4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
Before coming to serve at Emmanuel Faith, my family and I were doing church planting on both sides of the San Diego/Tijuana border. Every Sunday, for about four years, my wife, my two daughters, and I were committed to serving at a 10 am worship service in San Diego and at a 2pm worship service in Tijuana. As you can imagine, our Sundays were very long and tiring, but at the same time, they were filled with excitement seeing God at work in our lives and in the lives of others. You see, when we serve our Lord, not only the lives of others are impacted, but ours as well.
As I reflect on those busy years, I’m reminded that God used that season to shape and prepare my family for the things we are working on today. Back then, my youngest daughter Aneth, who was 8 years old, was running PowerPoint slides through the worship songs. Adaly, who was 11 years old, was one of the singers in the worship team. My wife, Jemima, was in charge of almost everything else, maybe that’s the reason why people were calling her “pastora,” a title that she was reminding people she didn’t hold. As the pastor of those two new congregations, my main focus was the teaching and preaching of the Word.
Eleven years later, we are still doing some of the same things. Aneth still runs slides and she also works as an intern in the Young Adults department of our church. Adaly still sings and also works at church as Intake Coordinator in the Care & Counseling department. Jemima still serves and cares for the needs of people in our Spanish congregation (people still call her “pastora”, and she gave up correcting them a while ago). And I’m still teaching and preaching from God’s Word, and now I get to do it sometimes in English as well. Everyone serves! Different gifts but the same Spirit. Different kinds of service but the same Lord. Different kinds of working but the same God at work. It’s a beautiful thing to see our Triune God working in us and through us. Now, this is not only true for Aneth, Adaly, Jemima, and me, but this is also true for every member of the body of Christ. As followers of Jesus, we all serve in different ways but with the same purpose: To allow God to work in us and through us.
Pastor Esteban