Empowered to Influence: Part 4
Lorna Johnston /
Thursday, June 20, 2024
Empowered to Influence is an 8-session video-based course intended to be offered using the normal structures of a local church, e.g. Sunday School, small group Bible study, etc. This blog series is to explore the paradigms that are explored in the course.
Paradigm 4 – Works in the Church and Works of the Church
In Paradigm 3, we considered the purpose of the gathered church community, which exists for spiritual development and growth in areas of gospel focus such as forgiveness, integrity, unity, and love. In this fourth paradigm, Ken Chua examines the difference between the works in the church and the works of the Church—in other words, what happens on Sunday during our gathered community time and what happens the rest of the week when we are scattered in our various communities.
Ephesians 4:11-13 explores this idea:
"He himself granted that some are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ."
Scripture teaches that a small subset of God’s people work primarily in the church (gathered assembly) with a priority of equipping the rest of us to be fruitful and effective in doing the works of the Church out in the community, wherever God has strategically placed us.
The church gathers on the weekend, but what about on weekdays? Does the church still exist when it is scattered? Yes, of course. It is scattered strategically everywhere God has placed us. We may be in the home, in the workplace, in schools, or in the community. We assemble (for equipping) and then we scatter (for works of ministry), but wherever the church is—if it is alive—it is worshipping God and living out Kingdom Values of righteousness, joy, and peace. (Paradigm 1 explores this topic.)
Our problem is that in our thinking we tend to limit ‘church’ to just the local gathering on Sunday. Worship becomes the songs we sing; service becomes the church activities and programs we are involved in. Our Monday-to-Friday life is not recognized as being of spiritual significance. We fail to see our call to worship God wherever we are, living by Kingdom Values in every context—and thus we fail to be salt and light.
The Life We Live Outside of Church Events—If Offered to the Lord as Worship—is Holy
The life we live outside of church events, if offered to the Lord as worship, is holy. It is as valuable as what we offer to the Lord on Sundays. Wherever we are scattered throughout the week, we have easy access to a community that no one else does. By living a worshipful life marked by Kingdom Values, that community will clearly see the beauty and reality of Christ in our lives. Whether the watchers choose to accept or reject our message, they will not be able to deny its authenticity marked by the evidence of our lives and the sincerity of our convictions.
That kind of evidence is powerful.
If you are interested in running the Empowered to Influence course in your church, please contact our Simply Mobilizing team by filling out the form on this page: Empowered to Influence. We'd be glad to help your church congregation run the Empowered to Influence Course!
Lorna Johnston is the Diaspora Ministries Leader at Outreach Canada. She leads two national teams -- Simply Mobilizing Canada (SMC) and Loving Muslims Together (LMT). She works with teams of diverse and experienced leaders and ministries across Canada to alert and activate the church in Canada to the changing opportunities to engage God's mission right here in Canada.
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