Randall Caselman
Bella Vista Church of Christ
April 8, 2001 p.m.

Examples Of Church Growth

A Study in New Testament Evangelism

Reading - Acts 2.41-47 & 8.4-8

The Book of Acts is a thrilling story about the birth of Christianity and its explosive expansion from Jerusalem... Judea... Samaria... into ASIA.... AFRICA... Europe...  and the uttermost parts of the earth

Listen as I read several familiar passages which chart the progress of Christianity in Acts:

So then, those who had received the word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls... And many of those who heard the message believed; and the number of men came to be about five thousand... Multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number.  The disciples were increasing in number  And the word of God kept on spreading; and the number of disciples continued to increase in Jerusalem... So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria continued to increase... A large number who believed turned to the Lord.... A great multitude believed, both Jews and Greeks... So the churches were increasing in number daily... Many believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men.

Paul tells us in Colossians 1.23 that the Early Church took the Gospel to their world in a single generation... Can you believe that!!  What a feat for the primitive church... What a goal for us in our generation... RIGHT?  What was the secret of this excitement... this enthusiasm... and this  extraordinary growth???  How do we explain their success?... How did they accomplish it?

I believe the Book of Acts contains our answer!  Acts is our Manual on Church Growth.
Growth made possible through genuine New Testament evangelism.  Although the word EVANGELISM does not occur in our English translations... The spirit of EVANGELISM flows from every page.

Church... I believe we can replicate their same results today if we will...
Have their MENTALITY...
If we will preach their MESSAGE
And adhere to their MODEL

Access a worship bulletin and let’s see what we can learn... From our outline this morning.

First... like them... We Must Be Sure Of Our Purpose.
These first Christians knew what their mission was-- to Go make disciples!
Evangelism was their business!... Their reason for existence!

It is significant that the first symbol of Christianity was not the cross... But the tongue!  It was the symbol chosen by God on Pentecost.  Every baptized believer should be ready to talk about the Savior!

Church... Why are we here and not in heaven?...
Why didn’t God zap us from the baptistry into heaven?
Why can’t we understand that God has left us here to seek and save others... To take others to heaven with us... To teach and preach the Word... To make disciples.  There are six billion souls on earth... Am I ... Are you reaching any of them??

But... Brother Randall... I don’t know how to talk to my neighbor!
Invite him to church where they can HEAR the Gospel taught and preached.  According to a survey of 10,000 people by the Institute for Church Growth... 79% said they were led to Christ because a friend invited them to church!  Church... are we as serious about our purpose as we should be??

Secondly... We Must Have An Evangelistic Consciousness.
The early Christians were opportunist... They were constantly looking for openings to communicate the good news about Christ to others.  Of the 60 evangelistic encounters in Acts, at least a third developed spontaneously without deliberate arranging from a human standpoint.

-In Acts 3... Peter and John healed a beggar at the temple.  When a curious crowd of spectators assembled to see the man who had been healed, Peter seized the opportunity to preach to them with great success.

-When persecution scattered the first Christians over the Mediterranean world, they turned their exile into an evangelistic opportunity.

-In Philippi Paul and Silas took advantage of an earthquake to evangelize a Roman jailer and his family.

We, too, must learn to allow Evangelism to color the casual contacts of daily life.

Church... Is it possible that God providentially brings people into our lives for the specific purpose of our communicating Jesus to them... Verbally... or by example?  People like the girl at the grocery store... The teller at the bank... Our golfing companions... etc.

We think that evangelism is a matter of aptitude... the right training... expertise; when in reality... what matters most is attitude!  God... Help us exploit each and every opportunity He brings our way... RIGHT?

We Must Believe In The Power Of The Gospel.
Today... Many believe we must offer something else... Weight-Down programs... Parenting classes... Financial Planning seminars... We must meet... Quote... Felt needs.
WRONG... ONLY The Gospel is God’s power to save.

Don’t put words in my mouth... There is nothing wrong with meeting felt needs of our community... But to the exclusion... or in lieu of preaching and teaching the Word... NO!!... NEVER!!  Paul told the Corinthians... I came to you knowing NOTHING... NO-THING except  Christ and Him crucified.

