Establishing A Church

Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

A quick look at Acts 2:42-47 reveals these 5 basic principles:
o They exalted God--broke bread and prayed, they met in the temple
o They devoted themselves to one another--broke bread in their homes or fellowshipped together
o They devoted themselves to hearing and practicing the teaching of the apostle's--devoted themselves to God's Word and living it out
o They served one another--selling property and giving to those in need
o They shared their faith with others--found favor with all

Many churches define their mission in the same way:
The Assembly of God gives the church mission three principles to follow:
• to evangelize the world, making disciples.
• to minister to God. We were created to worship in all acts of life.
• to build the body of saints (i.e. specifically believers/the church), nourishing them so that they become conformed to the image of Christ (mature).

The foundational principles of Calvary Chapel
• Model of the church is found in the Acts
• it was filled with the Holy Spirit, led by the Holy Spirit, and empowered by the Holy Spirit, i.e. the Holy Spirit was directing its operation.

• The four basic principles of the church's mission are found in Acts 2: 42 They devoted themselves
• to the apostles' teaching
• to the fellowship,
• to the breaking of bread
• to prayer

Even Victory Outreach people are encouraged to follow these 5 basic principles. We will find traces of them in our mission statement, and in our values and principle (the 5E’s and 3C’s). But Pastor Sonny tells us why we should follow these principles in one of his news letters that are sent out to United We Can members. He tells us:
1) God wants obedience from His people and He has given us a three-fold mission:
We have a mission to minister to the Lord because God is more concerned with our relationship with Him than in what we do.
2) We have a responsibility to minister to the people. Where are you going to bring sinners to if you are not ministering to the people? You must create a place where sinners can grow, you have to create an atmosphere that is conducive for their salvation
God raises up workers to equip the people so that they can in turn be able to minister to the people around them.
a. We do this through hands-on training and getting involved in service/ministry
b. We do this in Victory Outreach by imparting the "Vision"
3) We have responsibility to minister to the world. God has given Victory Outreach a Vision and a mission to reach the lost and hurting people of the world
God will raise up workers as we minister to one another and equip the people.
You may have a calling of God on your life but the equipping of that call takes place in the local church.

Pastor Sonny has hit the nail on the head. If we summarize all this we see that "the purpose of the church is to exalt God, develop and grow the people towards maturity in order to send them out to do the same in others."

God has given us a "Vision" to reach the lost and hurting, the down and outer, and others; but we must keep in mind that it is one vision amongst many visions that God has given to the church worldwide. God has given these unique visions to the church in order to fulfill His vision for the church.
• Throughout history God's vision is to see His church grow to maturity and live in fellowship with Him, each other, and all creation.
• The scripture tells us that Jesus came to save the world. From Genesis to Revelation the story is about a paradise that was lost to a paradise that is restored. It is all about God redeeming His people so that He can fellowship with them.

In all my experience with Victory Outreach throughout the years, I can honestly tell you, that we do know how to do “hands-on ministry.” We know how to open the doors to service of all kinds. We train our people to serve in church services, in our rehab homes, in our training and discipleship meetings, in our conferences, during our church outings and parties; we train them to serve their leaders, be obedient, loyal, to give, how to take part in the ministries of the church, how to participate in the worship team, how to participate in evangelism, we train them in many different ways. All of these types of service and trainings and parts they play in the church are made available to them in the hope that as they go through their experiences they will grow.

But a problem occurs when we begin to use these different service opportunities as a measuring rod to determine if the person is growing to maturity or not. We say, “Oh yea, that person is doing good, he works faithfully as an usher or in security and that ministry is looking good.” Then you go to talk to the person and their lives are a mess; they are being evicted because they decided not to pay their rent, they struggle with sin because the still like to visit the old neighborhood and nobody there knows that they are Christian there; their children are continually angry and bitter at them because they are constantly nagging them; they bounce from one friendship to anther and always leaving a bitter taste in someones mouth because they want their own way.

You see, anyone can learn to serve, to give, to evangelize, to worship but that does not mean that they are growing; many times they are like the child who finds joy in helping his mother clean the house or his father change the tire on the car. They are doing it but it doesn’t affect their lives in any way. Their just doing what they have been trained to do but there is no change in their character, they are not maturing.

• A mature Christian looks like this:
 Hebrews 5:14 tells us that he puts the teachings of righteousness into practice and through that has learned to distinguish good from evil.
“… solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
• Philippians tells us that the mature Christian is open to the guidance of the Holy Spirit
All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.
Colossians 1:25-26 Tells us that the mature person has come to know the mystery of God, i.e. the gospel through the guidance of the Holy Spirit
NIV Colossians 1:25 I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness-- 26 the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints.

In other words, he has been taught, he is being taught, and he will continue to be taught and encouraged by the Holy Spirit through the word of God and others. It never stops for him, he is constantly learning.

