Breaking the Faithful Four Barrier in Church Planting  by Tom Cheyney

Ingredients are very important. I recall my initial attempt at making homemade biscuits in high school. I very patiently assembled the ingredients -- flour, sugar and shortening. Placing them in a pan, I cooked them the right amount of time. Much to my amazement, the biscuits were hard as rocks. I was sincere in making them, did my best, had what I thought was the right ingredients, and followed the directions. But something was wrong!  We finally noticed the bag of flour that was marked “plain”. You see, I used the wrong kind of flour.

Church planting is a complex issue. All ingredients must be present and operating within the local body of Christ, the church, for effective growth. Studies show no single cause for the lack of growth. Certain ingredients must be present in the proper proportions for church growth. Studies of growing churches reveal some common growth characteristics. Wendell Belew lists five characteristics of growing churches:

1.  The church has a purpose

2.  The church has leadership that speaks with authority

3.  The church has developed a strategy for growth

4.  The church has knowledge of its community

5.  The church has called for people involvement

Reginald M. McDonough, of the Southern Baptist Home Mission Board, lists eleven growth characteristics:

1. The pastor and staff are committed and involved in growth

2.  Lay persons are committed and involved in growth

3.  The church is committed to winning lost persons

4.  The church equips new believers

5.  The worship services are dynamic, joyful, and expectant

6.  The fellowship expresses acceptance, concern, and love

7.  The Bible is at the center of preaching and study

8.  The Sunday School is the major growth arm of church

9.  There is a sense of caring that meets the needs of the members

10.  There are specific growth plans

11.  There is much prayer for the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

Dr. John Havlik lists six commonalties of growing churches:

1.  A pastor has a vision of growing an evangelistic church and can effectively communicate that vision

2.  Pastors must genuinely like people

3.  Pastors must have a genuine concern about other people's relationship with God

4.  People who, as a matter of lifestyle, will witness and visit naturally with security

5.  Churches that are pluralistic by choice, are open to all kinds of persons and lifestyles. 

6.  Pastors and staffs are able to administrate a process of empowering, equipping, and enabling believers for loving, Christ-like evangelistic ministry. 

Dr. Lyle Schaller, one of America's foremost church growth consultants, lists seven characteristics of growing churches:

1.  Good Bible preaching

2.  Emphasis on evangelism

3.  Changing of membership fellowship circles

4.  Opportunities given for commitment

5.  Imported leadership

6.  Specialties in ministry

7.  Ministers who like people.

Dr. C. B. Hogue, former director of Evangelism for Southern Baptist Home Mission Board, lists five principles:

1.  Bible based concepts

2.  Bold evangelism

3.  Broad involvement of people

4.  Burning passion of the pastor for growth

5.  Basic faith in Jesus Christ.

The lists go on and on as we bring in the current church growth writers. The point is that in the assimilation of these growth characteristics, there seems to be six ingredients that are of primary importance. They are: climate, structure, health, priorities, people and pastor.

THE FAITHFUL FOUR

To properly understand these ingredients for church planting, the first level of growth must be delineated. I have titled it "The Faithful Four." This first barrier to church growth comes at the initiation stage of a new church start. It has been referred to by many and by Francis Jack Redford, in particular, as the "Planting of Churches." It is not my intent to discuss Redford's "Nine Steps in Planting New Churches," but it is my desire to use the concept of "Planting" in relationship to the idea of the Faithful Four.

The Faithful Four are simply those four nuclei families that begin the work of a mission Bible study church with the intent of developing it into a fully constituted church as a result of anticipated growth and expansion. These faithful four families have some transitions as well as liabilities.

Their limitations are clear. They are, even in a mass of strength, quite weak. Four families united together are still unable to function like a 25 or 35 participant church.

Their liabilities are consuming as well. If any one member of this group becomes pre-occupied with their own spiritual self-interest, a full twenty-five percent could be affected.

So, when one looks at the Faithful Four families, there is a limitation and a liability of about sixteen, but there is also a value in these sixteen! These four families have a value that can be understood by their tenants of faithfulness. There are five of these tenants.

Tarrying

The first tenant of faithfulness in this little church plant is that of tarrying. The first ingredient needed in this first level of church development is the willingness to tarry. It is the spiritual ability to remain under a charge to birth a new mark for the glory of God!  Remaining and waiting upon the Lord for exact direction is a quality that needs to be emphasized in any new work. 

