Signs of a growing Church pt. 1

A Church or ‘ekklesia’ in the Greek is referred to as a people called out of the world into a common belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour and sent into the world to preach the gospel unto others. In the New Testament, it is identified as the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23). Concerning the temple, the Bible says:

The text above provides evidence that the Church is not the edifice or place of worship. God is referring to the believer as the place where His Spirit dwells not in the building. However, over time, when Christians meet to worship God, the place of meeting is also given the generic name ‘Church’. (the church that meets in the house of Priscilla and Aquilla- Romans 16:3). Again, scripture says “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20. My emphasis is on the fact that the people make the Church, not the building and I want us to look at some signs that indicate growth in a Church.

One distinguishing role of the Church is that it must grow. Jesus, who is the head and builder of the Church works closely with a man for this growth process. In this regard, he told His disciples, the fields are white but the labourers are few. Primarily, our Lord Jesus is interested in seeing the Church grow both spiritually and physically (the corporate Church). Today, we’ll outline some signs of a growing Church. It is my prayer that we continue the good works and learn from these signs to be able to grow and become effective in our societies.

This verse identifies some marks of a growing Church. These include;

1. Peace
2. Building up (of faith of its members)
3. Walking in the fear of the Lord
4. Encouragement by the Holy Spirit
5. Increase in numbers

In the following weeks, we will be looking at how each one of these points indicates a Church’s growth.

God bless you!