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If you’re like me, one of the first questions you started asking yourself after becoming a Christian is “What can I do to help?”  That is a very good question, and I think it shows that you have the right attitude toward serving your brothers and sisters in Christ.  However, again if you’re like me, you couldn’t come up with too many answers to your question.  I want to share some of the things I’ve learned about being a helpful Christian.

Going Beyond the Publicly Visible
Because we tend to keep in mind what we see, most of the ways we think of helping all involve things we see every time we gather together.  Elders make announcements, someone leads songs, a prayer, speaks before the Lord’s Supper, and then there’s a sermon.  However, if we limit our help to those areas, only a very small number of people will be helpful each week.  There’s only one sermon per service, only one song leader, only one president over the Lord’s Supper.

When we start to think of serving in other ways, we may discover that there hosts of other “invisible” ways that we can serve our brothers and sisters in Christ.  First, you could volunteer to prepare the Lord’s Supper.  No one will see you do it, but it is certainly something we all need!

Another thing we can do is put song books back in the book slots.  It’s not a glorious job, but it doesn’t take long for songbooks to find their way all over the building.  It’s difficult to sing a song you don’t know the words to, so by putting errant songbooks back into their racks, you're doing some future singer a great service! 

A More Personal Approach
        One of the greatest things you could do is help make someone else feel welcome and wanted when we come together.  It may seem like a small task, but find at least one person and talk to them.  In particular, try to find a different person every time we come together and make sure they leave knowing that you love them and were glad to spend time with them.  Also, don’t forget about the telephone.  All the visiting we do together at the building can be done anytime during the day with the touch of a few buttons. 

Visiting Ailing Brothers and Sisters
We all need the time we have together on Wednesdays and Sundays to recoup after being attacked by the world.  The encouragement we receive from other Christians is priceless in our battle against temptation and sin.

We have brothers and sisters who are in just as much need as we are for encouragement but are unable to make it to services.  One of the best things we can do for ailing brothers and sisters is take the time to visit them at home.  Visits don’t need to be long, they just need to be made.  If everyone would visit one ailing member once a month, our homebound brethren would never lack for company and encouragement.  Sometimes, the greatest present we can give to another Christian is simply our presence.

Talk About Christ With Others
Perhaps the best thing anyone could do is to share the gospel of Christ with others.  Invite your friends and family members to services or one of the many different Bible studies we have throughout the week.  Hand out tracts, articles, sermon CDs or any of the other resources we have.  Simply mentioning Jesus in everyday conversation is a great work that everyone can do every day.  You never know who will be listening or how their lives will be changed simply because you took the time to mention Jesus to them.