Make Your Move Part 4: Let The Church Move Out Series

Make Your Move

Part 4: Let the Church Move Out

Key Scripture: Colossians 4:7-18

Icebreaker: Today we’re wrapping up our series, Make Your Move. We’ve talked about how before God can use you for anything, you’ve got to let His Spirit move in and have control. We’ve talked about how God wants all of His people to do the work of the ministry, so as a church we have to let the pastor move over and equip the people to do the work. Last week, we talked about how the greatest sin in the church today is the lack of lay leadership and lay involvement in ministry. We’ve all go to step up and use our gifts. All of us. 100%. And today I want to talk to you about letting the church move out.

-Here’s an easy question for you this morning: Do you want our church to grow? All right. Then the church has got to move out.

Intro: “Between the years 1787 and 1795, Baptists became the largest group of Christians in America. They did it without a while mission board or society or national convention or state convention or seminary. They did it with small missionary associations and lay preachers, most of them not paid a salary. They were without formal theological training. Most of them had been licensed to exercise their gifts by little Baptist churches. The Presbyterians, Episcopalians and the Congregationalists insisted that they were not clergy at all, but untrained, undisciplined laymen, who should have been at home working instead of out preaching. Between 1795 and 1820, the Methodists overtook and surpassed the Baptists in total members. They did it with lay preachers going everywhere, sharing their faith, forming disciplined small groups and gathering those small groups into churches.” There never has been, and there never will be, multiplication of disciples and churches apart from the mobilization of laity to do the ministry.

-There are basically 2 ways we can go:

Church addition – The pastor is the only minister.

Church multiplication – Everyone ministers.

-Now, which one do you think would help grow our church more? You see, when you look at church history down through the ages, methods of ministry have changed, methods of evangelism have changed, but one thing that has remained constant is that the church has grown when everybody has found their gifts and utilized them for the glory of God.

-The Scripture we’re going to look at this morning is a passage I have never preached on before. But that really doesn’t matter. As we look into it this morning, I pray that the Holy Spirit would impress upon your heart that any leader in Gods church, whether the Apostle Paul, or Peter, or even guys like me in leadership today, need a large group of people around them for that work to be successful. So let’s take a look at some of the members of Paul’s ministry team, this morning:

Scripture: Colossians 4:7-18

“7Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. 9He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here. 10My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) 11Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. 12Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. 13I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. 15Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea. 17Tell Archippus: "See to it that you complete the work you have received in the Lord." 18I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.”

What a Church Must Do To Move From “Good” to “Great”

1. We must be willing to help the ministry of the church.

-The people around Paul might not have been well-known people, but they were willing to willing to help in whatever ways they could to help Paul’s ministry.