What’s Your Plan for Growth?

What’s Your Plan for Growth?

On December 31, I asked the church: what’s your plan for growth? I used a funnel. First, the theme of Ephesians: what God the Father is doing in the church through his Son for his own glory. Ephesians 3:10 says the manifold wisdom of God is made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. Angels look at God taking people from every tribe and tongue and bringing them together as the church, and they are in awe. And 3:20-21 says God is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us. Chapters 1 through 3 are doctrine, and chapters 4 through 6 are duty, how to live on the basis of that doctrine. In chapter 4, verses 1 through 16 are our walk within the church, and verses 17 through 32 are our walk in the world. Within the church, verses 1 to 3 describe a worthy community, verses 4 to 6 a unified community, verses 7 to 12 a serving community, and verses 13 to 16, at the bottom of the funnel, a growing community. “Spiritual maturity is the biblical expectation of every follower of Christ.”

I hope your feet are pointed toward Jesus, and that you are not satisfied with your steps in 2023 and long for a fresh start. “If you always do what you’ve always done you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”

A Growing Community Grows in Unity and Knowledge of Christ

Verse 13: till we all attain the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God. How do we grow this way? By having a right opinion of ourselves and of others. In verse 2 we are lowly, gentle, and long-suffering, bearing with one another in love. “There are no big shots in God’s economy we’re all servants.” God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. And we make unity a priority. Verse 3 says to endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The devil is the accuser of the brethren and would love disunity in a church. When people say our church is sweet, it is not an accident. It is God’s kindness, and we are to guard it.

The source of our unity is not in the things we like. It is one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. Our unity is not based on our sports teams, and as we come into an election year, it is not based on our politics. I am involved in politics, and one of our other pastors is a county commissioner. “Politics is not our Salvation.” Have healthy conversations, but the gospel is what binds us together.

A Growing Community Grows in Maturity

Verse 13 continues to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. I am not your goal. I will fail you through death and depravity. Christ is. How do you know if you are mature? Every member learns seven commitments in the new members class.

1. Pray. Do you have a plan to pray for other people? We are producing a church directory for people to pray through, so send us a photo.
2. Attend. Many think attending twice a month makes them faithful. We expect you when the doors are open, because we need you and you need to be here, and your kids need it.
3. Invite others. Pray for your neighbors and share the gospel. The world is not our enemy; they need the gospel. A man named Michael Parks faithfully kept giving me the gospel for over a year until I was convicted and cried out to the Lord.
4. Serve. “Every member a minister.” There is a sheet at the information desk.
5. Give. Giving has been the strongest it has ever been. Some of you have never been taught the basics of tithes and offerings. Some have a love problem, loving money more than God, and some a heart problem, since where your treasure is, your heart will be also.
6. Examine yourself often. We are prone to wander, and none of us has arrived.
7. Forgive repeatedly. People sin repeatedly. Stephen forgave those killing him, as Jesus did. “If you can’t forgive then you will not be forgiven,” and Ephesians 4:32 says to forgive as God in Christ forgave you.

Maturity Leads to Stability

Verse 14: no longer children, tossed to and fro and carried about by every wind of doctrine. Children in the ocean get overcome by waves. Some in the church chase every new fad, influenced by men with loaded dice and cunning craftiness. A liar and deceiver is trying to get you off track. Grow in grace.

Truth Spoken in Love

Verse 15 says to speak the truth in love, in our hallways, small groups, text messages, and pulpit. Someone said, truth becomes hard if it is not softened by love, and love becomes soft if it is not strengthened by truth. We also grow when connected to the head, Christ. A body severed from the head does not grow. And verse 16 says growth occurs when every member functions properly.