Order in the Church

(Turn to Titus 1)

When the Apostle Paul wrote to Titus, one of his own sons in the faith, the Holy Spirit of God inspired him to say, "For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting...” (Titus1:5)

It is the responsibility of a pastor to bring order to the local church.

There are a few areas in our church that are lacking. things that “are wanting”

My aim is to set those things in order

(Turn) Acts 20:28, Paul charged the church leaders at Ephesus, "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."

As an overseer, the pastor is to see the needs in the church and follow the Holy Spirit's leading in bringing order to the church.

This daunting task cannot be accomplished by the pastor himself.

This church is a team effort.

Delegation is our key to success:

If a leader does not properly delegate, it can lead to several negative consequences, including:

1. Overburdening themselves: When a leader doesn't delegate tasks to others, they may end up taking on too much work themselves, leading to burnout, stress, and exhaustion.

2. Hindering team development: If a leader doesn't delegate tasks to their team members, they may miss out on opportunities for their team to learn and grow, and may inhibit the development of their team members' skills and abilities.

3. Slower progress: By not delegating tasks, a leader may slow down the progress of the project or the organization, as they are unable to rely on their team members to contribute their skills and expertise.

4. Lack of trust: If a leader doesn't delegate tasks to others, it may indicate a lack of trust in their team members, which can damage team morale and lead to a lack of motivation among team members.

5. Inefficiency: By not delegating tasks, a leader may be missing out on the opportunity to leverage their team's expertise and skills to complete tasks more efficiently and effectively, which can lead to wasted time, resources, and effort.

Growing churches are churches where a strong spirit of teamwork is exhibited.

These are churches that are striving together for the faith of the gospel.

In Ephesians 4:11-12, the Bible says, "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."

I believe the work of the ministry is primarily the preaching and teaching of the Word of God; therefore, the pastors are to equip the church family in the vital areas of soul-winning and discipleship.

Beyond the actual ministry in the Word, however, there are many other service ministries in the local church, which must be set in order to support the ongoing work of reaching people and edifying them in the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We want to fulfill the Great Commission.

Our goal at FBC is to help people find and follow Jesus.

“We don’t rise to the level of our goals, we fall to the level of our systems”

I recognize that there are many Bible-based methods that should not change in a church that truly desires to please the Lord.

For example, God has chosen the foolishness of preaching to confound the wise (1 Corinthians 1:21-27).

This is His method for proclaiming the truth.

There are other methods, however, which can and should be updated from time to time in the church. For example, nursery registration, youth activities, and even the flow of traffic out of the church on Sunday will need continual assessment to be sure we are meeting the needs of our church family.

Methods are not always timeless. As one preacher said years ago, "Methods are many; principles are few. Methods may change, but principles never do."

Furthermore, I recognize that methods and organizational principles are not the key to ministry.

Without the power of the Holy Spirit, lives will never truly be changed; therefore, it is not my desire to only look at the organizational and numeric growth of the church.

Any pastor or church leader who makes numerical growth his goal instead of spiritual growth is likely to compromise in his quest for success.

Instead, we must make pleasing Christ our goal as we boldly proclaim His truth to a lost world.

Psalm 127:1 “1 Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.”

I want to focus more on the Children’s Ministry:

To have a system in place that we all use to best develop and teach our children the truths of God’s Word

Why?

Wouldn’t it be so much easier to have a church without all these children’s Sunday school classes?

1. They are eternal souls

...Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.-MARK 10:14

They are much more likely to be saved if they are reached as children

2. They are the future of our church

They are the next generation’s church

They are the future Sunday School Teachers

They are the future bus drivers

They are the future soul winners

They are the future pastors

They are the future missionaries.

Deut 6:6-7 “6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: 7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

3. They bring life and joy to our church

3 John 1:4 “4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.”

Being a dad has brought me the happiest moments of my life.

They bring so much joy and happiness into my life.

And the greatest joy is to hear of their salvation, their learning of God’s Word, their obedience to the Bible.

I love having kids in church!

So I’ve asked bro. David to help us get the most out of our children’s programs.

I’ve delegated the responsibility to him.

A thriving children's program is essential for any church that seeks to effectively meet the needs of its community.

When a child who becomes excited about the activities in his class at church conveys that excitement to his parents, it encourages them to be faithful in their attendance.

Many parents have been won to the Lord through the faithful persistence of children!

Likewise, if a child does not want to attend his Sunday school class and complains about going to church, or if his parents do not approve of his classroom environment, they will use it as an excuse not to attend. The church that does not focus on expanding its children's ministries is stifling its own growth.

David Brannan is the Director of the Children’s Church Ministry.

He has a passion to teach our church kids about Jesus and living for Him.

He has a vision and the skill to bring order into our classrooms where the Bible can be taught and practiced.

So Bro. David is our Youth Director (Meaning he will be organizing and implementing our operating procedures for children’s church)