I Am Not Ready

Leadership – Expect To Hear “I Am Not Ready to Serve”

When asking people to serve in a church ministry, the person who is asking should not be surprised when he/she hears the word “I am not ready.” Our church has experienced a growth of people who are new to our fellowship. And just being new to a church is a little intimidating, let alone being asked to play a role in a ministry.

However, just because someone initial reaction is to say “I am not ready,” does not necessarily rule him/her out of being able to contribute. In Luke chapter 5, Simon Peter was first approached by Jesus to become one of the disciples. Simon’s response was “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” Can this be a bigger declaration of “I am not ready to serve?!”

When we hear this we need to keep a few things in mind…

*Obedience to serve has a way of helping people to mature. God’s design for His church is that each one will play a role/part in the functioning of the church body. When a person is working in a ministry, it is very beneficial to his/her spiritual growth.

*There is a group of people who need a gentle nudge. Let’s be honest, most people don’t see themselves as they truly are. Knowing this gives you an opportunity to point out what you see in the person that makes you believe he/she will be a good fit in this ministry.

*Working alongside of others believers is a great place to learn about what it means to be a follower of Christ. This may be a person’s only opportunity to see a follower in Christ in action. So, we need to be aware of how we are portraying Christ.

Now to make everyone feel a little more comfortable – We do have boundaries to what we ask people to do based on where they are in their life – i.e. some one living in blatant sin we won’t ask him/her to teaching.

I hope this resource is beneficial to volunteer recruitment.