This is the second of four entries
Para-Church – where is it in the Bible? It’s not!!!
Good – now I have your attention!!! As you can see, this is not an easy issue – especially if you have been ministered to in a significant way by a parachurch ministry of which you have a sense of appreciation and loyalty. It is emotional, because you have friends who have been significantly touched by Christ through the ministries. I realize that and acknowledge that God has used many of these ministries or at least the gospel that has been preached by these organizations. I think the best place to start this discussion is to affirm what we know about the church and its role as God’s primary agent for the gospel and the Great commission. And ask the question – “is there any Biblical basis for a parachurch ministry?” Let’s look at some nodal passages that confirm the church preeminence when viewing ministry.
Matthew 16:13-18 (NASB95)Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”And they said, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
Jesus is describing something that has not been birthed yet – The Church! The church (Gk. Ecclesia) is the called out ones of God. Jesus makes it clear that this Church will be able to stand up against Satan and his attacks.
Matthew 18:15-17 (NASB95) “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.“But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.“If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.
Again Jesus is describing the importance of the church when restoring a sinning, unrepentant believer. The church is not even formed yet, but Christ gives a vision of how the church will be crucial in the sanctifying work in believers’ lives.
Matthew 28:19-20 (NASB95)“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit ,teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
The question is “who did Jesus give the Great Commission to?” The answer is “the church” – the apostles are not just given a mandate to evangelize, but better to make disciples. That commissioning is the charter for the church, God’s disciple making agent.
Acts 2:41-47 (NASB95)So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common;and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart,praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
This is the church’s birthday. Peter preached, the Holy Spirit convicted and the born again people of God joined together to fulfill some specific activities. These are the main programmatic aspects of a church’s ministry. It also serves as a description of what a true church looks like.
Acts 5:11-14 (NASB95) And great fear came over the whole church, and over all who heard of these things.At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon’s portico.But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem.And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number.
Look what happens on the heels of the church’s first discipline – Ananias and Sapphirra – the church continued to grow. The church was fulfilling its ecclesiastical duty of keeping believers accountable and dispensing discipline. This is not the job of any other organization but the church. You will also notice that this points out the importance of the “local, visible church.” Throughout the New Testament there is a 4 to 1 mentioning of the local church over “universal church” principles. That was the focal point throughout Acts and the epistles.
Acts 9:31 (NASB95)So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase.
When Luke continues his narrative of the expansion of Christianity, it is always in the context of the church and what it was doing. There was no other legitimate form of ministry except the church. The focus of the apostles and first century church was to “build the church.”
Acts 14:23-27 (NASB95)When they had appointed elders for them in every church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.They passed through Pisidia and came into Pamphylia.When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.From there they sailed to Antioch, from which they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had accomplished.When they had arrived and gathered the church together, they began to report all things that God had done with them and how He had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles.
As Paul took his ministry on the road through missionary activity, he was fixed on starting, growing and properly establishing local churches. By the way, Paul never looked at the church as a “universal, invisible, spiritual church” – he always talked about the church as a “local, personal, visible, identifiable, vitally connected and relating” church. One of the arguments used by parachurch proponents is that the “Church” is a lot bigger than a certain identifiable entity. It is true that we “belong to the universal church” but when explaining or forming actual ministry, it is always discussed in the context of a local ministry. We will discuss this further.
Ephesians 1:22-23 (NASB95)And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
Paul states a powerful truth : Christ’s authority on earth has been given to the church. We are a representative of Christ and that the fullness of Christ is seen in the church. We are the Body of Christ. We are the Family of God with a specific right and role to fulfill God’s work in God’s way and to multiply God’s church.
Ephesians 3:10 (NASB95)So that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.
The church is where we will learn the gospel, and that through the church, God’s truth will be revealed to the world. The gospel was given to the Church; for the church; with the intention that the church would make it known to the earth!
1 Timothy 3:15 (NASB95)But in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth.
Paul re-affirms that the church is the “pillar and support” of the truth. It is the Church that is the “platform and display case” of the Word of God. What a responsibility. Again the word “church” is not anyone who is a Christian – there is a definite and defined entity that is an organism and organization with precise specifications. In addition, you can look for eternity and you will not find one mention of any other ministry organization in the scriptures other than the church. The term and concept of the Parachurch was made up in the last 60 years. So if we are going to spend our time and energy developing and growing any ministry it better be the church! The next entry – are all parachurch ministries the same?