If I had to give a Scripture verse defining why I do what I do as director of Ministry Tools Resource Center, I would choose Ephesians 4:16.  It has long been the passion of my heart to see the Body of Christ line up with God’s purpose and objective for the Church and to get there following His design.

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

This verse sums it up:

1)  The Church’s Identity:  the Body of Christ (“from him the whole body”)

The church is a living organism made up of many different parts under the leadership of the Head, Jesus Christ.  Out of this diversity comes unity.  We are one in Him.

—So, I had to develop a section just on Body Life.

2)  The Church’s Objective:   ”grows and builds itself up”

The Church should be growing numerically through new converts and qualitatively with one another  –reaching out but also building one another up …. both, not either/or.

—So, I knew ministry training had to include outreach ministry but also shepherding, prayer, worship, teaching, and more.

3)  The Church’s Purpose:  “in love”

Love, the greatest commandment according to Jesus, unites us (Col.2:2) and so over all the different virtues we can and should exhibit in our lives we must “put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Col. 3:14).  We “live a life of love, just as Christ loved us” (Eph. 5:1-2).  We “do everything in love” (1 Cor. 16:14).  We “serve one another in love” (Gal. 5:13) and “speak the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15).  Above all, we are to “love each other deeply” (1 Peter. 4:8) and  “increase and overflow” in that love (1 Thess. 3:12).

—So, I wanted a section devoted solely to the Church’s Purpose to love God and love people out of which the church ministries would flow.

4)  The Church’s Design:  “as each part does its work”

The Church was made to best function as an interdependent unit.  All parts are needed (1 Cor. 12:21-26).  Every believer has something to contribute (1 Cor. 12:7).

—So, with everybody doing their part as the means through which this all happens, I had to make teaching on Spiritual Gifts a core value around which the site would be built.

 Here are some other articles on the MinTools.com site on Ephesians 4:16.  Isn’t it amazing how much can come out of just one verse?

God’s Bueprint for Church Growth: An Exposition of Eph. 4:16

God’s Body Building Plan

I told you — this one verse says it all.  Now, may the Church be the Church!

This entry was posted on Monday, June 29th, 2009 at 9:00 am and is filed under Church Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.