“A 21st-Century Checkup For Ministry” (Part 2)

On Monday, we began revisiting the church-planting ministry of Paul and his team in Macedonia recorded in Acts 16. The Philippian church was the fruit of that ministry. In Growing Spiritual Redwoods, William Easum and Thomas Bandy referred to the founding of this Macedonian church as a worthy template for our 21^st-century church work. We are challenged with seven questions as we read about the beginning of the church at Philippi. On Monday, our questions were: (1) Do we have a workable vision statement? (2) Is that vision statement shared broadly? Today, I want to add two more:

Are we practicing indigenous worship? (Acts 16:13). After sizing up their new challenge in Philippi, they chose the riverside prayer meeting as their launching pad. This was venturing into something new. After many months of beginning in the local synagogue, they had to adjust. Worship was led by women and was held out-of-doors. Yet they did not quit and go home because it was different. They joined in and soon gained the opportunity to share the gospel. Lydia was saved and a church was birthed. What a lesson for the church today! Can we appreciate the legacy of our past and also embrace the challenge of reaching a new generation?

Do we have effective outreach? (Acts 16:14-15). What was effective at this riverside prayer meeting was networking. Lydia listened intently, her heart was opened, and she was saved. She must have been eager to share the good news of the gospel, because when she was baptized so was her household. That is networking. It was not only modeled by Lydia but also by the converted jailer (see 16:31-34). Networking was effective in the Acts 16 story, but the pressing question in this 21st-century checkup is this: What have you and I found effective where God has planted us?

It seems that these topics are being discussed everywhere I speak in my RBC ministry. I welcome your thoughts!