"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up... From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."- Ephesians 4:11-12 & 16

Information Technology is an important part of the Body of Christ. As people gifted in IT we are called to enable and advance the Church through Technology and our skills. Technology is used everywhere in our society and now in our Church’s more than ever. Computers are used in Church Offices, by Ministers, even to display words of songs during worship. These are obvious uses, but there are many other uses of technology that are used to spread the word of God and build up the Body of Christ. However with this increase in use within the Church we find ourselves in need of more and more people able to configure/run/fix all these things that the average person knows nothing about. Luckily God has made sure that some of us are gifted exactly with these skills.

”There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord” - 1 Corinthians 12:4-5

As Christians we all posses different types of gifts which God has given us. The Holy Spirit is able to work through the gifts that we have been given. Lots of things can be spiritual gifts, there are the obvious ones that everyone knows about, but there are other gifts that people do not recognise straight away as coming from God. Technology is one of these.

“The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ”. – 1 Corinthians 12:12

Paul in his letter to the Corinthians talks a lot about Spiritual Gifts. His main emphasis is that we are all part of the Body of Christ and are all given gifts by God that are unique to us. Even though we might not possess some of the more obvious gifts we are still part of the Body, and nothing will ever stop that. Every part is important to God and is needed for the Body of Christ to work.

“…those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honourable we treat with special honour” - 1 Corinthians 12:22-23

Treat the people with IT gifts with special honour!

Ever notice how some people are able to accomplish anything using a computer? Or are able to fix any sort of technical problem? These are the people who have been gifted in IT. If you know anyone who is like this or this is you, here are some things you can do:

• Encourage them to use their gifts within your church and the Body of Christ as a whole
• Affirm their talents
• Cherish the skills that they have to offer
• Encourage them to find other Christians who are similarly gifted so they can encourage and learn from each other.