On Mission For Christ: Biblical Foundations for Church Growth and Vision Alignment

Introduction

A lot of organizations grow, many of them grow exponentially and yet they have nothing to do with the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Growth, in God’s economy is not a matter of numbers or size, in fact Jesus tells us that the way, the road that leads to destruction is broad and many are they that go that way. His way however consists of a narrow way which few find it. (Matt 7:13-14).

Then He proceeds to warn people of false prophet that come in sheep’s clothing. They have an appearance of truth but they are not of the truth

God’s design cannot be found in the word of modern prophets who have their own opinions which differ from person to person. We must find God’s design within the Word of God. That is the only way we can ensure that we are lining up with His will. So I stand before you with certain presuppositions. Presuppositions that I can but do not have alloted time to defend today. I am assuming these presuppositions to be as true to you as they are to me.

The Bible is the infallible, inerrant, and sufficient word of God. That in it is everything I need and will ever need to live a godly life and to teach others to do so. I am totally and completely informed by the inexhaustible words contained within its 66 books.

I also assert that salvation is the unique work of God. That it is received by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone and there is nothing that I could ever claim as doing or being that would have me deserve such a salvation.

That Jesus Christ is the Savior, the only begotten, not made of God and who is Himself God. And He is the head of the church.

Based on these we now proceed to talk about being on mission for Christ and biblical foundations for church growth and vision alignment.

1. The Biblical Organization and Structure of the Church

A well-structured church aligns with God’s design, ensuring effective ministry and growth.

Matthew 16:18 LSB

18 “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

He acknowledge that his apostle is a rock (Petros) a his name means just that but upon this rock (petra) which is himself he will build his kingdom. Jesus is the builder of the church according to:

1 Corinthians 3:11 LSB

11 For no one can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the builder of the Church. Not you, not me, not anyone. This is one of the biggest obstacles for pastors as we can through our words and actions claim ownership to something that is not ours. which is the point of the Parable of the Vine-growers found in Matthew 21:33-40. In which the owner of the vineyard rented it out to vine-growers but when it was time for the owner to get his cut they denied him even to the point of killing his son so they could keep it to themselves.

As leaders, we are stewards of that which belongs to the Lord. It is His sheep, in fact we are sheep ourselves. But as pastors we have pretty much one job, and one job alone.

As pastors of perhaps small congregations, sometimes we may have other duties. But those other duties must remain undone if they interfere with your primary duties which is the only reason you are a pastor.

Ephesians 4:11–16 LSB

11 And He Himself gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming, 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, that is Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being joined and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the properly measured working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

The role of church leadership is equipping the saints. Pastors and teachers’s job is to equip the saint for ministry

You are not the one to do the ministry, your job is to equip the saints to do the ministry. Teach the saints, guide the saints, pray for the saints, and send the saints to do in the community fully, robustly, thoroughly, biblically sound to articulate the gospel, to spread the gospel, to live out the gospel in their communities and with each other.

As we organize the church, we must use the Scriptures to base everything we do according to what is prescribed. No one should pastor a church by themselves. We have no example of lone rangers, and solo acts in Scripture. Even when Jesus sent his disciples out He sent them 2 by 2, and did not put one over the other. If fact, the hierarchy that exists in the world should not even come close to resembling what leadership looks like in the church.

Matthew 20:25–26 LSB

25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. 26 “It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant,

So Paul’s instructions to Titus was to appoint elders in every city (Tit 1:5-9). So a plurality of elders checking on each other and holding each other accountable according leading the flock according to their gifting is paramount. But how do you select elders, what qualities must a man have to be an elder and/or a deacon.

1 Timothy 3:1–13 LSB

1 It is a trustworthy saying: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a good work. 2 An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3 not addicted to wine or pugnacious, but considerate, peaceable, free from the love of money; 4 leading his own household well, having his children in submission with all dignity 5 (but if a man does not know how to lead his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?), 6 and not a new convert, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7 And he must have a good reputation with those outside the church, so that he will not fall into reproach and the snare of the devil. 8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued, not indulging in much wine, not fond of dishonest gain, 9 but holding to the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. 10 And these men must also first be tested; then let them serve as deacons if they are beyond reproach. 11 Women must likewise be dignified, not malicious gossips, but temperate, faithful in all things. 12 Deacons must be husbands of only one wife, leading their children and their own households well. 13 For those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a high standing and great boldness in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

So you start with elders, as the church grows in need and numbers, then you might have to add deacons in order to serve the needs of the people.