Tithing

The second tenant of faithfulness in a church plant is tithing. For the new work to be successful these four families must understand the crucial importance of this tenant. If even one family is unfaithful in this step, the whole church start is in danger of failing. God expects each of us to tithe and the infant church has little room in this area for disobedience. 

Teaching

The third tenant of faithfulness in the planting of a church is teaching. The very day that a new church plant is born out of prayer, these faithful four families must be willing to participate in the teaching aspect for growth. The Bible is the only way for the Church to grow and they must be willing to proclaim it. 

Telling

The fourth area that the faithful four families must practice is that of telling. Dr. Larry Lewis, President of the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention reminds us that, "Jesus' last words called His disciples to their first priority, being witnesses for Him." For the church to survive in today's world, we must be excited about personally witnessing for Christ!  Much of the Christian church finds itself impotent and powerless today. It hesitates, debates, and, for the largest part, declines. Yet, the lost world rushes on toward eternal damnation. Jesus Christ commanded His disciples when He said, "But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: And ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." Christ Jesus' early followers accepted His command and challenge, and the known world was turned upside down. It can and still does happen today. The faithful four families must understand that there are millions of lost souls waiting for someone with the answer to tell then about Jesus Christ. 

Training

The fifth and last tenant of faithfulness in the faithful four of a church plant is training. It is not enough to tarry. It is not enough to simply tithe. It is not enough to teach. It is not even enough to tell someone about Jesus if we are going to stop there. We must for the furtherance of the kingdom of God train these dear ones in the things of Christ!  We must make disciples out of each and every one.

These are the five tenants of the Faithful Four Barrier in church planting. Now how does one break through the actual numerical barrier of sixteen? The following suggestions to the church planter will prove helpful:

Because there is such a closeness that is found in the church planting stage of growth, often a territorial claim develops. This is never by intent. But, often if you ask a particular individual about territorial possession, a disclaimer will be suggested. However, when one looks in from the outside it becomes quite apparent. For growth to happen in a church plant, territorial possession must be willingly disposed.

Another barrier to the faithful four barrier is that of the huddle syndrome. When one goes out to play an enjoyable game of football with friends and relatives, the first thing each team does is gather together in a huddle. Huddles are nice places. Everyone in the huddle knows something those on the other side do not know--the play. Knowing the play gives confidence that it can be carried out. Circumspectly, for the other side, not knowing the play puts the defense at a disadvantage. When the huddle meeting is about to conclude, the leader or quarterback says, "ready, break" and the huddle is sent out with great bravado so that the plan will be completed successfully!

However, for the little church plant, the huddle syndrome can be quite dangerous. Only those who are part of the "in crowd" leave the huddle with the confidence that others are supporting them as they compete in the field of life. For the new recruit who was just sent in, there is great fear of not fitting in or, even worse, of failure because those in the huddle did not let them in on the real goal of the play. For this individual one of two things can happen. The first is that the huddle or church plant is sensitive that they are new and will do everything to help them be a part of the huddle and sense that they are a new but vital part. Thus, the faithful four experiences church growth.

The other thing that can happen to the individual is what happens far too frequently in this size of church. These new huddle participants are told to "go long!" That means they are allowed to attend but are always placed on the peripherals and never given any part in the action.

I remember when I was a mission pastor in New England. We had worked hard one Easter season and had ninety-six in attendance in a Good Friday service. For a church that had seventeen members, this was wonderful! The huddle had the chance to expand. The problem was that a member of the huddle was afraid he would loose his position in the huddle and constantly greeted each inquirer with the statement, "Welcome to Our Church! Why did you choose to come to our church for Good Friday Services?" Sadly, I found out this too late and almost one hundred people never visited God's local church there in New England again.

People today in church plants are constantly fighting the natural inclination to be a huddle and then to tell those desiring participation to "go long". The Territorial and Huddle Syndromes can defeat the small church before it ever gets off the ground. Breaking these barriers must have a high priority if the church is to grow.

THE SIX IMPORTANT INGREDIENTS TO BEGIN TO DEVELOP

DURING THE CHURCH PLANTING STAGE

There are some very important ingredients to begin to develop during the church planting stage in your organization and in ones’ parishioners. 

