Your view of the Church will affect your vitality as a follower of Christ

IS THE CHURCH A PARKING LOT OR A LAUNCHING PAD FOR YOU? Your view of the Church will affect your vitality [strength, energy, life] as a follower of Christ! Some have viewed the church as a building, and hence it has become to them a place to visit once or twice a week. Such a view disconnects Sunday from Monday—leading to a bifurcation of reality. If one regards the church rightly as “the body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:27), then there is a recognition that there is one body of believers in Jesus who seek to honor Him by our lives. Consequently, each follower of Christ has a dynamic lifestyle and service empowered by the Holy Spirit beyond the four walls of the church building. 

Following a life-changing encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9), the Apostle Paul had a calling on his life to minister to the Gentiles. As a result, he planted many churches to which he visited and sent follow-up letters for their encouragement and equipping. The church that confirmed Paul’s calling, as well as that of Barnabas, was the church at Antioch. It was in this church, where the disciples were first called Christians, that Paul and Barnabas spent a whole year teaching great numbers of people (Acts 11:26). They also had a great ministry establishing new believers in Antioch. The church, then, confirmed their calling, commissioned them, and sent them forth as missionaries (cf. Acts 13:1ff). Antioch, thus, became like a base of operations for them.

Warren W. Wiersbe’s explanation of Acts 15, where we see more open doors for the Gospel, reveals that Paul had a high regard for the Antioch church. Paul’s view of the church had an effect on his sharing of the Good News [Gospel] wherever he went:

For the apostle Paul, the church at Antioch was not a parking lot: it was a launching pad. He could never settle down to a “comfortable ministry” anywhere as long as there were open doors for the preaching of the gospel (The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, NT, Cook Communications Ministries, 2007, p. 372).

This coming Sunday when you go to church (or rather the place where the church meets) remember that you are not simply going to park your car, go into the church building, and be entertained. Instead, you are going to meet other brothers and sisters in Christ, and, primarily, worship the Lord with them. Secondarily, you will seek to encourage others as they encourage you. Will you let the message being preached on Sunday launch you to the mission field outside the walls of “the church”?  

May you and I, as the church, become intensely evangelistic and not stop until we have made disciples of all nations. Discipleship is our Master’s mandate according to Matthew 28:18-20.