I asked a group recently how they would grow the church. We had been studying the Book of Acts and I was after some application from their readings.
First steps?
So how do we answer God-type questions? It was interesting to see my group start with their worldly wisdom: church growth comes from shorter more fun sermons, better coffee, and changing the music.
Do not get me wrong, applying wisdom across fields does works. However, the bigger first step is to ask, “How do we, as followers of Jesus, approach questions?”
For me the central issue is how we see the Bible. If the same Spirit grew the church back in Acts through the message of Jesus, then the same Spirit is at work today. The Bible is the central way God reveals His character and plan. It is the lens through which all questions and issues are viewed. Growing the church, therefore, comes from a deeper understanding of the way the Holy Spirit grows the church in the Bible. This is what the Book of Acts points to.
The key to Acts is understanding the way the Holy Spirit empowers people to share the resurrection of Jesus. From this point, people make a choice. Some people want to know more, while others sneer. It is important to see that rejection is as part of the church as growth.
Reformation now
The best example of the application of this concept was the Reformation of the 1500s. The proclamation of the Gospel was at the heart of the greatest revival ever. The growth of the Protestant church came through the process of returning to the Bible to ask, “How can we be right before God?” The answer, as counter-cultural as it was, was that being right with God is a gift through Jesus.
The final Sunday in October traditionally is the anniversary of this Reformation concept of “by grace alone.” It is a visible reminder of the importance of returning to the Bible to answer our questions and the central message of who Jesus is and what He has done for us.
As the Spirit imprints this message on people’s hearts, God’s promise is that people will be changed from the inside out. This is more than a marketing trend but as relevant for our reformation now as it was back in the 1500s.
Jeremy Dover is a former sports scientist and Pastor
Jeremy Dover's previous articles may be viewed at https://www.pressserviceinternational.org/jeremy-dover1.html
And https://www.pressserviceinternational.org/jeremy-dover.html