CLIMATE

The climate of the church is essential to growth. Common sense knows you cannot plant a palm tree in Canada and expect it to live. As proper climate is necessary for plant growth, proper climate is also necessary for church growth. Ron Jensen describes church climate as "the combination of factors, which determines how it feels to be a part of the church." Several factors affect the climate of the church:

1. The Appearance of the Buildings and Grounds

The appearance of the buildings and grounds portrays how the congregation feels about itself. Is upkeep an important priority for the church? Are hallways cluttered? Are the grounds properly maintained? Does the building need painting? Is the carpet worn? Maintenance and upkeep is of primary importance.

2. The Self-Image of the People

Are the people defeated in their attitudes? Have the people allowed themselves to become beaten-down? More will be said about "people" later. 

3. Unity of the Church

Unity in the church is of the utmost importance. The book of Acts teaches that the early church was in one accord and had all things in common. Visiting in a church community in which I previously pastored, every unchurched person informed me that my church members could simply not get along with each other. They also shared that if that was an evidence of Christianity, they wanted no part of it. The lack of unity was a barrier that could never be penetrated.

4. A Sense of Expectancy

Do members have a sense of expectancy for God to do something in their lives? Are people experiencing salvation in the worship services? Are Christians growing in their Christian maturity? Do negative growth attitudes exist? Many non-growing churches have an air of dullness and coldness that prohibits growth.

5. Exciting and Meaningful Worship Services

Worship services affect the climate. An unprepared message and poorly prepared music will stifle growth rather quickly. Services must be joyous, meeting the needs of the worshipper, causing the worshipper to want to return.

6. Reception of Visitors

Are visitors received and welcomed? It is a fact that if churches want to grow, the number of visitors must increase in the worship services. Do visitors feel you want them in your church? Ushers or special greeters should be assigned the duty of welcoming visitors.

7. The Attitude Toward Growth

The growth attitude of the church affects the church climate. A good growth attitude
contains several ingredients:

A. The church must have a positive spirit. Robert Schuller teaches that a positive spirit is a most important growth ingredient. The Israelites were punished for 39 years because they did not have a positive spirit about possessing the Promised Land. They missed living in the land flowing with milk and honey because of their negativism. Growth risks demand a certain level of commitment. Comments like, "We just cannot do that," or "It will never work" ruin the attitude and spirit of a church that is trying to grow.

B. The church must be willing to depart from tradition. Churches reaching the age of 40 often cease to grow because of becoming steeped in tradition. Programs become fossilized. Attitudes and ideas become stagnant. The familiar becomes the accepted because it has always worked. While past programs are good, churches must continually explore ways of applying the gospel to reach today's world. Yesterday's methods often will not work today. I can remember when all the businesses would close at the annual revival time. This is no longer the case. In fact, the unchurched do not attend revivals. It is the challenge of the church to continually search for new wineskins to house the new wine of the Holy Spirit. Howard Snyder says the church is the greatest roadblock to renewal and church growth.

C. The church must be willing to exercise faith. The Bible teaches that God honors blind faith, faith that moves mountains and brings the glory of the Lord. God constantly leads in new cooperative ventures with man. Christians must not be afraid of exercising faith that attempts to accomplish great things for Him.

D. The church must be willing to change. A growing church experiences new persons, new ideas, new methods, and new needs. Change is painful because the familiar is more comfortable.

E. The church must want to grow. Many churches are satisfied with themselves. The church is here, and if anyone wants to come, that is fine! A growing church must make some effort to reach out into the community. Long hours of planning, expenditure of monies, and goal evaluations, are part of the growing church.

F. A church must be willing to pay the price for growth. The price of growth includes the appropriating of monies, expanding staffs, planning new buildings, and assimilating new persons within the body of the church. Growth requires energy! To remain the same requires nothing.

The Church Climate cannot be programmed but must be experienced. Climate is a complex issue with many factors determining the atmosphere. Charles Mylander challenges us as church leaders when he states, "The responsibility of church leaders is the development of an atmosphere conducive to growth."

STRUCTURE

John Sisemore says, "that all living organisms need structure with maybe the exception of the jellyfish." How true! The church must have proper structure or it will grow into a freak organization. Looking under the church growth microscope, we see three basic structural organization units--cell, fellowship group, and congregation.

