What are we doing?
As the new year begins I thought it would be helpful to unpack what it is we are doing at Christ Church St Ives.
The obvious answer is - we are being a church, a gathering of people focussed on knowing and following Jesus.
1 Corinthians 3 is so helpful in unpacking this and it’s worthy of your reading the whole chapter this week but Paul reminds the Corinthians that no-one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11). So, it is all about Jesus and he wants us to be his followers (disciples) and love him with all our heart and soul and mind and strength. He wants us to build each other up, and as we do, he will grow us (1 Corinthians 3:6-7).
So, together, our prayer for each other should be that we would grow as wholehearted disciples of Jesus, and be wholeheartedly devoted to him. As your staff team, this is what we are focussed on all the time. This is what we do: build wholehearted disciples of Jesus.
I hope you have heard this phrase around the place, seen it on emails, and used it in Growth Groups. As a staff team this is what we work together towards for every individual in our church; we pray that you would grow more and more as wholehearted disciples of Jesus; we pray that you would encourage others to do the same; and we pray that Jesus would be more your focus today than yesterday.
But a wholehearted disciple is more than just a nice catch phrase, it means something. We unpack it in five ways, all related to the purpose God has for us, his church.
God wants the church to magnify God; for each individual to be delighting in him. Throughout the Scriptures, it is clear that God does everything for the glory of his name so that he may be praised and glorified in the church and the world. This continues today (cf. Isa 43:7, 48:9; Ps 25:11; Jn 12:28). Our prayer is that you would gather regularly for church.
God wants the church to be filled with members who express and enjoy relationship, community, care and love for each other. When Paul uses the metaphor of the ‘body’, he often does so to encourage members to see themselves as belonging to one another for the benefit of one another (cf. Rom 12:4-5; 1 Cor 12:12-13). Our prayer is that you would be looking for ways to include and love others.
God wants the church to grow in maturity. The New Testament makes it abundantly clear that a goal for all Christians is to reach maturity in Christ, to keep in step with the Spirit, and walk worthy of their calling. To be deep in the Word and prayer (cf. Eph 4:13; Col 1:28, 4:12). Our prayer is that you would be listening to God’s voice in the Bible by yourself and with others every week.
God wants the church to be a place where Christians minister to one another. The Scriptures are clear that all Christians have been gifted for the common good and that we ought to use their gifts to help others grow as disciples - and we should do such service gladly (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:1-31, Romans 12:3-8). Our prayer is that you would use your gifts to serve in our church.
Finally, God wants the church to be on mission to the world - to seek the lost. Evangelism or mission cannot be completely foreign to the local gathering if that gathering is to be ordered by the gospel. Our God is on mission and he gathers a missionary people to form a missionary church (cf. John 10:1-21, 1 Peter 2:9-10). Our prayer is that you would share the good news of Jesus with family and friends.
So, this is our picture of what it is to be a wholehearted disciple - one who is shaping their whole life around the person and work of Jesus. And my constant prayer for each individual person in our church is that we might all be wholehearted disciples just like this. Can I invite you to join me in that prayer?
Building wholehearted disciples of Jesus is what we do. It’s why we exist. We’re focussed on this each day. We’re praying for you regularly - and not just as a big group, but by name as a team of pastors we humbly ask God to do a great work in you because we know that neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow (1 Corinthians 3:7).
