Equipping Churches for Missions
Equipping Churches for Missions
Leprosy sufferers begging at the doorstep of our churches in India are a common sight. The same lepers, having heard and believed the gospel, worshipping along as part of the body of Christ inside the church, is not so common.
Visiting my home church in Chennai, I saw such a transformation. Lay people actively helped the lepers to grow spiritually and fit into the fellowship and Sunday worship and helped families with innovative ways of making their living. This is only one of the programs of these lay people reaching the neighborhood, while they also support several missionaries in Tamil Nadu and North India in prayer and finance.
If only all the churches in India were so active in mission both at home and away! Then the vision of discipling our nation would not be a distant dream.
What do we understand by the word ‘church’? It is not a building or an organization. The ‘Church’ as the body of Christ is universal, expressed locally as people gathered in Christ’s name, ‘ecclesia’, characterized by worship, prayer, fellowship, apostolic teaching, breaking of bread and witnessing. Other aspects vary with the denomination and are non-essential. When people gather in the name of Christ in an organized way, we call it a ‘church’. Distinctions like main-line, denominational, traditional, independent, ecumenical, evangelical, liberal, charismatic and contemporary are incidental.
God provided structures like the tabernacle, the Levite priesthood, the Jerusalem temple, and the various ecclesiastical structures we use now. But God cannot be pleased by our misguided loyalty to structures rather than to God himself. Structures may be good but they should not become an idol that affects our relationships. God uses our imperfect structures, but He often works beyond these structures to fulfill His purposes. The Old Testament prophets, Jesus Christ, the apostles, the church fathers, reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin, revival preachers like John Wesley and George Whitefield, modern missionaries like William Carey and Hudson Taylor, all served outside the existing religious and political structures.
Structures are shadows of the reality, like scaffolding to support the construction of a building. But just as scaffolding is not more important than the building, church structures and infrastructures must not displace the purposes of God’s people. God gifted some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service. (Eph 4:11&12)
One of the churches in Mumbai, have a study program for all their members once a week in small groups that meet in homes apart from the weekly Sunday public gathering. The pastors and teachers most of whom continue their vocations in the market place equip the other members in those groups. They lead their own neighbors and colleagues to know Jesus Christ. They disciple new believers and equip them to do likewise. They also support the work of other God’s people far and near.
We at Interserve are committed to equip pastors, teachers, lay leaders and the congregations in local churches and denominations to become actively involved in missions in their neighborhood as well as across cultures. May all who gather in the name of Christ, be discipled to disciple others! John Amalraj
© 2007, INFOCUS, Interserve India
Leprosy sufferers begging at the doorstep of our churches in India are a common sight. The same lepers, having heard and believed the gospel, worshipping along as part of the body of Christ inside the church, is not so common.
Visiting my home church in Chennai, I saw such a transformation. Lay people actively helped the lepers to grow spiritually and fit into the fellowship and Sunday worship and helped families with innovative ways of making their living. This is only one of the programs of these lay people reaching the neighborhood, while they also support several missionaries in Tamil Nadu and North India in prayer and finance.
If only all the churches in India were so active in mission both at home and away! Then the vision of discipling our nation would not be a distant dream.
What do we understand by the word ‘church’? It is not a building or an organization. The ‘Church’ as the body of Christ is universal, expressed locally as people gathered in Christ’s name, ‘ecclesia’, characterized by worship, prayer, fellowship, apostolic teaching, breaking of bread and witnessing. Other aspects vary with the denomination and are non-essential. When people gather in the name of Christ in an organized way, we call it a ‘church’. Distinctions like main-line, denominational, traditional, independent, ecumenical, evangelical, liberal, charismatic and contemporary are incidental.
God provided structures like the tabernacle, the Levite priesthood, the Jerusalem temple, and the various ecclesiastical structures we use now. But God cannot be pleased by our misguided loyalty to structures rather than to God himself. Structures may be good but they should not become an idol that affects our relationships. God uses our imperfect structures, but He often works beyond these structures to fulfill His purposes. The Old Testament prophets, Jesus Christ, the apostles, the church fathers, reformers like Martin Luther and John Calvin, revival preachers like John Wesley and George Whitefield, modern missionaries like William Carey and Hudson Taylor, all served outside the existing religious and political structures.
Structures are shadows of the reality, like scaffolding to support the construction of a building. But just as scaffolding is not more important than the building, church structures and infrastructures must not displace the purposes of God’s people. God gifted some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service. (Eph 4:11&12)
One of the churches in Mumbai, have a study program for all their members once a week in small groups that meet in homes apart from the weekly Sunday public gathering. The pastors and teachers most of whom continue their vocations in the market place equip the other members in those groups. They lead their own neighbors and colleagues to know Jesus Christ. They disciple new believers and equip them to do likewise. They also support the work of other God’s people far and near.
We at Interserve are committed to equip pastors, teachers, lay leaders and the congregations in local churches and denominations to become actively involved in missions in their neighborhood as well as across cultures. May all who gather in the name of Christ, be discipled to disciple others! John Amalraj
© 2007, INFOCUS, Interserve India
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