Church Planting in the Book of ActsSample

Strengthening Through Organized Leadership

When we read about the incredible exploits of the early church in the book of Acts, we can make the mistake of idealizing those moments as if the people involved were perfect and never had a problem to solve or challenge to overcome. Yes, we see supernatural miracles, radical generosity, genuine community, explosive evangelism, and church growth but as we read the historical narrative a little more closely, we also see that they had issues to deal with, just like we do. As the church grew, so did pettiness, disputing, and discrimination. Persecution was a massive issue. Dishonesty and manipulation shows up in the attitude and approach of Ananias and Sapphira.

What was the answer to these issues? Believe it or not, it was the development of a healthy church structure! Church planting requires strategy. Evangelism accelerates when we believe for supernatural answers to prayer, but nothing remains healthy for very long without a solid and sound structure.

Acts chapter six records disputes that arose between two cultural groups. There were many widows receiving food and support from the local church. The majority of the widows came from a Greek background while the minority were from a Hebraic one. The minority complained of discrimination in the food distribution. The apostles, already overwhelmed by all of the responsibility they were carrying from this massive new church, had to come up with a plan.

So they formed a new structure. Values were articulated that were full of faith, wisdom, and full of the Holy Spirit as the apostles defined their roles should be limited only to prayer and the teaching of the word. A team of seven leaders, all from a Greek background, were named as deacons and managing the food distribution process was now their responsibility.

The result? “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.” Acts 6:7 (NIV)When the apostles built a solid structure for the ministry, they became more effective in everything they did and grew rapidly. Poor structure had been a ceiling on their growth and effectiveness.

But a healthy structure produced more than just numerical growth. It created more than just increased effectiveness. Qualified leaders, who were living the values, created a ministry that was so impressive, even a large number of priests, who were probably the most skeptical of the spread of Christianity, began to follow Jesus as their Messiah.

Every new church needs a well designed structure. We also need qualified and trained leaders who live out the values and work to solve problems in their areas of assignment. Without a strong and well articulated structure, we hit a ceiling in our growth and effectiveness. And we, as leaders, will start to burn out.