It has taken me ten months to work out what my job is about. I've been told that's part of the job! I'm particularly interested in feedback from past and present church workers or apprentices.
A church worker is a leader. Their exact role will change according to the gifts God has given them, but they will always be involved in leading the church. So an apprentice church worker is learning to be a leader.
Christian leadership involves three things – setting a good example by godly character and conduct, teaching and serving others. In theory, Christian leadership should look the same whether it is full or part time – quantity being the only difference. In practice, however, spending all your working hours on one thing can change the quality of your work, or the type of work you are able to do. It can also change other people's perception and expectation of your role.
The first priority for a church apprentice is to grow in righteousness, humility and love – to set a good example to Christians and to promote the gospel to non-Christians. This is done by growing in your relationship with God. It calls for time reading and meditating on God's word; time praying; reading Christian books; examining yourself and thinking about how God's word applies to your life. This is often work observed by no-one but God.
Teaching others can be done through preaching; studying the bible or Christian books with individuals or in bible study groups; discussing life as a Christian with others or taking Sunday School. It involves training people to serve Christ using the gifts they have been given. As a church worker you also teach non-Christians about your faith when you have philosophical discussions, when you comment on the Christian perspective during everyday conversations and when you participate in events tailored for non-Christians.
Serving others is a distinctive feature of Christian leadership. It is hard to describe because it can involve anything to help an individual or a group. It can involve practical help; overseeing, reflecting on and participating in church programmes, structures, events and people; friendship and thinking about and getting involved with the community. It always involves praying for others. Church workers serve both their Christian family and the non-Christian people they know.
And all this is done in light of eternity.
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Well no-one else commented, so having thought about it some more, I thought I would!
When you work for the church, you aren't paid for the hours you work or to complete certain tasks. Instead you are paid a stipend - enough money to live on so that you don't have to do other work.
So rather than dividing your life into work and play/not-work, your church work is your whole life. This doesn't mean you become a detached, super-spiritual person - you're still just an ordinary Christian person. With that comes some essential things you need to spend time on - housework, seeing friends and family, enjoying God, recreation etc. You must do these things and you must also take as much rest as you need to keep going, but the main purpose of your life is to serve the church.
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