Church of God LifeBuilders

By Paul L. Walker, Ph.D.

God is pouring out His Spirit in an unprecedented manner and revival is sweeping the land. God has called us together here that we might get a new word and a new voice for a new time to do a new thing and accomplish a new work for the kingdom of God.

We are all here today because of significant persons who have brought us to this particular time. The disciple God used to help me really understand the fullness of God was a Sunday school teacher in Baltimore, Maryland. Mr. Volkmann was a former minor league baseball player. He was a big man, about 6′6″, weighing about 240. I can’t remember a thing he taught, but I remember the tears in his eyes.

Every Sunday he would call us to our knees and he’d cry and pray that God would use us for His glory and in His kingdom. Out of that class of 11 boys came seven Church of God preachers.

There is a need today for the kind of connection that makes us realize that every person who is born again by the Spirit of God, who is anointed by the Holy Spirit and filled with the power of God, is called to be an evangelist.

Over the holidays we took our grandchildren skiing in Utah. I’ve been an avid skier for a number of years. I happened to be skiing by myself one day and I was sharing a lift with a young man. On the way up the mountain the lift stopped for some reason. We sat there suspended in the air for about 20 minutes. We got to talking and I suddenly realized he was witnessing to me.

Finally he got down to the bottom line and asked, “Do you know Jesus Christ?” When I replied, “Yes, I’m a Church of God preacher and I’m filled with the Holy Ghost,” he nearly fell off the lift.

Then I asked him, “What are you?” He said, “I’m a Mormon.” Surprised, I asked, “How can you be a Mormon and witness like that?” He replied, “You don’t understand. I’m a Christian, but I’m a secret agent to the Mormons. I grew up a Mormon but I went away to college and found Jesus Christ. When I came back, I decided I’d stay in my Mormonism and be a secret agent for Jesus Christ. Now there’s a group of 17 of us young people who serve as secret agents. In the last year we have led 102 Mormons to Jesus Christ.”

We have only one reason to exist. We exist to do one thing and that’s to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and get the world ready for its greatest event, for Jesus Christ is coming soon.

The burden of my heart is to equip disciples for the 21^st century. The Bible only uses the word Christian three times in the New Testament but it uses the world disciple 308 times. We’re not called to make Christians; we’re called to make disciples.

We have come from a year of emphasis on revival. Now we move into an emphasis on education. At the heart of education is making disciples. What we’re coming together to do in these first days of 1998 is to seek the Lord’s face and to provide resources to move forward to do just that—equip disciples for the 21^st century.

Just this past weekend in Utah, I took our grandchildren on a snowmobile trip. Most of the group were Mormons. One of them said to our guide, a young man in his middle 20s, “How was your mission?” He replied, “I did my first mission in 1991. I went to Taiwan. I did my second mission in 1993. I went back to Taiwan and it was the most exciting, exhilarating, wonderful thing that I could have ever done.”

The man who gave the first skiing lessons to our grandchildren was a Mormon. He made the statement, “Among us Mormons, every person is an evangelist.”

Every person is an evangelist! The number one plague of our church today is spectatoritis. We come into our sanctuaries and say, “Entertain us, but don’t do it too long. I have things to do, places to go, and I don’t have much time.” But there will never be the revival God wants until we dedicate ourselves to being living, acting, breathing, evangelistic, Spirit-filled anointed disciples who say, “I don’t care how long it takes, God, I’m going stay here until I get the message, then I’m going to take the message everywhere I can, and we’re going to turn this world upside down.”

I went to high school in Beckley, W.Va. I walked to school practically every day for two years with a young man who played the other halfback on the football team. But I never once told him about Jesus Christ. After I got into ministry I got a burden for him and for two other young men that were good friends of mine. I couldn’t get them off my mind. I made a trip back to Beckley and called all three to lunch. I told them, “I failed. I knew the Lord but I didn’t tell you about Him. I want to witness to you now.”

