The Pattern of the Early Church
The description of the early church in Acts 2:42-47 gives a basic outline of what God intends the church to be:
42 And they [the early church] continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.
The church is made up of people called by God to be His children. The Lord intended for there to be a visible church for a testimony to the world. An organization’s structure is determined by its purpose. For example each position on the football team has a particular job. It is structured to meet the needs of the purpose of the team—offensively to score, defensively to keep the other team from scoring.
The church has basically a two-fold purpose that is stated in many different ways by different churches. Purpose statements usually include something along these lines, “To glorify God by knowing Him and making Him known.” A more expanded version would be “to make disciples by growing in our relationship to God and teaching others in keeping with Bible instruction.” Whatever the purpose of the church, the organizational structure should be to undergird and facilitate that purpose.
Acts 2:42 delineates the basic ingredients of church life in the first church. 42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. The only other thing you can add to that was preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. Everywhere they went as they had opportunity they provided witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. As a result “the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (v. 47).
Don’t think that evangelism wasn’t important to the early church because it was not delineated. It was a “given” that each would person would share his/her faith. The purpose of the church was plainly given by Christ in what is known as “The Great Commission” (Matthew 28:18-20). Unfortunately in many churches it is “The Great Omission.”
The basic functions are:
Bible Study
Fellowship
Prayer
Preaching
Witnessing
We find that the first expansion of the church organization took place in response to a particular need in the church. Most are familiar with the passage in Acts 6. The need arose because the task of ministry was too great for the Apostles. Church organizational growth should be in response to the needs of ministry. Often these needs are not perceived early, resulting in conflict which will always focus attention on the need.
The twelve apostles led the early church until needs demanded the organizational structure develop and elders and deacons were trained to lead and serve. One must be careful that the church not become bureaucratic rather than functioning as a body with each member fulfilling a particular task or role. Often the pitfall of organization is that the church operates like the government rather than as a body. What are the purposes of committees and councils and are they the most efficient way to accomplish the work God has given the church to do? Are they good stewardship of His resources?
Questions that are essential for the church to ask are:
1. What is the basic task of the church?
2. Is the leadership biblical?
3. Is the church organized to efficiently carry out that task in a biblical, efficient way that is good stewardship of God’s resources?
