“What’s the Church For, Anyhow?”

[DeanZF]

Who is the church FOR?



Easy question. The church is for believers in Messiah, period. That was the major issue that lots of folks had with the whole seeker thing. When church is turned into a multi-media event to lure in the unchurched, the point has been missed. Church is a time more than a place, and it's an appointed time when the flock gathers and is fed and prepared for another week "out there" in the world, where the church is NOT. The five fold ministry is for the equipping of the saints, period. It really is not designed to be an evangelistic meeting, IMO. If there is a recognition that there are unbelievers in the gathering, super-duper. If you're having a meeting that is aimed at and tooled for non-believers (pre-believers, under-believers, un-churched, etc.), an altar call is very appropriate.



If we spend time under the tutelage of the five-fold folks, we should find ourselves learning how to minister, to the flock in a pastoral sense, and to the world in a salvific sense. If we're only learning how to take care of believers, we're not balanced. If we are learning only how to confront unbelievers/non-believers, we're also not balanced. Both ministries are needed, and folks will fit generally under one or the other banner (believer & non-believer ministries), get equipped, and get to work building the kingdom. The kingdom is built by getting new believers equipped for maturity and bringing non-believers to the position of being able to make a good decision for Jesus. Those converts then move into the other line, right? Churches that aren't growing are dying! Attrition will kill any organization, as will stagnation.



If your calling is as an evangelist, should you actually be preaching to the believers and giving an altar call or should you be training believers on how to win souls? It's not a fine line. We've basically re-defined the "office" of evangelist. That section of Scripture is clear that the five-fold ministries are for the BELIEVERS, not the world, and for the equipping of the saints to the purpose of ministry.



Yes, encouragement and being built up (equipped), but primarily we are to come together to WORSHIP. We have (again, IMO) perverted or distorted the whole purpose of assembling. The main purpose is worship, ministry primarily to the Lord, to give, not to receive. This is a harsh and somewhat condemning word. I believe that if we could shorten the teaching times and lengthen the worship times, giving the folks the tools and instructions on how to participate and the NEED for them to participate. It's really about John Piper's comment again. Missions are not eternal, but worship is. What is the whole point of missions? To make worshipers!



Hope it helps.