Charles Wilson, the young man I walked to school with every day, looked at me and said, “Paul, how many hours did we spend together playing ball and walking to school? Why didn’t you ever tell us then?”

Then he made a statement I’ll never forget. “It’s too late now. I’ve become a confirmed agnostic.”

Well, I prayed much for him. Later I learned that he did become a Christian but that’s the last time I ever saw Charles Wilson. That’s why we are having this conference.

Many of us know someone we let slip through our fingers. We can’t do anything about that but we can do something about the future. That’s why we’re having this conference—to equip disciples for the 21^st century.

Exercising Vision

Exercising vision is developing an understanding of where you are and where you’re headed—both as an individual and as an organization.

The Chinese say “a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.” What they didn’t say is that the first step is the hardest. Most churches have ushers, however, when we combine the tasks of ushers and greeters, we create a new dimension of ministering to people as they enter the church. Here are some guidelines to follow when starting or enhancing a ministry of ushers and greeters:

Understand the Mission of Ushers and Greeters.

Ushers and greeters are the first people a new visitor makes contact with when coming to your church. They are the beginning of your church’s assimilation ministry which is designed to attract and keep members for the long term. Because they deal with new people, they are also evangelists for your church.

Prayerfully discover God’s will for your Ushers and Greeters Program.

Every church and the situation in which it finds itself is different. Seek His will for your program, and let him tailor it to the needs of your church and community.

Carefully recruit and train your people.

Ushering and greeting is a serious commitment; you need people who are called to the task and who will be faithful to the ministry. Let the Lord direct you to seek out the people He has called. Training, however, is the link between calling and action; take time to organize training for your workers.

Organize and delegate effectively.

The key to being a successful Lay Coordinator is to organize and motivate others. Appoint team captains to lead and also to cover for you when you’re not there. Make sure workers have all the supplies they need such as visitor packets. The key to being a successful Lay Coordinator is to organize and motivate others. Set up rotation schedules for workers to allow their participation in the service.

Reward your people for their service.

People need to know they’re appreciated; fellowship gatherings and churchwide publicity for service are very helpful in this regard. Also, take the time to express your personal gratitude for those who have supported and helped you.

Just a reminder that we’ll be Atlanta next week on September 14-15, 2009, at the Mt. Paran North Church of God.

More information is here. See you there!

What do the Moonies believe? Here’s a thumbnail sketch:

• The Unification Church believes in a finite suffering God. God is not omniscient and, due to man’s “free will,” cannot know the future (though he usually can predict it). God is said to be in agony, suffering over the faithlessness and sins of mankind. The only way for God to know real peace is for man, His creation, to be loyal, true, and committed to Him continuously.
• Moonies reject the doctrine of the Trinity, and claim the Father alone is God, while Jesus and the Holy Spirit are merely created beings, a man and a female spirit, respectively. The Virgin Birth of Christ is rejected, and Jesus did not even preexist before being conceived by Mary and Joseph. (Earlier teaching said that Jesus was produced by adultery between Mary and Zacharias.)
• Jesus’ original mission, supposedly, was to be married, father “sinless” children, and be received as Messiah by the world. But because of the faithlessness of John the Baptist and the Israelites generally, His mission was thwarted and He was crucified. Moon claims Jesus was not resurrected bodily and is not coming back to earth.
• The Unification “secret” (although common knowledge even among most worldly people) is that the Rev. Moon is the Messiah, the Christ returned. What Jesus failed to do, Moon intends to accomplish. The “marriage supper of the Lamb” (Revelation 19:7) took place in 1960 at Moon’s own wedding, and he has already fathered 13 children. Moon paid for mankind’s sins with his own blood during a stay in a Korean prison camp, and he has “subjugated” all the angels, demons, and human spirits in the spirit world. Even Jesus, Moon says, has bowed down and “subjected himself” to him.
• Through Moon, mankind can be redeemed from sin both spiritually and physically. Accordingly, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and all other rituals which came from Jesus are passé. Instead of prayers being offered “in the name of Jesus,” Moonies pray, “in the name of the True Parents” (Rev. and Mrs. Moon). The Unification Church has a weekly “pledge service,” in which members bow down three times before photos of Moon and his wife. Their single parallel to Communion is the “Holy Wine Ceremony,” given only after a special marriage ceremony, in which the wine contains a small amount of Moon’s literal blood (in highly diluted form, of course). All that remains is for the world to receive him as Messiah, but this can be accomplished in stages, and may even wait for completion until after his death.
• The final restoration of the world is being accomplished through Moon’s well-publicized mass marriages. Moon teaches that the children of these “blessed” marriages are born without original sin, and have the potential of growing to sinless adulthood. The proliferation of these sinless offspring and their descendants will eventually overwhelm this planet, bringing about the “kingdom of Heaven on earth.

