Maturing Your Church Plant: Going Deeper and Broader

Maturing Your Church Plant:

Going Deeper and Broader


Growing Up: A Challenge to Become a Maturing Church

Maturing Your Church Plant

Those with leadership gifts are to equip the saints for the

work of service, so that the body will grow

to unity, maturity, and Christ-likeness.


Ephesians 4:11-13

"It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ."


Paul makes three main points:

1. The Lord gives leadership gifts to some (4:11).


Although some think that there are five gifts here, most count four, with “pastor-teacher” referring to a single gift. While the lists in Romans 12:6-8 and 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 focus on the gifts, here Paul’s emphasis is on the gifted men.

He is not listing all possible gifts, but rather concentrating on leadership gifts. Also, each of these leadership gifts centers on the Word of God, showing that the Word is foundational to a mature church. When the Word is diminished or compromised, the church will be anemic.


Let’s look at these various gifted men:

A. The Lord gave some as apostles.

Apostle means, sent-out one. It is used in two senses in the New Testament.

First, it is used of the twelve apostles appointed by Christ, along with the apostle Paul (some would add, James, the brother of the Lord; Gal. 1:19). These men had seen the risen Christ (Acts 1:21-22; 1 Cor. 9:1; 15:7-9) and were commissioned directly by Him (Mark 3:13-14; Gal. 2:7-8). The Lord gave them the ability to perform miracles as an authentication of their apostleship (2 Cor. 12:12). He gave them authority to found the church and build it up (Eph. 2:20; 2 Cor. 10:8). Their inspired and authoritative writings constitute the bulk of the New Testament epistles (2 Pet. 3:15-16). Because their role and qualifications were unique, when they died, there were no legitimate successors.


A. The Lord gave some as apostles.

In the second sense, apostle is also used of others sent out under the authority of the church or of the twelve for some task (Acts 14:4; 1 Thess. 2:6; Rom. 16:7; 2 Cor. 8:23; Phil. 2:25). The men in the first group are designated as “apostles of Christ Jesus” (Gal. 1:1; 1 Pet. 1:1; etc.), whereas the other men are called “messengers [apostles] of the churches” (2 Cor. 8:23). In a very loose sense, the term might apply to modern missionaries (which comes from the Latin word for “apostle”), although they probably fit better under the heading of “evangelists.”


B. The Lord gave some as prophets.

Along with the apostles, the New Testament prophets laid the foundation of the church (Eph. 2:20). This term is a bit more difficult to define, resulting in more disagreement among scholars. Some argue that there is a legitimate use of the term today. But most conservative scholars insist that the gift passed off the scene after the completion of the New Testament canon. The New Testament prophets received direct revelation from God, which they imparted to the church. Sometimes they predicted the future, but at other times they expounded on revelation already given (Acts 11:27-28; 13:1; 15:32; 1 Cor. 14:3, 24-25, 29-32).


C. The Lord gave some as evangelists.

The apostles and prophets gave us the Word of God by direct revelation. The evangelists proclaim the Word at it relates to people’s need for salvation. This noun is only used in two other New Testament texts (Acts 21:8; 2 Tim. 4:5), but the verb (“to proclaim the gospel”) is used 54 times and the noun (“good news,” or “gospel”) 76 times (John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Ephesians [Moody Press], p. 142). Although all believers must proclaim the gospel, evangelists are those with a special gift to do so. They may do so as missionaries in foreign cultures or in their own culture (George Whitefield, John Wesley, Billy Graham). They may travel around or function mainly in one church (2 Tim. 4:5). As verse 12 implies, evangelists should not only preach the gospel, but also help equip the rest of us to do it better.


D. The Lord gave some as pastors and teachers.

The two words are linked by a single definite article, which leads most scholars to view them as a single gift. But some scholars argue on grammatical grounds that there are two different gifts with overlapping functions (O’Brien, p. 300, who cites D. B. Wallace, Greek Grammar; Calvin held this view). According to this view, all pastors must be teachers, but not all teachers are pastors.


The word pastor means shepherd.

This is the only place in the New Testament where the noun is used to refer to a ministry in the church, but the verb appears several times in this sense (Acts 20:28; 1 Pet. 5:2; see, John 21:16). The words pastor, elder, and overseer (= bishop) are used interchangeably (Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Tim. 3:1; Titus 1:5, 7; 1 Pet. 5:1-3).

