God is in the multiplication business

The kingdom of God is a place of multiplication. The kingdom of God is a place of exponential growth. The kingdom of God is a place where the tiniest seed can become the biggest plant. The kingdom of God is a place where a grain of yeast can make a whole batch of dough rise. The kingdom of God is a place where a child’s lunch can feed 5,000. The kingdom of God is a place where the salt of our behaviour can flavour the community in which we live. The kingdom of God is a place where the little we can offer can be used to the praise and glory of God.

The Holy Spirit’s presence is shown in us in some way for the good of all. We have been given the abilities we need for our particular service in God’s kingdom. Our lives have meaning and purpose because God has work that only we can do. That is why we are here and that is the message that we have been sharing at St John's Seven Kings over the past 12 months since our Vocations Sunday service last September. What we have been seeking to do over that time is affirm and encourage the calling of the whole people of God; to identify and release the gifts God has given us to be more effectively his church.

As a PCC we believe that to do that fully here at St Johns we need to set up a Ministry Leadership Team. A Ministry Leadership Team is essentially those who lead, encourage and build up the work of the whole Body of Christ on behalf of the PCC and the five people who form the Ministry Leadership Team will each have overall responsibility for one of five key areas in our mission and ministry; Children and Youth, Mission, Pastoral, Peace & Justice, and Worship.

So, for five people in our congregation we believe that God’s meaning and purpose for their lives involves becoming a part of the Ministry Leadership Team here at St John’s. And that is where we come back to the place where we began, as each of us are likely to feel that we don’t have the gifts or the confidence to take on these roles. But God is in the multiplication business and can take the little that we can offer and use to his praise and glory.

Just as in the parable of the mustard seed, our small inputs can have a big effect and, just as in the parable of the yeast, the influence that one person can have can affect a whole church or community. The same can be true in terms of the contribution that the members of the Ministry Leadership Team can make to our church as a whole as they enable each person here to contribute in some way to the mission and ministry of St Johns, however big or small that input may be.
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The Staple Singers - I'll Take You There.