The Trend

There is a trend in the church of today where everyone seems to be inviting everyone to ‘their own church gathering’ or ‘local assembly’ for services or special programs. This often happens based on the encouragement or instruction from the leadership of the assembly for members to invite other people for church meetings and or special programs. There is this strong drive to fill up the pews in front of the preacher so members are persuaded to invite people for the next service or special meeting. While there is nothing wrong with inviting people to church meetings or having the hall filled to capacity, certain things needs to be ascertained first before you know whether it is right to invite just anyone for church meetings. The motive for inviting people is also very important. The kind of meeting you are having will determine the kind of people you will invite for it because not everyone can attend every kind of meeting. Every meeting is unique, has a preplanned purposed and target audience. So it will be inappropriate to just invite everyone and anyone.

That something is a fad doesn’t automatically make it right. That a practice may have been in existence for ages and has been validated by society as a way of life doesn’t make it consistent with God’s word. Those who must live for God must choose to stand by His Word. And as Christians, the Word of God is the standard for our living but it is sad that that is not the reality that we see today. Christians, instead of living by a mind transformed by the word of God are trying to conform to the world as though they owe the world an explanation for the life of God that is in them.  

What Makes Up a True Church Gathering?

Generally, most professing Christians seem to have lost the understanding of the basic make-up of a true church gathering. This is because the picture of a true church gathering has been altered in their minds by the trend they have been used to. They may not have been properly taught what a true church gathering is or even when taught, what they see in practice is different. All they are mostly told is to just ensure they come for the next meeting with a soul so that the kingdom of God will be populated as though getting the seats filled with people automatically translates to populating the kingdom of God. Getting people to church will give them an opportunity to encounter God but the end result may not always lead to their genuine conversion.

The word Church as used in the bible is from the Greek word ekklesia, which means a called out body of people. The calling out is a separation from the world. This body of people has been called out to be gathered unto God. So you can see that the church meeting should not be a gathering for everyone to attend but everyone is invited to become part of the church. The only way to become a part of the church is by being ‘born again, that is the way to become one of those ‘called out’. Only those qualified to attend church gatherings are those who are truly ‘called out’. The church meeting is a gathering of God’s people and not a place for all and sundry.

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:
 Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.  (1Peter 2:9-10 KJV)

The above passage says we are God’s chosen people but in the past we were not. We are not just anybody or like everyone else so it will be inappropriate be gathered together with everyone else for a meeting that concerns us.

For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
(Eph 2:18-19 KJV)

We are fellow citizens and members of God’s household. We are now a part of God’s family. The Church of Christ is the family of God on the earth. So a typical church service is supposed to be a family meeting where family issues are discussed and not a meeting for all and sundry. Becoming a member of God’s family is an open invitation to anyone and everyone. Until you become a member of that family, church meeting is not for you. It is for those who have been called out.

The Gathering of the Saints

Before inviting someone to a church gathering you are suppose to find out if they are saved or not because the church meeting is not supposed to be a place where they get saved but a place for discipling the already saved. It is the fold of the sheep of Christ.

And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
(Act 2:46-47 KJV)

The Lord added to the church those that should be saved. Even the early church gathering was made up of strictly believers. This is how God wants the assembly of the saints to be not a mixture of sheep and goats. We should do church the right way and not crave unnecessarily for growth at the detriment of building up the body of Christ. If we are to desire growth the right way, only the saved are to be added to the church. We are to go out and bring the unsaved into the fold.

Church gathering is essentially designed for God’s people and not every people. Have you ever wondered why we have so many Christians going to church meetings and are never growing up spiritually? It is because the meeting that should have been designed to meet their spiritual needs has been repackaged into a buffet to suit the needs of the general public. We are all aware that Christians are available to attend church meetings mostly on Sundays while less than 50% participate in weekly meetings and far less than that participate in other meetings that are of spiritual benefit to them. Most Christians have terrible daily routines that hinder them from investing adequate time in their relationship with God which will further build them up spiritually. The only useful day they have to do something that is of spiritual relevance has been repackaged to suit their flesh and cater for the masses. Who has bewitched us into thinking that we can help Christ build his church by employing our own whims and caprices? We will definitely get ‘our results’ and not the result of God. The duration of Services in some cases has been shortened to accommodate the influx of crowd; so that multiple services can be held. There is nothing wrong with having a crowd if the crowd is the right kind of people. At least God added to the church 3000 souls in one day after Peter preached (Acts 2:47). God can move in 30 minutes no doubt but we what we lookout for in a church gathering is not just the move of the Spirit but the building of God’s people. The Spirit moves to draw people and cause them to stay put so that they can be built-up. And building people requires time not quick fix meetings. Quick fix meetings will at best produce micro-waved Christians who cannot endure sound teaching of the word. Christians now look forward to powerful church services with some doses of spiritual punch lines that they can use as quick reference when the need arises. There is little or no transformation, but more of emotional tingling. If we really care about the kingdom of God and not our own ambitions then we must do things the right way to produce the right results in the lives of God’s people. The time has come for the church to focus on building the Church of Christ and preparing the church for the return of our Lord. This is why Christ gave the ministry gifts to build the body.

