What to Do When Your Church Grows

By Pastor Chuck Swindoll

Perhaps the needs had grown so large that it was impossible for the leaders to stay aware of them all. That easily happens.

But as the believers rapidly multiplied, there were rumblings of discontent. The Greek-speaking believers complained about the Hebrew-speaking believers, saying that their widows were being discriminated against in the daily distribution of food. (Acts 6:1)

Even in an environment where “they shared everything they had” (Acts 4:32), preferential treatment crept in. And with it, naturally, complaining intensified.

Some things never change! The Hellenistic Jews were grumbling . . . blaming . . . whining. (There’s a more colorful way to translate the word, which I learned in the Marine Corps, but I won’t go there!) Watch how the apostles dealt with this complaint. Their response is instructive.

So the Twelve called a meeting of all the believers. They said, “We apostles should spend our time teaching the word of God, not running a food program. And so, brothers, select seven men who are well respected and are full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will give them this responsibility. Then we apostles can spend our time in prayer and teaching the word.” (Acts 6:2–4)

Let’s not misunderstand the apostles’ words. There’s nothing wrong, per se, with serving tables—with meeting physical needs. Actually, there’s everything right about that. The problem is when meeting those needs requires a neglect of the Word of God.

Good Things Out of Balance

Jesus experienced this issue as well. When His ministry enlarged so much that the physical needs of the people became all-consuming, Christ withdrew by Himself to pray. The apostles searched for Him and told Him that everyone was looking for Him. Why? They wanted healing. Christ responded by modeling for His disciples the importance of priorities:

“We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.” (Mark 1:38)

Jesus knew the priority of prayer and preaching, which were central to His ministry. The apostles must have remembered, since they applied that same standard when the needs of the church increased.

No one will ever demand that you pray more and give greater priority to the Word of God. Physical needs will always shout louder, and the predictable will occur—we’ll spend so much time greasing those squeaky wheels that we neglect prayer and the Word of God.

We can become so absorbed with trying to “do church” (whatever that means) on our own that we turn to pleasing people with impressive marketing techniques and corporate organizational strategies instead of keeping first things first.

What about Growth?

But wait a minute; doesn’t Jesus want the church to grow? Absolutely. In fact, He has promised to do it. So what is our task? What are our priorities? A properly functioning church stays committed to its four biblical essentials: teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayer (see Acts 2:42). Read that sentence again . . . please!

In the first church on record, it was Christians who planted the seeds and watered them, as the apostle Paul reminded his readers, “but God was causing the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6).

It remains the same today.

About the author

Pastor Chuck Swindoll

Pastor Charles R. Swindoll has devoted his life to the accurate, practical teaching and application of God’s Word. He is the founding pastor of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas, but Chuck’s listening audience extends far beyond a local church body. As a leading program in Christian broadcasting since 1979, Insight for Living airs around the world. Chuck’s leadership as president and now chancellor emeritus at Dallas Theological Seminary has helped prepare and equip a new generation of men and women for ministry.

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