Acts 6:1–7 LSB

1 Now in those days, while the disciples were multiplying in number, there was grumbling from the Hellenists against the Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. 2 So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, “It is not pleasing to God for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. 3 “Therefore, brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this need. 4 “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the service of the word.” 5 And this word pleased the whole congregation, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte from Antioch. 6 And these they stood before the apostles, and after praying, they laid their hands on them. 7 And the word of God kept on spreading, and the number of the disciples continued to multiply greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

This was the delegation and leadership structure of the early church according to the Scriptures. Our churches should use this as our blueprint as to how we organize. As you study the Scriptures remember that there is a difference between that which is descriptive and that which is prescriptive. Descriptive tells you what happened which could be good, bad, or just an example to follow or and advice concerning what not to do as you consider its outcome.

Prescriptive are the mandates, the commands that tells us what ought to be done. What must be done. The appointing of elders, and the equipping of saints for ministry is prescriptive… it must be done.

Once you have your biblical structure. The church must have a clear direction which lead us to point 2.

2. Setting and Planning Goals for the Church’s Development

Church goals must align with God’s mission and be Spirit-led rather than human-driven.

Habakkuk 2:2–3 LSB

2 Then Yahweh answered me and said, “Write down the vision And write it on tablets distinctly, That the one who reads it may run. 3 “For the vision is yet for the appointed time; It pants toward its end, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come; it will not delay.

The vision must be well articulated. It needs to be written down somewhere, everywhere. And made plain. It must be looked at again, and again, and again. It must be articulated, over, and over, and over again. It must be internalized and committed to memory by everyone in the leadership.

Proverbs 16:3 LSB

3 Commit your works to Yahweh And your plans will be established.

And this vision must be committed, submitted to God because the vision must be based on God and His goals.

Matthew 28:19–20 LSB

19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Your vision, your goals must fall under and adhere to the Great Commission as the ultimate mission. Your vision must be derived from the Great Commission.

“To help people experience and share in an exciting relationship with Jesus Christ”

Every staff meeting, one of the elders will ask how this week’s message relates to the church’s vision.

Acts 2:42–47 LSB

42 And they were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to the prayers. 43 And fear came upon every soul; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. 44 And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; 45 and they began selling their property and possessions and were dividing them up with all, as anyone might have need. 46 And daily devoting themselves with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number daily those who were being saved.

The early church’s devotion to teaching, fellowship, and growth was paramount to the spreading of the gospel throughout the world.

Once they apostles had their marching orders and they were in one accord they started moving in the direction of Christ’s mandate.

But having those goals is not enough. The members of the church must understand them and embrace them. That is where the preaching and the teaching come in.

3. Helping Church Members Understand, Embrace, and Follow the Pastor’s Vision

Your vision (the collective of elders) must be biblical, it must be clearly communicated, and consistently modeled.

Proverbs 29:18 LSB

18 Where there is no vision, the people are out of control, But how blessed is he who keeps the law.

This verse has been greatly misused in America, I do not know about here. The translation in english is where there is no vision but the meaning behind it in the Hebrew is where there is no revelation, like the kind a prophet received. and the idea of people perishing with is how is translated in the KJV does not refer to unsaved people dying in sin. What this verse actually means is:

Without God’s Word, people abandon themselves to their own sinful ways. On the other hand keeping or obeying God’s law brings happiness

This proverb looks both to the lack of the Word (i.e., 1Sa 3:1) and the lack of hearing the Word (Am 8:11, 12), which lead to lawless rebellion (cf. Ex 32:25; Lv 13:45; Nu 5:18). The proverb then contrasts the joy and glory of a lawful society.

So you have to preach, teach a word that is biblical. and since you are preaching based on the vision, the vision itself must be biblical. If you are not preaching the Word of God. then the people have no vision, no revelation, no Word, and sinfulness will run rampantly out of control.

In Nehemiah 2:17-18 (do not read) we see an example Nehemiah casting a vision that inspired action based on what had done.

1 Corinthians 11:1 LSB

1 Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.

Leaders must model the vision. Do as I say and not as I do will not do. People do not respond well to bad examples.

