III. CONGREGATION: The Assembling of the Saints
A. PREPARING. Plan the initial meeting: Motivate. Weeks in advance, give orientation about fellowship services and its importance to believers. Teach, preach it. Plan a Special Big Event. Gather all the CONVERTS, CLASSES in home Bible studies, and CONTACTS, in a SPECIAL SUNDAY Event. It must be a good size, 25 or more, to make your point clear. Plan a Meaningful Event. Make this first service as spiritually meaningful and helpful as possible. Incorporate a variety of elements in the service: PRAYER, PRAISE, WORSHIP, INSTRUCTION, PREACHING, EVANGELISM, HEALINGS, STEWARDSHIP, CHARISMATICS, FELLOWSHIP, ORDINANCES. Give a taste of what it will really be to have fellowship with other believers!
B. SCHEDULING. Plan Church Meeting. Include in your agenda during this Special Sunday, the schedule for future services. Involve everybody, to agree to have regular services. Establish times and places for the gathering and assembling of believers based on [a]Christian Practice, [b]Local Customs, and [c]Circumstances of your people.
1. Place of Meeting: Tent, Temple, Synagogues, Houses, public places, Theater, School Bldg., Dormitory lounge, Office, factory, Bodega. Acts 5:42 20:20.
2. Time of Meeting. Determine whether the congregation is time oriented or event oriented, and make adaptations. Urban folks are time oriented, i.e., promptness, with less concern for the importance of its purpose. Rural folks are event oriented: Time is immaterial as long as the intended, activities and purposes are accomplished. Provide variety of Schedules.
C. GATHERING. Introduce and integrate new believers into the fellowship as soon as possible. Once converted, people need to feel themselves to be a part of God's family, and to participate in its regular activities. Belongingness is the key: new believers must not feel alienated. God provided the Body/Church as the New Society for the redeemed. Belonging to a church is not optional. No believer must be excluded from the church community.
D. ORGANIZING. TIT 1:5-9 Not just organism, BUT organization.
1. Depends on Spirituality of People. As Believers mature in Christian character, begin to organize them and give them responsibilities in the church. It is not how many leaders but what kind of leaders! 1TI 3:1-13 2TI 2:20-21
2. Depends on Spiritual Giftedness. Help them discover and develop their spiritual gifts. Put them on probation first, 1TI 3:6, 10. Make the organization simple but workable. KEY: Organize when the needs arise.
E. IDENTIFYING. New believers should be instructed and motivated to be identified with the local body of believers, where normally they are tempted to go back to the world. If the initial work in the new convert (contact, gospel communication) is sound, the problem of identification will be minimized.
1. Open a Regular Class for candidates for Water Baptism. Schedule group water baptism.
2. Two factors that cause a new convert to be identified with God's People: Human factor: the attraction of a loving, caring, and friendly congregation. The pulpit, the organized visitation program (within 48-72 hrs. after conversion), wise and orderly manifestation of gifts of the Spirit. Divine Factor: Work of the Holy Spirit, experience with God.
F. GOVERNING. Church Government is essential to establish and maintain Divine order. Divine order produces divine blessing. NO FORM OF CHURCH GOVERNMENT ON ITS OWN IS INFALLIBLE. The real answer to successful church Government is the SPIRITUALITY of the individuals in authority.
LEADERSHIP STYLE: CONDITIONED BY NUMERICAL GROWTH.
1. The Evangelizing Pastor. Role of pastoring: closer among contacts and converts. Aims for Conversion. Size of Congregation: 15-members, 15 contacts, training at least 2 BS leaders. He gets converts and preparing leaders to work with him.
2. The Teaching Pastor. Gift of pastoring, caring and equipping, on longer term among converts. Loves to counsel, visit, pray for sheep, teach people. Aims for Nurture of converts. Size of Congregation: 30-50 members, With at least 5 volunteer leaders, additional 5 under training.
3. The Supervising Pastor. Superintending the whole church with leaders under him. Spends longer time with leaders than converts. Sees to it though that the needs of members are met through the ministries of leaders. Aims for Equipping of Leaders. Size of Congregation: 100-300 members, 15-20 BS leaders.
CHURCH STRUCTURE: CONDITIONED BY SPIRITUAL GROWTH.
1. No Scriptural evidence for Structure but for:
Principles for Church Government. 1CO 14:40
Practice of Church Govt. HEB 13:7 17:24 ROM 12:8 1TI 5:17
Personnel in Local Church Government. PHI 1:1
2. Three Basic Forms of Church Government:
a. AUTOCRACY. Government by one person. Most effective in pioneering situations: In pioneering the leader is dealing with `babes' in Christ, their immaturity needs strong leadership. To involve immature believers in decision making would be disastrous.
b. HIERARCHY. Government by a select few. Churches pioneered by Paul "appointed elders in every church Acts 14:23. Also termed as `multiple eldership." Most effective in establishing a work, CHILDREN are becoming `YOUNG MEN'. At this stage they would react to an autocratic rule. Many churches have split at this point when the pastor has not added ASPECTS of the hierarchal system. Eldership must be formed and involved in the decision making process.
c. DEMOCRACY. Government by the people. No pure expression of democracy in the scriptures. Effective in an established work where the congregation feel they are being consulted and are allowed to voice their opinions on MAJOR matters that affect the life of the church. Failure to do this will create discontent and disunity in the church. Watch however that the Pastor is not being led by the sheep!
3. Leadership in the church should always be based on the growth of a person into it. Many sorrows and pain can be avoided if this alone can be observed: (Using the Basic Qualifications)
a. Growth in Content
b. Growth in Charisma
c. Growth is Character
d. Growth in Calling