Pray for Your Church: Ministries (5)
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1.8
Mission confusion
Jesus set the pattern for the Church’s witness to the world. He went in the Spirit. He was alert to opportunities, whether to do good or to speak truth. He took the initiative. He combined words and action. And He did so against all opposition, without fear or compromise.
What do we not understand about this?
It’s not that we don’t know this mandate. Or the Great Commission: “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age” (Matt. 28.18-20). We know these mandates well. The problem is not ignorance, but confusion.
Two conditions in churches—perhaps not your church, but many—lead me to think we have become confused about what Jesus intended. First, many have come to believe that they can fulfill these mandates by making our churches the kind of places where lost people might feel welcome. We are informal, nontraditional, contemporary, funny, and programmed to meet the lost right where they are: sports, coffee bars, social events, even the language we use. Such believers seem to believe that Jesus commanded the world to go to church and that our job is to attract them by every means and make them feel right at home.
Second, many believers have defaulted their calling to be witnesses and make disciples to the “professionals”. Only those fully trained and properly ordained can tell the truth without making a mess of it. Better leave all the witnessing and all the Gospel presentations to them. On Sunday mornings and in all the events and activities by which we seek to draw the lost into our midst.
Our outreach to the local community thus depends on a dual misconception. We—churches and church members—are called to seek the lost where they are, that the Lord might save some to be enfolded into His community of saints, ambassadors, and witnesses.
Being, doing, preaching
By the time of Stephen’s martyrdom, the Church in Jerusalem had been very effective in its outreach to the people. Thousands had come to faith in Jesus as people opened their homes and openly praised the Lord so that they enjoyed “favor with all the people” of that great city. In Acts 8, as persecution began from the religious leaders in Jerusalem, Jesus simply extended what had been going on in Jerusalem according to the mandate and strategy He had given. He began moving people outward from their homes into the surrounding cities and countries, preaching and living the Gospel as they were going (Acts 8.1-4). Those who were scattered simply continued doing what they’d been doing in Jerusalem: they “went everywhere preaching the word.” No church buildings. No duly ordained shepherds. Only the Holy Spirit and His power, together with the Word of the Gospel.
When word came back to Jerusalem that the Gospel had reached Antioch, a Gentile city, they sent Barnabas to check it out. When he arrived, he saw happening in Antioch precisely what he had seen in Jerusalem: Barnabas saw the grace of God (Acts 11.23). He saw people exercising hospitality, sharing their possessions, bearing witness to Jesus, having favor with their neighbors—being witness, doing the work of evangelism, and making disciples as they were going about their everyday lives.
This pattern continued throughout the period of the New Testament, into the time of the early Church, and all the way into the early years of the fourth century. The outreach of the church was characterized by love for neighbors, courage in the face of opposition and persecution, mutual support and edification, and the clear and uncompromised witness to Jesus by everyday believers at every opportunity in every situation they found themselves. They went in the Spirit. They were alert to opportunities, whether to do good or to speak truth. They took the initiative. They combined words and action. And they did so against all opposition, without fear or compromise.
Michael Green, in his great book Evangelism in the Early Church, described the outreach of these first Christians and their churches as “gossiping the Gospel.” The Gospel was what they knew, what they experienced, what they delighted in, and what they talked about as often as they could. And they turned their world upside-down.
Recovering our mission
Let’s face it: We’re not like those first Christians. They understood well what Jesus intended and they obeyed His Word faithfully. The Roman Empire, which for 250 years fought to suppress and destroy the Christian movement, became so saturated with the grace of God through the outreach of faithful and courageous Christians and their churches, that by the end of the fourth century, Christianity was declared the only legal religion in the Roman world.
Not that we seek that—legal protection came with a kaboodle of problems, including the beginning of our present stasis of outreach. But we should seek the filling of the Spirit for outreach to our neighbors and our community as churches and church members, that the witness to Christ and His Kingdom might be raised and sustained in neighborhoods, workplaces, markets, schools, and every place where believers encounter the lost throughout the community.
And here’s a prayer you can use to that end:
Lord, do not let us lose our vision
or our sense of mission!
We are called to be Your witnesses
and to make disciples of all nations.
Grant us a heart for such outreach
and the wisdom to know how we should do it,
both as a church
and as members of Your Body.
Help us, Lord, to be faithful and consistent
in bringing the Good News of Jesus and Your Kingdom
to the people in our community.
For reflection
1. Why do you think so many churches today have lost sight of our mission and calling?
2. How can you prepare each day to live as a witness for Jesus in whatever you have to do?
3. What can you do to strengthen your church’s outreach to your community?
Next steps – Preparation: Make sure you have mapped out your Personal Mission Field, so you know who the people are to whom the Lord is sending you as a teacher. Watch the video, download the worksheet, and begin working your arena of ministry and teaching.
T. M. Moore
Give thanks
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: We continue reading excerpts from the book, Revived! in our Read Moore column. Why not listen in? Last week’s Crosfigell letter called us to make sure we have the right priorities.
Thank you.
Many of you are faithful and generous in praying for and supporting Crosfigell and The Fellowship of Ailbe. Thank you. I encourage all our readers to seek the Lord about becoming a supporter of The Fellowship of Ailbe. It’s easy to give to The Fellowship of Ailbe, and all gifts are, of course, tax-deductible. You can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal or Anedot, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
