One Size Fits All?

In Arizona, certain things happen in certain places. You will never see a ponderosa pine tree in the desert. You will never see a saguaro cactus growing in the high mountains. God set up the natural world to thrive in the area where they do best.

In our Fellowship we seem to have a one size fits all approach to ministry. We preach one message to everyone. We do not segregate the disciples striving to get sent out from the pillars who support the vision of church planting. We try to disciple the whole church. This may work when everyone in your church is young and has been saved three years or less. This gets harder to do as a local church grows and matures and develops layers of involvement based on desire and ability. Not everyone in our church can do everything, even if they used to do it all.

Every local church needs to be balanced. We need ministry that helps every person or group of people in the church.

"Jesus said to them, have you understood all these things? They said to him, yes, Lord. Then he said to them, therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old." Matthew 13:51-52

"For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock... Acts20:27-28

Jesus had one message to the multitude, and a different, more focused, message to the twelve disciples.

Two final thoughts. Bigger is not always better. And, one size rarely fits everyone. If a local church does not minister to some people, they will leave and find a church where they fit in. Or they will endure to the end in spite of an unbalanced ministry.