When it comes to the church, church growth is naturally related to church health. Healthy churches, like healthy people, must grow.
In his book, The Purpose Driven Church, Pastor Rick Warren says that if our church is healthy, attendance will be the least of our problems. He writes that "Healthy, lasting church growth is multidimensional. His definition of church growth has five facets.
Every church needs to grow:
* larger through evangelism
* deeper through discipleship
* warmer through fellowship
* broader through ministry
* stronger through worship
First, we looked at the first facet of church growth that says: Churches grow larger through evangelism.
Upon reading the first four books of the New Testament one would find this large group of people that were following Jesus around. The Bible refers to this large group of people as the crowd. The KJV Bible uses the word multitudes.
Jesus had no problem finding the crowd because it was always following Him around. The crowd followed him around because He had the goods and was delivering them.
Evangelism is taking the Gospel or the Good News of Jesus Christ to the community and producing a crowd of people who are interested in knowing more about Jesus.
The Christian who evangelizes sometimes has to meet the tangible needs of an individual in order that he or she might be willing and able to have their spiritual needs met.
Evangelism is vital to church health and growth, but focusing on evangelism alone won’t produce a healthy, growing church. This brought us to the second facet in our outline of what makes a growing, healthy church: Churches grow deeper through discipleship.
A disciple is a learner or follower of Jesus Christ. Jesus is calling men, women, boys and girls to follow Him. In calling His twelve disciples, Jesus taught them the ways of God and gave them opportunities to put what they were learning into practice.
Jesus wasn’t merely concerned with imparting a lot of head knowledge, He wanted to reproduce Himself in the lives of His followers. One can tell from reading some of the letters of His followers that are recorded in the New Testament that Jesus was successful. Many of the words of the disciples found in New Testament books such as 1 John, James, Peter’s epistles and the writings of Paul are direct quotes from the lips of Jesus. Most of Jesus’ 12 disciples died because of their faith in Him.
Jesus commands us to make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28). However, along with discipleship being a mandate for the church, the Scripture teaches there are five benefits to the one who is being discipled:
Teaching - Preparing the believer to live a Christ-honoring life
Encouragement - Propping the believer up when he or she is faltering
Accountability - Provoking and stimulating the believer to love and good deeds
Commitment - Pouring yourself into the life of a believer.
Haven - Providing protection for the believer - prayer
Evangelism grows a church larger, discipleship grows a church deeper . A third facet in our outline of what makes a growing, healthy church says that “Churches grow warmer through fellowship.”
Churches Grow Warmer Through Fellowship
The word fellowship in the New Testament is the Greek word, koinonia. Koinonia is translated, partnership (Phil. 1:5), a participation or (social) intercourse (1 Cor. 10:16). It is also translated, administration (Eph. 3:9) contribution (Romans 15:26) communication, sharing (2 Cor. 8:4) communion, and distribution.
The Greek stem koin- has a base meaning of "common," out of which a number of shades of meaning emerge. For example, in Jewish literature produced during the time between the writing of the Old and New Testament, the Greek root koin- was used to express ideas such as friendship and table fellowship. Josephus, the first century Jewish historian, used the koin- stem for Jewish people who lived in co-ops and held all of their property "in common" (compare Acts 2:44).
In the larger Greek world the koin- stem was often used to describe the sense of bonding and closeness which the members of social, religious, and philosophical organizations shared with one another. Pagan religions could even use the koin- stem to describe union and communion with their god or gods.
The Apostle Paul and other New Testament writers used the word koinonia or “fellowship” to describe the bond of common purpose and devotion that binds Christians together and to Christ.
Spiritual Gangrene
In 2 Timothy chapter two Paul warns Timothy to avoid godless chatter because it will spread like gangrene. Sin, like gangrene, has a way of spreading and causing division in the congregation.
I want to talk briefly about what we will call spiritual gangrene; this is what sets in when a person distances himself from the rest of the body of Christ.
Physical gangrene is the term for the death of tissue (necrosis).
There are several potential causes, including interruption of the blood supply, infection with certain bacteria and damage from freezing.
You've heard people talking about someone having to have a finger, toe, leg or arm amputated because of gangrene. Gangrene that involves a part of the body like a finger or toe is usually due to the interruption of the blood supply to that extremity.
