Why Jesus Wants Every Believer Involved In Helping To Plant And Grow His Church

1. Jesus gave believers a promise when He said, "I will build my church and the gates of hell will not overcome it." (Matt. 16:18) Christ is actively working to help people plant and grow His church in every nation of the world. The Lord knows that His body will have the greatest opportunity to influence its entire community in all aspects of life. Ask the Lord for the ability to make your contribution to the planting and growing of the church in your communities. Follow the pattern of the early church in Acts 2:41-47 as the church grew by devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe and many wonders and the apostles did miraculous signs. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone, as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They ate together with glad and sincere hearts praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." Ask God to help you follow this formula for success in all ministries of your church and the peoples’ lifestyles.

2. Jesus gives gifts to every person in His church so they can equip the members for works of service so that the body of Christ can be built up in every way. (Eph. 4:11-16) Ask the Lord to help you facilitate the use of everyone’s spiritual gift both inside and outside the walls of the church.

3. He expects leaders to feed, lead, pray, teach, shepherd, discipline, organize, administrate, mobilize, counsel, and encourage their members through their exemplary lifestyles. (2 Tim. 3:10) Ask the Lord to give you people who have complimentary gifts for the accomplishment of all of the range of ministries of the church. Begin an active disciple-making ministry in your church.

4. Jesus gives church leaders authority to accomplish all of the ministries they are responsible for. (Matt. 18:18) The Lord will enable you to accomplish every ministry He assigns you to do.

5. Jesus expects church leaders to win people for Him and disciple them. (Matt. 28:18-20) It is not enough for church leaders to just play church. The Lord wants leaders to be known by their abundant quantitative and qualitative fruit. (John 15:16) Ask the Lord to help you use wisdom in bringing forth the best quality and quantity of fruit that will endure for eternity.

6. Jesus expects church leaders to endure hardship and suffer as He did for the sake of the church. Jesus said, "As the Father has sent Me, so send I you." (John 20:21) Be willing to undergo hardships, criticisms and persecutions for His church.

7. Jesus expects His church leaders to grow in their worship and knowledge of the Lord. (Phil. 1:9-11) Ask the Lord that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ.

8. Jesus expects His church to resist all forms of evil. The Lord knew that Paul would instruct Pastor Timothy with these words, "In the last days, people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God - having a form of godliness, but denying its powers. Have nothing to do with them." (2 Tim. 3:1-5) Ask God for the boldness to speak and act against any form of pollution in the church.

9. Jesus wants church elders to teach sound doctrine and to help resolve differences and live exemplary lifestyles. The Lord knew that Paul would write, "An elder must be blameless, the husband of one wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. He must have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap." (I Tim. 3:1-6) Help to uphold the standards of Godly leadership in your church.

10. Jesus wants His church to be a generous channel for giving for the advancement of His kingdom and righteousness around the world. The Lord knew that Dr. Luke would write about such a vibrant young Christian church in Acts 4 with these words, "All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and much grace was upon them all. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles feet and it was distributed to anyone as he had need. (Acts 4:32-36) Ask the Lord to help you work with generous givers who will contribute to the accomplishment of all of the purposes of Christ’s church around the world.