Tom and Susan at a pastors conference in India 2015.

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In August, I shared a message by Skype with a church in Secunderabad, India based on the story of the church at Ephesus from Acts 19:1-20 called “Finding the Purpose for Your Church.” I thought you might enjoy the audio from the meeting with translation into Telugu, one of the 122 major languages of India. I was preaching here at 12:30 a.m. and it was 11 p.m. there.

Every local church has its own personality and unique purpose in the mind of God. The key to finding the purpose of your church is following the leadership of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has the best strategies and will always make us a success if we follow His directions.

We see this in the book of Acts as the various churches walked into their destiny. The church at Jerusalem, for example, had the Pentecostal fire which ignited the work of God through evangelistic preaching and signs and wonders.

The church at Antioch, which was made up of people from various ethnic groups, became a missionary sending center, which launched the world-changing ministry of the Apostle Paul, who planted many churches and wrote much of the New Testament.

On the other hand, the church at Ephesus began when Paul baptized a dozen disciples and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. This amazing church became an apostolic training center (a Bible School) where Paul taught the Word daily. As a result of His ministry in that one city, “all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.” (Acts 19:10)

Think of it! As a result of the teaching ministry of one man, enough believers and ministers were ignited and released to reach the entire region of Asia Minor (roughly the area that is now Turkey) Asia Minor was about 750,000 sq. kilometers which was home to between 8-15 million people.

Apparently, this all took place without Paul traveling to hold crusades or plant other churches. It was simply the fruit of his ministry being multiplied through teaching the Word along with a unique sign-gifted ministry of anointed handkerchiefs and aprons which were taken from his body and effected cures of diseases and demonic torment.

Here are four principles that I shared for “Finding the Purpose of Your Church.”

1. Build on a Solid Foundation (verses 1-7)
2. Remember Your Mission (verse 8)
3. Let Your Obstacles Become Stepping Stones (verses 9-10)
4. Expect Miracles (verses 11-19)

As a result we are told, ‭”So the word of the Lord powerfully grew and spread.”‭ (Acts 19:20, MEV).

May God develop your church into a powerhouse for Him as you follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.