For example, a blood clot can form at the site of a blocked artery or travel from a chamber of the heart or a large artery to a smaller vessel and block the blood supply to tissue.
Gangrene also can involve abdominal organs such as the intestine (strangulated hernia) or an infected gallbladder or appendix.
Why am I giving an Anatomy and Physiology lesson? Because it illustrates what we are going to refer to as spiritual gangrene - this is what happens to a Christian whose “church lifeblood” or fellowship has been cut off or blocked. This is what happens to a member of the body who becomes isolated from the fellowship of other Christians in the body.
Paul writes in Ephesians 4: 15-16 that in "Christ…the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."
When you and I separate ourselves from fellowship of the body, spiritual gangrene has the opportunity to set in.
There are two major types of clinical gangrene; dry gangrene and wet gangrene.
Dry Gangrene
If the involved tissue remains free of infection, it shrivels up and becomes dry and dark in color (dry gangrene).
This describes the Christian who allows the cares of life to distract him or her from fellowshipping with other Christians. This distraction is usually displayed by a decrease in church attendance. One's zeal or interest in the things of the Lord begins to dry and shrivel up.
Wet Gangrene
If the dead tissue becomes infected, it becomes moist (wet gangrene). Antibiotics may be used to treat the infection.
This kind of gangrene illustrates the Christian who leaves the fellowship as a result of a disagreement or an injury. Someone has rubbed this person the wrong way and bitterness begins to set in and his or her disposition becomes moist with infectious and festering anger.
Like clinical gangrene, spiritual gangrene can lead to amputation. Unchecked bitterness leads to sin and unrestrained sin can lead to a loss of one's testimony and usefulness. If one doesn't have a testimony or is no longer useful to the Lord in accomplishing His will it is almost as if Jesus is saying "What good are you to me on this planet?"
(John 15:1 NIV) "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.
(John 15:2 NIV) He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:30-32, "That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world."
The Remedy for Spiritual Gangrene
Fellowship is the remedy for spiritual gangrene.
(1 John 1:7 NIV) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
Just as spiritual gangrene sets in as one isolates him or herself from other Christians, fellowship has a purging and purifying effect on one’s life. This is why the writer of the book of Hebrews could say, “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)
The Bible describes fellowship in six ways:
Fellowship is sharing in the "Gospel" being preached and practiced.
The Scripture teaches that we fellowship in the Gospel (1 Cor. 9:23; Phil. 1:5). This means that the Gospel is one of the common denominators for believers.
(1 Cor 9:23 NIV) I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
It was the Gospel of Jesus that saved us
We are blessed with the blessings of heaven through the Gospel
It is our common mission to spread the Gospel to everyone we can.
Spiritual gangrene can be warded off as you and I share in the blessing of the Gospel.
Fellowship is a sharing of "God's Spirit"
(2 Cor 13:14 NIV) May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Believers also share together a fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
If you are a believer, the same Holy Spirit that is in me is the same Holy Spirit that is in you.
The same Holy Spirit that saved me is the same Holy Spirit that saved you.
The same Holy Spirit that is controlling me is the same Holy Spirit that is controlling you.
The same Holy Spirit that is sustaining me is the same Holy Spirit that is sustaining you.
It is the Holy Spirit who keeps our spiritual arteries open for fellowship to flow freely and keep spiritual gangrene from setting in.
Fellowship is "growing closer" to one another around the Lord's Supper
The tendency of many Christians to refer to the Lord's Supper as "communion" is rooted in Paul's use of the term koinonia in the context of his descriptions of the Lord's Supper. He described the cup as "communion of the blood of Christ," and the bread as "communion" of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 10:16).
(1 Cor 10:16 NIV) Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?
Paul emphatically believed the Supper tied participants closer to one another and to Christ.
Immediately after Paul spoke of "fellowship" with Christ through participation in the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. 10:16), he said, "since there is one bread, we who are many are one body" (1 Cor. 10:17 NASB).
This illustrates clearly Paul's belief that fellowship with Christ was to issue into fellowship between believers.
Once we grasp this, it is easy to understand why Paul was so angry over the mockery that the Corinthians were making of the Lord's Supper. When coming to eat this sacred meal, many Corinthian Christians ignored the needs of their brothers and sisters and actually created factions and divisions. In 1 Cor. 11:17-18 Paul writes, "for when the time comes to eat, each of you goes ahead with your own supper, and one goes hungry and another becomes drunk" (1 Cor. 11:21 NRSV).
