Spiritual Gift of Service and Helps

Many people put these two gifts into two different categories, but I think that the heart of these gifts is the same. The gift of service is on the person who just loves to serve the church. And I don’t mean that they love to serve the church building; they love to serve God’s people–the church.

The spiritual gift of helps is very similar. The person with the gift of helps desires to come along side and assist someone in ministry so as to free them up to do other tasks. Often the volunteer secretaries and ministry administrators have the spiritual gift of helps.

If you look at a pastor of a church, his first and foremost job is the administration of the word. That is, he is charged with bringing God’s word to the members of the congregation. In most cases, the pastor does far more in this area than preaching on Sunday mornings. He does this in private meetings and in classes. He does it in hospital rooms and at bedsides. If he also has to make church bulletins, cut the grass and vacuum the sanctuary, then he is not available to do the work he is really called to. There is a need, then, for people with the spiritual gift of helps.

Similarly, the pastor cannot be the only one called upon when someone needs help pulling weeds or moving apartments or making meals. The person who takes on this burden often has the spiritual gift of service. In many cases, there are not clear lines between these two gifts.

I am constantly challenging the youth of our church to serve. Everyone is called to serve and most of them do, but there are some who simply don’t need the challenge. There are some who see needs and volunteer for the job. This is often a sign of the spiritual gift of service.

Recently, one of the college group came on staff as a leader in our youth group. She is picking up a lot of the administration stuff (which I’m terrible at) so that I can focus on teaching and other things. I am confident that this person has the gift of helps.

Whether this gift has come up on your spiritual gifts test or not, I would definitely challenge you to be a part of service and of helps. Find ways that you can serve the church. You should have some desire to see Christ’s work be done within your church and community. James writes, “…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2.17). Your faith should produce service. The person with the spiritual gifts of service and helps will produce it in abundance.