Puzzle Piece
There is nothing more frustrating than working on puzzle and finding that a puzzle piece is missing. You buy a box of puzzle pieces at a yard sale or op shop. You work endless hours connecting all the puzzle pieces. But the puzzle is never complete. One or more of the pieces are missing.
There can be missing pieces of the puzzle in a church as well. In fact, this happens more often than not. Every person in a church is a piece in the puzzle. You are a puzzle piece. Imagine if puzzle pieces are missing. The church is never complete.
As churches we know the importance of completing the puzzle. In our missional strategy we put it like this: "Utilise appropriate means for each member of their congregations to identify, use, and enhance their God-given gifts, and introduce strategies to achieve these aims." Notice what this says! Each member of the church should identify, use, and enhance their God-given gifts. If as a member of a church you do not use your God-given gifts to build up the body of Christ, if you do not do your part (Ephesians 4), then there will be gaps in the 'puzzle'. The church will not be complete. This emphasis is not some strategy drempt up by some church committee. This is God's vision for a healthy church. In Romans 12 the picture God gives us to describe the church is that of a body with many parts, all with different functions (see also 1 Corinthians 12). Yes, there are many parts and each part has a different function. And each part is called by God to use their gifts for the common good of the church and its mission in this world. When this happens the church can expand its ministries and extend the church's reach into the community. When puzzle pieces are missing the church is limited in the gospel impact it can have both inside and outside of the church.
What is your God-given part to play in His mission in this world? Do you know how God has gifted you for serving in and through the local church? Discovering your God-given passion is not about filling some roster in the church. Oh we need some rosters to be filled. But for the church to function well, for you to avoid stress and burnout, you need to serve as God has gifted you. Discovering your part in the body of Christ is all about putting the right people, in the right places, for the right reasons, at the right time - all to serve the cause of Christ with passion, love, and commitment.
As church leaders it is vital that you have strategies in place to help every person discover their God-given part to play in His mission in and through the local church. Many churches face the reality that people drop out of church. For a while they come to church, but after a while they fall away. We see these trends also with many of our young people that grow up in the church. One of the main reasons I did not fall away as a teenager is that my church helped me discover the leadership and outreach gifts I had. They put me in charge of beginning a youth group, giving Bible talks, and organising youth events. They had me join a ministry to reach out to unchurched boys. They invited me as a 16 year old to be part of a workgroup to help develop a missional strategy for our church. I was just one piece in the puzzle but I discovered where I fitted in. I found my God-given purpose. And to this day I've always been a part of the puzzle.
If as a church leader you are serious about making disciples of Jesus (Matthew 28:19-20), then you will help people discover where they fit as a puzzle piece. You will want to check out the resources we have identified that will help you do just that. If you are a member of a church and your church does not have these strategies in place, you are not off the hook. It is your responsiblity to discover the gifts the Holy Spirit has graciously given you and to use these gifts to serve in your church or your community. You are piece of the puzzle. The church will never be complete until you do your part. Yes serve in accord with your God-given purpose. For you are a puzzle piece.
About the author
Jack De Vries was hired on by the Christian Reformed Churches of Australia and began his work as Ministry Training Coordinator in January 2008. In 2012 this role shifted to that of Ministry Development Coach.
Jack came from Canada where he pastored three Christian Reformed churches: Alliston CRC, Alliston, Ontario(1983-87), a church plant: New Life Community Church, Pickering, Ontario(1987-95), and Bethel CRC, Listowel, Ontario (1995-2007). Jack is a graduate of Calvin Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity - 1983) and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Doctor of Ministry - 2003) Jack and his wife Jeannie currently live in Petrie, a northern suburb of Brisbane in Queensland. They attend and are members of Bray Park Community Church. They have four adult children and seven grandchildren living in the USA and Canada.
In Isaiah 58:11 we read: "The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Australia has seen times of drought and floods. There is another type of drought in Australia; there is a spiritual drought. But God promises to provide refreshing rain, a never ending supply of refreshing water. The water he provides will satisfy the needs of all Australians. As we take up the missional vision God has given us we extend the life changing invitation of Jesus: "Come! Whoever is thirsty, come, and take the free gift of the water of life!" (Revelation 22:17)
