The Local Church

Things that Matter:

Unity

There are 8 units that were covered as part of the class. All of which can be understood in the context of the unity:

Unity in the Plan and Purpose of the Church

Unity between the People of the Church

Unity in dealing with the pressures involved in local ministry

Philippians 2:2 KJV 1900

2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.

We are “called out of the world,” at the point of salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

2 Corinthians 6:17 KJV 1900

17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you,

When we are saved, we are “called out of the world,” but into a local assembly called the Church. I speak here of the local assembly, not the universal body of Christ, which we also become members of at salvation.

The Church is visible -it can be seen (both internally and externally)

It is seen in form of church government - in our case it is a congregation form of church government

Unit 3, It is seen by commonality of clear goals, consistent execution, faithful leaders, joyful promotion, mature believers, constant evaluation

It is visible in unit 5, by how it handles finances, both the receiving of tithes and offerings and how those funds are expended

It is visible in its ministries, Unit 6 covering the ministries of children and youth, preaching the word, Unit 7 ministries relating to soul winning

It is visible in how it disciples new believers in unit 8

discipleship creating Christian charger, foundational doctrines, opportunities to serve and discipling others

It is independent and autonomous

With independence comes with some liberty

1 Corinthians 6:12 KJV 1900

12 All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient: all things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.

Though there is liberty, we must always be aware of unit 2: there is no perfect church, that is a myth

We cover that thought there is liberty, in unit 3 we covered ministries and the dangers involved:

Avoid getting the wrong people involved in ministry, having too many ministries, not having ministries without the right people

Unit 5, there is liberty in finances, but at the same time we must avoid financial pitfalls such as:

excessive debt, not presenting a clear vision, not being transparent

Unit four, though there is liberty in music, we must be sure that it is:

filled with the spirit in the form of psalms, hymns and spiritual songs

We learned the The church’s final authority is the Bible as covered in Unit 1. The Bible

Given by inspiration - 2 Tim 3:16

Preserved - Psalm 12:6-7

Eternal - 1 Peter 1:23

Incorruptible - 1 Peter 1:23

Saving - James 1:23

Pure - Psalm 119:140

Other things that “matter” in the church I learned.

Leadership is critical. It also runs through all the units.

Praying that the Lord send the right leaders

This gets at the importance of discipleship, unit 8, because all future leaders of the church are going to come from discipleship

The importance of how we worship in music, preaching, evangelism, church functions, and supporting missionaries

The importance of history in the early church as learned in acts and also in the history of the church as it developed over time

The final thing I learned is the importance of study. There is so much material and all of it is important. However, one thing I have noticed about the church and this institute is that the church will provide the right discipleship, education and training to the right people at the right time.