By Leonard C. Albert

In another article we looked at the process of writing a lay ministry purpose statement. Here is the one that was suggested: We, the people of the [insert church name] endeavour to encourage all believers to reach the lost people in our community with a credible offer of the gospel and teach them the doctrine that every believer is a minister and then strengthen the family by helping raise up godly men.

Now we need an action plan—we’ve got to get the ball rolling. Here are some simple steps to consider.

Find the will of God. The best way to begin is to get with a few people who want the laity to be trained and mobilized and begin to pray. You could have a prayer summit or just a few evenings together to really pray about the direction of ministry in your church. You will become kindred spirits with these people who want a vision, strategy, and plan for ministry. Ask God for a plan to create momentum among laity and how to sustain this momentum for the long haul.

Look at where you are now. Take a hard look at where your church is spiritually. What outreach ministries are taking place in the church? How many members? How many workers are in lay ministry? How are they gifted? Conduct a spiritual gifts survey. You will realize that there are different groups in the church. Some are uninvolved and plan to stay that way. Some are on the “fringe.” They know about God but are only “Sunday Christians.” They are either barely inside or just outside the door of the church. Lay ministry author Os Guiness calls these people “the undiscipled disciples.” What would it take to get these people involved? Don’t be upset with people because they are not more spiritually mature. Isn’t this the very purpose for your being a lay coordinator?

Determine where you want to go. Your vision statement says, “Our members are ministers and we are to reach the lost.” All right, but how do we do it? What will it take to make lay ministry a reality in our church? Set some realistic goals for ministry. What would you like to do? Think about “inside” and “outside.” Think about what you want to do inside the church. Maybe you could begin a greeters ministry, train altar workers or teach an evangelism class. You could begin a LifeBuilders men’s ministry. Then consider what you would like to do outside the church. You will need a visitation program. We now have the WIN 2000 Challenge which involves starting “Lighthouses,” where two or three are asked to map their neighbourhood and begin to pray for and minister to each home in their immediate area. (For more details, see our Let’s Do It action page in this issue.) Write down some realistic goals and get started. Remember: If you do what you’ve always done, you will get what you always got!

Create momentum for ministry. To get people in motion we need an event that creates “church-scale” momentum. We sometimes call these “catalytic events.” Consider hosting events such as:

• Lay Witness Week. Schedule a week of preaching and teaching on lay ministry opportunities.
• Lay Ministry Appreciation Sunday. Use this opportunity to share the testimonies of some of the great lay workers that are involved in your church.
• Parade Of Ministries. This would be during a main worship service. Use this opportunity to highlight the ministries that are currently working in the church. Let the different groups join you on the platform. Then let a few people who were saved share a testimony of how they were blessed by that ministry.
• A Lay Ministry Seminar. This would be a Friday night, Saturday teaching seminar and Sunday celebration on lay ministry issues and opportunities. Bring in a special speaker from outside the area.
• An Evangelism Festival. Call a one-day celebration to take a look at every kind of ministry and outreach program that is feasible for your church to adopt.

