Led To Serve

What if the pressure you feel isn’t a problem to avoid but an invitation to grow deeper? We turn to Acts 6:1–7 and walk through a pivotal moment for the early church: rapid growth, real tension, and a wise response that protected the mission and multiplied the impact. A complaint over neglected widows threatened to split the community along cultural lines, yet the apostles refused a false choice between care and calling. They safeguarded prayer and the ministry of the Word while raising Spirit-filled servants with proven character to meet practical needs.

That decision wasn’t about hierarchy; it was about health. We talk candidly about why churches stall when a few carry the load, how burnout creeps in, and what changes when everyone owns the mission. You’ll hear why wisdom matters more than raw talent, how deacon-shaped service stabilizes systems and softens hearts, and why character—humility, steadiness, integrity—turns logistics into love. We connect the dots from Jerusalem to our own congregation’s season of stretch: fuller rooms, growing ministries, and the holy opportunity to become stronger, not just bigger.

This conversation offers a roadmap for churches and believers navigating growth: recognize the need without losing the mission; elevate the Word and prayer as the church’s lifeblood; and equip people to step in with courage and care. The result in Acts is striking—“the word of God spread,” “disciples multiplied greatly,” and even hardened priests believed. That’s not accidental; it’s the fruit of ordered obedience and shared ministry. If you’ve been waiting for an invitation to serve, consider this your moment. Subscribe, share this conversation with a friend, and leave a review with your next step—where will you put your hands to the work?

Chapters

• 3:40 Growth Brings Pressure And Purpose
• 7:50 Providence’s Season Of Stretch
• 13:30 The Early Church Conflict Explained
• 19:40 Keep The Mission: Word And Prayer
• 26:10 Everyone Plays A Part

Transcript

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Pastor Timothy Mann and Providence Church Formate, Florida. Providence Church is a local assembly of followers of Jesus Christ dedicated to helping people become committed and mature followers of Jesus Christ. Now, here's Pastor Timothy Mann teaching the word.

