God left much of the organization of the Church up to the Apostles and the early Church. Scripture will show us about the particular characteristics and life qualifications for pastors, elders and other servant leaders of the church. While the organization of a congregation was given to each local gathering, we do find in Scripture the design or purpose of God’s Church.
Matthew 16:18
And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
In this passage, we find the plan of Christ to build a Church. The word church itself means those that “are called out and belong to the Lord.” By that definition, we quickly understand that it is not the building but the people. What is the purpose of the Church? Simply, the purpose of the Church is to do whatever Christ has designed it do.
For what purposes has Christ created the Church?
He has designed it to glorify God
“Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout al ages, world without end. Amen. “Eph. 3:21
We are truly the Church as we bring God glory. We worship with hands raised high and hands that are held out in service to our neighbors. We glorify God as we obey and keep His commandments.
He has designed it to edify its membership.
“and he gave some, apostles; and some prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.” 4:11-12
This includes strengthening the church it. It also includes purifying the members of the church. This is all called discipleship. Preaching, modeling, praying, gathering for collective worship, encouraging, challenging, and many more disciplines are all at our disposal to building up those in the Church.
He has designed it to evangelize the world.
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. ” Matt. 28:19-20
Evangelism in its purest form is me sharing with you what Christ has done in my life and the good news of the Gospel as clearly as I possibly can. The Church is a community of believers that share in numbers what God is doing. We encourage people to share their faith out of the overflow God’s provision.
Jeremy Kamer Ministries 