Momentum events are motivational. They create excitement, interest, converts and they get the message out. They will help you give people what they need in the context of what they want. They will give you a quantum leap forward. Plan to hold at least two each year.

Maintain the momentum. Remember it takes a long time to make a disciple. People will stay with your leadership if they really believe that you and the other leaders care about them personally. The question here is “How do you keep people involved after the novelty wears off?” Create a variety of opportunities for involvement. The most meaningful change takes place in the context of church-based relationships. One of the best ways to foster their relationship is to get people involved in small groups. They can be in Bible or book study groups, accountability groups, issue oriented study (divorce, grief, depression etc.) and prayer groups. Your ultimate goal is to keep people in the Word and in the work.

As you build the lay ministry action plan remember that truth flows through our heads to our hearts and out through our hands. People have to first understand what God wants to do in their lives, and then they need a change of heart and to make a fresh commitment to service for Christ and then put it into practice. Someone has well said: God moves mountains—people carry the stones. (Joshua 14:12). Begin your plan of involving laity today!

By Leonard Albert

Someone once said, “If you don’t know where you are going then any road will get you there.” All effective leaders ask themselves this question: “Why am I here and what am I to do?”

A dynamic local church lay ministry program begins with a clear understanding of the purpose of the laity. The first step in building the right strategy is to formulate your purpose. This purpose needs to be in line with Christ’s mission for us and the particular purpose of your church. God desires for the church to reach people with the gospel of Christ and help them grow to maturity. In the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20), Jesus calls us to make disciples by sharing His message. In Ephesians 4:11-13, Paul teaches that God gives some people special abilities to equip other for works of service. Leaders, then, are called to disciple and equip people so they can do the actual work of the ministry and mature to become all God is calling them to be.

There are two foundational principles to remember as you think about the purpose of your lay ministry program in the local church. First, it takes a long time to make a disciple. Have a long-term perspective. Richard Foster said, “Our tendency is to overestimate what we can accomplish in one year, but underestimate what we can accomplish in 10 years.” Don’t look for a quick fix in a few months. Instead, pray and plan for what God wants to do over the next several years. Second, most meaningful change takes place in the context of relationships. People change as they live in interaction with other believers. Your lay ministry program should help people develop meaningful relationships with each other.

The next step is to ask your fellow members some tough questions:

• If your church could do one thing for you, what would you want it to be?
• What is the most valuable experience you had at the church in the last year?
• What is the worst experience you’ve had at church in the last year?

Now, prayerfully combine the thoughts and ideas generated by this material into a purpose statement for the laity of your church. As a guideline, here is what a sample statement looks like:

We, the people of the [insert church name] endeavor to encourage all believers to reach the lost people in our community with a credible offer of the gospel, and to teach them the doctrine that every believer is a minister and then strengthen the family by helping raise up godly men.

Allow your ministry to be purpose-driven rather than event-driven. Every event that you schedule as a part of your program should serve your overall purpose. When you schedule events make sure to tell the participants the “big picture” of lay ministry and how this event helps achieve it. People want to be a part of something going somewhere.

As mentioned earlier, the ministry must be relationship-oriented rather than task-oriented.

Without real and deep relationships, people will feel no sense of community. If we only call the laity together to “do” there will be no glue to hold them together when the planned event is over. Events attract the people, relationships make them stick. The Bible calls us to make “disciples” and pray for “workers.” Our goal is to equip them to do the work of ministry. Here’s a key idea: If your church focuses on getting its people to do “works” rather than “make disciples” it will burn them out. The purpose of our ministry, then, is to make disciples, and true disciples will become workers out of the overflow of their growing relationship with Jesus Christ.

Spend some time in pray and set a date and time to think about, create, and write your mission statement. Submit it to the pastor and other church leaders in order to secure their approval and acceptance.

by John Campbell

This title causes most of us to recall a scene of discipline or correction, and yes, we are on the receiving end of that correction. Because of that flashback or recollection, the image is not usually one of our most treasured memories. In contrast, however, when speaking with a new Christian it is imperative that eye contact be made. It is important for new Christians to hear in our words, as well as see in our eyes, a genuine concern for their understanding of the issue being addressed. In many cases, I believe the eyes are as good a tool of communication, if not better, than the words we speak.

Studies have shown that we give 25 times more attention to what we see than what we hear. Why is this so important, you ask? Sometimes, I think we are caught up in the world’s standard of success, where numbers or volume are the important measures of our labor. We live in a secular world of sales quotas, monthly goals and increased production. More is always better and quality may have to take a back seat to quantity. We can get by with that standard if it is limited to things, but it falls woefully short when applied to new Christians. Leading them to the point of praying the salvation prayer and then letting them find their own nurturing will not measure up to God’s will for their efforts.

A salvation message tells them how important they are. Discipling proves it. The new Christian does not care about being one of the many hands that were raised. They do care deeply that someone cares enough to spend whatever time it takes to bring them to a point of assurance and understanding. This has been done with some success in Newcomer classes, but the strongest soulwinners are those who have had a one-on-one mentoring experience. They realize that help and support are always there for them as they labor in the harvest field. If we are to build strong relevant churches, we need to assume the responsibility and blessings that accompany the one-on-one mentoring.

Looking back on my years as a Christian, I recall the many opportunities I have had to testify to the power of the gospel, and the decisions that were made as God blessed my testimony. It was only after a closer look that I realized there were only a few of those converts active in sharing their story. My experience had become just that—my experience. Not only was it no longer as rewarding as it had been, but it was not Scriptural, and also not very smart. A scripture I had read many times jumped out at me again: “two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work” (Ecclesiastes 4:9).

I immediately set out to attempt to reproduce a soulwinner. This effort came about the same time the Promise Keepers held their mega event at the Minneapolis Metrodome. I took a longtime friend and athlete to this event, and he gave his heart to the Lord. We started the process of small-group (two) ministry stressing personal accountability. For one year, we have been meeting on Wednesdays at 6 a.m.

On November 17, 1996, our church, in conjunction with the National Lay Witness Week, had an Outreach Sunday stressing salvation, and I was able to share my testimony. My friend was responsible for five of the many first-time visitors in attendance who heard the gospel. Two made decisions for Christ that day. Why? Because “two are better than one.” Currently, three mornings a week are set aside for one-on-one sessions with other men. Why? Because maybe four are better than two!

I must share with you that this desire did not just appear at that large gathering of men. For years, through many presentations of the Department of Lay Ministries, I knew this was how God wanted men to get active for Him and involved with other men. I put off this call because the Holy Spirit seemed to be saying to me, “Before you enter into this activity, I want you to look at Me when I’m talking to you.” I was expecting the stern correction I had experienced as a youth when encountering that phrase.

When I finally did seek direction in this outreach attempt, I did not see or experience the correction I had anticipated. What I saw was the compassion God has for all of us, and the support and guidance available whenever it is needed. Men, go ahead and “look at Him when He’s talking to you.” It will change your life!

Laity Ministries will be there in Atlanta, September 14-15, 2009.

From Jason Althoff in Terre Haute, Indiana, following the 2009 LifeBuilders Indiana State Conference:

FYI, an amazing testimony of the work of the Lord in our church and specifically our men: By the Holy Ghost, Pastor Sanders called an altar call on Sunday night after worship for men and over 25 men, I lost count, came up for ministry and 2 were filled will the Holy Ghost with manifestation of speaking in tongues for the first time!  Not to mention the Essentials class on Sunday (prior to this altar call) we were in Lesson 4 on the “Holy Ghost/Walking in the Spirit” and we had a guest speaker who gave multiple words of knowledge relating to our lesson, specifically Acts 1:8 and how we “don’t use the gift of the Holy Ghost for its intended purpose, soul-winning, witnessing and testifying of Jesus Christ outside the 4 walls of the church”….WOW, CONFIRMATION!!!!  Praise God!  He is a wonderful and marvelous God!!! Our discipleship class has entered into strategic prayer for the men of the State of Indiana as well…

LifeBuilders Essentials can be ordered here.

