Worship Plus Two

If you’re a Christian, and if Goshen is your church, God intends for you to be active in the life of our church serving others and being served—building others up and being encouraged in your faith.  It is not his will for any of us to just “attend,” or that we just come and listen and go.  That is not how the body of Christ functions.

Having spiritual gifts (as all believers do, 1 Cor 12:7) yet not using them to serve one another is like having muscles but never exer­cising them—you become weak and unwell; failure to thrive.  By con­trast, having spiritual gifts and volunteering to serve and work and help and lead and fill every gap in the life of our church is also contrary to God’s will and a pathway to overload and burnout.

Just think, withholding your gifting from our church family is like depriving your body of a hand or an eye (1 Cor 12:14-20):  tragic.  It hurts you and it hurts everyone else.  Similarly, trying to juggle endless church duties, covering every need, and wearing countless ministry hats will overwhelm you, and it will deny service oppor­tunities to others whom you displace:  tragic.

That’s why we urge everyone to embrace “Worship Plus Two.” Participation in our Sunday worship gathering is square one for all of us; assembling weekly for prayer, Bible teaching, and song—this is vital for the healthy believer and the healthy church.  “Do not neglect meeting together, as is the habit of some” (Heb 10:25).

“Plus Two” then means plugging in to our relational life in one way that refreshes and enriches you (i.e., being served), and in one way of giving and pouring yourself out to bless others (i.e., serving).  We’re a little bit flexible with this—if you’re at W+3 … well, fair enough.  But don’t drift up to W+10 or down to W+0.

One advantage of W+2 is that it keeps you from being engulfed in church meetings, thus freeing you up to invest in friendships with your neighbors / co-workers / classmates.  After all, neighbor love is a key way we’re sent out as Jesus’ witnesses (Acts 1:8).