We hear The Church referred to in many different ways.  Most people speak of a church referring to a particular group of believers locally or denominationally.  Too many a church is simply a building whether anyone is there or not.  These concepts tend to promote the idea that in God there are many different churches.  This is contrary to scripture. It tends to promote disunity causing The Church not to be the influence in the world God intended it to be.

     As we have said before, The Church is a people not a place.  It is a family made up of all those who follow Jesus by faith.  Matthew 18 makes it clear that whenever two or more members of The Family gather in Jesus name The Church is there in power.  Jesus says He is present in a special way, and because He is, The Church has the power to make things happen.  They can stop them or set them in motion.

     Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us that the closer we come to Jesus’ return the more we should get together.  There are more things to deal with so more needs to be done.  Today much of The Church has substituted meeting in a building for meeting in power.  Often there is no power because even though we meet in Jesus name, we really meet in the name of an organization or division.  It must make Christ really sad when we attend a meeting on Sunday then ignore His family and the needs of those around us in our daily lives.  The failure of His people, to show His love for one another, makes it hard for the world to see The Church.  It makes it difficult for The Church to be the salt and light He intended it to be.

     We must realize that whenever two of us are together Jesus is there in His Church to do the things He wants done on the earth.  When we acknowledge Him and His purpose, He will work through us to establish His Kingdom in the hearts of people.   At our request He will do whatever it takes for this to happen.  We need to understand, The Church was designed to operate as interdependent teams based on spiritual family relationships.

     This is the life God wants His Church to live.  It begins with seeing The Church the way He sees it. We do this by seeing the family of believers and its purpose through God’s eyes.  That purpose is to establish God’s Kingdom in peoples’ hearts.  This should lead us to minister to all people especially those who are part of the family of God.  It should cause us to seek opportunities to be salt and light by praying for people, sharing an encouraging word, or ministering to needs when we’re able.  The size of the task should prompt us to team up with others to accomplish it.

    When we see the power that comes from Jesus through His Church then we will want to team up with other believers.  We’ll want to get together regularly with fellow believers to stir up love and good works in each other.  There will be an urgency to reach lost souls.   We will do more than attend a “church meeting” on Sunday to fulfill our religious duty.  We will spend time each day with fellow believers in our family sharing and praying for one another.  We’ll get together regularly with other believers where we work, in our neighborhood, or where we go to school to share, and pray for each other and the needs around us.  If we are a leader, we will get together with other leaders for fellowship and prayer.  Living out the gospel will be part of our daily life. His Church will be the salt and light Jesus intended it to be.
 

     The scriptures indicate that in order to promote spiritual family relationships and team work, The New Testament Church was not ruled over by a hierarchy, but guided by teams of servant leaders who watched over God’s flock and God’s work.  The Church manifested itself in two forms.  The first was The Local Church which consisted of all believers in a particular geographical area.  It was led not by a pastor, but by a group of elders.  This was a group of three to twelve men of equal spiritual maturity who gave themselves to the word and prayer so they could hear from God and guide The Church to fulfill its purpose. The second was the Apostolic Mission Team. This consisted of two men of equal spiritual maturity accompanied by other Church members. They were sent out from The Local Church to reach the nations with The Gospel.  Below, is a brief explanation of the expressions of The Church, and how they are suppose to work together.

 The eight teams are:

1. PRAYER TEAM: They serve the church by keeping them informed of prayer needs.  They also maintain a church prayer list, and church prayer chain to pray for emergencies.  The team should encourage prayer in home groups, and teach church members how to have personal and group prayer time. In addition, they should lead in establishing church prayer meetings; and seek to develop around the clock (24-7) intercession by church members (at least 2 or 3 people praying together at all times).

2. PRAISE & WORSHIP TEAM: They assist in helping the church come into God’s presence by leading worship in group meetings; introduce new songs; and training people in music and praise & worship.

3. PREACHING TEAM: They help the church hear from God by sharing on God's vision and relevant issues during group meetings.

4. DISCIPLESHIP (TRAINING) TEAM: They guide training in Christian living and ministry so people can learn to live for Jesus, share Jesus, and help others live for Jesus. They also seek to equip people to find and fulfill the ministry God has given them. In addition, they  assist in maintaining children’s groups where children are encouraged to commit their lives to Jesus, learn the books of the Bible, and learn the main stories and themes of the Bible and how they apply to their lives. What’s more, they should help maintain young people groups where youth are encouraged to commit their life to Jesus and seek His will for their lives.  In these groups young people should be led to do a survey of the bible, and intensive studies of specific books of the bible, and learn how to apply the Bible to their lives and the issues and problems they face.  The discipleship team should also help maintain a network of Big Brothers and Big Sisters who disciple new converts, and adopt new arrivals to the church who are already believers.  Where possible, mentoring in small groups should be used for the training.

