Healthy, Growing Churches (4)

And He Himself gave some to be…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

“…that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.” John 17.21

Commentary on the Gospel of John 11.11
Cyril of Alexandria (375-444)
“Our Lord Jesus Christ did not pray for the twelve apostles alone. He prayed for all who were destined in every age to yield to and obey the words that call them to be holy by believing and to be purified through participation in the Holy Spirit.… ‘May they all be one,’ he prayed. ‘As you Father are in me and I am in you, may they also be one in us.’”

We’re trying to shake free of the idolatrous temptation to measure church growth merely by numbers. What we want are healthy, growing churches, defined and shaped according to the model Paul presents in Ephesians 4.11-16. We’ve been considering the process whereby health and growth are achieved, as outlined in verses 11 and 12: shepherds equipping church members for daily works of loving service. Now we turn to the true indicators of church growth, of a church that is being truly edified. We begin with unity. It is by our unity that the world knows we are the Body of Christ, and that He is truly alive, having been sent by God. Without unity, our witness will be unpersuasive. Unity begins in what we believe – our vision for Christian life, the Kingdom, and our church, as well as our common profession of the apostolic faith. We must work hard to maintain true unity in the Spirit of Christ (Eph. 4.3), and not just within our own church, but among all believers in our community, and, indeed, throughout the world.

What specific efforts does your church make to build unity of faith with other churches in your community?

T. M. Moore

Healthy, Growing Churches
Our assessment tool, Twelve Questions that Could Change Your Church, can help you discover the extent to which you are building the Lord’s church as He intends. Use this tool with your church leaders to discern the health of your church, then to plan the next phase of your growth as the Body of Christ. You can download Twelve Questions for free by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Quotations from Church Fathers are from the Ancient Christian Commentary Series, published by InterVarsity Press.