Introduction

How might you describe our church? What kind of church are we? Last week I spoke of about driving forces that may be at work in churches as we prepare to share together as a congregation in 40 Days of purpose during Lent. As a reminder to you who were present, and to help those who were not able to be here last week let me briefly mention the driving forces that may be at work in local churches. The Driving Force of Tradition, of Personalty, of Finances, of Programs, of Buildings, of Events, of Seekers or the driving force of purpose, Today I want to describe five basic shapes that Rick Warren says that churches have taken depending on the purpose they emphasize the most.

I. Soul Winning Church

Historically, this type of church is always reaching out to the lost, because it’s main goal is to save souls. Evangelism is the primary task of the Soul Winning Church. Other ministries take second place in this kind of church. Typical terms heard in a Soul winning church are decisions for Christ, witnessing, altar calls, salvation, visitation, evangelism, crusades, and outreach teams.

From today's Scripture lesson we have an immediate and an ongoing response of people to the presentation of the Gospel following after the Holy Spirit empowered believers. Following the sermons Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost three thousand placed their faith in Christ. But the soul winner ministry of the early Church continued. We read, "Everyday their number grew as God added to those who were saved."

Is our Adel Church a Soul Winning church? Certainly we have some interest in sharing the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ, but how actively are we involved in evangelism?

II. Experiencing God Church

The focus of the experiencing God church is on experiencing the presence and power of God in worship. Praise, prayer, worship, power, music, and spirit are among the familiar terms in this type of church. This type of church is not limited to more charismatic churches. Worship is central to the experiencing God church.

Men, women, and children in the early church worshipped and praised their living God and experienced His presence. Signs and wonders were done, evidence of God at work in and through them. Outsiders were attracted by people whose lives were obviously touched by God.

I have preached some about worship here. Many come with the expectation of meeting God when they gather here on Sunday morning.

III. Family Reunion Church

The Family Reunion Church is one that focuses primarily on fellowship. The church is the family of God that gets together as relatives through Christ. Ministry is relational, often with the pastor serving as chaplain. Frequently heard terms are love, fellowship, family, belonging, caring fun, games, potlucks, small groups and relationships.

Gathering together is more important than goals for this type of church. Often these churches have 200 members or less, largely because that is about all one pastor can personally handle. Rick Warren and others estimate that about 80% of American churches are in this category.

Along with their worship together, folks in the church after Christ rose from the dead and sent His Spirit to be among them, enjoyed each other's company. They shared meals and fellowship together.

IV. Classroom Church

Teaching and preaching are the primary tasks of the classroom church. Often the pastor of this type of church is a gifted teacher. People come to these churches with their Bibles and notebooks to services and studies, take notes and go home. Familiar words in such a church are expository preaching, truth, knowledge, Bible study, discipleship, and doctrine.

As the Church began, those who came to faith in Christ committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles. The first followers of Christ followed His example of teaching to establish new believers in the faith He had taught them. Now we are blessed to have the Lord's teachings written for us in the Bible.

V. Social Conscience Church vThe Social Conscience Church is out to change society. The pastor and others may see their role as being prophets and reformers. The congregation is composed of Christian activists who are doers of the Word. Common words and phrases may be do something, take a stand, stand up for your faith, needs, serve, and share.

Our brothers and sisters of the first generation church were very conscious of the needs of those within their fellowship and God obviously used them to begin to reform the society in which they lived.

Conclusion

What kind of church are we? A Soul Winning Church? An Experiencing God Church? A Family Reunion Church? A Classroom Church? A Social Conscience Church?

Some of us would have a tendency to focus primarily on one of these. Which would you emphasize?

I do not believe that God wants us to be one of these types of churches. I believe that He wants us to be all of these in balance. That is a challenge, but I see all of the purposes that shape each of these kinds of churches at work in our Adel church. To become more and more the church I believe God wants us to become we need to become more intentional about doing each of the types of ministry that follow God's purpose for the church.

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