Pastor's Corner: Spiritual gifts

Recently, I had the privilege of joining a group of 10 other people to do a retreat at the Montana Women's Prison in Billings, Montana. It was a good experience where we spent three days with 20 incarcerated women. These women shared a lot of deep things about their lives and struggles. My responsibilities were to lead hymn singing and small group Bible studies. There are many types of ministries that we can participate in. Youth ministry, teaching Sunday school, adult Bible studies, church music and choir, hospice work, senior citizens ministry, the homeless; working with those struggling with addictions and the hungry just to name a few. When the topic of spiritual work comes up, we often think of some of the ministries listed above, but we seldom or rarely mention the gift of the ministry of showing up.

The ministry of showing up is vital and we can appreciate it when a sister or brother in Christ gives of herself/himself by making it a priority to show up to spend time in fellowship with the family of God. Whether it's for worship service, Bible study, church choir, church potluck, youth activities or mission projects, just to name a few.

The Greek work koinonia, which is used several times in the Bible, relates to the ministry of showing up. Koinonia refers to fellowship, participation, community and togetherness. A person may not always be in a place in life where they can be active in church leadership, administration, teaching, evangelism or even hospitality. However, a person can always at least show up to participate in fellowship, community and togetherness with the body of Christ. We can also be thankful and grateful for the blessing that we receive when we make the effort to show up, even when we are tired or uninspired.

When we do, we can come away feeling encouraged and glad for the time spent with other believers and Jesus.

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Pastor Michael O'Hearn

Hi-Line Lutheran Churches