Teamwork – Serving the Lord Together

by Harold and Bette Gillogly
There is a very special oneness that grows inside a couple when they serve God together. That’s because God has called you to be a team. Not just any team – He wants you to be His team. He has a unique job for you to do as His team…a job that nobody else can do like you two can.
When you choose to serve God together, it will strengthen your bond as a couple in amazing ways. It will draw you closer to each other and closer to God. Together your spiritual life will be challenged and your dependence on the Lord for His empowerment will be inescapable. You also will begin to understand the privilege and fulfillment of being God’s servants.
Years ago, a godly friend reminded us, “First of all, you are servants.” We’ve thought of those words many times. They keep us focused on who we are. We made a conscious choice back in 1983 to submit ourselves to God as His team in ministry. And we have never been sorry.
We recently asked a young couple who has been doing marriage enrichment together for only a few years, what ministering together as a team has done for them. Their eyes lit up, “It’s brought us closer together. It’s given us a common purpose. It’s helped our communication.” They were obviously feeling like a team, and we could tell it was a mighty good feeling!
How can you and your mate make serving God together as a team a vital part of your marriage? There are lots of ways you can serve together.

Opening Your Home

Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay. (1 Peter 1:9 NLT) Using your home to serve the Lord is one of the most fulfilling ministries you can have. It doesn’t matter if hospitality comes naturally to you or not. It is a choice. You can choose to make the effort to have another couple over for a meal. You can choose to open your home to a small group Bible study. Yes, we know those people might spill Kool Aid on your carpet…that’s where the “cheerfully” comes in.

Doing the Little Things

Daily living is made up of a bunch of little things. Things that seem so insignificant that you hardly notice doing them. The way you look at him with love in your eyes. The way you reach over and take her hand as you walk down the hall to your Sunday School class. The way you brag on each other to friends. These all seem so little, but you never know when they might speak life into someone else’s relationship. The little loving things you do can give other couples a lot of hope…hope that by God’s grace, they can have that kind of loving relationship too.

Secret Serving

When you do a kindness for someone in need, it can be a wonderful little secret that only the two of you share. This is so much fun! You can leave a fruit basket or a chocolate cake on someone’s doorstep, ring the doorbell and run like crazy. And then share a knowing smile together every time you think about it.

Serving Your Community

There are many opportunities for you to serve as a couple in your community. Homeless shelters, rescue missions, after school tutoring programs, convalescent homes, food pantries, children’s clubs, sports programs, fund-raisers, community gardens – the ideas go on and on. Our Lord commands us to have compassion on the poor and oppressed, and we can obey Him as a couple.

Bearing Others’ Burdens

Share each other’s troubles and problems, and in this way obey the law of Christ. (Galatians 6:2) The night in1985 that Bette was diagnosed with cancer, six people stayed up until 4:00 a.m. praying for us. Even after being given a death pronouncement, we were able to sleep like babies…until 4:00 a.m. Those dear people carried our burden that night so we could rest. When you bear another’s burdens as a couple, you share the load, and that lightens it by half.

Praying for Others

We have a dear couple that prays for us every day. When we have a deep prayer need, we know who to call on, because we know how faithfully they pray for us and our ministry. Jesus said in Matthew 18:19, If two of you agree down here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you. The two of you have great power when you pray. Start a prayer list with the names of all the couples in your Sunday School class or Bible Study. Pray for their marriage and their family. Let them know you are holding them up in prayer. What an encouragement that will be to them!

Teaching Together

We’ve been teaching marriage enrichment together since 1983. It is so much fun – and it’s rewarding beyond belief. When we share a Scriptural truth and see the light turn on in someone’s eyes – that’s the best feeling in the world! Knowing that God is using you to accomplish His will in another human being – It don’t get no better than that! How about the two of you? Perhaps you don’t think you can teach. Well…I bet you can lead a group discussion…or teach a children’s Sunday School class…mentor another couple…invest your time and energy in a young person’s life…. All of these fall into the category of teaching. It’s not a question of “can,” it’s a question of “will.”
God isn’t looking for a perfect couple to serve Him. He’s looking for a willing couple…a couple willing to be God’s team. Ministering together accomplishes more than either of you could ever do by yourself – it multiplies your effectiveness. You can make a profound and significant difference in others’ lives if you let God use you as His team.
You can choose any or all of these ways of serving God together. One thing’s for sure – He has some important jobs for you two to do. Are you willing to serve Him as a team?
Jesus said, Since they are no longer two, but one, let no one separate them, for God has joined them together.
(Matthew 19:6)
Website: https://marriages.net/

Our Testimony and Challenge

To us, there is nothing in the world more rewarding and fulfilling than helping other couples grow their marriage God’s way! It’s been our wonderful privilege to be in marriage ministry since 1983. And through these years, we have gotten glimpses of God gloriously working in couples’ lives. We have seen…

• God heal and restore marriages that were on the brink of divorce.
• Couples commit themselves to obey God in their relationship.
• Thousands of couples covenant together to read God’s Word and pray together regularly.
• Couples share the deep bonding they have experienced by reading and praying together.
• Couples adopt and mentor other couples needing marriage role models.
• Couples joyfully praise God for what He is doing in their relationship through this ministry.

We challenge you to ask God if He is calling you into marriage ministry! If He is, then take a look at our website for how you can be trained to minister as a team to couples. Visit our website to see the training that’s available for helping other couples:
https://marriages.net/marriage-leader-training/

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