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We are going to be in Acts chapter 6, verses 1 through 7. I'm reading from the New King James Version of the Bible. The Bible says, Now in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. And then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, It is not desirable that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables. Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. And the same pleased the whole multitude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of faith in the Holy Spirit, and Philip and Prochorus, and Niconor, and Timon, and Par Parmeneus, and Nicholas, a proselyte from Antioch, whom they set up, who they set before the apostles. And when they had prayed, they laid hands on them. And then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. We'll stop there. This is God's word. Have you ever had a moment, had a point in your life, where growth expressed your need for help? Ever had a time where growth expressed your need for help in your life? What am I talking about? Well, maybe it was starting a new job sometime in the past. Maybe it was when you were welcoming your first child. Remember that? If you had children. Maybe you were stepping into a leadership role for the first time, taking responsibility. Whatever it was, growth in your life really expressed and exposed your need for help. I mean, things began very exciting, but soon you felt stretched thin. Anybody can testify to that? Yeah. That's just life. Maybe you feel that way right now. Soon you felt stretched thin. And you realized that if something didn't change, the burden would overwhelm you. And that moment right there, that moment where pressure meets purpose is often where God does his deepest work in us. It's one of the times. That's exactly what's happening in Acts 6. The early church is growing quickly. Thousands had come to Jesus in faith. Needs kept increasing, but so did the tensions. So did the pressure. The church was thriving and struggling at the same time. And it's in this tension that we see, really, I think, one of the most vivid leadership and ministry moments in the New Testament. Because what happened was instead of retreating, the church pressed forward. They pressed forward. Instead of splitting apart, they relied on the Spirit's wisdom and each other's gifts. And the truth is, at Providence, we're experiencing a similar season. God is at work. Praise God. People are being baptized. Didn't we have a wonderful time down at the beach recently? God is at work. People are being baptized. Families are joining. Ministries are growing. But so are the challenges. We feel the stretch. Susan, can I get an amen? We feel the stretch. And it's a good stretch because it gives us a chance individually and as a church to grow deeper, not just bigger, stronger, not just wider. So that brings us back to Acts 6. It's really a guide for how to grow the right way, God's way. So let's pay attention and learn from their example because here in Providence, in the life of Providence Church, we've seen our children's ministry expand. We've seen our Bible fellowship groups grow. We've seen our worship services become fuller. And I know the way we've structured things, this service doesn't feel it nearly as much, but this service over the last three years has grown a good bit as well. Second service, sometimes it's a challenge to find seats. And that's a wonderful thing. But again, it's stretching up. We've experienced Sundays when volunteers were doubled or were missing, when we needed extra help with the kids, or, like I said, more seats in the room, even Second Service. And these are signs that a church is alive. That's a good thing. But they also highlight the need for everyone to get involved in some way. The story that God started 15 years ago in the life of Providence Church keeps unfolding today. Anybody? Raise your hand. We got a few. Look around. That's the remnant among us today. Thank you. You can put your hands down. God started that story 15 years ago and it keeps unfolding today. God is moving among us. And the real question for me as the senior pastor and also the other pastors, as we've talked about this, the real question is: will we, as a church family, step forward to embrace the opportunities He's providing? Will we rise, not just in numbers, but in service and in unity and in love for one another, for disillusioned believers in our community, and for unbelievers in our community. Every Sunday brings new faces. There's a few in this service. There'll be more in the second service. Every Sunday brings new faces, brings new challenges, brings new opportunities to serve one another in love. And growth doesn't have to be overwhelming. I keep having to tell our ministry staff that on a regular basis. Growth doesn't have to be overwhelming. It can be a gift that refines and recenters us on what matters most. And Acts chapter 6 shows us that every growing Christian and every growing church eventually faces a decision. And that decision is, will we be stretched thin or will we be pushed deeper into Christ and into one another? The difference really depends on our response. Whether we lean in with prayer and humility and a spirit-led willingness to serve. So let's choose to grow together stronger as we move forward. And in Acts 6, we see a moment just like this. The church in Jerusalem was thriving. Thousands had come to Christ, but with that growth came growing pains. There was a brewing conflict, in fact, that was taking place. Some widows, especially those from the Hellenist, which is Greek-speaking Jewish background, they were being overlooked in the daily food distribution. And this wasn't just a logistical moment. It actually threatened to divide the early church along cultural and ethnic lines. But instead of reacting in fear, as churches often do to this kind of thing, and instead of protecting their own comfort, as churches often do in this kind of a situation, the apostles saw an opportunity not to shrink the mission, but to expand the ministry. Again, we understand what it's like to grow. We're going through it ourselves. And we've gone through it in different seasons in our life as a church. Over the past 15 years, we've welcomed new families. We have seen an increase in children. We have expanded our ministries. And along with that, there is pressure. There's pressure to our systems. There's pressure on our leaders, and there's pressure on our volunteers. And these are good challenges, but they're still challenges. And so we need God's wisdom to handle them with grace and purpose. We are blessed by God to be in that kind of season again. And again, that's where Acts 6 comes in. Not just as a moment in church history that we can look back on and say, oh, look at that. That was really an interesting thing. No. But it's also as a moment, it's a time, it's a guidepost for our growth journey as well. Acts chapter 6 offers a strong example of how to grow through growing pain. Not to avoid them, not to deny them, but to navigate them faithfully and wisely. And the early church didn't stall, they didn't splinter, they didn't panic, they didn't minimize the issue. What they did was they leaned on the Spirit's wisdom, they relied on each other, and they moved forward with the mission. Why? Well, because they were led by God to serve. Not because they saw this moment as a threat, but as a turning point. Because they allow growing pains to become growth points. So often we don't even do that in our own lives. When we begin to experience growing pains in some area of life, we don't like it. It's uncomfortable. And so we shrink back from it instead of allowing it to be a growing point in our life. Same in church. So just for the next few minutes, let's explore three ways the early church responded to growing pains as they were led to serve, so that we individually can follow their example and as a church and continue growing God's way. Three ways that we see this as they're led to serve. First of all, we have to recognize the need without losing the mission. We have to recognize the need without losing the mission. The Bible again says, in those days when the number of the disciples was multiplying, that's a great thing, isn't it? When the numbers of disciples are multiplying is a wonderful reality. But then what happened? A complaint rose. They must have been a Baptist church for sure, I guess. I don't know. A complaint rose against Hebrews by the Hellenists, those Greek speaking, because their widows were neglected in the daily distribution. Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, It is not desirable that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables. So the church is growing, but so are the needs. And that struggle is common in growing churches. In the ancient world, widows lacked any kind of social safety nets, no social security, something like that. And so caring for them wasn't optional. It was essential if they didn't have family, especially. And the fact that Hellenistic Jews, these Greek-speaking widows, were overlooked really reveals cultural complexity within the early church. Hebrew-speaking Jews had more social influence in Jerusalem. While Greek-speaking Jews often felt sidelined, and in fact were. This could have easily, in this local body of believers now, this early church, it could have easily created a cultural divide. But instead, the apostles addressed the issue directly. That's good leadership. That's what needs to happen, is when something like this comes along. Is you address the issue directly. You don't hide from it, you don't keep it in the closet, you don't keep it hush-hush, you address the issue directly. And they gather the believers and say, it's not desirable that we should leave the Word of God and serve tables. Now that's not because serving tables was beneath them, but because God had given them a specific calling to fulfill. No doubt they were serving tables up to this point. Somebody was doing it because people were falling through the cracks. God had given them a specific calling to fulfill. Their role was to lead and nurture the church spiritually. And if they abandoned that, the church might still be well fed physically, but spiritually starving and not on mission. This reality emphasizes the theological significance of prioritizing the ministry of the word and prayer. From the Old Testament all the way through the prophets to Jesus Himself, the Word of God has always been the life source for God's people. Romans chapter 10, verse 17 reminds us that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. And so any church that strays from this core calling, preaching and teaching scripture to believers and unbelievers, loses its foundation. And it is preaching and teaching scripture. Preaching and teaching scripture, not taking away from it and not adding to it. Not appeasing worldly culture, but also not creating self-righteous legalism or extra biblical laws. The core calling was and is the ministry of word and prayer to believers and unbelievers. And so the apostles' choices here is not a rejection of practical service, but a strengthening of spiritual priorities. And their response shows what the Apostle Paul later explains in 1 Corinthians 12, and that's that the church is one body with many parts, each with unique but equally important roles. And so when pastors neglect their spiritual oversight and their responsibilities, including prayer and the word, and instead have to focus on every logistical and programmatic detail, the whole body suffers. And this isn't pride, it's a priority. And honestly, I have to tell you, after 32 years plus now of doing this, this is where growing churches often get stuck. Right here. It's where they often get stuck. Because what happens is we either ignore the need and hope it all just goes away. Have you ever done that in your own life? We either ignore the need and just hope it just goes away, or we try to fix everything ourselves and end up burning out. But in the life of Providence Church, we don't want to be a church where only a few do everything while the rest watch. We want to be a church where everyone plays a part in caring for the body and advancing the mission. And we do that fairly well. I'm grateful to say. We can improve. Because we have leaders trying to do more than they were meant to do. We have volunteers stretched thin. We have people serving in multiple areas because others haven't stepped up yet. And so if you if you've been on the sidelines, it's time to step in. Not because you're guilted into it. I know that only works briefly. It might motivate you for a little bitty period of time. It won't last long if you're just motivated by guilt. Stepping in, not because you're guilted into it, but because you're part of the family. And families pitch in. So let's be candid. Can I be candid? Some of us need to stop assuming someone else will take care of it. You might actually be the answer to someone's prayer. You might actually be the answer to someone's encouragement that they need. You might be someone's reminder that God sees and God provides. Now I know that everyone has a different season in life. Some are in a physical or health trial right now. Some are coming out of or are currently in a relationship trial. Some are spiritually struggling for various reasons. And you need to get to a more stable place in life by God's grace. God is patient. And he is your help and strength. I want to remind you of that. He is your help and strength if you will rely on him. And we want to help you as we are able and as you will let us. But there are some who can and need to step in, to pitch in, and to play a part. Because we have to recognize the needs of a growing church without losing the mission. Without losing the mission. Let me help you reflect on this just for a moment. Maybe you've been around a while. You've been around in the life of the church. What exactly have you observed? Where exactly have you observed a gap in ministry? Or where exactly have you observed people feeling overwhelmed as they serve? What can you personally do to step in? Is there a part of you that's been hesitant to get involved? Why? Why? Let me push it a little further. Can I do that? What fear? Or what excuse? What fear or what excuse do you need to let go of and to respond in faith? Because if we want to grow according to God's way, we need to recognize the need without losing sight of the mission, and some individuals need to be led to serve, and I'm praying for God to do that in your life. Secondly, what we see in this passage that we have to do, that they did, is raise up spirit-filled servants. Therefore, brethren, they said, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business, but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word. Now, what's so great about this is the apostles didn't just look for availability, they were actually after spiritual maturity. They asked the congregation to identify individuals who were filled with the Holy Spirit and wisdom and have a good reputation. I think that really highlights an important truth. And it's this the work of the church, the work of the gospel through the life of the church is sacred. And those who serve should be spirit-led and gospel-centered. Should be spirit-led, full of wisdom, and have a good reputation. This reminds us that serving and leadership, both serving and