Why Healthy Churches Organize for Cooperation with Each Other
Our Cities Wait for the Gospel and All the Help and Hope Jesus Gives
We know of no local churches in the New Testament that were not identified by their city. The church of Ephesus, for example. The church of Philippi. Or the church of Thessalonica. You get the point.
There were likely several local gatherings in a city, but Paul wrote letters to a church of the city that would be passed around, read, and applied in each local gathering.
So, when he wrote to the church of Corinth about the conflict among them, he wasn’t writing to one gathering. Instead, he was rebuking the church of the city composed of several congregations that was creating factions and divisions.
We know of no local churches in the New Testament that were not identified by their city.
Beyond Paul’s letters, John records Jesus’ own words to city churches in the Revelation. Jesus commended and corrected the seven city churches scattered throughout Asia Minor.
Local congregations were important for many reasons, but the churches we know from the New Testament were churches established and united to reach their cities with the Gospel.
THE VALUE OF LOCAL CONGREGATIONS WORKING TOGETHER
To be clear, local congregations are essential, even foundational to fulfilling Jesus’ great commission to make disciples of all the nations. Doctrinal distinctives, physical proximity, and gathering space are all key factors as we consider administrating churches in the modern era. Denominations also play an important role in gathering believers around common beliefs and practices.
Distinctions, however, are not barriers to unity.
Distinctions, however, are not barriers to unity.
My thesis here is that local congregations who do not prioritize cooperating with other local congregations, who do not build internal structures and systems that make cooperation with other churches a priority in philosophy and practice, may not be as biblical as we would like to think.
And beyond biblical fidelity, not surprisingly, there is a practical reality in play as well. When churches do not collaborate and cooperate, our communities suffer under the weight of spiritual brokenness and most of our neighbors are left in their sins, separated from God forever.
EVERY CONGREGATION IS LIMITED
This is because every church, regardless of size, has a limited capacity for Gospel impact in a community. No single congregation can reach the entire community. You could contend that’s not the goal. A church just reaches whoever it can reach. Okay. But what about the people it can’t reach?
No single congregation can reach the entire community.
When a church uses a slogan like, “We love our community,” or “We are for our city,” or it even affirms the Apostle Creed’s statement regarding the universal church, but it gives little priority or creates no systems to effectively cooperate with other local congregations, that’s not exactly true. That church may love or be for the people it can reach and who who eventually attend, but one could argue the church doesn’t love the whole community and isn’t actual for the whole city.
HOW DOES YOUR CHURCH MEASURE SUCCESS?
This leads to the question of metrics a church uses to gage success. Does the church need to cooperate in order to reach more people each year? Most do not. Most churches can add members, increase baptisms, and grow programming without any type of collaboration with other churches. That percentage growth will feel good. Pastor and people will be happy and will glorify God for changed lives. And rightly so.
But the question is not, “Does my church need to cooperate in order to grow?” A better question is, “How will my city flourish, how will my neighbors escape hell if we don’t cooperate?”
Because every church has a limited capacity, the community needlessly suffers when churches operate in silos.
Because every church has a limited capacity, the community needlessly suffers when churches operate in silos.
On the other hand, when churches considers the profound lostness of its community and assesses the brokenness that lostness has created, it asks different questions that expand the metrics of success. It will then begin to reorganize around equipping the saints for the work of ministry and mobilizing them to serve beyond the weekly rhythms of church life.
As long as the programming of the church is the primary metric of successful ministry, we will continue to see our cities slouch into spiritual despair and social chaos.
Loving only the people who come to our church is not Christlike love at all.
THE RESULTS OF KINGDOM COLLABORATION
Kingdom collaboration—building systems and structure of cooperation—on the other hand, shares the ministry and multiplies the Gospel impact throughout a community. When churches cooperate and rally around common priorities, equip their members to live every day as sent missionaries, and celebrate them when they do, community transformation is possible.
People are reconciled to God, and social structures, like schools, city councils, planning and zoning commissions, foster care services, etc., are revitalized, and believers fulfill their ministry—the purpose for which they were created.
What about the local congregations? Won’t collaboration hurt my church?
First, we follow Jesus with a posture of humility, which requires sacrifice. So, collaboration will cost your church something. It may cost time, or money, or some kind of expectation you’ve set your mind on.
Second, churches that collaborate grow. And actually, not only do existing congregations grow, they also multiply. They grow in influence, and grow in their capacity to reach people who are near to them but far from God. As a result, more congregations are planted throughout the city to provide biblical community for new believers to grow in grace together and then to scatter as a new generation of Gospel missionaries.
Not only do existing congregations grow, they also multiply. They grow in influence, and grow in their capacity to reach people who are near to them but far from God.
Finally, community transformation is possible. God planted your church with the city and with the world on His mind, and He is reconciling people everywhere and restoring all things to Himself through local, kingdom-minded churches. And your church can join that kingdom mission.
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