Ready to Grow

Acts 6:1–7 NASB95

1 Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native 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 desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables. 3 “Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task. 4 “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 The statement found approval with 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 brought before the apostles; and after praying, they laid their hands on them. 7 The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith.

INTRO: As we begin this morning, I want you to put on your construction hat and consider the importance of structure for your home. After all, if you do not have a good structure, you will experience sagging floors, bowing walls, and potential failure that can be disastrous.

ILL: A little over a year ago, Hurricane Helene damaged thousands of homes in WNC. One of them was my sister’s home in Swannanoa. And some of you have helped along the way as we have tried to repair and rebuild. We’ve had mission teams from SC, PA, and other areas in to help with all this. One of the biggest concerns? Structure.

The house was originally built in the 1920s and over the years it was remodeled, added onto, etc. BTW, that is necessary sometimes as a family grows. The problem is that when you remodel, you have to make sure that you are properly supporting the roof and floors and other important things. As we began to rip off drywall and paneling and such, we found that there were several instances where the structure was not supporting the load. Correcting this has been both challenging and costly. But it is worth it.

Well, buildings are not the only things that need structure. Organizations need structure- and churches are not exempt from this. Thankfully, we can learn from the NT church that we see in the book of Acts.

Now, it’s important to note that when we look at Scripture, sometimes we are given prescriptive instructions- commands that we must follow like love your neighbor, forgive one another, proclaim the gospel, etc. Other times, the text is descriptive. It tells the story of what was and we can draw from these descriptive accounts, wisdom, principles, truths, practical help, etc.

As we look at Acts 6, many of you are probably familiar with this passage as a text that describes the first deacons in the church. Now, to be precise, Luke does not explicitly call these deacons. And while we see deacons as a implied part of the story, there is a bigger lesson here about how the church organizes itself for mission.

Here’s the question this passage presses on us: Are we structured in a way that God can use LRBC to reach our neighbors and the nations?

So, what I want us to do is to examine the what, why, and how of this passage and try to answer for us how we can assess our structure and ensure we are able to bear the load of ministry for the years to come.

Now, for some of you, this sounds exciting. You are fixers- practically minded individuals who are elated to see how the Bible can speak to such pragmatic subjects as this. Others of you are thinking that this does not sounds spiritual enough to qualify as a sermon.

Well, let me just say that I believe God will speak us all through His perfect word. So I invite you to lean in- open your bulletins to the enclosed sermon guide, and follow along. The sermon is titled, Ready to Grow. In our time, I will show you how the NT church managed the demands of growth and thrived. May God apply His word and wisdom to our hearts today.

There is a pattern that I want to point out which sets us up for what we’ll be learning.

Growth Creates Chllenges

Challenges Demand Change. Change Requires Structure. And Structure Makes More Growth Possible

That’s exactly what we see in Acts 6 — a church growing, adapting, and strengthening so the gospel could continue to spread. And folks, I believe that is the story that God wants to write for us at LRBC as well.

So let’s first talk about

The Gift of Growth (1a,7)

This brief passage is bracketed with Luke’s record of multiplying numbers of people coming to faith and into the NT church. (READ)

These are not the first times that Luke records the growth of the NT church.

In ch. 2:41, 3000 people were added

In ch. 2:47, he says more were added but does not give a number.

In ch. 4:4, Another 5000 men were added, likely more women and children on top of that number

In ch. 5:14, he says multitudes of men and women were added

And in ch. 6:1 and 6:7, he now says the numbers were not just added to, but multiplying!!

In Acts 6, the growth was from a group of people called Hellenistic Jews. They were Jewish in religion, but they had been raised in a Greek culture. That means they spoke Greek, not Aramaic. They dressed like Greeks, ate like Greeks, and honestly were probably a bit difficult to get along with in certain measures because they did not come from the same background as did the Hebrew Jews.

But, you can tell that as Luke records this growth, it is celebratory! Praise God that those who were once in darkness have seen a great light!

Now, I know that when we talk about numbers, it can get superficial. Numbers can be a point of pride, just like when David took the census so he could boast. But on the other hand, Luke mentions these numbers continually because they are important. Each number signifies the growth of God’s Kingdom.