leadership in the church, isn't about status. It isn't about personality. It isn't about convenience. It's about character and calling and becoming like Christ. The spirit-filled life, the need to be filled with the Holy Spirit, the need to have wisdom, the need to have good reputation, isn't just for pastors and apostles. It's actually for every believer who is surrendered to Jesus and willing to serve. And wisdom here doesn't just mean intelligence or skill. I believe biblical wisdom involves applying God's truth to real life situations. That meant that these men needed to be compassionate to people. They needed to stay steady under pressure. And they needed to be immersed in Scripture. They weren't just serving bread, they were living out the gospel. Their ministry wasn't just about handling tasks, it was about maintaining unity and safeguarding the witness and building up the church. That's why we see the apostles lay hands on these men. And that's more than just a leadership formality because throughout Scripture, laying on hands symbolized both divine appointment and church support. These men were set apart to carry sacred responsibilities with spiritual integrity. And in doing so, the church actually experienced more than just efficiency, it actually experienced empowerment as a church. This actually marks, right here in Acts 6, this actually marks the beginning of what later became known as deacon ministry. Servants of the church who support the ministry of the word and prayer by meeting tangible and practical needs. I'm blessed to now these years, in all these years, I almost said it's generally and as a whole, it excludes individuals in the past in a positive way, but I am blessed to be able to work alongside and serve with the best group of deacons I've ever known in my life. And I'm so grateful for those men who serve and their wives, who serve and help and support in so many ways. They're not perfect. Trust me, they're not. Their wives will tell you that. They're not perfect. Neither are you pastors. But neither are you. And we work together by God's grace. But these men are servants of the church who serve. And when deacons fulfill their calling, man, the church thrives in its mission. And isn't that what Jesus taught us? In principle, for all of us. Mark 10, 43, he said, Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant. Authentic leadership in the kingdom of God involves meeting needs, especially those without help, and serving humbly. An application for us as a church is that we need this kind of leadership now. People who don't just attend but take responsibility for the mission. People who say, This is my church. These are my people. And I'm here to serve. Yeah. Maybe that's you. Maybe God is prompting you today not to wait until you feel prepared or things get more convenient in your life. That'll never happen. Everybody's busy. Maybe He's prompting you to be faithful with what you already have. I'm praying for a new wave of servant leaders to help the ones we already have. Not only deacons, and we do need more deacons. I'm praying for a new wave of servant leaders, but others to help those who are already serving in so many ways. Not perfect people. Nobody would qualify. But those filled with the Spirit and wisdom and have a good reputation. I'm talking about people who love Jesus, who love his church enough to put their hands and their hearts into the work. Yeah. And if you've been waiting for an invitation, this is it. Consider it right now. It's your invitation. Step forward. Call the church office 310-4997. 310-4997. Email or text one of the pastors. We want to talk with you. We want to equip you and then release you with purpose. Let's stop treating servant leadership as someone else's responsibility. Let's be the kind of church where that kind of leadership is common, not uncommon. Let's keep building a ministry that actually mirrors the heart of Jesus, not for recognition, but for the people and the mission. Again, if you've been around a while, I know some of you are fairly new, and some of you are new here for the first time today, I believe. Grateful for you being here. But if you've been around a while, I want you to think about this. Who in our church, or even just in your life, do you admire for their quiet, faithful service to the Lord? And what is it about their example that specifically challenges you? And if someone were to come by your way today and ask you, where are you serving? How would you respond? What next step could you take this week to start to grow in this area? So if we're going to grow God's way, we must raise up spirit-filled servants who are led to serve. And then, verse 7, watch God multiply through shared ministry. Verse 7, then the word of God spread. Isn't that the goal? And the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem. That's God at work. And a great many of the priests, even, were obedient to the faith. This is the result of spirit-led delegation. When the apostles stayed true to their calling, and the seven served faithfully in their roles, the church experienced renewal and revival. And I have no doubt they had to scale up. They had to increase the organization. They had to add more and more. And Luke here, who wrote the book of Acts, reports that the word of God spread, meaning the gospel went forth with greater power and greater reach. And this wasn't just internal management, it is missional effects. And this moment is really filled with theological significance. First of all, it reflects to us God's plan for multiplication through faithfulness. Because the gospel spreads when the church functions as a united, spirit-empowered body, each member fulfilling their role, or a role at least. Like I preached two weeks ago, this is the result of Ephesians 4.16, where the Apostle Paul writes, From whom the whole body, joined and knitted together by what every joint supplies, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. And secondly, Luke points out that a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. That would have been men who were deeply embedded in the temple system, probably among those who once opposed Jesus and the apostles. And so I'd say their salvation and their conversion was significant, don't you? I mean, it demonstrates the transformative power of a gospel that is lived out both through the word of God and indeed action by the people. I submit to you, and my thesis is this that when the church remains healthy, and when the church remains holy, and the church remains humble in its service, it becomes a powerful witness even to the most stubborn hearts. This is a picture of kingdom expansion, not driven by personality, not driven by a program, not driven by anything other than spirit-filled obedience. This is the people of God empowered by the Word of God, led by the Spirit of God, and they unleash a movement of God that no one can stop. Our goal is not just to stay busy, but to be fruitful. It's not about building an organizational machine, but about making disciples of Jesus. That will happen if we're satisfied with only a few doing the heavy lifting. It takes all of us in some way or another. Over the years, we've seen what happens when people step up. Ministries thrive, burdens are eased, lives are changed, and when we hold back, others end up carrying more than they should. We are not here just to consume, we're here to contribute. God has intentionally placed you here with gifts that the church body needs.

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You've been listening to Foundations of Truth, the Bible teaching ministry of After Timothy Man. Providence of Church, Formut Beach Forgot. Providence at 751 West Form and Beach For.