This is the start of a series of conversations we have with Rocksters about making church home. Be encouraged as we talk with folks who simply love this church family. Think of the last time you stayed in a hotel. Four star, motel, or family inn. Did you make the bed, leave dirty towels on the floor and call for room service? Of course – it’s a hotel. At home, life looks a little different. You make the bed, wash the dishes, and scrub the floors. You get invested, you do your part. You can’t call for room service at home.
In Jesus, we model his life. He lived for the glory of God and the good of others. Check it out for yourself in Luke 4:42 – 5:11. Church can be one of two things, a nice hotel or a home. You can invest in the community or show up on Sundays to enjoy the music and listen to a nice sermon. Nearly everything communicated by our culture today is done to encourage you to love, worship, and serve yourself.
Jesus lived differently. His end game was sacrifice. You can dig in and love the church. When you invest, God has a way of changing your life.
For Rock Church goer Yi-Khy Saw, getting invested in the church has literally transformed his life. Whether it’s teaching Sunday School, leading Vacation Bible School, hanging out in the sound booth, or organizing the Elevation Youth Group, Yi-Khy is busy. He’s not doing it for recognition. In many ways, the Rock Church is simply home.
“When I first came to The Rock, it was a new church plant and there were needs to be filled. Blindly, whenever something appeared, I would volunteer my services,” Saw said. “Unfortunately, my short and stumpy fingers and raspy vocal chords have prevented me from trying out for the worship team. Aside from that and preaching on Sundays, I think I’ve stuck my nose in mostly everything else.”
For Yi-Khy, the most encouraging thing about serving is just being in the front row watching God’s plan unfold. It is easy to be left in the dark when you are not involved. He also says that God needs to be the centre of everything we do and when that happens, the combination is electric.
“When serving the Lord, I get to experience Him working in me, through me and as a result changing me. I get to see the Gospel being proclaimed,” Yi-Khy said. “I’ve seen unbelievers turn and say “I believe in Jesus Christ! Through serving Him, the heart of ‘what I can do’ was quickly replaced by a heart that finds joy in serving Him.”
Through the process of digging in Yi-Khy admits that he has been changed. In fact, his entire perspective on serving in the church has changed.
“During the "low seasons" when I'm not serving, I find myself filling my time and thoughts with unimportant "junk" instead of allowing God to pour into my heart. At those times I feel lost and often feel stagnant as if God was just sitting idle and not being present in my life. However, that is far from the truth. God is ALWAYS at work. He wants to work in you and through you. When serving Him, I get to experience Him working in me and through me. I saw the Gospel being proclaimed, I saw hurt people being encouraged. I get to be changed,” Yi-Khy said.
Whether church is your home or hotel, there’s no better time to get involved in what the Lord is already doing. Join a small group, get involved and in the process fall in love.
“Through my time serving, I know that God is at work at The Rock Church and in Squamish. Be obedient and keep your eyes on Him because it’s not about what we can do for God but what God does through us and how he changes us,” Yi-Khy said. “God is doing great things here, just don’t miss out.”