Everyone in our church family has a role to play

To build a united and effective church we need to recognise and release the five ministry gifts of Ephesians 4, said Mark Pugh at this year’s ELS

Mark Pugh recently bought a dining room table. He was a bit surprised when it turned up, though – it wasn’t assembled, just a flatpack that still needed to be built.

Undeterred, and impatient to get started but home alone, he ignored the guidance that “construction is a two-person job”.

“It took longer than it should have but I did my best, made it work and we’ve had numerous successful meals at that table,” Elim’s General Superintendent said in his opening talk at ELS.

“But at the end of that hard, heavy-lifting job that was designed for more than one person, I ached!”

It’s similar to how we often approach ministry, said Mark.

“So often we look at our lack of resources then just get our heads down and do it anyway,” he explained, “but ministry was never designed to be a one-person task.”

His message was simple: everyone in our church families has a role to play. Teamwork is essential, and for it to happen effectively we need to recognise and...

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