The Essentials of Missions: Cultivating Active Church Members

[Adapted from a paper I wrote]

In Acts 13-14, we see Paul and Barnabus spending time teaching and strengthening local Churches to the point where they are established. This resulted in new converts being established in their personal faith as well as established as a body, such that Paul could identify gifts in the saints as they served one another.

Some Churches see Sunday attendance as the true measure of success. Others look to the number of baptisms. Our true call is to be faithful and leave the fruit up to God. However, we should have a goal, and the goal of the Great Commission is to have disciples who have been baptized and taught everything that Christ commanded. This is not just young converts but mature believers.

Dr. Carl Trueman suggests that confessionalism is an important part of protecting this emphasis on maturity:

"It is the elders’ task to nurture and bring to maturity, in terms of life and belief, those who are members. Practically speaking, if a doctrine is not in the church’s confession, it is going to be very difficult to persuade any member that it is important. Thus, the confession of a church should represent what the mature Christian should believe."[Link here]

Whether or not your Church adopts a historical confession, it is certainly Biblical for a Church to define Christian maturity. Furthermore, honesty and transparency would probably demand that we write this standard down and have the local body agree that it represents a true understanding of the Bible. Until there is such explicit agreement from the Church membership, a Church's commitment to the Great Commission has not been properly established.

Important questions to ask of your local Church:

1. Does your Church have a clear way of establishing new/young believers such that they understand Christ's role in their lives?

2. Does your Church have a clear way of establishing new/young believers such that they can serve one another, identify their gifts, and be active members in the household of God?

The Essentials of Missions: Connecting to Unbelievers

[Adapted from a paper I wrote]

Point 2: Churches established in missions are connecting to unbelievers

In Acts 13-14, we see Paul and Barnabus actively engaging the lost with the Gospel. We also see them entrusting their ministry to the local Churches, presumably because the Churches were mature to continue the ongoing work of evangelization.

Existing Churches should consider whether they have the capacity to engage with unbelievers. Specifically, they should consider whether they have cultivated that gift in their membership rather than relying solely on paid clergy.

This does not only mean having active evangelism to the local community. Churches should consider whether they are able to correctly communicate the Gospel to those who are yet to be saved within their own walls. Most North American Evangelical Churches will always have unbelievers in their midst, whether they be family members, false conversions, or friends. A Church is not properly established in missions if they are not equipped to speak the good news of Christ to people outside their walls and inside their walls.

To make it simple, here are two practical questions to ask:

1. Does your Church actively engage the unbelieving community with the Gospel?

2. Does your Church have the maturity to continue the work of evangelization?

The Essentials to Missions: Connections to Church Networks

[Adapted from a paper I wrote]

As previously discussed, here is my four-point model for evaluating how established local Churches are in missions:

Churches Established in Missions are -
1. Connected to Church networks
2. Connecting to unbelievers
3. Cultivating active Church members
4. Commissioning Church leaders
 
In the next few posts, we will consider each point. First: Point 1.

Point 1 - Churches established in missions are connected to Church networks
In Acts 13-14, we see an interdependence between the Church-planting team and the Churches they have planted. This, of course, starts with the team being physically present for long periods of time. However, after the work has been entrusted to the local leaders, we still see an ongoing relationship between the team and the Churches. An example of this is the case of Antioch of Syria, where the Church was first built up by Paul and Barnabus and then had the opportunity of blessing the two by sending them to the Gentiles.

Therefore, I think we should have strong, ongoing ties to Church planters/reformers/refreshers. I do not think that this necessarily means denominationalism. However, I cannot escape the fact that Paul and his team continue to have authority in these local Churches after they have finished their terms as Church-planters. This seems to be missing in much of the Church-planting and denominational life that I have been exposed to.

Two very practical questions regarding a Church's connection to Church networks: 

1. Does your Church belong to a network of faithful, gifted men and women that they can contribute to as an extension of their mission to expand God's Gospel work?

2. Does your Church belong to a network of faithful, gifted men and women that they can look to as a resource when they need strengthening, reform, or doctrinal correction?

Is Your Church Established in Mission?

[Adapted from a paper I wrote]

My experience in North American Evangelicalism is that there are many Churches that think they are established and yet have not established themselves when it comes to their participation in the Great Commission. Many Evangelical Churches can say that they fulfill the marks of a true Church with regard to their ecclesiological tradition. They can also say that they have fulfilled their state’s requirements to be registered as an official charity. Yet I have observed, both as a current Church leader and a former missionary, that this does not necessarily lead to a Church being able to articulate their involvement in making disciples of all nations.

From my limited perspective, it seems that the Evangelical Church has a renewed vigour for local and global Church-planting. This is very commendable. However, I am worried that existing Churches can often be pushed aside in the process of expanding new Church-planting networks. Hopefully, God will awaken a desire for existing Churches to evaluate how established they are in mission. The next few posts will be an attempt to look at the first missionary journey in Acts 13-14, and create a model for evaluating existing Churches and their commitment to missions.