By Not Known
As we celebrate our anniversary, we remember God’s faithfulness. Like the Israelites who pile stones as memorials, we pile testimonies of God’s goodness and faithfulness in our sharing. It is good for us today to take some time to reminisce together what God has done in our midst.
However, memories do have other purposes. For one, it helps us look into the future with hope and anticipation. Were there mistakes made, we learn not to repeat them. Were there successes, we attribute them to God’s hand at work. Were there lessons learnt, we use them to teach the next generations to do even better. As we remember God’s faithfulness, we are assured of God’s presence and promises. He has reminded us again that He will never leave us nor forsake us.
There are four key groups that we should pay attention to in order for us to move ahead together to build God’s church.
1. Disciples. We have established that our goal is to work at being an intentional disciple-making church. It means that we want to intentionally work towards God’s Great Commission of making disciples of all nations. To do this, we have to grow individually as disciples of Christ. We have to focus all our energy and efforts to make this happen in every facet of our ministries. We have to channel our resources to realise this in our mission.
2. Leaders. Without leaders, we can’t go anywhere. And without God-honouring and servant-minded leaders, nothing is going to happen. For without leaders, there are not going to be followers. Without followers, we will be stuck where we are. Pray for our leaders. Encourage them often. Be prepared yourself to come forward to serve as one.
3. Servants. When leaders are in place, we need servants too. They are humble disciples who are willing to make sacrifices for the sake of the Kingdom of God. We serve the King of kings. We are His subjects who have experienced His grace and favour. We come forward to surrender ourselves for faithful services to Him. Servants are made from having the right hearts and minds.
4. Co-workers. The church is often described as a body. The body has many parts. Each part must function together with other parts of the body in a coordinated fashion. When one does not work as it should, the whole body is affected. The word often used to highlight this is: partnership. In a partnership, we are co-workers together. We look out for each other. We encourage one another. We spur each other on. We stir up good works in others as well.
In reality, we are all four as we take on different roles and capacities within the body of Christ and within ORPC. As we celebrate God’s goodness and faithfulness, we need all four groups to acknowledge our roles and to commit ourselves to making it work in a coordinated way to fulfil God’s Kingdom calling and the preaching of the Gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Are you with us?
Peter Poon