There are several essentials always present in a growing church. I’m examining two in this article. You may be engaged in both; and, if so, God bless you! You may be disengaged from one or both. If, after reading this article, you come to that conclusion; then I hope you’ll prayerfully seek to be engaged.
Do Your Part To Make This The Church Family You Want
A preacher received a personal letter from a family who had recently placed membership with his congregation. Included in the letter were the reasons why the family decided to worship with them. Recommended by a minister from (former place of membership).
Visited several times before moving here and was received with Christian love, friendliness, and encouragement.
Received several cards from members thanking us for visiting here and encouraging us to worship here after our move.
Found the worship services, sermons, and classes to be Bible-based.
Found the members to be friendly, helpful, encouraging, and sincere.
What impressed us the most was the Christian love that we found here. It was as though this love greeted us at the door and has not
stopped.
Whether we realize it or not, this is a powerful first impression made on a visitor.
Cards, visits, or whatever means employed to increase membership would not have worked with us without the love for Christ and each
other that we have found at this congregation.
Dependable Church Families Are Made Up Of Dependable People
Employers often state that their biggest obstacle to increased business is the difficulty in finding dependable employees. The lazy, irresponsible, hit-and-miss type hinders its effectiveness. They don’t last long, but they exhaust resources that could have been used to turn a profit.
There are, within most congregations, a certain percentage of undependable members. If they viewed their responsibilities at work in the same manner they view their responsibilities in the Lord’s church, they wouldn’t be employed past the first week.
The biblical adjectives that ought to describe each of us are: “steadfast” (1 Cor. 15:58); “zealous” (Titus 2:14); “hardworking” (Acts 20:35; Rm. 16:6,12); “stand by your faith” (Rm. 11:20); and “walk by faith” (2 Cor. 5:7).
OTJ. It’s never optional. You cannot retain your employment if you choose not to attend classes, seminars, workshops, etc. that management has deemed mandatory. In the Lord’s church, OTJ is continuous. Every positive descriptive term for a Christian is achieved through OTJ (Acts 2:42). Do you participate in class attendance, worship attendance, and fellowship opportunities? Would you keep an employee who is no more committed than you are to the Lord’s church?
Employee contributions. There are no free rides in the corporate world. Employers may provide a means for a greater benefit than one person could provide for themselves, but they still require employee contributions. The Lord’s church is NOT a corporation,
and it cannot effectively be run like a corporation; but there are some areas of commonality with the corporate world. We, too, are expected to contribute purposely and cheerfully (2 Cor. 9:7) in support of one another.
See the task through to the end. McDonald’s isn’t looking for someone who can take half an order, make half of a “happy meal,” or pour half a cup of coffee. A growing church isn’t looking for “halfway” workers, either. We are told to do our part because our part is vital (1 Cor. 12:15-16; Eph. 4:16).
Keep studying. DC Brown ©2016