Dear Leadership,

The need strikes me for balance in the structure and operation of the Ekklesia of God.  God’s Ekklesia is Christ's universal, eternal body, which has had and will have many parts [with different functions] throughout the ages.

Every local body [the local church] is a unique part of that body. Each body must have its own unique vision—or it is an aberration, having no eternal impact.  A church without a vision is, essentially, purposeless.

However, each local body is similar to other local bodies in one way: Individuals in these local bodies need to learn to love unselfishly and develop the discipline to become true disciples of Jesus. This is done through a person's fellowshipping within that local body, hearing the Word of God expounded, and volunteering [or ministering] in that local body.   

However, if the pastoral team only looks for new sheep and fails to feed the older sheep or help sheep develop their own gifts and ministries [in or out of the local church], that team has failed to fulfill the purposes of God.

Paul wrote:

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³ eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. ⁷ But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.⁸ Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
    and he gave gifts to men.”^[a]

⁹ (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?^[b] 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) ¹¹ And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds^[c] and teachers,^[d] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,^[e] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. ¹⁵ Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love [Ephesians 4:1-16, ESV].

In verses one through seven, Paul is speaking to the assembly in Ephesus [as well as to local church bodies in other places] as a whole. [In these verses, the word “you” is plural]. Notice that Paul urges the entire body to act or “walk” in a manner worthy of their calling in Jesus.  How are they to do this?

1. With humility and gentleness toward each other and toward strangers. They are never to exalt themselves.
2. They must be patient with one another, accepting their fellow believers as they are, even with their own personal idiosyncrasies and issues.
3. They are to choose to act in love toward their fellow body members, even when those individuals act in an unloving manner or fail in their walk with Christ.
4. They are always to be eager to walk in unity with one another. They are not to take offense towards one another but seek to maintain the peace that the Spirit brings. Bitterness and offenses are to be avoided as poison, even when honest conversations are difficult. Disagreements are to be dealt with promptly and humbly using the guidelines of Matthew 18:15-17 so that the enemy cannot introduce discord or confusion.
5. We must recognize that as “odd” as a fellow believer may strike us, or as often as he or she may irritate us, God loves them and has made that person our brother or sister.

A local body or church is established to bring the kingdom of God to a special geographical spot and establish disciples of Christ in that area [even if that location is a computer terminal].

Every local body must have a unique vision, or it is purposeless. The revelation for each local body usually comes from the “set” man or woman or from a group of people who, through intercession, receive the vision and join in agreement with that “set” person to fulfill the vision.

Individual members need to learn to love unselfishly and develop discipline through volunteering [ministering] in the local body to fulfill the unique vision of that body. Church leadership must challenge believers to develop a selfless love for others. They must gently encourage individuals struggling to overcome personal lassitude or difficulties in walking in the unity and vision of the local church

But if the pastoral team only looks for new sheep and fails to feed the older sheep and to help them develop their own individual gifts and ministries [that may operate primarily inside or outside the local church] that ministry team has failed to fulfill the purposes of God.

Look again at Ephesians 4:8-16:

⁷ But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.⁸ Therefore it says,

“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,
    and he gave gifts to men.”^[a]

⁹ (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?^[b] 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) ¹¹ And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds^[c] and teachers,^[d] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³ until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,^[e] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴ so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. ¹⁵ Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Note what Paul says in this portion:

1. Grace is given to the assembly as a whole and to each believer.
2. Each person has a unique gift from Christ and is given the grace, by God, to operate in that gift.
3. Jesus gave the Ekklesia apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds [pastors], and teachers to enable individual believers to operate in their giftings. Everyone who is a believer has a calling to minister for Jesus!
4. This “five-fold” ministry was given to help equip the saints for the work of the ministry. While they “five-fold” ministers each have their own giftings to bless others with, the primary purpose for the existence of the five-fold ministry is to teach other believers how to use the gifts that God has given them.
5. All believers are to understand and use their giftings to build up the Church.
6. This work is to continue until the entire Church has matured. Each person must

• properly understand God’s word,
• know how to explain God’s Word to others,
• not be susceptible to inaccurate or wrong teaching,
• can flow in the gifts of the Holy Spirit [1 Corinthians 12] for the benefit of others,
• and can walk in unselfish love without letting circumstances affect their actions, peace, faith, or love for others.

7. Manifest the fruits of the Spirit listed in Galatians t:22-23 and be led by the Holy Spirit daily [Galatians 5:25]
8. Have overcome their own selfish nature [Galatians t:26]

Jesus created the five-fold ministry so that every part, every person, who accepts Him as Lord and Savior can grow up into maturity and reflect the native of Jesus Christ and be useful in the Kingdom.

Much more could be written but let me end with this statement and encouragement to Church leadership everywhere:

The Church cannot lose sight of the fact that Jesus died to save people. He calls individuals to repent, to grow up, and to develop Christ's mind and character so they will be ready to rule and reign with Him when He comes again. It is the responsibility of Church leadership to provide opportunities for people to hear both the good news about Jesus and to discover and grow in their giftings so that they can do what Jesus has called them as individuals to do.