Why does growth matter? Growth matters because Jesus came to save the world. Every single soul has value and Jesus desires that each one would come to repentance and belief. Look, we can try to ignore it all we want, but the reason Jesus initiated the church in the first place was so the Gospel would be proclaimed in every nation because hell is the destination for every person who has not been ransomed by the blood of Jesus.

ILL: I have talked to some folks who turn their nose at this whole idea. They don’t believe in evangelism and would just as soon build up walls to protect themselves from the world rather than to go out and invite the world to know Jesus. But folks, are we not called to love our neighbors? Can we really be content to sit idly by as our neighbors and the nations perish in darkness when we are commanded to be the light of the world?

Now, I know that you and I cannot produce growth. Growth is God’s department. However, growth is a sign of health. Just like we’ve talked about in our Discipleship Trail- if we are healthy, we will grow more mature in our faith. Similarly, if our church body is healthy, we will see growth.

You might look around and think, “We aren’t exactly experiencing the kind of growth that the NT church saw.” And that’s true- these are big numbers! But don’t lose heart. God is not done building His church! And I believe that He is preparing us- calling us to prayer and unity around our purpose. Maybe He’s even giving us this season to strengthen our structure, so that when the days of growth do come, we’ll be ready to bear the load and advance the gospel.

After all, if we saw big numbers come in today, would we be able to steward those individuals? To disciple them along the discipleship trail. Now, we must cultivate the soil of LRBC to handle the growth that God may bring.

Now, the gift of growth is something to celebrate, but it also brings strain. Sometimes we call that strain problems- or opportunities. And when we face problems, or opportunities we have to figure out how to address them.

So, let’s talk about

The Challenge of Growth (1b-2)

(READ)

The early church indeed encountered problems due to their growth. We see specifically that the Greek-Jewish widows were being overlooked in daily meal rations. This is a real problem. A real ministry need. And as we see, this problem began to bubble up and turn into a conflict.

And I want you to notice that the complaint, while it probably started at the point of contact, was eventually not addressed until it got to the apostles. I can almost hear this, can’t you? The widows say, “Hey, I didn’t get any food…” and someone might say- “Gee, I’m sorry.” but they are thinking, “Not my problem!”

This happens in church too. There are real growing ministry needs:

We need nursery workers

Youth events

Homebound visitors

Small groups

Administration managers (Building, Budget, etc.)

Outreach projects

But you know why many churches don’t grow? Because change is hard. And when problems arise, people either ignore them or simply want someone else to fix them. That’s what was happening here in Acts 6. The people wanted the apostles, the pastors of the NT church, to fix the problem.

I hear this from time to time: “Pastor, now I don’t want your job, but here’s what I want you to do.” or “I’ve got a ministry idea for YOU.”

My challenge is that I a actually like tasks- I like to feel like I accomplish things and that there is value in my work. But I want you to notice that the apostles, with great wisdom, called the congregation together and told them that they could not forsake their calling to meet these needs.

Now at first glance, someone might think that they were being unloving or even lazy. But that’s not it at all. They were simply clarifying their calling. It did not mean that they didn’t care about the widows nor did it mean that they didn’t love the congregation.

Let’s do a quick survey:

How many of you here today believe God has called you and equipped you to teach and preach God’s word?

How many here believe you could take a plate of food to a poor widow?

How many could responsibly watch toddlers for an hour?

How many could be welcoming as visitors came into the church building?

There is a clarity in understanding what your role is and is not. And when pastors spend their time trying to be the answer to these ministry needs, the congregation becomes consumers, the church turns inward, and the mission is abandoned.

You see, the apostles understood what Paul would later teach the Ephesian church. Ephesians 4:11–12 “11 And He 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;”

God has called and gifted some to be pastors - to bring people to understand the truth of God’s Word and apply it. It is not desirable, the apostles say, that pastors should sacrifice their prayer and preaching ministry in order to meet needs that do not require their gifting.

That does not mean the ministry needs are unimportant. But it does mean that the ministry needs require structure to address them.