The mature person is the one who is guided by the Holy Spirit and who has come to know the gospel, both intellectually and through his experience, and has put all that he has learned into practice so that he is able to distinguish what is truly good from what is truly evil.
Jesus told us that the one who is able to keep this balance “hearing the Word and putting it into practice,” is the one who grows to maturity.

So what does a mature Church look like? It would be a church that is fulfilling God’s vision for the church so it would be a church that follows the two greatest commands: love God and Love each other.

Think about it, if God’s vision is to live in fellowship with His creation, then building relationships through fellowship, commitment, devotion, and love toward one another would have priority.
• This church would be committed to one another as a family
• This church would be building relationships with one another
• Because of its love for one another this church would reflect the character of God (people would see God's character reflected in the way they act towards one another--collectively)
• This church would be devoted to the biblical message (not because they are obeying the wisdom of words[man's way], but because they are obeying the Words of wisdom[God's way]--see 1 Cor 2)

• The biblical message is the teaching of the Apostles, that is, biblical teaching/preaching that is based on sound biblical doctrine. (words of wisdom)
• The biblical message is not the teaching put together by gifted charismatic speakers who are skilled at mixing their own ideology (teaching), their own philosophy and scripture together to make their own preconceived points. (wisdom of words)

• Paul teaches us this in 1 Corinthians 2:6-13
Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. 7 No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God-- his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. 8 But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. 9 That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." 10 But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets. 11 No one can know a person's thoughts except that person's own spirit, and no one can know God's thoughts except God's own Spirit. 12 And we have received God's Spirit (not the world's spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us. 13 When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit's words to explain spiritual truths.

• Finally, this church would be fulfilling the mission that Jesus gave us "to make disciples"
• Making disciples not only includes teaching them fundamental doctrine and ministry skills and practices, it must also include the teachings of righteousness Heb. 5:11-6:3
• NLT Hebrews 5:11 There is much more we would like to say about this, but it is difficult to explain, especially since you are spiritually dull and don't seem to listen. 12 You have been believers so long now that you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things about God's word. You are like babies who need milk and cannot eat solid food. 13 For someone who lives on milk is still an infant and doesn't know how to do what is right. 14 Solid food is for those who are mature, who through training have the skill to recognize the difference between right and wrong. 6:1 So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don't need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God. 2 You don't need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.

Someone might ask, ‘Won't focusing on God's vision nullify the vision of Victory Outreach?’ No!!
We must remember that God works from the inside out. God grows the person individually to grow the church corporately in order to fulfill His vision for the church worldwide.

Knowing this and working to fulfill God's goal will keep the "Vision" balanced as we make sure all the principles of growth are taking place in our service/ministry for God.

Our Mission Statement tells us this:
• We are "church oriented" (people oriented)
• We are called to disciple (teaching them what Jesus and the Apostles taught us)
• We are committed /loyal/faithful to developing places where change can take place (churches, rehabilitation homes, and training centers)
• We strive to instill and inspire the people to grow to their full potential, i.e. towards maturity

How will we grow to maturity?
• By remembering who does the growing Ps. 127:1 (unless the Lord…); Mat 16:18 (Jesus said, I will build my church)
• By committing ourselves to doing our part in the growth process. Eph. 4:15-16
o “ Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love”.

• By keeping the message biblical and the mission balanced:
o A Biblical message means that we have to discipline ourselves as Pastors, teachers, and leaders to the discipline of study and research. Always keeping in mind Luke 6:40 implies that if we do not continue to grow they will not grow
 “ A student is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.”

• By making sure that growth is taking place in order to keep the Vision of Victory Outreach balanced:
o We must put God first and worship Him in all we do
o We must fellowship--loving , watching each other's back, encouraging one another
o We must disciple our people--teaching them everything Christ taught the Apostles
o We must serve one another--learning hands on through the ministry God has for us
o We must reach out to other hurting people

• Victory Outreach, has to focus on plugging the people that God sends to us into the "Family of God." Help them to become "members" of this body.
• Victory Outreach, has to remember that it is not the Pastor's responsibility to make sure the people are cared for. It is our responsibility as members of this Family of God.
• Victory Outreach, has to remember that if we are not faithful in caring for the few that God has sent us, then God will not make us responsible for many.

How will we know when God's Family in Victory Outreach is growing?
• When we see that they are learning to commit themselves to one another and are busy building relationships. That is when they are fulfilling God’s vision for His church
• Love cannot be learned alone, we must learn to fellowship
• The union and bond in God's Family is stronger and more permanent than any blood relationship; therefore it is important for us to learn to love and to commit ourselves to one another while we are here on earth.

Why does God want us to give other believers priority in love?
• John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

When we learn to commit ourselves to one another in love we will begin to reflect the character of God. We become the living “Image of God” on earth, fulfilling God’s vision for His family. When we learn to commit ourselves to one another in love we have been "rooted and established" in love for God and Christ lives in our hearts.