The Qualities of a Successful Church
Success. How do you define it? Do you define success in money, family, the acquisitions of material things like cars, a house, tv’s, game systems, new sports equipment or maybe even none of those things? What’s more, how do you define success in a church? More members, better tithing, more programs, more youth? How we define success can depend greatly on our priorities in life. What matters to you will define how you view success.
There’s a story of a man who had recently gotten out of school and had to take the first job that came his way. It just so happened that it was a furniture sales position. Having just completed school, he was fairly confident of his knowledge and ability to sell things. After his first week of training, the boss decided to set him loose to sell on his own the next day. Well, the young man was excited as can be, so he went home and practiced his sales talk on his wife. The next day, the boss noticed he was a little down and decided to cheer him up a little. He went over to the young man and said, “Don’t look so down-in-the-dumps! It’s not easy at first, but you’ll soon catch on! With a little experience, you’ll do just fine!” The young man replied, “Oh, sir, it isn’t that. Last night after dinner, I went home and practiced my sales talk on my wife, and now I have to buy her a sofa.”
Well, being too successful can lead to some extra expenses apparently. The Scripture is going to be Acts 2:36-47. Today’s topic is going to be qualities of a successful church. This Scripture is the tail end of Peter’s first sermon to the Jews, which nails it down to many of them, convicting them that what they did to Jesus was wrong. If you would, follow along with me as I read.
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
The Fellowship of the Believers
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.
I was going to read just verse 42 on, but I wanted to back up into the tail end of Peter’s sermon to give a good idea of what exactly is going on here. Verses 36-41 are merely background information for what I really want to look at today. Starting in verse 42 is where the real meat of what I want to talk about today. As Luke writes here in these five verses, he covers five things that the First Century Church was doing and becoming very successful. These things, if done properly, can send a congregation flourishing into the future.
The first item that Luke mentions here in the first verse is learning. The people who were just baptized were devoting themselves to learning of the Apostles. The Apostles had firsthand knowledge of what Jesus had in store for them, how to go about living their lives and what God had instructs us to do. Learning is a vital part of being a Christian. We cannot walk the walk if we do not know how. It’s not just about going to church on Sunday, it’s about making time every day to read out of God’s Word, attending small groups, Bible Studies, and being with other Christians learning about the Christian Walk. These days we do not have the Apostles here to instruct us physically, but we do have the Bible. Through the Apostles writings, God leaves his word with us so that way we may know what it is that he wants us to do. Luke wrote his Gospel and has recorded the Acts of the Apostles in the same titled book, Paul writes to us in Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and many other letters. John writes to us in his Gospel, three letters and Revelation that he recorded from Jesus. All of the books of the New Testament and Old Testament are opportunities to learn. We should surround ourselves with Christians at all times to learn.
Secondly, Luke mentions Worship. Worship of God is essential, but not only that, the correct components must be present. Luke mentions ‘breaking of bread’ a couple different times in this section. Now, naturally, we can take this to mean meals, which they did, but it also means The Lord’s Supper. One thing that we have lost in our churches across the country today is the idea that Worship is about God, not us.
It sounds so elementary, but when we fuss about the details of worship, we are making it about us, not God. In 1 Corinthians 14:26-40, Paul addresses the issue of Orderly Worship. Paul includes all of the proper things that belong in a worship service, however ordered they are in various churches, but the idea is that it is orderly because our God is a God of peace and order, not chaos.
Gathering for worship on Sunday is vital, however, it does not say that they gathered of Sunday morning for an hour each week. No. Read with me verse 46 again, “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.” Whoa…every day? Now that just throws a wrench in all our weekly plans. Seriously though, worship isn’t just for Sunday morning, it is for everyday, all day. Praise God wherever you are, gather with other believers through the week to fellowship and sing God’s praises. It’ll make a difference in your life, I personally guarantee it from experience.
Thirdly, it mentions the word Prayer. Now, when I went through a couple classes earlier in my education, he did not include prayer in the list, he only listed four qualities. I personally add prayer because it is a vital part of a successful church. Some people classify prayer under worship, but prayer is its own quality. Prayer is something that we should be immersing ourselves in on a daily basis, on an hourly basis, and every second of our waking lives. Prayer is everything. As we walk around the office Monday morning talking at the coffee pot or water cooler about how busy our weekend was, be sure to pipe in a little prayer giving thanks to God for having a family to be busy with. As we’re talking at the fence with our neighbor about how we have to repair the water line coming into the house from the main and put new shingles on the roof this year, pipe in a little prayer thanking God for the opportunity to have a home to shelter us from the elements. You get the idea? There is an appropriate place for prayer in everything. It doesn’t have to be the standard, “Dear Heavenly Father…” make it a conversation with God. “God, even though I complain about being too busy or having to make repairs to the house this year, I want to thank you for blessing me with these gifts.” Prayer can be a simple conversation with God. I think too many people think we have to be “in proper prayer mode” in order to pray. No. Prayer is conversation with God. Is God in your contact list? Make him a contact you talk to daily.
