04 Dec Who Owns Your Church? (Part 3)

Pat Jones, Director of Healthy Church Ministries
In the previous two posts:

• We examined the deception of thinking, “This is my church.”
• We substantiated that the church, including the church you attend, belongs to Jesus.

Now: how can you properly say, “This is my church”?

Now that we our attitude is straight, we can rejoice in the following:

• It is MY church because I get the privilege of worshiping there with other believers.
• It is MY church because I can honor the Lord with my finances and sacrificial giving there.
• It is MY church because I get to use my spiritual gifts there to build up the body of believers.
• It is MY church because I have the privilege of speaking things that build up others there.
• It is MY church because I come under the authority of those who are exercising spiritual leadership there.
• It is MY church because it’s where I have chosen to join with others in transforming my community for Christ by reaching lost people with the Good News.

There are many more ways we could celebrate being a part of a church, but notice that they all involve a privilege and responsibility–and not a right of control.

So enjoy your church. Love the church in which you serve. But always acknowledge the ownership of the Lord over your church and don’t allow yourself to get deceived.