We minister together knowing St Johns is God’s church. It is complete in Christ. God grows his church in Christ as we wait for his return.  

Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 3:5-9

5 What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. 7 So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. 9 For we are co-workers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.

We are simply called to prayerfully preach Christ to each other and the world, but it is God who grows his church.  And so word and prayer is the simple work of the church.  The church is like a field where we do the work of scattering seed and God grows.

However, Paul then changes the metaphor of the church from ‘seed’ to ‘building’.  In describing the work of building, he now puts a new emphasis how we minister in God’s church.  It seems we can build the church, even on the foundations of Christ, is such way that will have little impact for the glory of God, in fact our works will be judged.  This is not a salvation issue, it is by Christ we are saved, as Paul makes clear.  However we will be saved as one escaping through the flames.

10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. 11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

As we seek to serve our God at church, we need to be wise builders, building on the foundations of Christ.  We need to consider our mission field here in the Hawkesbury and how we might be ‘salt and light’ to our area.  We need to make sure that we are a church that is continually growing deep disciples in ever-increasing numbers.

And as we do, knowing God brings the growth, we need to be prayerfully dependant on God as we proclaim the name of Jesus.

Please pray as we consider how we might build God’s church in 2025 and beyond.