His testimony stood out for me that Sunday. He just came in to the city and joined the Church. He had no accommodation yet. With no idea of where to stay, a member of the Church saw him and chose to accommodate him. Within days he became settled, got a job and is doing well today. This member made the pastor’s job easier.
Friend, God’s concept of a vital Church is a participatory Church. The strength of a local Church is not necessarily determined by the personal anointing of the pastor but in the contributory graces, gifts, anointing and involvement of every member (Romans 12:4-8). A good Church leadership is one that has been able to rally and deploy the spiritual resources of her members in furtherance of kingdom assignment.
The Corinthian Church exemplified the truth of a participatory Church (1 Corinthians 14:26). Notice that the Apostle Paul was not faulting the idea of everybody participating in the Church, he was only guiding them on how to administer such diverse and multidimensional flow. He was emphasizing order and not exclusivity of ministry.
How does this relate to us today? We must all go to Church not only with the mindset of receiving but also with the mindset of contributing. We should not go to Church waiting to be blessed alone, we should be prepared to be a blessing at our various levels (Acts 20:35).
We need Churches where members pray as much as their pastor who is coming to preach. As the pastor prays to be accurate in ministering, members should also pray to be accurate in receiving. As Church leaders prepare to minister and pray for people, members also should be prepared to join hands with other members and connect Heaven together with them (Acts 12:5).
Peter and John were on their way to Church prepared. No wonder they performed miracles even before entering Church (Acts 3:1-8). They were so loaded with God that they did not have to go in and then come back to heal the lame man. They discharged ministry from their personal walk with God.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria