Ministering to the congregation

To read the first six articles in this series, you can go to these links:

• “Less than half of Americans attend church monthly: Is there hope for the church”?
• “What is the local church? Hints from the Old Testament”
• “Understanding ekklesia: The unity and role of the local church”
• “What is the purpose of the local church?”
• United in worship: The church’s call to gather and glorify God
• The church’s role in evangelism and community

If you have been following this series, we have been exploring the purpose of the local church. And with this final installment, we are going to look at the church’s role in ministering to members of the congregation.

An official term for this function is edification, and it could be defined as the eternal extension of love within the church. What does this look like? Edward W. Klink mentions a variety of ways this is done:

Loving one another happens when church members forgive one another, pray for one another, edify one another, reconcile with one another, serve one another, teach one another, submit to one another, and offer generosity and hospitality to one another (Rom. 12:10; 15:5; 16:16; 1 Cor. 12:25; Gal. 5:13; Eph. 4:2, 32; 5:21; Col. 3:13, 16; 1 Thess. 5:11; Heb. 3:13; 10:24-25; James 5:16; 1 Pet. 3:8).

This is about as comprehensive of a list as one could come up with. And each of its components is important for the church to carry out. But there are three ways the church can love its members that encapsulate these actions.

Fellowship

One of the things that contributes to the edification or sanctification of one’s faith is fellowship. Acts 2:42-45 provides a beautiful picture of the type of fellowship that is important to God and evident throughout the Bible.

In his analysis of the passage in Acts, Bruce informs that after three thousand people converted to Christianity, they “were then formed into a distinct community.” Bruce also observes how “The fellowship which this new community enjoyed was expressed in a number of practical ways, of which two are mentioned in v.42— ‘the breaking of bread and the prayers.’”

When a community is connected in Christ and encouraged to love each other as he did, great things come about. One of them is the motivation to face life head-on. Everyone faces trials and tribulations, and being connected to a group of people that you worship with, confide in, and receive prayer from can provide motivation to endure and persevere forward.

Support

In the same way, the local church community functions as a source of service. Just as the church should seek to support and provide for its neighbor, it should do the same for its brothers and sisters in Christ. Again, the Acts 2 passage provides a good example of this. Bruce describes a sense of unity among this group of believers as they encouraged those who had transferrable belongings “to sell their assets and divide the proceeds among the members of the community, according to individual need.” Support extends beyond worship, nurturing relationships, and prayer. Local churches function to help meet the needs of its members.

For instance, churches could help their members overcome debt and obtain the healthcare they need by creating a fund from the offering that sets aside money for people who need it to pay hospital bills.

Teaching

A final way edification can occur is through teaching. Eph. 4:11-12 informs that Christ “gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” Andrew Lincoln informs that the purpose of these teachers “appears to have been preserving, transmitting, expounding, interpreting, and applying the apostolic gospel and tradition along with the Jewish Scripture.” The local church is responsible for providing such leaders to help members grow in their understanding of the Bible and how to apply it to life.

It is true that you don’t have to have a PhD in Bible to follow Jesus. But the Bible is our blueprint for life. And Scripture, itself, claims that it is “breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” (1 Tim. 3:16​​—17) If Scripture is authoritative in contributing toward our completion as redeemed humans, why would local churches not go to great lengths to teach their members how to interpret Scripture and embrace what it teaches?

Discipleship

Truthfully, teaching is just the beginning of the instruction that the local church should provide for its members. Erickson speaks of an instance where teaching occurred in Acts 18:

Apollos, a learned Jew who had come to a knowledge of Jesus, was speaking powerfully in the synagogue of Ephesus. There Priscilla and Aquilla heard him, whereupon they invited him to their home and ‘explained the way of God more adequately’ (v. 26) He then continued his ministry with even greater effectiveness.

A well-regarded way for someone to learn is through mentorship, and that seems to be a part of how Priscilla and Aquilla taught Apollos. Beyond learning Scripture on Sundays, mentorships (which serve the purpose of discipleship) provide the mentee with an observation of how it is lived out in daily life. In any case, the task of church leaders is to take other believers under their wing and exemplify the ways of Scripture.

Putting it All Together

With the discussion of edification, we have completed our multi-article assessment of the local church’s purpose. The local church is vital in engaging people to love God, love people they encounter in everyday life, and love fellow Christians by investing in their walk with Jesus.

Admittedly, there is no perfect local church. Some churches may be strong in worship, others in evangelism, still others in edification. That is why it is critical for the body of Christ to come together and support local churches as they work to fulfill each purpose.

If you have entered a relationship with Jesus, it is of utmost importance that you find a church family. While you don’t need a church family to be saved, Scripture argues that being part of a local community of other believers is a crucial part of growing in your walk with the Lord. God created the local church as an entity to support your faith and, more importantly, provide a means of furthering your connection with him. My prayer is that coming to an understanding of its purpose will encourage you to be involved in a local church, which is where you belong.