Healthy, Growing Churches (5)

So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Acts 2.46, 47

Tractates on the Gospel of John 39.5
Augustine (354-430)
“If, as they drew near to God, those many souls became, in the power of love, but one soul and these many hearts but one heart, what must the very source of love effect between the Father and the Son? Is not the Trinity for even greater reasons, but one God?… If the love of God poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who is given to us, is able to make of many souls but one soul and of many hearts but one heart, how much more are the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit but one God, one Light, one Principle?”

Oh look: “the Lord added to the church daily…” Now we’re talking. Let’s get those numbers up, shall we? Let’s do, but let’s remember that adding people to our church is the Lord’s work, and He does it His way. And His way is to cause people to respond to the lived and spoken witness of a body of believers who love one another, encourage one another, build one another up, share with one another, and present a united voice, speaking truth in love to their community. When they see our oneness, Jesus insisted, they will believe the Father has sent Him (Jn. 17.21). We speak by our unity of life together as much as by our words; but we do not speak without our words. When people see the vibrancy of Christ living and loving within us, and the hope of the glory that vibrancy creates, they will ask for an explanation. They’ll want to know the reason for this uniqueness of life together (1 Pet. 3.15). Then we can tell them the Good News of Jesus and His Kingdom, and pray that He will add to our church such as are being saved.

Which aspects of the unity and love your church members have for one another are most visible to the larger community? Is your church speaking the truth in love by words and deeds 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 Questionsfor free by clicking here.The Fellowship of Ailbe is supported through the generous and faithful gifts of those who benefit from and believe in our work. Does the Lord want to use you in this way? Please look to Him in prayer over this question. You can contribute to The Fellowship of Ailbe by using the Contribute button at our website, or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452. Thank you.

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.