The Purpose of the Church

Why do we have church? That’s a question that we must get clear on in order to fulfill the plans and purposes that God has for us. Right off the bat the church is not a social club even though we have social events at times and lifelong friendships are created in church, but that is not the purpose of the church. We don’t exist just to have a nice facility with the best equipment or to have weekly meetings that “appeal” to the masses! We don’t even exist to have the best social media presence. So why do we have Church. The purpose of the church is this.

The Passion Translation Chapter 28

18 Then Jesus came close to them and said, “All the authority of the universe has been given to me. 19 Now go in my authority and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 20 And teach them to faithfully follow all that I have commanded you. And never forget that I am with you every day, even to the completion of this age.”

1. The Church is here to Go!

Go! 2/3 of God’s name is go! As humans, we really don’t have a problem going! We go to work. We go shopping. We go to parties. We go to out of our comfort zone to build businesses and successful companies. We go to visit friends and families. We go to special occasions like weddings and baby luaus. We love to go traveling to other cities, countries and love to go on vacation. We just love to GO! That is until it comes to going to make disciples. Going for God’s purposes seems really difficult to us. After all, going to make disciples is why we have a pastor and that’s his or her job, or it’s the evangelist, or some other “full time” church personnel! This passage of scripture tells us the purpose of the church is to GO! Go where?

2. Go to all the nations and make disciples!

So we’re to go to all the nations, that includes right here, but not just Go, but go and make disciples of all, that word means all, nations. That means everyone in the nations or in other words, all people. So what is a disciple.

A disciple is one who repents of sin, trusts in Jesus for salvation, and obeys His teachings.

Lexham Theological Wordbook μαθητής

μαθητής (mathētēs). n. masc. disciple or pupil. A disciple is a pupil or learner of their teacher.

Look at what Mark 16 says. It tells us to go into all the world and preach this Gospel to every creature. Once again that’s everyone!!!

The New King James Version Chapter 16

Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

So we are to go to all the nations, all the world, and make disciples by preaching the good news of Jesus! When we do this, Jesus is with us and equips us with the “signs” we need to be able to GO. These signs validate what we are saying and helps people have the faith needed to accept Jesus! We are going so they can hear the Gospel!

The New King James Version Chapter 10

14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:

“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,

Who bring glad tidings of good things!”

16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “LORD, who has believed our report?” 17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God

They need to hear God’s word and that only happens when the Church goes.

3. We baptize them and keep teaching them faithfully!

This is not a one time deal. It’s not a tally of how many we can reach in a day. It takes time. We disciple people throughout their walk with the Lord. We are always there to encourage, to sharpen each other and to build strong relationships. It might sound like a lot, but one of the reason we come to church is to get equipped to Go!

New Living Translation Chapter 4

Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.

4. The purpose of the ministry is to equip believers!

The apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor and teacher are God’s provision to the believers to help equip them to GO! They aren’t there to do all the work. They are there to equip the church. We in the ministry don’t only teach what’s in the word but we do it to in order to be imitated. After all we in ministry also have to do the Great Commission. But when the entire Church Goes we can reach many more people instead of trying to get them to come to church.

How many of you know people that others in the church don’t know? It could be a high school friend, someone from the old neighborhood, a person you work with, someone you play sports with. The reality is we know more people than the pastor or minster knows. So the job of those in ministry it to equip the believers to be effective ministers. Now here’s a disclaimer, you also have to be studying the word, praying, going, on your own. We don’t wait for the “next church outreach” to GO. No we are constantly going. Now we don’t go to work, for instance, and start preaching. No we build relationships so we are there for them in their time of need. We go to be light in the darkness of this crazy world we live in. WE GO!

1. So we are to GO!

2. We are to make disciples!

3. We are to continue teaching them when needed!

4. And we come to Church to be equipped to GO!

Sounds like a plan, right? The only thing is this plan is not optional! This is the Great Commission, not the great suggestion. Matthew 7:21-27 in the Passions Translation

The Passion Translation Chapter 7

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the realm of heaven’s kingdom. It is only those who persist in doing the will of my heavenly Father. 22 On the day of judgment many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, don’t you remember us? Didn’t we prophesy in your name? Didn’t we cast out demons and do many miracles for the sake of your name?’ 23 But I will have to say to them, ‘Go away from me, you lawless rebels! I’ve never been joined to you!’

24 “Everyone who hears my teaching and applies it to his life can be compared to a wise man who built his house on an unshakable foundation. 25 When the rains fell and the flood came, with fierce winds beating upon his house, it stood firm because of its strong foundation.

26 “But everyone who hears my teaching and does not apply it to his life can be compared to a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 When it rained and rained and the flood came, with wind and waves beating upon his house, it collapsed and was swept away.”

So we need to make that commitment in our own lives to GO!

If we call ourselves Christian, and have accepted Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, Lord and Savior, then going is not only when it is convenient to us. It is our mandate!

As we recognize Bradley today, we are recognizing that he has not only been licensed by the Assemblies of God, both by the General Council of the Assemblies of God and the Hawaii Assemblies of God, he has accepted the responsibility of being one who is called by God to be a leader who has accepted the responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This is why we are recognizing him today! He has done this which means he is ready to work for God. License is not a title, it’s a responsibility! It’s a call!