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Adult Class: September-November 2006

The Church

Lesson 9

Ministry in the Church: Work

            The church does not exist merely as a “worshipping society.” While Christ was in the body on this earth, He served (Matthew 9:35; 11:1-6). The church is naturally an extension of Jesus’ ministry, so we, too, must be active in teaching, preaching and caring for those in need (Ephesians 2:10). It is undeniable that the church has underemphasized the matter of service in recent years. When the members serve within the work of the church, there is much more commitment to the goals of the church, more involvement with the aims of the church and much less contention among the membership. Human beings were made to work, and the ideal community will work in the same areas of ministry that Jesus did.

Evangelism

            “Evangelism is the very lifeblood of the church. Where the church is not evangelistic, it dies” (Everett Ferguson, The Church of Christ, page 286). The church has always been busy in the verbal proclamation of the gospel of Jesus. Lately, many members have feared involvement in evangelism. They may think they lack Bible study skills, or have shied away from religious controversy, or they may fear they don’t meet people well. In truth, every member can be involved in evangelism, even if that doesn’t mean a face-to-face Bible study. The strategy is simple: talk about Jesus and what He’s done for you! (Mark 5:19).

            Here are some suggestions that every Christian can adopt and be involved in the spread of the gospel message:

• Pray! Pray for people you know to become Christians. This is the greatest work of evangelism.
• Be securely established in your own convictions, and then ask the person for his or her story of faith. How and when did he or she become a Christian? How has Jesus impacted his or her life? Listen carefully and don’t be afraid to ask follow-up questions, but don’t try to correct the story.
• Tell your own story of faith—how and why and when you became a Christian. Tell how Jesus has changed your life. Notice in Acts and in Paul’s writings how many times he tells his story!
• Invite the person to worship services, but be sincere and transparent. This is a plain invitation, not any kind of manipulation!
• Offer to study further on any spiritual subject of interest. Be willing to sacrifice your time and effort to plant some seeds here.
• Pray! While you are busy planting and watering (1 Corinthians 3:5-8), God is still at work!

Edification

            This is the process of teaching to build up the church and strengthen it (Ephesians 4:29). It has to do with the growth and development of Christian discipleship. It is instructive to note that Peter’s final exhortation in 2 Peter 3:18 is to “grow.” A business study noted that the difference between new businesses that succeeded and those that failed was this: the failures believed they knew enough while the success stories kept growing, learning, developing and adapting. There may be a message there for us!

            Some Christians are blocked from ongoing development by some wrong ideas:

1. Some think they’re already “above average,” and don’t need more training.
2. Some don’t realize the goal of the Christian life is to be like Jesus, so they are content never to change their sinful habits.
3. Some don’t know how to improve and could profit from Bible classes and fellowship with other Christians.
4. Some may think they are developing even though there is no change in them! They don’t help with worship, or Bible classes, or ministries, and they don’t interact with other Christians.

            For genuine growth and development in discipleship, we need:

·                    Teaching—we must improve our Bible knowledge and apply it to our lives (2 Timothy 2:17-19).

·                    Training for worship participation—all men should serve in the worship. All can serve on the Lord’s Table; those who are able should lead singing, direct prayers, read Scripture and speak encouraging messages in sermons and devotionals. All Christians should act in faith by teaching Bible classes, visiting, helping members and serving in other ministries.

·                    Fellowship—Christians should spend time together working, playing, sharing faith and discussing spiritual things (Romans 12:9-13).

            The point to edification is to improve our discipleship and to assist others in doing the same thing! “There will always be a terrific demand for people who will inspire and motivate others to succeed.”

Benevolence

            Christians have always had an obligation to reflect God’s grace by helping the poor (Matthew 4:23). People who are poor in the United States are usually bound by chains of ignorance and poor living habits—bad work ethic, “victim” mentality, repeated disastrous life choices, etc. In addition, there are people who are genuinely victimized by crime, divorce, natural disaster, disease, etc. Christians want to help with real needs, but there are challenges for us to meet:

·        We are not given instructions on how to “do good to the poor,” so it is left up to our good judgment and experience. Some have God-given gifts in this area (Romans 12:6-8) and they do this work very well.

·        We want people to understand that we do this as a reflection of God’s grace. All our benevolent efforts must be evangelistically oriented—the greatest need anyone has is for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

·        Many of the strangers who come to us for help do not want their lives changed, they only want relief for their current distress. They are not interested in addressing the root behavior that may have brought them into their situation. But the point of God’s love is to draw us to order our lives after His will so that He can bless us even more.

·        We must be careful not to facilitate ongoing sin.

            Jesus Christ has been good to us and requires us to be good to His other children. It is a legitimate work of His church.