RIGHT?
I realize that there certainly can be a tremendous amount of God-lead hearts in service to our Lord in a church of any size , but I would have to say if the congregation is not growing there is reason for concern. The body of Christ is a vibrant, living & ever growing being. Together we are called to use our gifts of time, talents, and treasures in service to and in glory of our Lord.
Ephesians 4:11-12 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, (a saint is anyone who has a living relationship with God through his mercy and grace expressed in the death of the Lord Jesus Christ).
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Often the part of growing the church is not our strength because we do not like exercising those specific muscles that the Lord provided us with. It is those movements that cause us stress and discomfort so we either avoid them or deny we even having them all together! But God's word makes it clear we indeed have them and commands us to strengthen them on a daily basis!
Ephesians 4:15-16 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Acts 2:47 Praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Acts 9:31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
Colossians 1:6 Which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,
It is a matter of instilling the same passion many Christians have for serving those with physical needs, for indeed the Lord calls us to do so. But just as important is who will be telling the next generation. What we are witnessing today is the result of us failing to do so. We allowed the devil to frighten us into submission and blind us to the changes that initially were ever so slowly taking place.
This is why I truly believe God called for the formation of Acts 1:8 Ministry. A uniquely different organization in that the outreach method is specifically designed for the age we live in. It utilizes loving acts kindness to bring Jesus to life in the hearts of the recipients. Who are the recipients? Everyone in your community. You and your group plan to go to predetermined busy public locations and either perform helpful tasks or give simple, but practical gifts to everyone that the Holy Spirit sends your way. What you are doing is so unusual it is actually fun to watch the reactions of the recipients! "We are sharing God's love with you through this act of kindness". Hand them a sharing card that gives God in Jesus all the glory. He is the one reaching out to them at this unusual time & place! That in this free act of kindness comes a taste of what my grace for you is like as neither can be earned or bought at any price. On the back of the card you provide them with an invite to your church/school/daycare/Sunday school and so on. Care-Share-Connect as we call it! Just watch how God uses you to reach those everyday looking people that will open up to reveal a crisis they are squarely in the middle of. Smiles can go to tears in a heartbeat for so many reasons, but what is so crystal clear is that God just showed up in His glory to love & comfort that person at the very moment they needed it most. You will never forget these moments I can guarantee it because I can replay ones that took place 20 years ago as if they happened yesterday! Faith & Kingdom growing to the max! P.A.C.K. (Planned Acts of Christian Kindness) teaches us to unselfishly put ourselves out there with the pure goal of bringing new souls to Him, but in the process so many more blessings will come in abundance. That is the Lord's promise! The other uniqueness of Acts 1:8 Ministry is the fact we do not accept any money for this program because the very message that it delivers tells us that God's love & grace through Jesus comes to us paid in full! We ask you simply to sign up at: https://www.acts18.org/christian-kindness-program so we can gather data for our supporters. The link to the program download will be immediately provided. God bless your service to His glorious Kingdom!
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6 年that true....our father God is not after a size of church.. or no of members; but after the true worshippers...who worship in truth and in spirit...
Manager of Information Systems
6 年Lee, Is your title "RIGHT?" posing a question to the graphic (as in right? or wrong?) Based on your response, I'm gathering it is to some degree? I would argue that there are many "dead" churches, even in our area (Green Bay). What do you define as growth? I can say with certainty that there are many churches around us where there is no growth spiritually but continual growth in numbers. Hence, the second half of the graphic and its meaning.... but by the POWER of God. The "building up of the body of Christ" in Ephesians is referring to spiritual growth (see the Greek - oikodome which means edification or promoting anothers Christian growth), not numerical. The power received by the baptism of the Holy Spirit in Acts 1:8 is signs, wonders and miracles following the believer and life transformation (Greek word - dynamis - the origin of what we call dynamite). We are called to live supernaturally, not ordinary "good" Christians that in reality appear to live like everyone else. I agree many do not want to GO as described in the Great Commission but we also have forgotten about Jesus' command to preach the gospel, heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons, and raise the dead and to lay down our lives (selfless) and become who He always created us to be. I am truly thankful for churches that obviously have a gift to evangelize and pull people in.... but in the same breath I am saddened by those same churches who are still teaching the fundamentals of Christianity week after week and no lives are transformed, having no real Holy Spirit power in the church...only preaching things that promote behavior modifications. I am familiar with the Acts 1:8 ministry and I have heard and seen your acts of kindness outreaches. They're awesome..... let me ask you something.... what if you laid hands on sick or diseased people while you were out and commanded healing in the name of Jesus while you handed them a bag of bread, or washed their car? What POWER!! What undeniable evidence that there is a God, and He loves them! Did you know that one of Buddhism and Hindusim's core beliefs is kindness? So what sets us apart from all other world religions? The Power of Almighty God! Paul refers to this in several instances throughout scripture... One is 1 Corinthians 2:4 - "My message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in DEMONSTRATION of the Spirit and of power..." So we see it's not just convincing people to come to a church (building). It's showing people there's a Father who loves them and wants them to come to Him. I'll close with this, re-phrasing the graphic more accurately: Don't judge a church by the size of membership, but by the transformation of lives within it. The TRUE result of understanding the Gospel is not getting to heaven...it's about the transformation of a life into the image of love.