Because the "fellowship" among the Corinthians themselves was so perverted, Paul could go so far as to say "when you come together, it is not really to eat the Lord's supper" (1 Cor. 11:20 NRSV).
After explaining reminding his readers of the significance and importance of the Lord’s Supper Paul says in verse 33-34, “So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other and if anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.”
So, Communion is meant to draw us together, not to tear us apart. As a result of a proper observance of the Lord’s Supper, we grow closer in fellowship with one another and spiritual gangrene remains nonexistent.
Fellowship is sharing in the "Gospel" being preached and practiced.
Fellowship is a sharing of "God's Spirit"
Fellowship is "growing closer" to one another around the Lord's Supper and fourthly:
Fellowship is "giving" oneself completely to Christ in His sufferings
Just as Jesus gave so completely of Himself for the sake of His people, so, too, are believers to give completely of themselves for the sake of the people of God (2 Cor. 4:7-12; Col. 1:24).
(2 Cor 4:11 NIV) For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.
(2 Cor 4:12 NIV) So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
Jesus’ ministry didn’t stop after he fed the five thousand or healed the lame and restored the sight to the blind. His ministry wasn’t over when He raised the dead. Jesus’ ministry continued straight on through to include His death on the cross. Jesus allows us to share in His sufferings as we expend ourselves for the sake of the people of God.
Fellowship in this manner is to give of our time, treasures and talents and if called to, sacrifice our lives for the brethren. This is hard to comprehend in our land but ask a Christian living in China or the Middle East about the “fellowship of suffering” and he or she will tell you a story that you will not soon forget.
As we suffer for one another the Body of Christ is purged of any spiritual gangrene.
Fellowship is "generously" supporting the ministry of the local church
Though it is not translated "fellowship" in English versions, Paul actually used the term koinonia to refer to the financial contribution which he was collecting from Gentile believers to take to Jerusalem for the relief of the Christians who lived there (Rom. 15:26; 2 Cor. 8:4; 9:13).
(Rom 15:26 NIV) For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.
As a mission church, we wouldn’t have been able to get off the ground if it wasn’t for the generosity of the Christians attending other churches who gave to supply our needs. We are in turn giving monies to help support other mission causes in our communities and around the nation and hope to give more.
Spiritual gangrene sets in as Christians turn green with greed and refuse to open their hearts and pocketbooks in support of the Gospel.
As we come together and collect money each Sunday, it is worship—we are expressing our love and gratitude to the Lord. But it is also fellowship as we express our love and concern for other believers in the ministry of the local church.
Fellowship is sharing in the "Gospel" being preached and practiced.
Fellowship is a sharing of "God's Spirit"
Fellowship is "growing closer" to one another around the Lord's Supper
Fellowship is "giving" oneself completely to Christ in His sufferings
Fellowship is "generously" supporting the ministry of the local church and last but not least:
Fellowship describes the "glue" that holds Christians together
Finally, for Paul, koinonia or fellowship was a most appropriate term to describe the unity and bonding that exists between Christians by virtue of the fact that they share together in the grace of the gospel.
In the first century church there was this disagreement going on concerning who could be saved. Some were saying that salvation was exclusively for the Jews and if a Gentile wanted to be a Christian, he had to do a lot of “stuff” including keeping the Law and having himself circumcised.
In Galatians chapter two, Paul tells of an incident where Peter had no problem fellowshipping with Gentile Christians until a group of Jewish folk came around. When they arrived he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.
When Paul caught up with Peter the Scriptures say that he “opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong.” Peter’s hypocrisy was so bad that other Jews joined with him including Barnabas—and he was originally an apostle sent to the Gentiles with the Gospel. (Acts 15:22-26).
Listen to the rest of the story told by Paul in Galatians 2:14-16:
(Gal 2:14 NIV) When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?
(Gal 2:15 NIV) "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners'
(Gal 2:16 NIV) know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.
Later on in chapter three Paul writes:
(Gal 3:26 NIV) You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,
(Gal 3:27 NIV) for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
(Gal 3:28 NIV) There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
It’s not merely “love that keeps us together” as the Captain and Tineal sang a couple of decades ago it is Christ.
