How Every Church Member Can Make The Church Stronger

The church is central to God's mission on earth.  God's mission is to reach as many lost people as He can, and His method is the church -- the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Tim 3:15).  Therefore, it is important that the church be healthy and strong.  

Is there anything you can do to make your church stronger?  Yes!  Even if you are not a pastor or church leader, there are several things that every church member can and should do to contribute to the health of the church.  

1) Stick with it for the long term.  Churches are made strong by committed members, not people who attend for six months and then leave.   

2) Find a place to serve.  Typically, 20% of the members do 80% of the church.  Typically pastors are overworked and burned out.  Don’t sit on the sidelines.  Employ your spiritual gifts.  Use your gifts, talents, knowledge, and experience in the church.   

3) Be a bringer.  Invite people to church who need Christ or who need a church home.   

4) Bring your tithe.  Believe it or not, most Christians don’t tithe, even though it is a direct command in Scripture.  And the church suffers for it.  There are things that God wants to do through the church, but they don’t get done because the church is underfunded.   

5) Live a holy life.  Your example of holiness is both an encouragement and an example.  People learn more from a good example than from a good sermon.   

6) Don’t gossip.  Be a raving fan in public, and an honest critic in private – of anyone in the church.  Don’t triangulate.  If you have an issue with someone, go to them alone, in person, in private.   

7) Be quick to forgive.  If you leave the church every time someone hurts you, you will never stay at a church for very long.  The church is filled with sinners who are trying to become more like Jesus.  But nobody has arrived.  You will be offended, or hurt, or lied to, or overlooked, or treated unfairly.  Decisions will be made that you don’t like, and sometimes you’ll be right but you won’t always get your way.  The only way a church with imperfect people can stick together and get things done is if they are committed to quick and ongoing forgiveness.   

8) Pray.  Pray regularly for the health and growth of the church.  Pray for God’s protection over the leadership. 

9) Be flexible.  The only people who like change are babies with dirty diapers.  Unhealthy churches don’t handle change well.  They either change and split, or they refuse to change and die.  The reason is simple:  They confuse mission with method.  The mission and the doctrine of the church must never change.  But the methods we use to carry out the mission and the doctrine can change.  Different methods would include hymns or praise songs; choir or praise team; piano and organ or drums and electric guitars; meeting at 10 am or 11 am; meeting in a hotel or a movie theater; having a youth group or being family integrated; having a nursery or not having a nursery; having stained glass or clear windows.  Those are all examples of methodology.  They are not mandated by Scripture.  The church is free to experiment to find the most effective methods for its context.  To make the church stronger, be flexible with methodology.  Be flexible with change.  Don’t be stiff and rigid.  For the church to survive and thrive, it has to be willing to discard what isn’t working, and to try new things to reach more people.  Marry the mission and doctrine, but date the methodology.   

10) Accept those who are different than you (Rm 15:7).  There are two kinds of acceptance that are needed for a church to strong: 

First, you need to accept nonbelievers who live sinful lifestyles.  If a church member is living in blatant sin, then the Bible says the church should confront them, call them to repentance, and help them grow; and if they refuse to repent, to expel them.  But what about nonbelievers?  Nonbelievers do not need to clean up before they attend church.  We want nonbelievers, with all their sins, to feel loved and accepted at church so they will stick around and learn about Christ.  So, if an openly gay person walks through the door, if a transgender person walks through the door, if a stripper or prostitute walks through the door, treat them with love.  They can't sing on the praise team or lead a Bible study, but we want them to stick around so they can meet Jesus.   

Second, you need to accept believers who are different.  The church is made up of all kinds of people who have many differences.  The only thing we have in common is our salvation and a few core doctrines.  We dress differently.  We have dog lovers, cat lovers, and people who don’t want pets.  We have people who are rich, and those of a lower income.  We cheer for different teams, and we have people who don’t like sports.  Some kids are homeschooled, some go to private school, and some go to public school.  Some of the wives work outside the home, and some are homemakers.  We have people who are old, and people who are young.  We have big people and skinny people, tall people and short people, attractive people and interesting-looking people, smart people and funny people.  We even have doctrinal and political differences on tertiary issues.  In a strong, healthy church, everyone is accepted.  Everyone is treated with equal love and importance.  There are no cliques.  The rich hang out with the poor.  The educated fellowship with uneducated.  The old mingle with the young.     

If you love Jesus then you should love and care for the church.  Don't be a spectator.  Get involved and help your church grow stronger today!