Actions of a Productive Church

Acts 1:14
“These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.”

The early church of Jerusalem was a productive church. Jesus had just gone to Heaven, and the angel of God provoked them to get busy doing the works that Jesus had taught them. This church saw quick growth, and with quick growth came problems, but they didn’t let the peripheral things sidetrack them from what Jesus had commissioned them to do. When you look at the actions of this early church, you see actions that produced a healthy and productive church. Let me share these actions with you.

First, this church continued. The word “continued” is critical to what this church produced. You can’t be a one-and-done church and expect to reach your world for Christ. A church that is going to reach their area with Christ is a church that continues doing what it is commissioned to do every day and every week; that commission is to reach the lost for Christ. Certainly, continuing wasn’t always easy, and all the circumstances of weather and political agreement were not always in their favor, but they continued in spite of these things, and it resulted in this church being productive.

Second, this church was in one accord. A church divided will be an unproductive church and will not reach its area with the Gospel. Did this church have the opportunity to have division? Most certainly it did! Peter denied Christ but also  became the main spokesperson for the church; yet, Mary, the mother of Jesus, was willing to put that aside for the sake of the greater cause of reaching the lost. The members of a productive church will lay aside their personal differences for the sake of getting the Gospel to the lost. No church that has been divided has ever made an impact for Christ in its city or in future generations. Get over yourself and realize the importance of being in one accord.

Third, this church prayed. A praying church is a church where God can work mightily. Certainly, it takes work for a church to be productive, but it takes prayer for God to give power to the works of that church. A church doesn’t just need to have corporate prayer, but its members need to have personal time in prayer daily. The more a church prays corporately and privately, the closer to God that church will be.

Fourth, this church was filled with the Holy Ghost. There is nothing that is more needed in churches today than God’s power on the church. I am for organization and structure, but we must never replace the power of the Holy Ghost with systems. My friend, it will take God’s power for your church to make an impact for Christ; this means you must be filled with the Holy Ghost because the church is made up of individuals. If the members of a church are not filled with the Holy Ghost, that church will most certainly not be filled with the Holy Ghost. If you want your church to be empowered to do great works for God, it is critical that you are filled with the Holy Ghost.

Fifth, this church was a soul-winning church. In Acts 2:47, this church added to the church daily. The importance of the church being a soul-winning church cannot be overemphasized. Soul winning has to be more than a time to hand out tracts; it must be a life you live daily seeking the lost if your church will be productive. No church will be a productive church without being a soul-winning church daily.

Author: Allen Domelle