So let’s talk about

The Response to Growth (3-6)

(READ)

The structure, which we recognize as deacons, can be boiled down to this: The congregation must look among itself to see people who are mature in their faith, responsible, and capable, and these people are to be brought forward to be put in charge of ministry tasks that fit their abilities.

Let me say it another way: God’s mission advances when God’s people are mobilized through God’s structure. That’s a mouthful, but let’s look back to the text. I want to point out a few things:

The problem or ministry opportunity was that Greek-speaking Jewish widows were not being served. This is a worthy ministry and one that the church needed to address. It aligns with God’s heart for the widow and orphan and as the body of Christ.

Friends, we should seek to meet practical needs as we are able to the glory of the Lord. But this is not the mission of the church. It is, instead, a ministry task that the church should accomplish as it goes about making disciples of Jesus.

Therefore, the apostles had to ask, who are the right people for this task? We already know that it was not the apostles- they needed to be about the ministry of the word and prayer.

But it wasn’t just anyone either. The right people had to meet certain qualifications: They were mature in the faith- strong believers, exhibiting the fruit of the spirit. They were wise - they were able to make decisions based on facts and reality, not simply emotion or to people please. They were responsible and capable. They knew the job and could do it well.

So I want you to look at this- each of these men had Greek names, which meant they likely already knew the Greek-speaking Jewish widows who were in need, they knew how to communicate with them, they understood the culture, and they had a reputation among them. Who better to serve in this ministry task?

The apostles could affirm them in prayer and commission them and then get back to their primary responsibility. That is called structure. You’ve heard of pillars in the church? When everyone is serving in their giftedness, the church has great structure. And this can be extrapolated to other tasks-

Who better to lead a ministry to homebound than those who have been in the community longest and have a heart for them?

Who better to lead a ministry to children than one who has a reputation for being patient and gentle among them?

Who better to lead a ministry of administration than the one who is trustworthy and gifted in that area?

And every ministry task accomplished is a reflection of God’s grace and mercy for the church. That homebound senior citizen is assured that they are not forgotten- not by the church and not by Jesus. That weary mom of a toddler can sit and receive the encouragement of God’s word in the service and be strengthened in her faith.

You see, the structure of a church takes people who are identified by their peers as faithful, mature, responsible, capable- and commissions them to oversee the ministry needs and advance the Kingdom of God.

That structure allows the church to grow because the ministry of the word is prioritized by those called and gifted to pastor while the practical ministry needs are accomplished by the congregation. This allows congregants to truly love and serve one another. That service creates an environment where people are engaged; They take ownership of their roles and have a place to belong. They can serve with one another and grow together.

I want to return to the house in Swannanoa. When we pulled back boards and saw the places where the structure was not supported, it reminded me that sometimes churches need to check their structure too. Yes, it’s messy and sometimes costly to fix. After all, it’s way easier to ignore than to address these challenges.

But church, it’s worth it. Ministry tasks can derail the mission of the church if we are not structured to handle them as we accomplish the mission. Because when we are ready to grow, we can take the gospel where it needs to go.

Look again at v. 7 (READ)

Structure in the church is not just about practical organization - it’s about the advancement of the gospel. And listen, that Gospel is why we are here. If you have never heard the simple truth of the gospel, listen up:

There is a God. He made everything, and He’s perfect in every way — powerful beyond measure. But every one of us has sinned. Because of that, we’re separated from God, and we can’t fix it on our own. But here’s the good news: God loves you. So much that He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross and pay the price for our sin. If you’re willing to turn from your sin and put your faith in Jesus, you can be forgiven. You can be saved. You can become part of God’s family. I’d love to talk with you about how to take that step, so please make sure you speak with me or Pastor Josh before you leave today.

Encouragement for faithful & Call to action

[PRAY]

Discuss: Why do you think Luke emphasizes the growth of the church before and after the story of the seven appointed men?

Discuss: How might you personally take ownership in serving the church’s mission — in prayer, practical ministry, or using your gifts?

Discuss: How can you support the church in being ready for growth — whether numerical, spiritual, or relational?