Fourth, is the never-ending subject of Stewardship. Are you a good steward of what God has given you? In the Scripture here it says that they have sold off all of their goods and gave as anyone else had need. This is more of a socialist type of governing, not saying that it has to be this way with us. The point of it is not that they sold everything off, but it is the fact that they gave wherever there was a need. When there is a need, how good are you about giving? If not, what prevents you? Well, if you are like most of the rest of us Americans these days, we have a tendency to love our “toys”…with jobs being cut and work difficult, it makes it very hard to make ends meet sometimes. That is where being a good steward comes in. Stewardship is not just about giving your tithe to the church on Sunday. That is surely part of it, but stewardship includes how you handle your God-given gifts. Are you using your gifts in the church? What is your gift, do you know? Everyone has one and there is actually a website that you can go to to find out what it is. http://www.churchgrowth.org/cgi-cg/gifts.cgi?intro=1 I’ve put the website in your cheat sheet so that you can visit and find out what gifts you have so if you aren’t using them, you can start! Stewardship is about money AND giving your time and talents. That is all part of the equation of Stewardship.
Lastly, Luke brings up evangelism. Whoa Nellie! That’s a tough subject! But evangelism is easy. If we are Learning, Worshipping, Praying and utilizing Stewardship, then Evangelism just naturally happens. Evangelism is the blessing of God for doing the other four things correctly. When we are practicing these qualities, then we can’t help but show our enthusiasm and excitement for God in what we do all day every day. People always accuse me of being too happy. They always make a statement as to how goofy or happy I am. I use that as the opportunity to say something about God. If he make my mood great, he can yours too! Evangelism happens when we do all the other things correctly…we can’t help but say what makes us the way we are!
So where are you in your walk? Sure, the qualities of a successful church are included in these five steps…but so is being a successful person. If each and every one of us engages in this, not only will we grow in our relationship with Christ, but our church will too. Where are you at with your relationship with Christ? Have you committed to him yet? Do it today, your chance is here.
There’s a story of a man who had recently gotten out of school and had to take the first job that came his way. It just so happened that it was a furniture sales position. Having just completed school, he was fairly confident of his knowledge and ability to sell things. After his first week of training, the boss decided to set him loose to sell on his own the next day. Well, the young man was excited as can be, so he went home and practiced his sales talk on his wife. The next day, the boss noticed he was a little down and decided to cheer him up a little. He went over to the young man and said, “Don’t look so down-in-the-dumps! It’s not easy at first, but you’ll soon catch on! With a little experience, you’ll do just fine!” The young man replied, “Oh, sir, it isn’t that. Last night after dinner, I went home and practiced my sales talk on my wife, and now I have to buy her a sofa.”
Well, being too successful can lead to some extra expenses apparently. The Scripture is going to be Acts 2:36-47. Today’s topic is going to be qualities of a successful church. This Scripture is the tail end of Peter’s first sermon to the Jews, which nails it down to many of them, convicting them that what they did to Jesus was wrong. If you would, follow along with me as I read.
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
The Fellowship of the Believers
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.
I was going to read just verse 42 on, but I wanted to back up into the tail end of Peter’s sermon to give a good idea of what exactly is going on here. Verses 36-41 are merely background information for what I really want to look at today. Starting in verse 42 is where the real meat of what I want to talk about today. As Luke writes here in these five verses, he covers five things that the First Century Church was doing and becoming very successful. These things, if done properly, can send a congregation flourishing into the future.
The first item that Luke mentions here in the first verse is learning. The people who were just baptized were devoting themselves to learning of the Apostles. The Apostles had firsthand knowledge of what Jesus had in store for them, how to go about living their lives and what God had instructs us to do. Learning is a vital part of being a Christian. We cannot walk the walk if we do not know how. It’s not just about going to church on Sunday, it’s about making time every day to read out of God’s Word, attending small groups, Bible Studies, and being with other Christians learning about the Christian Walk. These days we do not have the Apostles here to instruct us physically, but we do have the Bible. Through the Apostles writings, God leaves his word with us so that way we may know what it is that he wants us to do. Luke wrote his Gospel and has recorded the Acts of the Apostles in the same titled book, Paul writes to us in Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and many other letters. John writes to us in his Gospel, three letters and Revelation that he recorded from Jesus. All of the books of the New Testament and Old Testament are opportunities to learn. We should surround ourselves with Christians at all times to learn.
