May 11, 2018 - Acts 6
The Twelve said,
"It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God
in order to wait on tables.” Acts 6:2
The secret to saving
souls may have more to do with members than it does with Pastors. Try this 90-Day Experiment!
It is documented that most churches in America have few
converts in a year. In many cases, the
ratios are incredibly dismal – 1 or 2 conversions per 100 attendees. That’s frightening considering the millions
of people born each year, and the number of souls who pass away. Without trying to analyze the myriad of
reasons, maybe the simple answer is that we expect our pastors or staff to do
too much of the work.
That’s where the Apostles found themselves in Acts 6. Apparently it is a common problem throughout
all of the Church Age. People were
expecting their leaders to take care of their needs, and the ministry started dominating
more time than the mission. As soon as that
happens, conversions decrease and exhaustion increases. Seems simple to understand, but hard to see
when we are close to it.
The apostles seemed to figure this out in the early church,
and tried a radical adjustment. It would
have been unheard of in their time to use lay people in the synagogue to do the
work of ministry. Only Levites and
specially ordained individuals were permitted this privilege. But this was a new day, with new parameters,
and if the lost souls of the region were going to be reached with the message,
the Apostles needed to stay focused on teaching & praying while the people
jumped in to help. So Peter and the men
invited the church to identify 7 high-integrity leaders to organize and run
this ministry of help to hurting families.
And by doing so, the church rallied to serve, and the ministry AND
mission continued. Hundreds (even
thousands) came to know Jesus, while the widows and orphans were taken care
of.
The reason your church isn’t growing may have little to do
with the pastor, staff or leaders. Maybe
the reason it doesn’t grow is primarily because those in the church aren’t
doing their part to help! Here’s a
90-day experiment:
-
Ask your pastor or staff leaders what percentage
of their weekly time is spent teaching & praying.
-
See what is taking their time away from those
functions, and help them find a solution that frees them up for 90 days to focus
most of their attention on these two functions.
-
Then discover if that change makes a difference
in the impact of the church, as well as the growth of its people.
Imagine what 90 days could help us discover: It might save lives for eternity! It might create stronger followers for
Jesus. It even may help us eliminate
activities and ministries that are not helpful.
Certainly it would help serve the disenfranchised of our communities far
better!
I’m not suggesting that to spur on my own church (they are
amazing!)… I’m suggesting it because that’s what happened in Acts 6. And more than anything, we need Acts 6 to
happen in ALL of our churches. The
eternities of millions hangs in the balance!
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