Throughout your life, God will send you significant influencers to help you along your faith journey. Sometimes, those influencers will be a couple. There’s no doubt that God uses single people, but there’s something uniquely compelling about how God shaped man and woman together in His image. When you look back on the women God has used in your life, you’ll realize that it wasn’t just the woman God used, but He used her husband too.
Serving God as a couple may not be as simple as signing yourself up to volunteer for a job, but there are ways that you can improve your life, as well as the lives of others, as a unit. Here are some ways to serve your church as a couple.
Pray together for your church daily.
This is where having a church directory comes in handy. Depending on the size of your church, it may be possible to pray for every person in your congregation throughout the month. It would also be best to pray for your leadership team. Praying for the community and pastor is very important. You’ll never waste time when praying for your church. Every moment you spend in prayer is necessary and precious. Ephesians 5:18-20 reminds us to pray at all times in the spirit.
Open your home.
Hospitality is one of the things that God calls us to exercise. It’s a gift that requires the whole family to participate and a great way to serve as a couple. Hospitality doesn’t always have to equate to entertaining but helping those in need when you can. For example, if a single mom in your congregation needs to do laundry, open your home to her and her children. Opening your home to them for laundry, hanging out, and a meal would be a great blessing. Do you know of any widows or widowers needing dinner and fellowship? Perhaps there’s a young man who needs help fixing their car, and you have the expertise? Invite them over and help them while possibly throwing in a meal together. There’s nothing like being invited into someone’s home to discuss Christ’s love practically.
Volunteer with the children’s group.
For many children, the church is an oasis and a safe place. Their home may be filled with turmoil and heartbreak, but the church is where they can feel safe and protected. Perhaps a child in your church could use an adopted parent or grandparent. Your time and love won’t be in vain when you use it on a child, especially someone else’s. We’ve heard that fatherless or “father less” children need positive male influences in their lives. However, in modern times, screen addictions negatively impact children’s development. An adult that isn’t distracted and offers time and space to listen is a rare gem in a child’s life.
If you’re not ready to lead a Sunday school class, there are other ways to give time to the children’s ministry. You could send birthday cards, pass out snacks, clean or disinfect toys, or open your home for lunch after church. Children are significant to Jesus, so we must treat them with love and care.
Contribute to the outreach committee.
Providing to the community is very common in church culture. Still, the New Testament discusses how the church is supposed to take care of the needs of its members, and we often miss this point of service. If there is someone in your congregation who has a need that’s come to your attention, you should help them in any way you can. If they have a burden that you can ease, try your best to ease that burden. On the other hand, reaching outside of the congregation to help those in need is also essential. Whether it’s feeding the homeless or giving clothes to the less fortunate, participating in community outreach together is an excellent way to serve as a couple. When you’re both listening to the Holy Spirit, you’re less likely to fall off the balance beam of biblical assistance and into the enabling abyss.
Talk to your pastor or deacon.
Sometimes we can look at a situation from the outside and assume we know how to fix it. It doesn’t matter if it’s someone else’s finances, marriage, or children; we automatically think we know the solution. In reality, we only see one side of the equation. If we genuinely want to help, we should ask the people in the situation how they want to be helped or where they see the greatest need and listen. Sometimes the answer we get won’t be the answer we expected. That’s when we should listen with the Holy Spirit and our hearts, not just our ears. Ask your church leadership how you can best serve the congregation as a couple and listen with your hearts.
God has given you various gifts for you to bless others. Finding out how to share these gifts as a couple is one of the best marriage experiences. It will pour into your family life and create a heritage of giving. Marriage uniquely reflects God. God is happy when your marriages become vessels for His character and gifts. A sacredness is unique from any other kind of service or giving when you share it with your other half. Serving God as a couple could also improve your marriage. When you come together to uplift His kingdom, there’s no better way to bring you and your spouse closer.
