Friendship Community Church

Archive for January, 2011

“…we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.” - Ephesians 4:15-16

The main focus for us as members of a congregation is our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ. Disciple literally means “learner” or “follower” and being a disciple is all about growing in our faith as we learn from and follow Jesus Christ. We never stop growing and we never stop learning; but we never stop growing and learning only if we never stop following Jesus. This is a very serious commitment which every one of us makes. Unfortunately, for some, once you became members you never committed yourself to following Jesus or learning from Him. You joined the church but are rarely seen since. For others, you may have started off with enthusiasm but stopped growing in the faith a long time ago. For a small number, the path of following Jesus has led you into remarkable stages of spiritual growth, through bible studies/Sunday School classes with other Christians, through serving on a regular basis in the church’s ministries, even through learning what it means to tithe in your financial giving. For these disciples, they have come to recognize that there is more to growing in Christ than simply showing up on Sundays for an hour. In the coming months, our session will be examining what we can do as leaders in our church to promote deeper spiritual growth for every member of our church. This is a good time for each member to examine exactly what you’re doing in order to grow in your faith. If you find that you’ve not been in a study for a long time or have never committed to a ministry, now is the time to reconsider your commitment to being a disciple of Jesus Christ. If you find that your faith has grown dull and uneventful, it is time to recommit yourself to a life of discipleship. As James said, “Faith without works is dead.” As a church, we can grow only as each member grows in their faith and their commitment to Jesus Christ. Just as we read in the above scripture from Ephesians, the body, the church, grows only as each part, each member, grows, as each member does their share and promotes the growth of the church itself in love! May you grow in your life as a follower of Jesus Christ, and may He bless our church with growth as we all recommit ourselves to being disciples of our Lord!

Pastor Michele