis", and means "rendering practical aid and support." In a nutshell, that is the Helps Ministry, to be a "practical aid and support" to our pastors in support of their vision in the local church setting! In order to understand what the Helps Ministry is, let's look at two examples of Helps Ministers in action:
- Let's look at the need for the ministry of Helps in the life of Moses. God told Moses in Exodus 17 that as long as he held his hands high, then one particular battle they fought would go well, but if he let his hands drop, the enemy would win. Moses held his hands up, and the battle went well, but as time went by, he become fatigued and weary (as all of us do) and his hands began to drop! The battle started to turn against the Israelites so Moses' Helps Ministers, Aaron and Hur, stepped in and moved Moses up on a rock so that he could sit and rest, and held up his hands! In doing so, the Children of Israel were able to defeat their enemies! Just as Aaron and Hur did in their day, so the Helps Ministry "holds up the hands" of our Pastors and Council Members and Church Secretaries and School Teachers so that our church can win the victory and get it's job done!
- In Acts 6:3-5, the newly developing church was confronted with a similar problem, the leaders of the church found that they were spending so much time taking care of the fundamental needs of their people that they were neglecting the Word of God and prayer! They anointed men to help in these natural areas of ministry. The spiritual leadership was able to better minister to the people regarding spiritual things, because the natural things were handled by men anointed to do that work!
Do you have a burden to simply work behind the scenes, assisting where needed whether it be answering the phones in the office, stuffing bulletins, cleaning the windows, emptying trash, bringing refreshments, helping with transportation for someone who cannot drive anymore, setting up chairs, making coffee on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings, donating school or office supplies, or volunteering when there is a need? If so, then rejoice….God have given you a very SPECIAL and NEEDED gift! It is a very important gift that needs to operate in the Body of Christ so that these small details are taken care of instead of assuming that the Pastor or church staff will handle it. Their arms get tired as they hold up the various ministries…. And you are being called to step up and help them. You may not get much recognition by having your name printed in the bulletin, but usually those with this gift prefer it that way! They want to simply meet the needs and are blessed to see that their service provides relief to those in ministry. If you are feeling the Holy Spirit moving over your heart in this area, please contact your Pastor or Church office and let them know… I am sure that on any given day your local church needs help as well! So don’t wait…get involved in your local church! The Helps Ministry needs you!
May the Lord richly bless all those who are gifted with the tender heart of a Helper, with eyes that see the needs and take action to simply meet those needs, one who works quietly behind the scenes reaching out to help take care of things that need attention. May you see that your marvelous gifting holds up the arms of the ministry you serve in!
Thank you for serving the Body of Christ and for being faithful in your calling.
Shalom, sister Lahoma
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