GPBC Blog

By Jay Gjurgevich --

One of the many qualities of Greater Portland Bible Church that I have come to really appreciate is our intentional focus on being a church community that equips people for ministry. This approach to church life comes from the belief that every Christian is given gifts by the Holy Spirit so that they can have the joy of helping to edify and encourage the body of Christ through serving one another. We believe that this is a very healthy and biblical approach.

Look at 1 Cor 12:4-7:

Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

When we say that we are an equipping church, really what we mean is that God the Spirit has equipped us all for ministry and our elders and staff at GPBC are committed to helping each person in our community recognize the gifts that God has given them so they may find a place to use that gifting to follow and glorify Jesus. Again, we get this idea from the Bible, too:

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

Ephesians 4:11-13

So, you may be asking, “How does this happen?” or “I have lots of fantastic gifts that I would love to use for the church, but I don’t know where to start.” To that, I say great question and I have a great suggestion for you—the GPBC Ministry Fair!

We are looking forward to next Sunday, September 16, when we will be hosting a ministry fair on our church campus before and after the Sunday morning worship service. The ministry fair will begin at 9:15am on September 16 and will feature representatives from our various ministries hosting tables throughout the front lobby and auditorium areas who will be ready and willing to help you find out more about all of the great things God is doing through our church. Everything from international ministries to music and tech, classes, small groups, ALPHA, as well as children and youth ministries, and everything in-between, will be showcased so that you can get connected.

If you are looking for a place to get connected to our church community, the ministry fair is a great place to start.

I’m looking forward to seeing you there!

Jay