When King David handed the throne over to his son, Solomon, he organized all the Levites around future temple duties (1 Chronicles 23). Previously, the Levites had been busy transporting the tabernacle and furnishings from place to place in the wilderness.
David had thirty-eight thousand ready for temple duty. Eight thousand would serve as officials and judges. Four thousand would be gate keepers, and another four thousand would play instruments for worship.
Other duties included taking care of courtyards and rooms, purification of everything used only for worship in and around the temple, and mixing and baking the bread.
As worshipers, we don’t always think about all that has to be done in preparation for worship. Besides the musicians and pastor, lots of people work behind the scenes to make a Sunday morning happen:
- Cleaning the sanctuary/bathrooms/front walk
- Cutting the lawn, trimming shrubs and trees
- Preparing worship folders, newsletters, and projections
- Working the audio/visual for the service
- Unlocking/locking the doors
- Purchasing wine and bread for communion
- Setting up/cleaning up communion
- Setting up for baptisms
- Assisting with distribution of communion
- Setting up the altar with color for the season, linens, and candles
- Setting out the flowers
- Ushers
- Greeters
- At some churches, parking lot attendants and traffic direction
- Counting and depositing offerings
- Watching children in the nursery
- Someone to turn on/off the lights
- Someone to light/put out the candles
There are no doubt more jobs not mentioned here. I haven’t actually done the math, but I’ll bet it takes twenty people to make worship happen for every 100 in attendance. And every job is important.
