May 18, 2025

The local congregation of God’s people has long been understood to serve one primary purpose along with three secondary purposes. That primary purpose is revealed by Jesus when he expresses his purpose in Luke 19:10, “the Son of man came to seek and save that which was lost.” If this was Jesus’ mission, then his body (Eph 1:22-23), the instrument we all use to carry out our wishes, must occupy itself primarily with that same goal. Just like other institutions, there are other key works that the local body must concern itself with if it is to have the capacity to carry out the primary goal. These would be education/edification, fellowship, and benevolence. People who are not healthy and capable themselves will be unable to reach help others. Just like a military unit has one mission but several necessary functions that are important but secondary to that mission, so the Lord’s church has one mission but a number of important secondary considerations.

We would rightly consider it foolish for a military general to exhaust all his or her resources on munitions while devoting nothing to food or shelter for the soldiers. Starving Soldiers can’t fight, the same is true of tired soldiers. Attention must be paid to logistics if we can’t deploy forces to the right areas and keep them supplied again their ability to perform is greatly reduced or eliminated altogether. For this reason, a good General will give careful attention and planning to these secondary matters while never losing sight of the primary mission. 

Such is also needed in our consideration of how to effectively share the good news about what God has done in the world. If we are to win the battle for souls, there are a number of key elements that need to be in place and our allocation of resources must be carefully considered. For example, a church which has no teaching may engage in evangelism but have no ability to “teach all” that Jesus has commanded. Thus, there is no maturity or longevity. Similarly, a church with no community building attitude or activities may invite souls into the body but then leave them to a social life devoid of Godly people or principles. 

~ Kevin Cleary