Why do we serve in our worship teams? Why do we continually pour out, week after week? Why do we keep doing it when we don’t feel like it, or when it feels like our dreams have passed us by?

At a recent Team Night, we asked one of our worship leaders to tell her story to our team. She read out this letter below, openly and sharing her journey with us, letting her vulnerability and openness be an encouragement for anyone that might relate with it.

You might know her if we told you, but we chose to leave it anonymous, as this really could be any one of us. It’s her story, it’s our story, and might be yours too.

We pray it encourages you, that it might even spur you to keep going and keep pouring out and bringing your finest offering of worship to Jesus.

We’re in this together!

Why Do I Continue to Serve on Our Team?

I never want to forget how I came to be here; the dreams, the prayers, the sacrifice and tears that paved the way just to be a part of what God was doing here. It wasn’t complicated. It didn’t have to look a certain way. I just wanted to be part of it.

Yet it’s easy when things don’t go your way over time, to give up and walk away, or develop a wounded spirit — a bitter root of disappointment and offense. It’s easy to throw in the towel or underestimate the part you play. If you’re waiting for someone to come and ask you to do something you dream of, and that moment never comes, what happens then? It’s easy to walk away when you forget the bigger picture you’re connected to —  when you gaze so far inward that you become isolated, thinking you no longer fit in or don’t belong anymore.

The truth is, God has placed a very unique and special calling on each of our lives. We’re in this because we relate, in some magnificent way, to the creative genius of our God. We stand not as individuals, seeking individual profit or gain, but rather as brothers and sisters, sons & daughters of the one true all-surpassing God. He’s called us to be part of something that is astronomically bigger than ourselves. Every instance where someone meets Jesus for the first time or recommits their heart to Him, every time someone feels His presence and they come alive to the Eternal, that’s the bigger picture we are part of — His Kingdom come. His Bride purified.

I’m reminded of what Pastor Brian wrote last year in The Church I Now See:

“I see a church that is big enough to dream on a global scale, yet personal enough for every ONE to find their place. I see a church that beckons ‘WELCOME HOME’ to every man, woman and child that walks through the doors.

The church that I see is a worshipping church whose songs reflect such a passion for Christ that others sense His magnificence and power. A distinct sound that emanates from a healthy church, contagious in spirit — creating music that resounds from villages and tribes to great cities and nations.

I see a church that is constantly innovative: A church that leads the communication of a timeless message through media, film, and technology. A church with a message beamed to people around the globe through their television screens, bringing JESUS into homes, palaces and prisons alike…

I see a church whose leadership is unified in their commitment to the authenticity, credibility and quality of its heart. Leaders who dare to be themselves, yet live secure in the knowledge that ‘what they are part of is bigger than the part they play.’”

And so it is — we are those people. We are that church. Our team isn’t an exclusive group that meets outside of the church…we are an inclusive part within the church that has been called to carry out His work on this earth. We are privileged to be here. What we are part of is bigger than the part we play.

Why do I continue to serve on our team? Because I am part of THE CHURCH of Jesus Christ on this Earth. Because I want to be part of what God is doing! This is a place where salvation reigns, demons tremble and flee, chains are broken, and miracles take place. Where the name of Jesus is lifted high! ANYTHING is possible.

Thus, my commitment to this team is not based on what I get to do or how often I get to do it. It is not based on a role or a responsibility. I am committed to this team because God has placed me here. His desire is to see humanity in right relationship with Him, and we get to be part of His story by being part of this team. He’s placed me here in this time and this season, for however long He chooses.

It’s now up to me to steward what He’s given me, regardless of opportunity or reward, regardless of man’s idea of success or failure. He’s purposed me to be here, so I’m all in. 100%. There’s no in-between.

One of the greatest things we are entrusted to steward on this team is EACH OTHER. Looking out for one another. Meeting new people, going out of our way to make them feel welcome. Did not Jesus come to serve and not be served? Did He not come to bind up the wounded and broken-hearted? Did He not come on behalf of the orphan and the widow? Did He not come to feed the hungry and quench the thirst of man with living, eternal water? Then, and with humility I pen these words, is it not my duty to do the same? To walk in His steps, to look after His people? To give my very best to see His Kingdom come? To feed His sheep? REGARDLESS of what that looks like. This is why I love our team — because together, we can accomplish so much more than on our own. May our lives ever-be woven together as one glorious tapestry of Christ’s love on this earth.

Companions as we are in this work with you, we beg you, please don’t squander one bit of this marvellous life God has given us. God reminds us,

I heard your call in the nick of time;

The day you needed me, I was there to help.

Well, now is the right time to listen, the day to be helped. Don’t put it off; don’t frustrate God’s work by showing up late, throwing a question mark over everything we’re doing. Our work as God’s servants gets validated —or not — in the details. People are watching us as we stay at our post alertly and unswervingly . . . in hard times, tough times, bad times; when we’re beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we’re telling the truth, and when God’s showing His power; when we’re doing our best setting things right; when we’re praised, and when we’re blamed; slandered, and honoured; true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumoured to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all.

Dear, dear Corinthians, I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!

2 Corinthians 6:1-13 — The Message (MSG)