Stories at The Well
WELL STORIES
A Living Sacrifice: Worship Through Service
Serving isn’t extra—it’s how we grow, worship, and witness.
“The people who were on fire for Jesus all had one thing in common: they served.” That was one of the first things Brian Ellis noticed when he became a Christian—and it stuck. Years later, as he and his wife Elaine lead the Mueller community group in Austin, he’s still convinced: serving isn’t just something Christians do—it’s how they grow.
“To not serve,” Brian says, “is to deprive yourself of something essential to life with Jesus.” Early in his walk with Christ, he started to notice a pattern: the people who burned brightest—those who lived with purpose, joy, and conviction—were the ones who showed up to serve. No matter their background or church, they weren’t just consumers. They prayed. They read Scripture. And served.
Jesus didn’t just teach service—He embodied it. “The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve,” He said, “and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). That example shaped Brian’s outlook early on. “You can’t see it from the outside,” he says, “but when you’re in it—when you serve—you realize that Jesus meets you there. He blesses you in ways you didn’t expect.”
For Brian, serving isn’t just something you do for others—it’s a way to worship Jesus. “I know Christ more intimately because of people I’ll never meet,” he says. “Men and women who gave their lives to the Gospel centuries ago, quietly, without recognition. Because they were faithful, the message of Jesus reached my campus. And that’s how I came to faith.”
Serving doesn’t always feel significant. “You might not feel like you’re making a difference in the moment,” Brian says, “but God is faithful.” Whether it’s setting up chairs, leading a community group, or praying for someone who never follows up—God sees it all. Paul puts it this way in 1 Corinthians 15:58: “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord…knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
However, Brian sees a deeper struggle behind our hesitation to serve. “We’ve been shaped by a consumer mindset,” he says. “Even in church, we start asking, ‘What am I getting out of this?’ But Jesus didn’t come to be useful to us—He came to die for us. That changes everything.”
“When you really see what Jesus has done,” Brian says, “something shifts. You stop asking, ‘What do I want?’ and start saying, ‘How can I give my whole life back to Him?’” That kind of response is worship. Paul wrote it this way: “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice… this is your spiritual worship” (Romans 12:1).
I know Christ more intimately because of people I’ll never meet.
The people who were on fire for Jesus all had one thing in common: they served.
Brian knows people don’t show up to church with empty hands—they come with grief, stress, doubt, and deep needs. “Jesus wants to meet us in those places,” he says. “But part of how we heal is by giving. Serving isn’t just a response to being full—it’s a step of faith when we’re still hungry. That’s worship too.”
Brian and his community group recently began serving with Mobile Loaves & Fishes, a ministry that meets the needs of the homeless in Austin. The experience reminded him how easy it is for Christians to stay insulated. “It’s comfortable inside the church,” he says, “but Jesus never meant for us to stay there.” He points to Jesus’ prayer in John 17: “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” In Brian’s view, serving the city isn’t optional—it’s obedience.
“When we serve the city,” Brian says, “we’re not just doing good—we’re showing people what Jesus is like.” That’s why he holds tightly to 2 Corinthians 5:20: “We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.” He’s convinced this calling isn’t reserved for pastors or extroverts. “It’s not for a few—it’s for all of us.”
“Jesus didn’t call us to be hidden,” Brian says. “He called us to shine.” He often thinks of Matthew 5:14: “A city on a hill cannot be hidden.” But light, he reminds us, isn’t just something you talk about—it’s something people see. “1 John 3:18 says we’re called to love not just in words, but in action. That means how we serve, how we show up, how we live.”
For Brian, serving is more than an action—it’s an identity. “Even when you can’t see the fruit,” he says, “God is doing more than you think.” Whether it’s inside the church walls or on the streets of Austin, Brian sees every act of service as a quiet declaration: I belong to Jesus. I follow His way. And like Jesus, we serve with joy—even when it costs us.