1. The CELL, the smallest unit of the structure, is composed of eight to fifteen members. The cell provides the opportunity for members to have face-to-face relationships, know all the members in the group, be able to minister to one another's needs, and provide a place of meaning and purpose within the church. It is very important that all members of the church be involved in this basic cell structure. Participation can be easily monitored. Sunday School classes, choirs, committees, task forces and small neighborhood Bible studies all are examples of cells. Biologically, the cell is the basic foundational unit of life. In the church, the cell is also the basic foundational unit of organization. Growth occurs when cells divide and multiply. As the body reproduces and creates new cells for growth, the church must do the same. Existing cells only grow so large before they cease growing.

2. The FELLOWSHIP GROUP is composed of 12-125 persons. It will have numerous cells. The fellowship group provides opportunities for knowing persons on a personal basis, sharing experiences, and providing group experiences. A one-fellowship group church will plateau at 80-120 persons in attendance. To penetrate this barrier, a second fellowship group must be established. Pastoral leadership is different in a multi-fellowship group than in a single fellowship group. In a multi-fellowship group church, members do not know everyone on a first-name basis. The pastor must develop a pastor/leader leadership style to gear beyond the one fellowship church.

3. The CONGREGATION is the sum total of the parts. All cells and fellowship groups make up the congregation. In a church with 1,000 persons, there will be several fellowship groups, many cells, and one congregation. For healthy structure, these three basic foundational units must be functioning properly. Suppose a person joins your church and does not become involved in the cell structure and only attends the worship service? More than likely, that person will become inactive and drop out within six months of joining. Why? It is easy to get lost in the crowd. Missing a few Sundays will often go unnoticed. The person soon decides no one cares about him, when the truth is no one knows that he has been missing. Research by Win Arn indicates that if new persons do not make at least six new friends in six months, they will drop out of the church. The cell then, is the glue that holds it all together. If the church loses members as fast as they gain members, nothing is accomplished. 

The foundational church structure--cell, fellowship group, and congregation is important for several reasons. 

First, structure provides the opportunity for assigning roles and responsibilities within the church. George Peters says, "structure provides for a division and apportioning of labor and assigning of responsibilities." This simply means that structure provides the opportunity of getting everyone involved within the church. Total membership involvement is the key to healthy growth. 

Second, good structure is necessary for organizational expansion. David Womack suggests that, "organizational expansion always precedes numerical increase." There must be enough opportunities for involvement for everyone. New members must feel they have a place of service, and old members must feel they are not being neglected. Womack suggests that building a church is like building a pyramid. To increase the volume, you must expand the base or you will have a top-heavy organization. Notice, however, expansion of the base must precede the numerical increase. There must be places to absorb and assimilate the growth, allowing persons to become involved. 

Third, good structure allows for the assimilation of new members. Chuck Swindoll describes an assimilated member as one who has become absorbed in the function of the body of Christ as an active participant, relating to, sharing with, and caring for others in the body. The church becomes ours instead of yours. Research proves that if a member joins the church and does not become involved within the cell structure, he will drop out. 

HEALTH

Good health is necessary for Church Growth. Dr. Paul W. Powell, former president of the Annuity Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, gives us some good elements in a healthy church. They are:

1. There is a sweet spirit

2. There is a Bible Centeredness

3. The Pulpit is the Center of Growth

4. There are exciting age group ministries

5. They go after people through aggressive visitation

6. They involve participants in missions and ministry

7. They keep everything bathed in prayer.

PRIORITIES

The fourth major ingredient of church growth is priority. Matthew 28:19-20 outlines the basic priorities for church growth. They are as follows: 

1. Going: into all the world 

2. Sowing: sowing the seeds

3. Cultivating: establishing relationships

4. Baptizing: leading receptive persons to Christ

5. Discipling: teaching and training the new converts to become like Christ.

These five tasks must be working simultaneously and in the proper proportion.

GOING: The Greek text indicates this command meant as the people went about their daily lives, they should be sensitive to the opportunities of sharing their faith with persons they met. The Holy Spirit provides the opportunities and the power to share a testimony with others. As the people go, they should be ready to share with others. Translating this into our lives, the Christian should be ready to share his testimony in the market place, on the job, on the street, in the department store, at school, in the super market, or wherever his life takes him.

