Ministry opens up avenues for spiritual maturity, not the other way around. That's the biblical model of a healthy church.
Key Points:
- Saul went from persecutor of Christians to preacher of the gospel in under 3 weeks. Acts 9
- Pastors are supposed to equip people to do ministry, and maturity will follow. Ephesians 4:11-13
- Most Christians today think maturity is a prerequisite for ministry, but that’s getting the math wrong.
Bible Text:
Ephesians 4:11-13 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.
Talk About It
- What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
- Do you think Saul should have been allowed to preach so soon after his conversion? Would your church have allowed it?
- Read Ephesians 4:11-12. What is the pastor’s main job, according to this passage? What is the pastor’s main job in your church?
- Share about a time when you matured because you were thrust into ministry.
- How can you equip people to do more disciple-making in your church?
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
This topic is in the Wikichurch series.
