Torben Søndergaard of The Last Reformation asserts that in any given church on any given Sunday there are 10% of the people active in the tasks given to the body of Christ, teaching, preaching, and praying. The next 30% of people are waiting, hoping, and longing for an opportunity to be active in these very same things, for each one is called to be part of the five-fold ministry and the works of the Holy Spirit here on earth. The last 60%, Torben says, have given up wanting an active role in the Kingdom of God and have become content to sit and passively take in ‘church’ each week.
This means that 90% of any given congregation are not living out the great commission in any way. They have not been taught to move in the ministry of the Spirit and are not growing in their gifting or the anointing of the Lord upon them.
Now, I’ve grown up in church and continue to work within the body of Christ through the local church. In less than 4 years I’ve been to about 100 village churches in three countries and from what I have observed both at home and overseas, Torben has got these percentages absolutely spot on.
Today’s post is about congregational health showing up in a variation of teachers and preachers. It is not so much about having different people per se, but it is the evidence of a lot of health in the background. When a church has a variation of teachers and preachers we know that that church is actively growing and investing in the discipleship of their people.
When a church has a variation of teachers and preachers we know that ‘church’ in the fullest sense of the word is understood and actively being built. There is no way that a church of even 100 members has only one or two with a teaching or preaching gift. Where are the others? Why aren’t we hearing from them?
Cyndy Lavoie 