by Garrett Glende

We left off last week having discussed the roles of the leaders of the church and how the government within the body is structured. However, there was not much to do about the practical application of this issue, so we will pick up with that here. Most of the following ideas come from the book The Trellis and the Vine, by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne. If you haven’t picked it up yet, I highly encourage you to do so, as the issues they bring up have been immensely beneficial for myself and for the church in San Jose.

Since we know from last week’s study that there are certain distinct leaders within the church, the next question might be: where does that leave everyone else? If the role of the pastor is to teach the word and shepherd the flock, then is everyone else less important since we don’t have a formal title? As the authors suggest in The Trellis and the Vine, there must be a ministry mind-shift that takes place among the congregation so that each member is doing what he or she should. The first step towards achieving this goal is the recognition that we are all to be ministers of the Word. This is not a job for only the pastors, elders, and evangelists. In fact, if it were left up to them only, there would not be enough time in the day for everyone in the body to be ministered to. So, every member of the church holds the responsibility to minister to one another. This is the only way that the church will truly see growth in people’s lives.

The true job of the pastor is to train up others around him so that more and more people are equipped to minister one another. As these men and women are trained, they can train others as well. Thus, the amount of people in the church that are available to effectively minister the body is increased. Paul writes in Ephesians 4:12-13 that the leaders of the church have been gifted in order “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” God has structured the church in such a way so that all of the saints might take part in “the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ.”

This attitude is in contrast to one that thinks church growth is a number to be measured. It’s very easy for us to see activities and events spring up and mistake it for true growth. This is true for the church as a whole, but it is also true for our own individual lives. We must not think that we are growing in our walks with God just because we are involved in a handful of activities going on at church. Paul’s definition of growth does not include “ministry involvement,” but he rather calls for “knowledge of the Son of God [and] mature manhood.” In order to grow spiritually, we must increase in our knowledge of Christ. This is to take place as each member of the body ministers the Word to one another.

The direct application of this idea is simple. We need to speak God’s word to one another. If you’re wondering how you can serve in the church, but don’t see any specific “ministry” to join, just talk to people. Build relationships with other members so that you’re in a position to minister to them in a real way. If the whole church is committed to this principle, then the pastor’s job becomes much easier and the body will experience true gospel growth.