Going includes making a formal visitation effort in the community. Jesus sent His disciples into the highways and hedges of life compelling persons to come to the Father's house. One weakness of many churches is in the area of going. The idea is the church is here, and if they want to come, that is fine! No effort is made to go and invite the unchurched. Going should include outreach to new residents of the community, the unchurched, and even the backslidden church members.

SOWING: As persons go, sowing is a must. Without a time of sowing, there will be no harvest. Jesus teaches four types of soils in the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. First, the wayside is a hard path between two fields. It is impossible for seeds to penetrate this soil. Second, the rocky soil makes it difficult for seeds to grow. Beneath the surface of maybe two inches of topsoil is a layer of bedrock. As seeds germinate, their roots reach the rock and growth is prohibited. Third, the thorny soil contains so many thorns that the two root systems become intertwined and the good is lost. Fourth, the good soil brings forth the harvest some 30, 60, and 100 fold.

Christians sow seeds everywhere they go--in the market place, at the service station, in the hospital, on the job, and in the home. Naturally, the more seeds sown, the greater the harvest. Seed sowing should be both natural and enjoyable.

CULTIVATING: After the seeds are sown, they must be cultivated. Time is required between seedtime and harvest. As the seeds germinate, they require nourishment and proper care. As the seeds of the gospel are sown, they, too, must be cultivated. Research indicates that persons are more receptive to the gospel if the gospel is presented by friends. The levels of friendship are stranger, casual acquaintance, acquaintance, casual friend, friend, and good friend. Christians cultivate relationships with non-Christians as they visit with one another, work with one another, and live with one another. Paul mentioned that he planted, Apollos watered, and God gave the increase. More will be mentioned about cultivation in a later chapter.

BAPTIZING AND HARVESTING: As seeds are sown and cultivated, they grow until harvest. At harvest time, the matured seeds must be gathered out of the fields and into the barns. As persons become receptive to the gospel, they must be presented with the opportunity to accept Christ as their Savior. A number of harvesting tools should be used.

The goal of the Great Commission is to win persons to Christ. Being faithful is just not enough. Evangelism is in a sad state in most churches today. Win Arn gives a good description of today's evangelism:

1.  Reaching non-Christians is a low priority for the church

2.  Reaching non-Christians is a low priority for Christians

3.  The Biblical concept of lostness has disappeared from our consciousness

4.  Most evangelism methods are ineffective in making disciples

5.  Evangelism focuses on decision making rather than disciple making

6.  Evangelism methods have become simplistic

7.  Evangelism is much discussed but little practiced.

The church should continually explore their evangelistic methods and activities and evaluate their effectiveness. In the Southern Baptist Convention alone, one church of five baptizes no one during the course of one year.

DISCIPLING: As the church goes, sows, cultivates, and baptizes persons accepting Christ, discipling becomes a necessity. New babes in Christ need to be fed on the Word in order to grow spiritually. They need to learn spiritual warfare, how to survive, and how to develop their devotional life. As they progress, the new converts need to be able to discover their spiritual gifts so they will make an important contribution to the body of Christ. A disciple is a learner as well as a follower of Jesus Christ. To disciple a person is to teach them to become more like Christ in their daily lives.

Any combination of these five ingredients of the Great Commission out of balance will produce an unbalanced church. Winning converts without discipling produces a church of spiritual babies. Going without winning produces discouragement. Without cultivating, there is no harvest. Without going, there is no one to cultivate. Therefore, the church must continually give attention to these four areas of the Great Commission and attempt to keep them in proper balance.

PEOPLE

The study of the Biblical growth principles in Acts indicate the early church's success was attributed to the lay movement. Church history has been most unkind to the lay persons. Once actively involved in the ministry, a clear division now exists between the laity and the clergy. Around 300 AD, the gospel was taken out of the hands of the laity and given to the clergy. A professional clergy developed with the responsibility of preaching and teaching the Bible. The laity took a back seat. The Protestant Reformation did little to change the situation. Lay persons need to rediscover their importance and role in spreading the gospel and practicing ministry.

1. The laity has tremendous potential. Dr. James Kennedy, pastor of the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, says the greatest need of the church today is for the laity to realize its responsibility in fulfilling the Great Commission. Dr. Kennedy developed the lay witnessing program known as Evangelism Explosion to help lay persons realize their evangelistic and discipleship potential. Literally thousands of persons have been trained in evangelism procedures.