If you are a sheep, and you must be. You must follow the Great Shepherd. As John 10:27 emphasizes, sheep follow the shepherd when they recognize his voice. The right people will follow you if, and only if you are following Christ.

As the church embraces the vision, the next step is preaching messages that reinforce it.

4. Preparing and Developing a Biblical Message Related to the Year’s Goal

Preaching must be expository, Christ-centered, and aligned with the church’s mission.

2 Timothy 4:2 LSB

2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and teaching.

Line upon line and precept upon precept. Your preaching must be prepared. You must preach whether it is convenient or not… With patience, correct, rebuke, and encourage them with good biblically robust teaching.

Luke 24:27 LSB

27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He interpreted to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.

After Jesus was resurrected, two of his followers were walking towards a villlage called Emmaus and they were talking about Jesus’ crucifixion and all that had happened…

He took them through the entirety of Scripture which was all about Him. Christ is the center of all Scripture. So when you preach from His word, it must always lead to Christ.

Nehemiah 8:8 LSB

8 They read from the book, from the law of God, explaining and giving insight, and they provided understanding of the reading.

This is literally the entirety of our job as pastors. You take the Scriptures you identify what it says, then expound on what it means by what it says, and then the implications and applications for our lives today.

Give sense of the Scripture so people understand.

Colossians 3:16 LSB

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratefulness in your hearts to God.

His Word must make its home in the hearts of the people who hear you that they will be moved into action.

If your vision is biblical, and your preaching is biblical, there will not be a single sermon you could possibly preach that it will not reinforce the vision for the church or even the goals of that year.

Like I said every staff meeting one of my elders begins the meeting by asking “how did the message today bring us closer to our vision” and I am always memorized by the responses in which every one has found a connection between the message and the vision no matter what I preached.

The Bible is a supernatural book. It is the most interconnected book ever written with at least 63,000+ documented cross-references and potentially hundreds of thousands more thematic connections. Its unity across 66 books, written by over 40 authors across 1,500 years, written in three different continents, in three different languages, demonstrates divine authorship and consistency.

And once everyone is connected to the source they will be mobilized to action because the one who hears the Word but does not do the word has not understood anything. And the whole church must be involved in achieving the church’s goal

5. Involving Church Members in Achieving the Church Goals

The whole body must function together, with every member playing a role.

Ephesians 4:16 LSB

16 from whom the whole body, being joined and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the properly measured working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

What the church needs is in the church. Someone in the church as the means, or the gift to accomplish what is needed. If such a person does not exist in your congregation then you do not have that need. It may be a want but not a need.

1 Corinthians 12:12–27 LSB

12 For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. 13 For also by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. 14 For also the body is not one member, but many. 15 If the foot says, “Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 16 And if the ear says, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body,” it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But now God has appointed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. 19 And if they were all one member, where would the body be? 20 But now there are many members, but one body. 21 And the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you”; or again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” 22 On the contrary, how much more is it that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary, 23 and those members of the body which we think as less honorable, on these we bestow more abundant honor, and our less presentable members become much more presentable, 24 whereas our more presentable members have no such need. But God has so composed the body, giving more abundant honor to that member which lacked, 25 so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. 27 Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.

The church is not the pastor or a family or individual. The church is one body but with many parts

Do not hinder gifts, even if you feel threaten by them. You may find one of your teaching elders more charismatic and people may really like him. Your flesh will want to get in the way of this. This is not your yours, it all belongs to God. And if someone can do more than you it is because God has made it so. Do not stand in opposition to God.

Everyone must utilize the gifts that are given to them. Do you remember the parable of the talents in Matt 25:14-30? How did the Lord react to the one that buried his talent rather than investing it?

James 1:22 LSB

22 But become doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves.

You must encourage everyone to use their gifts and talents for the betterment of the whole body. The individual who is not doing this is out of order. However, you cannot force anyone as they all have one master which is Jesus Christ.

Final Thoughts and Call to Action

Encourage the pastors to examine your church structure, vision clarity, preaching effectiveness, and member involvement.

Church growth is not about numbers but about faithfulness to God’s Word and mission.

Close with a prayer for wisdom and alignment with God’s will.

Prends soin de la profondeur de ton ministère, laisse Dieu s’occuper de son ampleur (Take care of the depth of your ministry, and let God take care of its breadth.)