By Andrew Greenhalgh, Life Group leader, Jubilee Church Wirral

A few weeks ago I put a post on Facebook.

Through the miracles of technology, I have been able to “embed” that post in this very blog below, so you can not only see it but also comment on it.

This kind of stuff still amazes me, even though, as a web designer, I take advantage of it almost every day.

Anyway. This particular post was very popular.

Facebook doesn’t tell you how many people have seen your posts unless you’re posting as a page, so I don’t know exactly how many people saw it.

I know, though, that it was popular because lots of people commented on it, including people who rarely comment on any of my posts because Facebook’s mysterious “algorithm” doesn’t show my posts to them.

Facebook’s algorithm is what governs which posts you see in your feed and which you don’t. If you like and comment on lots of posts by a particular person, for example, Facebook will ensure their posts are put into your feed. There are other factors but basically Facebook wants to make sure that you see the posts you want to see so that you keep coming back and using it.

So, back to this post. As you can see below, it was a post all about how I enjoy being part of the serving team at Jubilee.

My job basically entails standing outside church, or at the back, smiling and saying good morning to people as they arrive and, if they are new to Jubilee, making sure they are given an especially warm welcome and answering any questions they may have.

I love it for a number of reasons. It’s so nice to meet and say hello to lots of people and welcome them to Jubilee. I consider it an honour to be the public face of the church when I’m on welcome – possibly the first person representing Jubilee that new members will meet.

I also love it because it’s serving. We are called to serve in our churches and in the world.

In Hebrews 6:10, Paul tells us that God “will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” In Philippians 2:4 he talks about “not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” and in Galatians 5:13, he urges us to “not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.”

Just like every church on the planet, Jubilee couldn’t function with its teams of volunteers who give up hours and days of their time to ensure that the church continues to function in the way we all want it to.

Just knowing that I am helping that to happen really is an enormous privilege. It doesn’t matter what job we are doing; whether we are cleaning toilets, looking after babies in Sparks or speaking from the front, we are helping bring people to God. I find that everything else pales a bit into insignificance next to that.

At Jubilee we always need new people to serve in our teams. If you’ve been with us for a long time you’ll know that.

And this post isn’t just an appeal to get people who aren’t volunteering at the moment to join the small but happy throng who are. Although it is that, too.

It’s an assurance that when you do volunteer, you will (and this is a promise) know how incredible it feels. You might just be putting posts on Facebook about it too.

(P.S. If this post HAS inspired you to volunteer, please contact Danielle and Rick and let them know. If there’s a particular team you want to volunteer for, then tell them, otherwise they will talk to you about what teams are particularly in need and the two of you will be able to talk about what is the best option for you. You can email Danielle at danielle@jubileechurchwirral.org.uk or Rick at rick@jubileechurchwirral.org.uk

Andrew Greenhalgh with his wife Julie