Secondly, Luke mentions Worship. Worship of God is essential, but not only that, the correct components must be present. Luke mentions ‘breaking of bread’ a couple different times in this section. Now, naturally, we can take this to mean meals, which they did, but it also means The Lord’s Supper. One thing that we have lost in our churches across the country today is the idea that Worship is about God, not us.
It sounds so elementary, but when we fuss about the details of worship, we are making it about us, not God. In 1 Corinthians 14:26-40, Paul addresses the issue of Orderly Worship. Paul includes all of the proper things that belong in a worship service, however ordered they are in various churches, but the idea is that it is orderly because our God is a God of peace and order, not chaos.
Gathering for worship on Sunday is vital, however, it does not say that they gathered of Sunday morning for an hour each week. No. Read with me verse 46 again, “Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.” Whoa…every day? Now that just throws a wrench in all our weekly plans. Seriously though, worship isn’t just for Sunday morning, it is for everyday, all day. Praise God wherever you are, gather with other believers through the week to fellowship and sing God’s praises. It’ll make a difference in your life, I personally guarantee it from experience.
Thirdly, it mentions the word Prayer. Now, when I went through a couple classes earlier in my education, he did not include prayer in the list, he only listed four qualities. I personally add prayer because it is a vital part of a successful church. Some people classify prayer under worship, but prayer is its own quality. Prayer is something that we should be immersing ourselves in on a daily basis, on an hourly basis, and every second of our waking lives. Prayer is everything. As we walk around the office Monday morning talking at the coffee pot or water cooler about how busy our weekend was, be sure to pipe in a little prayer giving thanks to God for having a family to be busy with. As we’re talking at the fence with our neighbor about how we have to repair the water line coming into the house from the main and put new shingles on the roof this year, pipe in a little prayer thanking God for the opportunity to have a home to shelter us from the elements. You get the idea? There is an appropriate place for prayer in everything. It doesn’t have to be the standard, “Dear Heavenly Father…” make it a conversation with God. “God, even though I complain about being too busy or having to make repairs to the house this year, I want to thank you for blessing me with these gifts.” Prayer can be a simple conversation with God. I think too many people think we have to be “in proper prayer mode” in order to pray. No. Prayer is conversation with God. Is God in your contact list? Make him a contact you talk to daily.
Fourth, is the never-ending subject of Stewardship. Are you a good steward of what God has given you? In the Scripture here it says that they have sold off all of their goods and gave as anyone else had need. This is more of a socialist type of governing, not saying that it has to be this way with us. The point of it is not that they sold everything off, but it is the fact that they gave wherever there was a need. When there is a need, how good are you about giving? If not, what prevents you? Well, if you are like most of the rest of us Americans these days, we have a tendency to love our “toys”…with jobs being cut and work difficult, it makes it very hard to make ends meet sometimes. That is where being a good steward comes in. Stewardship is not just about giving your tithe to the church on Sunday. That is surely part of it, but stewardship includes how you handle your God-given gifts. Are you using your gifts in the church? What is your gift, do you know? Everyone has one and there is actually a website that you can go to to find out what it is. http://www.churchgrowth.org/cgi-cg/gifts.cgi?intro=1 I’ve put the website in your cheat sheet so that you can visit and find out what gifts you have so if you aren’t using them, you can start! Stewardship is about money AND giving your time and talents. That is all part of the equation of Stewardship.
Lastly, Luke brings up evangelism. Whoa Nellie! That’s a tough subject! But evangelism is easy. If we are Learning, Worshipping, Praying and utilizing Stewardship, then Evangelism just naturally happens. Evangelism is the blessing of God for doing the other four things correctly. When we are practicing these qualities, then we can’t help but show our enthusiasm and excitement for God in what we do all day every day. People always accuse me of being too happy. They always make a statement as to how goofy or happy I am. I use that as the opportunity to say something about God. If he make my mood great, he can yours too! Evangelism happens when we do all the other things correctly…we can’t help but say what makes us the way we are!
So where are you in your walk? Sure, the qualities of a successful church are included in these five steps…but so is being a successful person. If each and every one of us engages in this, not only will we grow in our relationship with Christ, but our church will too. Where are you at with your relationship with Christ? Have you committed to him yet? Do it today, your chance is here.
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