I feel that some of us doubt the gospel is really powerful enough to convert the rich and famous... The drug addict or the alcoholic... The infidel... Our religious NEIGHBOR... The intellectual... Or the desperately wicked.  Early Christians knew better... And they repeatedly won men and women to Christ that we would not even bother to put on our prospect lists!
Cornelius... A Roman soldier.
Simon... A Samaritan con man and dabbler in the black arts.
A black Ethiopian government official.
Sergius Paulus... The Roman Proconsul of Cyprus.
Crispus... The leader of a Jewish synagogue.

A few years ago a Gallup Poll revealed that 50% of the unchurched in our nation see themselves as someday becoming active church members.  That same poll indicated that 80% of these same people wanted their children to have religious training.  Church... The world is filled with people to save... We must believe that the power to save them is in the Gospel message.

We Must Have A Biblical Concept Of Success.
Another deterrent to effective evangelism today is a lack of understanding about what constitutes success.  Many of us feel that we have failed when we confront others with the truth about Jesus without converting them to Christ... So we stopped trying..  But the Book of Acts measures success by faithfulness in sowing... Not by the size of the harvest.  Repeatedly... We are told in Acts of efforts which produced no harvest of souls...
Some reacted to the Good News with angry hostility. 
Some even killed the messenger.
Others wanted to know more.
But early Christians knew that this was their and our task to sow the seed... To plant and water... We must leave the results to God.

We Must Have An Urgency For Souls.
Soon after his conversion, we find Saul of Tarsus already at work preaching the Gospel.  This spirit of urgency also is seen in the account of Peter and John's response to the Sanhedrin not to teach or preach at all in the name of Jesus... They said... We cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard.  Remember Saul’s response to the Macedonian call?... And when he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia.  They took the Gospel to the whole world in 30 years.  We will never duplicate their achievements as long as we are convinced that there is plenty of time and there is no hurry.

Then... We Must Have A Spirit Of Submission.
Jesus commanded them and us... GO INTO ALL THE WORLD... Preach the Gospel to every creature... Go make disciples of every nation... And I will be with you alway.
They were determined to obey God completely.

Recently... I read a survey of those who attended services three times a week...
Only 59% felt that they had any responsibility to tell others about Jesus.
27% actually disagreed with the whole concept of evangelism.
Folk, we’re better Bible students than to think like this... We KNOW that we ought to be sharing the good news of Jesus with others.
The direct command from Jesus is... Go into all the world... To every creature... And I will be with you always... The command and the promise:
The command is to go tell others.
The promise is I will be with you always.
Ironic isn’t it... We want the promise... But we reject the command.  Not only must we have an apostolic mentality... We must preach their message

Apostolic Preaching Must Be Centered On The Cross. 
An analysis of the early Christian preaching, in the Book, shows repeated references to the reality of Calvary.  Paul seemed to speak for all when he said... I was determined to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified... We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

You see... The God’s whole scheme of grace and redemption hangs upon the cross.  No doctrine is sound which does not have its roots in the cross.  Modern preaching says many true things... Even some helpful things... But it is unless centered upon the cross... It is powerless to save. 

Like Theirs... Our Message Must Be One Of Conviction.
The Apostles preached with authority and conviction... So must we!!  They never compromised their message.
They preached the sinfulness of mankind...
The lost condition of the unsaved..
The fearful reality of the judgment of God. 
They did not shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God... Even the face of persecution.  Compromise and cowardice had no place in their message as they confronted men with the truth of God.

The story is told that Hugh Latimer... On his way to preach before King Henry VIII, mused... Latimer, Latimer, be careful what you say... You speak before the King of England today!
But as he entered the pulpit, he was struck by another thought... Latimer, Latimer, be careful what you say... You speak before the King of kings today!  This is a conviction which must be recaptured in our pulpits today! 

They Preached A Message Of Hope.
I believe HOPE and the RESURRECTION go inseparably together.
Folk... There is no hope without the resurrection.  Have you ever counted the sermons that mention the resurrection?
-The first sermon of Pentecost... Let all Israel be assured of this... God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ
-Peter’s sermon at the beautiful gate... You killed the author of life... But God raised him from the dead.
-Paul preached the Resurrection.... For God has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed.  He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.
Paul insisted that if the Resurrection were not true then Christianity is a hoax...  And of all men, we are the most miserable.  You see, apart from the Resurrection there is no good news to proclaim.

Next week... Our religious world will celebrate the RESURRECTION... Truth is... We ought to celebrate it with every sermon we preach... RIGHT?