It isn’t denominations and creeds, or even the color of our skin, it is Christ.
And because of Jesus Christ, we can fellowship.
Conclusion
A few days ago I heard a commercial for one of the Bible teachers on the radio. The part that stood out was when the announcer was sharing the thoughts of a new believer who was telling how he felt about the Christian life.
This man had no regrets concerning his salvation and was learning and growing in Christ. However, he said that when he was in the world, he frequented the nightclub and the bar scene and although he had trusted in Christ as his Savior, he still misses the camaraderie and friendships of that part of his life.
He says that since becoming a Christian, that experience or feeling that you get when you go to a place "where everybody knows your name" has been missing from his life.
Years ago, my wife and I used to watch the TV show Cheers where the opening song did a good job at describing what the show was all about.
Listen to the words of this song:
Making your way in the world today
Takes everything you've got;
Taking a break from all your worries
Sure would help a lot.
Wouldn't you like to get away?
All those night when you've got no lights,
The check is in the mail;
And your little angel
Hung the cat up by its tail;
And your third fiancé didn't show;
Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name,
And they're always glad you came;
You want to be where you can see,
Our troubles are all the same;
You want to be where everybody knows your name.
It is sad that the fellowship that God has called the church to manifest is more often found in the neighborhood bar and lounge. And we wonder why people prefer to hang out at the club rather than the church.
It isn't always the booze, but the brotherhood that draws people to these places.
It is not always the liquor that she craves, but many times it’s the laughter that she needs (to hear).
It's not always the hunger for sex that drives men to these places, but a thirst for social intimacy.
"Wine, women and song" is what you can expect to find at your neighborhood Cheers but it is only a cheap imitation and counterfeit of what God has proposed that the church should deliver.
When it comes to wine, God says in Ephesians 5:18, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit."
When it comes to sexual intimacy God says in 1 Thessalonians 4:3, "Avoid sexual immorality."
In 1 John 4:10-11, "This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."
When it comes to song God says, in Psalm 149:1, "Praise the LORD. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the saints."
One reason why people don't attend church consistently is because they desperately need fellowship and church-folk don't give it. Many church folk think that fellowship is "two fellows in a ship" and say, "I got my friend, now you get yours."
Well according to the Apostle Paul, the church was to be a place where you can go and experience warm fellowship. At least that's the sense one gets when reading the Book of Romans.
The Book of Romans is first and foremost known for its theology. But it could also be known for recording a wonderful example of fellowship.
In chapter one, Paul gives his reason for writing the book:
(Rom 1:11 NIV) I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong--
(Rom 1:12 NIV) that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.
(Rom 1:13 NIV) I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I planned many times to come to you (but have been prevented from doing so until now) in order that I might have a harvest among you, just as I have had among the other Gentiles.
Paul's affection for these believers was obvious but it is even more apparent as one reads the Paul's closing words at the end of the book:
(Rom 16:1 NIV) I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea.
(Rom 16:2 NIV) I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me.
(Rom 16:3 NIV) Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus.
(Rom 16:4 NIV) They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.
(Rom 16:5 NIV) Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.
(Rom 16:6 NIV) Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.
(Rom 16:7 NIV) Greet Andronicus and Junias, my relatives who have been in prison with me. They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.
(Rom 16:8 NIV) Greet Ampliatus, whom I love in the Lord.
(Rom 16:9 NIV) Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my dear friend Stachys.
(Rom 16:10 NIV) Greet Apelles, tested and approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the household of Aristobulus.
(Rom 16:11 NIV) Greet Herodion, my relative. Greet those in the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord.
(Rom 16:12 NIV) Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.
(Rom 16:13 NIV) Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.
(Rom 16:14 NIV) Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas and the brothers with them.
(Rom 16:15 NIV) Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints with them.
(Rom 16:16 NIV) Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.
I believe that the church at Rome was a place where one could go where everybody knew your name.
And I believe that it is God's purpose that the church should be a place where one can come and experience true fellowship.
Your church should be a place where one can come and experience camaraderie and genuine friendships.
Your church should be a place where men, women, boys and girls who have left the world for Christ can come and find social intimacy and cultivate lifelong relationships.
Look around and see if you can find someone whose name you don’t know. If so, there’s your opportunity to make a new friend and fellowship.
