A Solid Foundation for the Church

 June 16, 2024

Sunday

Most churches started well. A more mature group of members purposely left their mother church to begin the new mission church. Things go well because these people are mature enough to realize that the new church will not exist if all who have moved don't go to work reaching new people. The people starting the church form a strong foundation. They know what they believe. They understand that the gospel must go out and they are responsible for making sure it goes out. They are not looking to be served but to serve. The new church grows.

As the new church grows, the foundation remains the same. The walls of the church bulge because there is no way the original people to shepherd the flock of people who now call themselves a part of the church. There is a tremendous strain on the foundation. This is often where many churches hire more professional staff. That doesn't grow the foundation. Thus, the problem continues to get worse because budget begins to drive the church more than reaching people.

Then, the church begins to lose members of the foundation. They die, move, become too ill to serve and some are called away by God to serve in other churches. This makes the problem worse. The hired staff must be paid. Newer people do not generally give at the same rate as those in the foundation. Those people in the foundation are critically stressed.

Many churches decide to draft unprepared people into places of leadership at this point. These new people have no idea of doctrine and believe the church exists for a number of reasons. The foundation of the church is thin. It can't hold up the membership. Only a very small percentage of the membership ever shares Christ with anyone. Baptisms are few. Eventually, the church loses more people than it reaches.

It seems that many churches do not understand the mandate of the church. They fail to realize that the only healthy way to grow a church is to increase the foundation as the church grows. Those in the foundation know the purpose of the church. They know doctrine and are solid in the church's beliefs. They minister to others in their love of the Lord rather than in their obligation to the organization.

The mandate of the church is to make disciples. Disciples know and obey what Jesus commanded. They are matured by their relationship to the Lord and their relationship to someone who has more than teaching in mind. The person who makes disciples seeks to grow a person into a disciple who can function as an ambassador of Christ. These are the people who are part of a church's foundation.

It is no wonder that church attendance is shrinking. Many churches have failed to be what the church should be.

Be a disciple maker. This means that you are a disciple whose goal is to make others like yourself. That is a tremendous responsibility. It is never fully completed as long as you are able. However, it leaves behind a strong church that continues to reach, teach and obey the commands of Christ. Then, the church will have the presence of Christ.

Matthew 28:19–20 (NASB 2020) 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 follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”