The Jerusalem Church had her share of challenges in the first century. The apostles encountered persecution (Acts 4) and confronted sinful members (Acts 5). Due to the rapid growth of the church, they also faced administrative and cultural challenges (Acts 6).
That first year saw challenges and opportunities for the church leaders and church members alike. In our own era, we face similar challenges. That’s why the simple, daily practices that are described in Acts chapter two are so essential for the health of the church today:
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.
(Acts 2:42)
Now all the believers were together and held all things in common.
(Acts 2:44)
Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together…they ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts…
(Acts 2:46)
These were practices that were evident from from the earliest days of the church as the apostles taught and led the people to serve Christ and one another. Over time, as the fellowship of disciples grew, other qualities became evident through adversity. These are qualities that I believe every healthy church will display to some extent.
Quality #1 – Growing
“In those days, as the disciples were increasing in number, there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution.
(Acts 6:1)
In our holiest of moments, we pastors like to say we aren’t concerned about the numbers. We say it’s about spiritual growth and maturity.
But spiritual growth isn’t complete until replication occurs. An apple seed doesn’t come to church to become a better apple seed. (Stay with me here.) An apple seed is designed to produce a tree full of apples which will produce an orchard full of trees full of apples full of seeds. (Still with me?) Without a doubt disciples need to grow in maturity. But growing disciples become disciple makers. A seed doesn’t stay a seed, it becomes a tree filled with seed-producing fruit.
Let me hasten to add that it is God who sovereignly sends the fruit (both spiritual and numerical) in our hearts and in our churches. But our Lord Jesus is also the one who tells us to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest. We can’t do the Holy Spirit’s job, but the Holy Spirit graciously does his job through us. I don’t know if our church will grow numerically this year (or the year after) but God’s Word reveals what qualities must be present for growth to occur.
It is also important to remember that even in nature growth is seasonal. Dear pastor or ministry leader, don’t let this article heap further shame and embarrassment on you if your church or ministry is not currently bearing visible fruit. There are thousands of variables that may be contributing to a decline in attendance or a lack of maturity in your congregation.
Just like the Jerusalem Church, there were external and internal threats that had to be handled with wisdom. You most likely will not experience the explosive growth of the Jerusalem Church, but let this article serve to remind you the threats are real but the harvest is coming.
Remember Paul’s encouragement to the Corinthian Church:
“Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
(1 Corinthians 15:58)
Faithfulness results in fruitfulness but not always according to our timelines. I recently saw a friend post pictures on social media of his elderly mother’s baptism. He had prayed for her for decades. My friend’s faithfulness (praying, witnessing, exampling Christ, etc.) finally led to fruit.
The threats are real but the harvest is coming.
nathan creitz
So no, we can’t chart our own growth. But we should never doubt that growth will occur (even if it’s happening underground). And, as far as it depends on our leadership and faithfulness, there are some things that we can do to prepare for growth. On several occasions Luke summarizes the numerical growth that was occurring. Then, in Acts 6:7 we read that the church increased greatly in number.
What moved those first disciples from an increase to an even greater increase? Let’s move on to the next essential quality of a healthy church to discover the answer.
Quality #2 – Serving
“In those days, as the disciples were increasing in number, there arose a complaint by the Hellenistic Jews against the Hebraic Jews that their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution.
(Acts 6:1)
Acts 6:1 records that the early Christians had set up a daily distribution of food for impoverished widows. This was something God had told his people to do, but after hundreds of years of corruption and neglect, the Jewish leaders were not doing much mercy ministry in and through the Temple and the synagogues. But early on, the new Christians were serving one another and “there was not a needy person among them” (Acts 4:34).
Serving is at the heart of Jesus’ teachings so it comes as no surprise that Christians would be dedicated to serving one another and their community. Jesus said “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45) Our salvation depends upon the ultimate act of kindness. Jesus’ physical body was broken so that our spiritual regeneration might occur.
Giving someone a cup of cold water or building a well or vacuuming a floor or repairing a wheelchair ramp can result in a spiritual benefit to the one who has been served. The Jerusalem Church was growing, partly because the church was serving. As Jews who neglected the care of widows, orphans, and strangers saw how Christians were picking up their slack it resulted in many wanting to be a part. Those who were being served were open to hearing the gospel through the acts of kindness that were occurring.
The church was growing and serving, but growth brought new challenges that had to be addressed wisely. And that leads us to our next essential quality of a healthy church: organization.
Quality #3 – Organizing
The Twelve summoned the whole company of the disciples and said, “It would not be right for us to give up preaching the word of God to wait on tables. Brothers and sisters, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we can appoint to this duty.
(Acts 6:2-3)
Satan had been throwing everything against the Jerusalem Church: persecution, corruption, and now distraction. If the Adversary couldn’t derail Christ’s ambassadors through external pressure then maybe he could get the members to neglect and grumble against one another. The very unity of the church was at stake.
Imagine a scenario where the Twelve do nothing. The bitterness continues unabated. Ultimately, the Hellenistic Jews and the Hebraic Jews split over this issue. Culturally and linguistically they become two separate churches: First Jerusalem Church and Second Jerusalem Church.
This scenario might have made sense to the larger Jewish society. After all, the Greek-speaking Jews had their own synagogues and the Hebrew-speaking Jews had theirs. But there was a lot of corruption and disunity amongst the Jews that led to that kind of separation. And all that corruption and disunity had led them to care more about self-preservation than God’s purposes (like caring for widows and orphans and strangers).
Had the First Jerusalem Church allowed the rift to occur, then there would be very little that was different about Christians and Jews. Thankfully, the apostles recognized the severity of the problem. They knew that the very unity and mission of the church was at stake. Spirit-empowered preaching and praying had led to growth, but growth had brought with it new challenges. Something more was needed: administration.
In ministry, subtraction and division are always easier than addition and multiplication. Disgruntled members may find it easier to just leave the church than to have difficult but healthy conversations. In Acts 6 there was a legitimate complaint and the disciples addressed it head on before anyone even thought of dividing over the issue. In our local churches, all kinds of complaints arise and if we neglect them we will find members leaving and taking as many people as they can with them.
Many pastors are not good at administration. If you are always dealing with complaints and bad attitudes, it might be due to poor organization and systems. Thankfully, there are some basic skills that can be learned by any ministry leader. Reading a book or hiring a coach can get you on the right path. But organizing is absolutely essential to sustain growth.
The apostles knew they could not forsake prayer and preaching, but they also knew that something practical like administration was also required. So they appointed the Seven to serve in a practical way. The Twelve needed the Seven just as much as elders today need deacons. If we neglect practical matters, then spiritual matters will also be neglected.
Growing, serving, and organizing are essential qualities of a healthy church. Establishing systems and appointing leaders to meet tangible needs and physical challenges sets the table for spiritual food to be served. We will turn to those essential spiritual qualities next.
This article first appeared on my weekly newsletter. If you’d like to learn more about how to grow healthy churches that reproduce healthy disciples be sure to subscribe below. And be sure to share this article and leave a comment. Read part two and part three.