Elder points to the fact that church leaders must be mature men of God.

Overseer looks at the main task, that of managing, leading (Heb. 13:7, 17), or overseeing the church.

Pastor looks at the task from the analogy of a shepherd and his flock. In that sense, he must feed (teach) the flock with God’s Word, guard the flock from wolves, and gently care for the flock.


The main point to keep in mind with all of these gifts, and especially with pastor-teachers, is that they must be centered on the Word of God.

If a pastor does not concentrate on preaching and teaching the Word, he may be a nice man and even a godly man, but he is not doing the main work of a shepherd.


2. Those with leadership gifts are to equip the saints for the work of service (4:12a).

Of course, evangelists and pastor-teachers are also engaged in the work of the ministry. But the point is, they don’t do it by themselves. Rather, they equip the entire body to work in accordance with their various spiritual gifts.

Every Christian is “in the ministry” in the sense that every Christian has a ministry to do for the Lord in building the body of Christ.


The word equip has the idea of “making someone adequate or sufficient for something” or some purpose.

So the idea is that pastor-teachers are to teach the Word to help the rest of the body become adequate or prepared so that they may serve the Lord in accordance with their gifts.


3. The goal is that the entire body will grow to unity, maturity, and Christ-likeness (4:12b-13).

Note four things in this regard:

A. The goal is that the body will grow or be built up.

B. The goal is that the body will attain to the unity of the faith by knowing well the Son of God.

C. The goal is that the body will grow to a mature man.

D. The goal is that the body will grow to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.


A Maturing Plan for Your Church Plant

Maturing in Your Spiritual Gifts (Are you growing in the gifts that God has given you?)

Finding Your Gifts (God equips the members of his body to build up the church. How has he equipped you?)

Cultivating the Gift of Discernment (Assess how well you’re developing this important gift that many leaders have.)

A Spiritual Audit for Leaders (A tool to help you see what you’re doing well, and where you can still grow.)

A Maturing Plan for Your Church Plant

Finding Your Leadership Style (Even for people with the gift of leadership, there are many ways to lead. What’s yours?)

Does He (or She) Have the Gift of Leadership? (Potential leaders can manifest their gifts in many observable characteristics.)

Reaching Your Potential (Where do you have room to develop your leadership gifts?)

Using Your Gift Well (Are you using the gift of leadership as leaders in the Bible did?)


If you’ll allow me I’d like to make a few comparisons between an immature church and a maturing church, and we’ll see where we think we fit in.


1. Immature churches are full of people who cry out, “Meet my needs!” (Arrows IN)

Maturing churches are full of people who cry out, “How can I meet the needs of others?” (Arrows OUT)

Maturing churches are full of…

• People who will lay aside their own comfort to start a new small group.

• People who will give up some of their time to lead a ministry team.

• People who will give up their desire to “take in worship” every week in order to lead a children’s class.

• People who will get out of their comfort zone and find ways to minister to their neighbors, co-workers, classmates.


2. Immature churches are filled with people who say, “I’ll be there when I can make it.”

Maturing churches are full of people who say, “I’ll be there. You can count on me.”

We will stagnate in our growth and maturity as a church as long as we cannot find people who will commit themselves to ministry on a regular basis. We simply cannot function at a more mature level without many more people making the determination in their life and in their family’s priorities that service is something that is scheduled in.


3. Immature churches are marked by people who are disconnected from each other – “It’s all about me.”

Maturing churches are marked by warmth and connection among the people. – “We’re an authentic Christian community.”


Acts 2:42-47 “They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. Everyone around was in awe--all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met. They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.”

http://www.sermoncentral.com/bible/NIV/Acts-2.asp?passage=Acts%202:42-47&ScrptureHover=sermon-84177-Growing%20Up:%20A%20Challenge%20to%20Become%20a%20Maturing%20Church


Maturing churches are groups of people that are intertwined with each other. They are a body – with multiple parts that don’t function as well without each other. These type of churches are places where people feel welcome as soon as they walk in the door. There is something almost tangible about the love that the people have for each other.


