5/15/2011Five EEEEEs of Church Growth

praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved Acts 2:47

And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned." Mark 16:15-16 

  Today Pastor talked about the importance of church growth. He made the point that growth is not just desirable, but it is absolutely necessary. If a church is not growing then it is dying.  The scripture above clearly shows God's mandate that we are to preach the gospel to all the world and through that obedience God will save the lost and bring them to church.

  Lets get right to the five points. This will be a brief rundown, for the full sermon please follow the link below to the FWC Podcast to download today's podcast.

E 1) Evangelism. most people wouldn't argue here.  We are clearly commanded to share the gospel.  "for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10 The reason Christ came to Earth and died on the cross was to save the lost.  Without evangelism there is no reason for the church to exist.


E 2) Encouragement. "Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11 If we can't count on our fellow believers to encourage us then who will?  We should be uplifting each other and not tearing each other down or bringing condemnation to one another.

E 3) Edify.  Instruct and improve in moral and religious knowledge.  The heart of the righteous studies how to answer, But the mouth of the wicked pours forth evil. Proverbs 15:28 We are to help each other grow in knowledge of scripture and what is good in God's eyes.  We are to encourage and rebuke when appropriate, for the purpose of edification.  We will often justify criticizing others as "constructive" criticism.  However, if we have not first established trust and breathed life into this person, demonstrating first our love for them, then can we really expect our correction to be taken well?  Pastor reminded us that people will care what you know until they know that you care.  Then are able to truly build each other up and grow spiritually.

E 4) Exaltation.  We must make time for prayer, one on one with God. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Acts 2:42  and Oh, magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His name together. Psalm 34:3 Not only must we make it a priority to have time daily that we spend with God, but we must spend much of that time praising Him and thanking Him for all that He has done for us.  It is only with a humble and grateful heart that we can truly approach the throne of God and fully enter into His presence.


E 5) Equip.  It is the fundamental purpose of the church as an organization to equip the saints for the spreading of the gospel.  And He Himself gave some [to be] apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ... Ephesians 4:11-12  The Holy Spirit gave many different people different gifts to the leaders but all for the singular purpose to equip the Saints for ministry to edify or grow and lift up the body of Christ.

  To bring it all together, the key to church growth is a body that is focused on telling others about the gospel, committed to encouraging and edifying each other.  A body that is committed to a regular prayer life that includes exaltation of God and a body that is dedicated to being equipped and equipping others for the work of the ministry.  If we can move in one accord as Pastor has laid out for us then not only will our church grow but so too will the entire body of Christ.

Recommended reading: Ephesians 4

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