The Core Business of the Church
What is the core business of the Church? one may ask.
Different people may answer this question differently. As a Pastor, I need to really know and understand the core business of the church and be faithful to it, if I want to really glorify God.
When I first came in to the Church a few months ago, I was presented with a problem. Even if it was not put into the words, and not often mentioned by the leadership of the church, even as a mere visitor or observer, one cannot fail to notice the problem. That is: numbers.
The church has an average attendance of 50-60 people in its Sunday service, and about 15 during the monthly prayer meeting. To some reader from Europe, Japan or other post-Christian era countries, that number could be considered big, however for Singapore with its mega-churches, this number may seem to be more on the low side.
From the managerial point of view, therefore, some people may view this as a problem. And to every problem there should be a solution. And if the current set of people are not able to find a solution, therefore they need a problem solver. And that is why, the church hired me and my co-worker in the past few months to solve this 'problem'.
Based on this number issue, by focussing on the people, therefore there are a two-pronged approach to try to raise the number: To retain the existing member through proper pastoral care and counseling, and to increase the existing number through reaching out events. Those are the things on my head initially.
As I continue to serve, I began to see things differently.
What is the core business of the church again? to amass a good number? to worry that your church members may go out to join the mega-church? to do evangelism, so as to increase your number? Where is God in all these objectives?
No! The core business of the Church is not the number of the people. The core business, is to do the right thing, faithfully, regardless of the number of people. The core business is to glorify God and to preach His word to edify to the people. Yes, it involves the people, but they are NOT the main focus. Rather, God IS.
My mind turns back to the Great Revival (and should I add True Revival) centuries ago by Jonathan Edwards. The Revival was granted by God when we turn back to the true preaching of the Word of God. It is what God wants and then we are doing His Will and everything will progress accordingly.
Yes, I became more and more convinced that if we remain people-centered rather than God-centered, then we will be just people-pleaser instead of God. And as I do not have the capacity to please all sorts of different people, I choose the easier and higher calling, to please God and trust that He will provide all I need and He will bless the church accordingly.
What is the Core Business of the Church? It is the faithful and truthful preaching of His Word in a constant and consistent manner that will edify and transform the life of the Church.
The transformation from a small number to a big number can be manipulated by man
The transformation from a rotten life to a God-glorifying life can only be engineered by God
Different people may answer this question differently. As a Pastor, I need to really know and understand the core business of the church and be faithful to it, if I want to really glorify God.
When I first came in to the Church a few months ago, I was presented with a problem. Even if it was not put into the words, and not often mentioned by the leadership of the church, even as a mere visitor or observer, one cannot fail to notice the problem. That is: numbers.
The church has an average attendance of 50-60 people in its Sunday service, and about 15 during the monthly prayer meeting. To some reader from Europe, Japan or other post-Christian era countries, that number could be considered big, however for Singapore with its mega-churches, this number may seem to be more on the low side.
From the managerial point of view, therefore, some people may view this as a problem. And to every problem there should be a solution. And if the current set of people are not able to find a solution, therefore they need a problem solver. And that is why, the church hired me and my co-worker in the past few months to solve this 'problem'.
Based on this number issue, by focussing on the people, therefore there are a two-pronged approach to try to raise the number: To retain the existing member through proper pastoral care and counseling, and to increase the existing number through reaching out events. Those are the things on my head initially.
As I continue to serve, I began to see things differently.
What is the core business of the church again? to amass a good number? to worry that your church members may go out to join the mega-church? to do evangelism, so as to increase your number? Where is God in all these objectives?
No! The core business of the Church is not the number of the people. The core business, is to do the right thing, faithfully, regardless of the number of people. The core business is to glorify God and to preach His word to edify to the people. Yes, it involves the people, but they are NOT the main focus. Rather, God IS.
My mind turns back to the Great Revival (and should I add True Revival) centuries ago by Jonathan Edwards. The Revival was granted by God when we turn back to the true preaching of the Word of God. It is what God wants and then we are doing His Will and everything will progress accordingly.
Yes, I became more and more convinced that if we remain people-centered rather than God-centered, then we will be just people-pleaser instead of God. And as I do not have the capacity to please all sorts of different people, I choose the easier and higher calling, to please God and trust that He will provide all I need and He will bless the church accordingly.
What is the Core Business of the Church? It is the faithful and truthful preaching of His Word in a constant and consistent manner that will edify and transform the life of the Church.
The transformation from a small number to a big number can be manipulated by man
The transformation from a rotten life to a God-glorifying life can only be engineered by God
posted by Suhandy Yao Wei Xuan @ 9:58 am
1 Comments:
At 10:25 pm ,
Anonymous said...
Thank you for sharing this.
I can use it for my religion class in school (Belgium).
I really appreciate it
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