4. Immature churches are full of people who worship God during worship services.

These are people who come to church in order to make up for the bad choices they’ve made throughout the week – to somehow get reconnected to God with a spiritual “fix”.

Maturing churches are full of people who worship God as a lifestyle.


Where do you think our church rates? Remember, the church is simply a group of people. So the real question is, “What type of church are you helping us to be?”

Occasionally people grow older without growing up. When they grow mentally/emotionally but not physically we consider that abnormal. When they grown physically but not mentally/emotionally, we also consider that abnormal.

God wants us to grow up as a church – physically (that is – in numbers of people) and mentally/emotionally (that is in the depth of our commitment and relationship to Christ and to each other.)


In Isaiah, Chapter 6, the Prophet Isaiah sees a vision of the Lord in His Holy Temple, and he hears the Lord call out, “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”

His reply is instructive for all of us who want to mature in our faith, and to help our church mature into all God wants for us. He said, “Here am I, Lord, send me.” What’s your response?

12 Reasons Why Your Church Doesn’t Produce Spiritual

Growth

You focus more on Bible teaching than Bible engagement. – “We learned that the most effective strategy for moving people forward in their journey of faith is biblical engagement. Not just getting people into the Bible when they’re in church—which we do quite well—but helping them engage the Bible on their own outside of church.”


Growth

You haven’t developed a pathway of focused first steps. – “Instead of offering up a wide-ranging menu of ministry opportunities to newcomers, best-practice churches promote and provide a high-impact, nonnegotiable pathway of focused first steps—a pathway designed specifically to jumpstart a spiritual experience that gets people moving toward a Christ-centered life.”


Growth

You’re more concerned about activity than growth. – “Increased church activity does not lead to spiritual growth.”


Growth

You haven’t clarified the church’s role. – “Because—whether inadvertently or intentionally—these churches have communicated to their people that, no matter where they are on their spiritual journey, the role of the church is to be their central source of spiritual expertise and experience. As a result, even as people mature in their beliefs and embrace personal spiritual practices as part of their daily routines, their expectation is that it will be the church, not their own initiative, that will feed their spiritual hunger.”


GrowthYou’re focused more on small groups than serving. – “Serving experiences appear to be even more significant to spiritual development than organized small groups.”

You’re not challenging people to reflect on Scripture – “If they could do only one thing to help people at all levels of spiritual maturity grow in their relationship with Christ, their choice would be equally clear. They would inspire, encourage, and equip their people to read the Bible—specifically, to reflect on Scripture for meaning in their lives.”


Growth

You’re unwilling to admit that more is not better. – “Based on findings from the most effective churches, however, this ‘more is better’ way of thinking is not the best route for people who are new to a church, and it is particularly unsuitable for people who are taking their first steps to explore the Christian faith… Instead of offering a ministry buffet with multiple tempting choices of activities and studies, these churches make one singular pathway a virtual prerequisite for membership and full engagement with the church.”


Growth

You haven’t raised the bar. – “Too many churches are satisfied to have congregations filled with people who say they ‘belong’ to their church—who attend faithfully and are willing to serve or make a donation now and then. But that belonging bar is not high enough; simply belonging doesn’t get the job done for Jesus.”

You’ve created a church staff dependency. – “Taking too much responsibility for others’ spiritual growth fostered an unhealthy dependence of congregants on the church staff.”


Growth

You believe that small groups are the solution to spiritual formation. – “Based on the churches we have studied, including our own, there is no evidence that getting 100 percent of a congregation into small groups is an effective spiritual formation strategy.”


GrowthYou focus on what people should do rather than who people should become. – “Unfortunately, churches often make things harder still by obscuring the goal—to become more like Christ—with a complicated assortment of activities. For instance, encouraging people to: Attend teaching and worship services every week. Meet frequently with small community and Bible study groups (often requiring follow-up communications and homework). Serve the church a couple times a month. Serve those who are underresourced on a regular basis. Invite friends, coworkers, and family to church, special events, support groups, etc. When the church incessantly promotes all the things people should do, it’s very easy for them to lose sight of the real goal—which is who they should become.”


Growth

You aren’t helping people surrender their lives to Jesus. – “Spiritual growth is not driven or determined by activities; it is defined by a growing relationship with Christ. So the goal is not to launch people into an assortment of ministry activities; it is to launch them on a quest to embrace and surrender their lives to Jesus.”

