The Gift of Time

by Hampton Pitts

As I fondly look back upon my past four years of service on Apostles Leadership Council and ponder my involvement soon coming to an end, I am reminded of my original thoughts and emotions when I was first nominated and asked to join in service. There is no doubt I was flattered and honored to be considered. Our church has an amazing group of leaders and the Leadership Council alumni list is full of men and women I greatly admire. But inside, I selfishly worried about my ability to truly give one of my most precious personal commodities. Time.

Like all of us, I had a lot going on outside of church with commitments to family, kid’s activities, work responsibilities. The list goes on and on. I wondered if I could give such a gift of time and be committed to four years of service. I spent much time in prayer and ultimately felt His strong calling to commit to this service. But inside, I think I still wondered if it would be worth it. Looking back now, I am amazed and humbled once again by God’s divine plan and how he shapes and molds and blesses us if we will just listen to His will.

What I envisioned as a gift of my time, has been totally the opposite. Serving on the Leadership Council has blessed and nurtured me far more than any value I could ever place on the time I have spent being involved. The love and comradery of the other members and our Church leaders and Pastors has been a true gift back to me and is something I will miss once I step out of service. Yes, we work hard, and we wrestle with tough issues at times. But mostly we love and support each other, and ask God to help us do His will in supporting our Church’s mission. And through it all, I was constantly reminded that no gift I could give would ever come close to the gift of His grace given to me.

It’s that time at Apostle’s when we have a calling for nominations for new members to join our Leadership Council. I hope and pray you will carefully consider your role in this process. Whether it’s nominating someone you think would serve us well, or considering service if you are nominated yourself, or just being in prayer for His will to be fulfilled for our Church in this process. We can all give a gift of time to that. 

“I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of His power”  Ephesians 3:7