Kenneth Chafin sees the hope of the ministering church being found in the informed, inspired and committed lay persons.

1.  Lay persons come into contact with an average of thirty persons per day. A congregation of 200 means 6,000 contacts per day. What potential!

2. The lay persons are in partnership with God. John Wood, the famous basketball coach of the UCLA Bruins, said that no basketball team has ever won the national championship that also had the nation's highest scorer. Amazing? In sharing responsibilities, the pastor and the people must not care who gets the credit. Self-centered persons who must gain all the glory for themselves are a problem.

3. Lay persons are in partnership with the pastor. The pastor and laity provide the team to work in the Kingdom of God. The pastor must see the laity as true partners and treat them as such.

4. Lay persons must discover and use their spiritual gifts. Believing that God has equipped all persons with spiritual gifts, the laity must be afforded the privilege of discovering and using them. Dr. C. Peter Wagner gives five steps in discovering one's gifts:

a) Explore the possibilities. Make a list of all the gifts and study their purposes.

b) Experiment with as many gifts as you can. One will never know if they like teaching until they teach. If you possess a gift, you will be successful in using it.

c) Examine your feelings. A person will enjoy using his spiritual gifts. Ask yourself the question, do I feel good about using this gift?

d) Evaluate your effectiveness. All gifts are task oriented and they enable the person to perform and do the work of the ministry. Are you seeing results?

e) Expect confirmation from the body. Other persons will recognize the presence of your gift. These responses will be good indicators of your effectiveness.

Lay persons doing ministry using their spiritual gifts will be happier Christians. The possibility of worker burnout will also be decreased.

5. Lay persons must have the proper attitude toward church growth. They must understand their importance to God and His work. As believers, created in the image of God, they have a purpose in the Kingdom of God. This purpose is more than just bringing their tithes into the storehouse and being faithful in their attendance. Jesus called persons to become priests and ministers. Christians must adopt the role of the servant.

Lay persons must work together with the pastor and church staff. Working together means upholding the pastor and staff in prayer daily. Being willing to stand on the battlefield to assist the pastor in handling difficulties, making joint decisions, and sharing various responsibilities of the church.

6. Lay persons must have the right to fail with dignity. Lay persons are not as experienced as pastors in leadership. Wrong decisions and bad judgments will happen. Failure must be used as a learning experience and all will greatly benefit.

7. Lay persons must become mature disciples. Lloyd Sturtz says the church is guilty of midwifing infants into the spiritual life without providing nursery and nurture facilities required for Christian growth. One reason God has not given the church the revival they have been seeking is because methods of preserving the results are faulty. Just as obstetrics demands pediatrics, evangelism demands Biblical discipleship. George Peters reminds us that disciples cannot be manufactured in mass and in a hurry.

Avery Willis, author of “Masterlife”, emphasizes six goals of discipleship: spending time with the Master, living in the Word, praying in faith, fellowshipping with believers, witnessing to the world, and ministering to others.

Discipleship means becoming like Christ in mind, attitudes, and actions.

James Engel has developed ten stages in becoming a mature disciple. First, there is the post decision evaluation. After a person accepts Christ, he will ask himself if he made the right decision. Second, there is the initial growth incorporation. The new convert becomes incorporated into the church and begins active participation. Third, there is personal fruitfulness. The convert will begin growing and the fruits of the Spirit will be evident in his life as listed in Galatians 5:22-23. Fourth, there is conceptual growth. The convert will realize that he is growing in the faith and is excited about it! Fifth, there is the recognition of spiritual gifts. The convert discovers his spiritual gifts and realizes his importance to the church. Sixth, there is carnational growth. The disciple grows in an understanding of his social responsibility of sharing the gospel with the world. Seventh, there is growth in stewardship. The disciple realizes his responsibility of being a good steward of time, talents, and money. Eighth, there is growth in prayer life. The disciple develops a close prayer relationship with Jesus. Ninth, there is use of spiritual gifts. Not only has the disciple discovered his gifts, he uses them. Tenth, there is witness-reproduction. The disciple reaches the point that he is able to share the gospel with an unsaved person and can lead that person to Christ.

In conclusion, the pastor and the laity unite to form the greatest ministry team available to the world. Both pastor and laity must work together in harmony and love, bringing out the God given best in each other.