5 signs that signal you are a part of an

unhealthy church plant.1. Leadership Does Not Have A Clear Vision

2. Leadership Can Never Be Challenged

3. You Are Comfortable but Never Convicted

4. Congregants Are Content With Being Pew Warmers

5. Outreach is Never Planned or Preached

10 Good Questions to Evaluate Your Church

Plant1. In what ways is the unique culture of your church helping you make progress?

How would you describe your culture? Is your church culture helping or hurting as you pursue God’s purpose for your church?

2. How would you describe the level of spiritual maturity in your church?

There are so many ways to approach this question. First, are our people praying? Do they hear God’s voice and obey? Second, are the people serving in ministry? Third, are they giving financially? Of course you could list more things, but if these three are strong, most everything else will fall into place.


Plant3. Are you developing new leaders and how are you doing that?

Next to the favor of God, everything rises and falls on leadership! Do the leaders in your church demonstrate strong spiritual depth and a servant heart? What are you doing to find and develop new leaders?! You will not realize your potential as a church without a serious dedication to this endeavor.


Plant4. How would you describe the strength of your volunteers?

Are your volunteers a powerful army or a struggling band of survivors? Much of that depends on how you select, train, encourage and empower your volunteers. Do you recruit to a vision or just to get a task done? All churches face the pressure of needing people to volunteer to serve, but how you build teams makes all the difference. How would you rate the overall esprit de corps of your volunteer ministries?


Plant5. What are the financial indicators telling you?

It is relatively easy to measure results when it comes to money. The weekly offering tells the truth. At the same time, one of the largest challenges a leader will ever face is successfully inspiring the people to trust God with their finances and remain obedient to generous giving. It’s sad but true, that in most churches half the people could leave and the church would experience very little change financially. Of course you don’t want them to leave, but the point is clear. Like it or not, money and ministry can’t be separated. It takes financial resources to reach people for Jesus!


Plant6. When you think of the majority of your leaders, what impression comes to mind?

Dedicated, competent, and joyous? Or are they complaining, lacking excellence and apathetic? I hope it’s more the former. What are the words that come to mind when you think of your leaders? How are you investing in them? How are you encouraging them? The one word definition of leadership is influence. How are your leaders influencing people for the sake of the Kingdom?


Plant7. Is your process of spiritual formation (discipleship) working?

What are the practical steps that guide your people in their journey toward spiritual maturity? If you lean too much into mechanical lists you can lose the more fluid and organic side of the Holy Spirit’s power. If you remove structure completely you run the risk of “feel good” ministry that can be warm and relational but lacking in depth and discipline. I have wrestled with this over the years and concluded there is no one right way. For me, I think one of the best ways to measure your process of spiritual formation is to gather stories. If there are stories of life change you are on the right track!


Plant8. How would you describe the overall morale of your church?

Similar to finances, it is easy to assess morale but difficult to improve it, if it’s not doing well. I can spend a few hours with a church staff and key leaders and have a very good sense of the overall morale of the church. It’s not difficult to sense what is going on. Are the people happy? Do they trust the leadership? Are they fired-up about the mission? Are they passionate about following Jesus? Is there momentum? Are problems solved with relative ease? You get the idea. Morale and culture are closely linked. If you are struggling and the culture and morale is not ideal, I urge you to pour your leadership energy there first.


Plant9. Are you on mission?

You must first be clear about the purpose of your church? What is it – exactly? It’s essential that your leaders become and remain aligned together in that mission. The bottom line is that the leaders are headed in the same direction. I have visited far too many churches that have multiple mission / vision ideas in the mix. I love to get the key leaders and staff in a room and then ask them to write the mission on a card. Not the words written on the wall, but what priority is actually lived out. It’s scary how many different things are written on those cards. And these are the leaders!


Plant10. Do your people enthusiastically invite others to your worship services?

I have coached churches where the people had very lukewarm feelings about the worship service. There was no way they would ever invite someone even if they did have a heart for the lost. This is a huge evangelistic combination. If your people are committed to the vision enough to invite people to church, and your church service is worth inviting people to – that is the combination you want.


Maturing Your Church Plant:


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Maturing Your Church Plant: Going Deeper and Broader