Serving
An every-member ministry
At St Thomas', we believe that the church is a family and so every member has a role to play. The Holy Spirit has given gifts to every Christian believer, so that we might serve others in the church:
To each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.
— 1 Corinthians 12:7Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church.
— 1 Corinthians 14:12
These verses are a helpful reminder to both those tempted to hide our gifts, and those tempted to use our gifts to bring glory to ourselves. Not all gifts and abilities are upfront and flashy — many are behind the scenes and seemingly unimpressive — but the church needs both if it is to operate as God intends.
Therefore, rather than becoming overly reliant on the staff team, at St Thomas' we hope that as God's word is taught all of God's people will be equipped for works of service:
Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.
— Ephesians 4:11–12
The church is also called to be outward-looking, through telling others the good news about Jesus and through loving our neighbours in other ways.
Our teams
We have a variety of teams that help lead church activities day-by-day and take ownership of various practical areas of ministry:
- Children and youth work team
- Tuesday Together team
- Music and sound team
- Cooking and events team
- Visiting and prayer team
- Handyman and gardening team
- Mission and outreach team
- Finance team
- Website and publicity team
- Administration and bookstall team
We also have serving teams who help out on Sundays. If you feel you would like to serve, whether on Sundays or midweek, please contact the church office on 01709 589 674 or by email to find out more.