The Mission of the Church

Church building

There are many different churches all over the world. Why do these churches exist? What is their mission? That answer will vary from church to church as men fashion their churches according to their own desires. We will consider a few possible answers later in this article.

But what is the mission of the church of our Lord? The answer to this question will not be found in human opinion or tradition, but in the word of God that has been revealed to us in the Scriptures. So let us see what the Scriptures say about the mission of the church.
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What Do the Numbers Tell Us?

Chart

There is often a great deal of emphasis placed upon numbers in a congregation – membership, attendance, converts, etc. This is somewhat natural. We tend to want some way to gauge success or progress in our efforts. Yet numbers rarely tell the whole story and, in many ways, can even be deceiving. Rather than being quick to jump to conclusions based upon numbers, we should look to God’s word to gauge our success in carrying out His will.
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How to Reach Others with the Gospel

Two Men Studying the Bible

And He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16).

The above passage is commonly referred to as the Great Commission. Though this commission was given exclusively to the apostles (there is no divine mandate for each Christian to “go into all the world” today), there certainly are principles that apply to us. God wants people to be saved and the gospel is the way to reach them. Therefore, we should be doing what we can to spread the gospel.

But how do we reach others with the gospel? There is more to be done in this regard than just standing up in the pulpit and preaching (though this is one of the ways which we will discuss). Not everyone can stand up in the pulpit and preach, but each one of us can do different things to help reach others with the gospel.

In this article, we will briefly notice some of the things that we can do as individuals to spread the gospel.
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“All Who Lived in Asia Heard the Word of the Lord” (11/28)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Acts 18:19-19:41.

Paul had a very productive time in Ephesus preaching the gospel. Even with opposition that forced him to leave the synagogue, he was able to reach far beyond just the city limits of Ephesus.

And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 19:8-10).

How was Paul able to have such great success in spreading the gospel that “all who lived in Asia heard the word”? First, notice what was not involved in Paul’s work:
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What to Call the Preacher

We hear people use different terms to identify those who preach – preacher, minister, pastor, etc. In this article we will address two things: what the Bible calls those who preach the gospel and what the religious world calls those who preach.

Why is this important? Names mean something. The terms that are used to identify those who preach are used for a reason. They help describe the work or the perceived work. It is good for us to call Bible things by Bible names and for those who preach to do the work they ought to be doing.

This list is not exhaustive, but it addresses some of the more common names used today.
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He Appeared to Them to be Jesting (1/18)

Thought from today’s Bible reading from Genesis 19-21.

The men who lived in Sodom were “wicked exceedingly and sinners against the Lord” (Genesis 13:13). So much so that the Lord determined to destroy the city. But first he sent two angels into the city to deliver the lone righteous man among them – Lot.

Then the two men said to Lot, ‘Whom else have you here? A son-in-law, and your sons, and your daughters, and whomever you have in the city, bring them out of the place; for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the Lord that the Lord has sent us to destroy it” (Genesis 19:12-13).

Lot was now aware of the coming destruction, which gave him the chance to escape. He also had time to convince others to come with him and be saved.
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Sounding Forth the Word

Tin can phone

The local church is God’s “missionary society” – the organization through which we work to spread the gospel. Though man has concocted many different schemes and systems since the time when Jesus established His church, the Lord’s design is for His message to be proclaimed through the work of individuals and local churches. Paul mentioned the church in Thessalonica as an example of how this simple arrangement can be successful.

For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything” (1 Thessalonians 1:8).

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