Underrated People Every Church Needs

6 unsung heroes to thank God for

Every year the ministry leaders in our church share what has happened in the past year. It’s a great chance to show gratitude to those who’ve servants.

There’s just one problem.

Some really important ministries fly under the radar. Things no one sees until they’re gone.

I thought it was time to acknowledge them. So here are 6 essential roles that every church needs:

Cleaners

Some churches pay for a cleaner, but not every one can.

Even if your church does, there are still people who need to clean up after coffee or messy kids events.

People who just get on with this are gold. No one feels called to clean the church loos but someone has to do it.

Treasurer

Being treasurer is one of the most time-intensive roles in the church.

Speakers need to be paid, budgets need to be balanced and expenses need to be sorted.

When you ask someone to be treasurer they inevitably say “It’s not for me, I don't have a head for figures.”

But no matter what size, every church needs a reliable treasurer.

Prayer-warrior

Praying is potentially the most underrated activity in the church.

Consider all the things we’re told to pray for:

• Workers for the harvest (Matthew 9:38)

• Open doors for the message (Colossians 4:3)

• Backsliding Christians (1 John 5:16)

Those are some significant issues.

Yet anyone can pray! In many churches a housebound older saint carries the torch.

An older woman in our church told my wife she prayed for our family every day. This was one of the most encouraging things we’ve ever been told.

The meal rota organiser

Meal rotas are such a blessing. When one of our kids was born prematurely, our church fed us two meals a day for a month.

We’ve never eaten so well!

As kind as it is to make a meal, it's even more important to organise the rota. Spotting the people in need, organising the cooks, this practical ministry can be huge for suffering Christians.

The back-up piano player

Music is vital in Church life. Non-musicians fail to appreciate how hard it is to prepare to play a huge range of songs on short notice.

But what about those weeks where the regular musicians are on holiday?

Often there’s some backup pianist who has barely played in years who gets roped in. They spend half the week practising some obscure hymn only to stumble on Sunday morning.

They feel a failure but God sees the effort they put in.

The Greeter

One church I was in had an older gentleman who stood on the door every week.

He high-fived the kids, welcomed the visitors and knew everyone’s names.

It’s a simple thing but when he passed away he was dearly missed.

Challenge

So what do you do with this list? Two challenges:

• Pick one of these underrated ministries to do (if you don’t already)

• Think of an underrated person in your church and thank them for all they do