5. EVANGELISM TEAM:   Promotes a burden for the lost in the church.  They serve by doing special types of local evangelism such as street ministry and crusade ministry.  They should also help organize local outreach teams.  In addition, they ought to help home fellowship groups reach out by training church members in witnessing.

6. MISSIONS TEAM: They should keep the church informed concerning missions, help train people for missions, and lead in sending out Apostolic Mission Teams.

7.  FELLOWSHIP GROUPS (HOUSE CHURCHES) GENERALLY CONSIST OF THE FOLLOWING:

     Pastor/Leader who is the overseer for the group. Responsible, along with the
      assistant-leader for guiding the group, and encouraging group members to find
      and fulfill their ministry.  He should be an elder or under the guidance of an elder.

     Pastor/ Assistant-Leader who is responsible for working with the pastor/leader in
      giving oversight to the group, and encouraging group members to find and fulfill their
      ministry.   He is a person growing in spiritual maturity, and is being trained to be a
      servant leader.

      Prayer Leader  who is responsible for helping the group to do its part to fulfill the
       ministry of the church prayer team.

      Praise and Worship Leader who is responsible for leading the group in praise and
       worship.

      Evangelism/Mission Leader who is responsible for helping the group to do its part to
       fulfill the ministry of the local church evangelism team and the mission team.

      Practical Ministry Leader (Deacon) who is responsible for leading the group to minister
       to the physical and material needs of people.

      Discipleship (Training) Leader who is responsible for helping the group to do its part in
       mentoring people so they can find and fulfill God’s purpose for them.

      Big Brothers/ Big Sisters are older, mature believers who have learned how to live for
       Jesus, share Jesus, and help others live for Jesus.  They serve by discipling the new
       converts in the basics of personal life, family life, church  life, evangelism, and
       discipleship.  They also serve by adopting new arrivals to the church who are already
       believers. They help them become part of the life of the church.

      New Converts are people who have just made a commitment to live for Jesus, and need
       to be discipled by a big brother or sister.

      Visitors are people who have come to the group, but are not members of the local body.
       They provide opportunities for ministry and/or church growth.

    NOTE:  A  home fellowship member may function in more than one area of ministry.

8.  ADMINISTRATION TEAM: Responsible for taking care of the spiritual and physical needs
      of the church including the business needs, and the physical care of church property. It
      consist of people in two servant leadership positions.  The two positions are:

     Elders: God’s appointed overseers for The Local Church.  They are responsible for
      ministering to the physical, material, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs of the
      members.  They guide the church to fulfill its purpose of establishing God’s Kingdom
      in their particular geographical area.  They serve the local congregation by assisting
      them to find and fulfill God’s purpose for their lives.

     Deacons or Deaconesses:  They are appointed to assist the elders in meeting the needs
      of church members, especially the physical and material needs.

      Other church members assist the elders and deacons.
 

The Apostle who gives oversight and leadership to the mission team.
The Prophet who confirms the word God is speaking, and warns of dangers and problems.
The Evangelist who leads people to a real commitment to live for Jesus
The Pastor who is concerned with seeing that all the needs of the people are met.
The Teacher who guides and nourishes people in the word and basic Bible principles.

NOTE:  An apostolic team member may function in more than one ministry gift.

     There was never a more critical time for The Church to move in power, and spread God’s Kingdom around the world than now.  It will not happen as long as we hold on to our denominational and sectarian divisions.   The time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God.  His Church will be a team without spot or blemish.  It will be without man made divisions.

    The Katrina disaster on the Mississippi Gulf Coast is a good example of the power, and influence The Church can have.  The majority of the relief effort has been and continues to be spearheaded by The Church.  People work together regardless of affiliation.  People’s lives have been touched, and souls saved as The Church ministers to physical and spiritual needs.

     It is our prayer that as you think of the picture of The Church we’ve shared here that you will see the team God wants His Church to be.  That you will also see the part God wants you to have on that team.   That you will purpose in your heart to work with God’s Team-The Church so we can reach the world for Jesus.

BASIC QUESTION: Are you seeking to team up with the other members of God’s Team, The Church; and are you serving where God wants you to serve on that team?

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