Our Message Must Demand A Response.
Apostolic preaching had an explosive impact on audiences. 
Some rejoiced...
Some resisted...
But none simply ignored. 
Of the more than 60 Evangelistic encounters in Acts... At least two-thirds of them produced a favorable response. 
-In Iconium the city was divided by the preaching of Paul and Barnabas.
-In Thessalonica, a great multitude of Greeks and leading men were converted... But the
Jews rioted.
-In Berea many Jews believed, but others stirred a mob into frenzy against the Apostles.
-In Athens, some sneered... But others believed.
-At Corinth, many believed... But others brought Paul before the judgment seat.

Sometimes... In our desire to not be offensive... We can cease to be effective.  A craving for respectability & popularity can make our preaching less than it ought to be.  You see... If we are to achieve Apostolic results we must go to the world with an Apostolic message... We must confront people with the truth about Jesus.

Well.. We must adhere to the Apostolic model found in Acts chapter one

We Must Know The Scriptures.
The Book of Acts starts with a Bible study...  After His suffering, He showed Himself to these men and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive.  He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.

Like Phillip we must be able to lead an individual to Jesus from anywhere in the Bible... Ran along by that chariot... Do you understand what your reading?... No, how can I except some man guide me... Philip joined himself to the chariot and began with the same scripture in Isaiah 53... And that teaching resulted in the Eunuch being baptized into Christ. 

If we are to have their success... We must know the Book?  Let us open our hearts and minds to the word of God... And let us PREACH... TEACH... and PROCLAIM nothing else... RIGHT?

We Must Anticipate His Coming.
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.  "Men of Galilee," they said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky?  This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

This angelic message rang in the ears of those who witnessed this event for the rest of their lives.
These people wanted Him to return.
They prayed for His return.
They lived in anticipation of the second coming.
Do we really expect him to come?... DO WE?... Do we expect Him to return...
Before we die?
This year?
How about tomorrow?
Before this sermon is concluded?

Here it is audience... The early church was evangelistic because they expected Jesus to return in their lifetime... Maybe today... Maybe today!  And I am convinced we will be diligent in teaching our children... our neighbors... and friends when we come to accept the truth... That Jesus is coming.

Then finally... We Must Follow Their Model Of Qualified Leadership.
I believe that one of the greatest deterrents to church growth today is a lack of leadership.  In the closing verses of Acts chapter one... Judas had only been dead 40 days... And they were already selecting one to replace him.  I think this points out God’s focus... God’s desire for proper leadership in our churches.

Leaders who have a great faith...
Leaders must be men of prayer...
Men of wisdom...
Men of compassion...
Men with forgiving hearts...
Men who dream...
Men who want to go to heaven more than anything else in the world.
Leaders who... above all else are interested in saving souls.
And we must have leaders who are God qualified...

Death... the aging process... and other reasons have taken some great leaders from among us, leaving a gaping void in many of our churches.  The question is this... Will you step in... Will you rise to the occasion... and be the man God has called to stand in the gap?  Will we take over where great men before us have left off?

The problem facing the church today is...
Not a lack of power in the gospel...
The blood of Christ has not been diluted...
Nor is the work of the Holy Spirit through the word any less effective.
The problem is us.
You see... church growth... genuine New testament evangelism is an outgrowth of genuine conversion.  Have we been converted or are we just church members?... Pew setters?... Spectators?

Give us a watchword for the hour,
A thrilling word... A word of power,
A battle cry... A flaming breath,
A call to conquest or to death,
A word to wake the church from rest,
To heed the Master’s high request.

The call is given, ye hosts arise,
The watchword is “Evangelize,”
To fallen man, a dying race,
Make known the gift of Gospel grace.
The world now in darkness lies.
O church of Christ, “Evangelize!”

My prayer is that we find something in the lesson tonight that will help us add to the growth of the church in Bella Vista or where you worship.

If you are here tonight and not a Christian... We invite and encourage you to become one by faith... repentance... and New Testament baptism... Immersion in water for the forgiveness of your sins.

Perhaps as a child of God you have stumbled in your walk... and instead of contributing to the growth of the Lord’s church... You have held back... Come making this right with God and right with your brothers and sister in Christ.

Maybe you’ve been worshiping with this great church family and want to join our fellowship... Finding your place in the Kingdom of God here with us.
The invitation is yours as we stand and sing this  song together.
Will you come!!