God’s Formula for Church Growth

by Rev Greg Obong-Oshotse 25 June 2021

Acts 12:24 But the word of God increased and multiplied.

I am the proud owner of a lovely coffee maker gifted to me last Christmas. But it remains in its packaging and hasn’t yet made me a drop of coffee. However, once I follow the manufacturer’s manual on how to operate it, I shall have endless streams of the black gold.

Christ does the same for His Church, of which He is the builder. He tells us exactly how the Church is built and how it grows: by His word. The church comes into being and grows as the word grows. There is a causal relationship between both, a direct line from the increase of the word to the growth of the Church. If the word increases, the Church grows; if the word decreases, the Church declines; if the word is lost, there will be no church, though there may be a gathering. This is fully illustrated in the acts of the Apostles, which recounts the history of the early Church. The disciples are persecuted because of the word. But God is with them, confounds the opposition and blesses their preaching. The word of God increased and multiplied. More converts are made. More disciples are being built. More teaching is going on. And the Church simply continues to grow. This is God’s formula for growing His Church. We cannot go wrong if we follow this formula as the first disciples did.