Church growth is good.
It’s the mission, correct?
In the Book of Acts, we see God’s handiwork as He grows the Church exponentially. 12 to 120. 120 to 3,000. 5,000 more.
Only God!
But then there’s a brief stall in the momentum.
In Acts 6, we learn that a group of Grecian widows, new converts to Christianity, is being neglected by the Church. They’re not being taken care of properly, not getting their proper allotment of food.
To their credit, the twelve Apostles take the necessary time to stop what they’re doing, pull a group of disciples together and make a strategic decision.
Acts 6:2-7 says:
So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.” This proposal pleased the whole group. They chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism. They presented these men to the apostles, who prayed and laid their hands on them. So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.
Here’s the lesson: Church growth can be painful and challenging. For the health of the organization, those challenges need to be addressed in an appropriate way. Adjustments can be made. Then you can proceed.
After gathering all of the information, the Twelve took the following actions:
- They realized their limitations (v. 2)
- They understood that they COULD NOT neglect the ministry of God’s word. (v. 2)
- They met with the disciples (v. 2)
- They chose people, seven Greek men “full of the Spirit and wisdom,” to take on the incredible task of food distribution (v. 3)
- They prayed over these men (v. 6)
The results?
- The whole group was pleased (v. 5)
- The word of God was spread and the number of disciples “increased rapidly” (v. 7)
We’re called to grow the Church, but we’re also called to minister to those already in the Church. Yes, it’s nearly impossible to please everyone. But in the case of growing pains, be willing to slow your growth for a time, assess and heal. Then proceed again.
How has your church handled its growing pains?
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