Leonard C. Albert

Someone said that a leader is an ordinary person with extraordinary determination. The best definition that I have found is perhaps also the briefest: leadership is the activity of influencing people to cooperate toward some goal which they come to find desirable. In short: leadership is influence. How do we identify a leader? What are the qualities that effective leaders possess?

For the last 35 years I have observed hundreds of leaders representing every level of church administration. Here are some of the qualities that they all seem to possess:

Focused Objective

When I say “Henry Ford” what comes to mind? Hamburgers? No! We remember Henry Ford for automobiles. He was focused on producing a quality car that people could afford. Leaders have one-track minds. Paul had this. In Philippians 3:13 he said, “. . . this one thing I do.” There was one all-absorbing, burning, consuming compassion in his life. Nothing meant anything to Paul but getting out the gospel and getting people saved.

No Confidence in the Flesh

All great Christian leaders realize that their ability is a God-given blessing. They know that human effort cannot accomplish God’s divine plan. The truth is that God uses us, but it is His anointing in us that really makes the difference. I have a friend who always says, “You have to realize that you can’t so that when you do, you’ll know you didn’t!”

Cooperative Spirit

Effective leaders know that they must learn to work with others. I hear so many people say, “I don’t care what people think of me.” The truth is that if God sets us apart as leaders, we must care about what others think. A good leader never does anything he can give someone else the privilege of doing!

Loves People

Leadership in the Christian realm demands a love for people as a basic prerequisite. People are the main product of the church. People are not used to reach our goal . . . they are the goal! I once heard a well-known speaker say, “I love to speak, I just can’t stand the people!” Ezekiel could weep for the souls of men. I wonder if that is done a lot today in the church. When you look around and see the hopelessness, the sadness, the despair of this world it should cause you to have a love for the lost.

No Root of Bitterness

We find that leaders always draw opposition from others. Your ministry gifts will attract controversy. This causes misunderstanding, confusion and if you are not careful, bitterness. A bitter spirit has neutralized the effectiveness of many great people. They somehow could not overcome their personal feelings against those who opposed them in ministry. I have learned a great lesson from successful leaders: get over it! Don’t let the pain of your past affect the possibilities of your future.

Disciplined Life

It has been well said that victory in the Christian life is a “long obedience in the same direction.” Leaders must possess that sterling quality of consecration. Paul said, in Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” Great leaders walk in holiness, humility and love.

A leader is one who sees what ought to be done, what can be done and how to do it. Thus leadership is the ability to see—awareness; the faith to believe—attitude; and the courage to do—action. Let’s allow the Lord to help us cultivate these qualities in our lives.

God Is Looking for Leaders!

Are you available? Could you honestly say, ” God, if You’re looking for a willing vessel, You have just found one here?!”

• God is looking for leaders like Moses, who refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, but was willing to go with God.
• Generals like Joshua, who knew God and could pray and shout things to pass rather than blow them to pieces.
• Administrators like Joseph, who knew God and had the answer to famine.
• Preachers like Peter, who would not be afraid to look people in the eye and say, “Repent or perish,” and tell them to denounce their personal as well as national sins.
• Mothers like Hannah, who would pray for a child that she might give him to God, rather than women who are delinquent mothers of delinquent children.
• Children like Samuel, who would talk to God in the night hours as a child, grow to maturity and accept the call for full-time service.

Where are these people? Are you one? My dear brother or sister you could be if you would only allow God to direct your path. We have the greatest example of leadership in Jesus who could and did save from the uttermost to the uttermost. He never wrote a book but became the greatest leader of all time. Think of it! Millions follow Him today and He was only here on earth for 33 years and only three of those years as an incredible leader. His one goal? He came to “seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).