Breaking through the Walls

Church life can very quickly become self-centered and self-focused which will lead to a slow death. This does not mean that we should throw out the important task of bringing believers into maturity. But it does raise the question of how we can transition from inward to outward focus.

How can we break through the walls of the church into the community?

Recognize the Resources

The first step is to recognize that the church is not a one-man show. It does not consist of a pastor who does all the preaching, all the teaching, all the praying, all the counsel, all the service, all the outreach and all the leadership. There is simply too much work to do in the Kingdom of God.

The church is a body of believers who use their God-given gifts in order to build one another up, reach the world, and thereby glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. Leaders must recognize the immense resources at their disposal through the Spirit-empowered body.

The Leader’s Role

And this is how the Lord has instituted the church. The Lord has given to the church, according to Ephesians 4, apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastor/teachers in order to “equip the saints for works of ministry.”

This means that the role of the pastor is one of empowering the body to serve God in a manner consistent with their spiritual gifts and calling. Such a model and biblical vision has far more influence and reach than that of a one-man show. And this model will more effectively reach into the surrounding community and lives of the families of the church members.

Assessing Gifts

Beyond these acts of service is the use of spiritual gifts. Each believer has received a spiritual gift for the purpose of “serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Peter 4:10). It is the role of the pastor to help the body to assess and discern spiritual gifts,

Spiritual gift assessments can be taken, but the leaders must also be keenly aware of the body’s passions, heart, abilities and giftings.

Training the Saints

Once these gifts are discerned, it is then the role of the leadership to foster and flourish these gifts—Ephesians 4 says “equip.” This includes biblical education as to what these gifts are and how they are used, but also include teaching as to how these gifts relate to our particular cultural and community needs and opportunities.

Breaking Through Walls

Finally, we break through the walls of the church as leaders by giving opportunity to implement these gifts. Some gifts will be used with little or no encouragement, but very often members of the body will need a ‘jump-start’ or opportunity in order to get past fears, reservations and uncertainties to see how the Spirit of God can use them despite their inadequacies.

The Lord wants to use His people to reach the world. It is He who ultimately equips, empowers and choreographs the works of ministry. When church leadership taps into this most valuable resource an insular church finally break through its walls and minister to the spiritual, emotional and material needs of the surrounding community.

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