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. (Eph 4:11-13 KJV)

The work of the fivefold ministry offices is clear. It is to perfect the saints for the work of ministry ad to edify the body of Christ. Organizing special meetings is fine but more focus should be given to discipleship and sound teaching of the word. People attend special meetings to have specific needs met in their lives. They don’t come for spiritual training and edification.

Altar Calls at Church Meetings

Altar calls are made at the end of most church meetings as a way to evangelize the unsaved and also as a church growth strategy. A few minutes of explanation is given at the end of every sermon about why the sinner needs to get saved, then a call is made for those who wish to accept Christ to raise their hands or come forward to say a simple prayer of declaring the Lordship of Jesus Christ over their lives. “You are now born again, Welcome to the family of God”, the minister will say. These people are taken aside, further spoken to and introduced into the systems of the church they attended. This system may not be effective in getting people genuinely converted because in most cases getting saved may require more than a ‘5 minute’ sermon at the end of the main sermon. Receiving Christ is borne out of a deep conviction about a man’s need for salvation which may require more than a concise message sandwiched between the main sermon and the closing prayer of a church meeting.

The first reason a Christian is in the church is because he/she has been saved from the world. You are separated from the world unto God through the process of being evangelized to. Someone preached the gospel to you and you believed and received it. Evangelism is meant to announce the gospel and bring you into the fellowship with God and the people of God.

The assembly of the saints is not the right ground to evangelize for souls but a place to build the children of God so that they can go into the world and bring more souls into the kingdom of God. The assembly of saints is not supposed to be a place to make altar calls for people to be saved; it is a place to build God’s children. THE PURPOSE OF CHURCH MEETINGS HAS BEEN CHANGED BY MANY and it should not be so. Christians should come to the gathering of the saints and get equipped for an effective Christian life, which includes preaching of the gospel of salvation.

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
(Mar 16:15-16 KJV)

“Go ye into all the world” it says. “All the world” not the Church. This command from our Lord Jesus Christ to his disciples was a command for them to infiltrate the world systems and announce the good news to every man for them to have an opportunity to experience salvation. The moment a man receives the good news he becomes a member of God’s family. It is the same command we have received as God’s children. The ground for evangelism is the world. It is wherever you find yourself on this earth and a man is available for you to preach to. I know someone might want to ask, ‘What if an unbeliever walks into the meeting?’ That should not be a problem as any and every opportunity can be used to win souls but you should not deliberately pattern a church service for evangelism. Crusades or door to door evangelism are ways to reach out to the unsaved.

But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. (John 1:12 KJV)

As you reach out people will come to the light and receive the life of God.

How to Grow the Church

The right way God expects us to grow the local church is by saving souls then bringing them into the church (God’s family on earth) to be built through discipleship.

Using this approach may take more time in growing the church membership but it will ensure you have the right people and it will help you make the right impact their lives. It will also make you have a healthy church. If a minister of God is set over a church and the church is not increasing in number, he immediately feels that there is something wrong with him or his calling. Because the picture many have of ministry is that the size of your crowd means you are successful in the work of ministry. Success in ministry is determined by God and not man. God is the one who sent you on the assignment, so he will know if you are successful at it or not. Men have their own parameter for success, such as financial prosperity and size of crowd while God has his own. Our affirmation of success doesn’t come from men but God. We must decide whether we are just trying to get out pews filled up or we are trying to get men saved.

Someone asked me several years ago what my definition of success in ministry is and I told him, “Success in ministry is staying true to the instructions that you received from God when he called you.” It is that simple.

The next time you intend to invite someone to church, ensure that you preach the gospel to that person so they can be saved before you bring them in. It is your responsibility not just the job of the pastor on the pulpit. The work of the pastor on the pulpit is to equip you for the work of the ministry not evangelizing from the pulpit. It is the children of the kingdom that will do the work of the ministry not only the pastors.