The High Impact Pastor - Developing a High Impact Church

In the midst of these challenging days. Have you ever stopped to consider how your pastor is being affected by everything it's happened in the world. I mean how do they continue to teach God's word and recover from the pandemic and some people at church. A lot of people not a church. Have you really thought about what your pastor needs today stay with me.

Welcome to this edition of living only Chip Ingram the mission of these daily programs is to intentionally disciple Christians the Bible to majority us as we pick up a brand-new series called the high-impact master building God's church, Jesus. Over the next few programs to specifically focus on encouraging pastors help us better understand the context motivation for the series with me here in studio share with us why these messages are so important for all of our listeners will day. You know the church is in fact Jesus hope for the world.

He said he would build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it and what I want our listeners to know is that healthy churches are dynamic and healthy churches make people feel accepted and they grow spiritually and they make a difference in and yet we have been through the most devastating time in our lifetime. In terms of what's happening pastors lives and what I want our listeners to hear. Is there discouraged. They're going through difficult times. It's not just that people quote aren't coming back to church its many pastors don't have enough money to pay their bills. I was with the pastor recently who four of his pastoral friends in his area the country for them have committed suicide.

I don't think the average person gets up each morning thinking hey I wonder how my pastor is doing or my pastors is maybe a larger church and what I want them to hear is this is what Jesus wants to say to pastors here and all around the world and we have now these large churches across America that are half empty and people watching online and pastors wondering you know what's can happen how to make it through this were beginning to see the ice thaw in terms the pandemic but now is the time that the church needs to be the church and the church can never be the church. Dave, unless the pastors are healthy. I want our listeners to know what Jesus wants to say to his pastors and what he wants to say to us so we can support and help them pay for that set up trip will before we dive into the series. Let me encourage you to try using chips message notes while you listen by containers outlined in Scripture references and much more. Chips notes will really help you remember what you hear and maybe even share what you're learning to download these message notes just go to the broadcasts tab@livingontheedge.org Listeners tap fill in notes or that here strip with his message developing a high-impact church. Here we are in and are going through a global crisis. And I don't know that there's ever been a more difficult time to be a pastor of a local church. I did webinars during all the pandemic I heard from pastors, literally from all the continents when I heard was, you know once we could meet on the weekends and once we went through crisis. So much of what we saw in our people was they weren't fully devoted followers think they haven't necessarily responded the way we prayed and hoped I started out as a young pastor in a very tiny tiny church in a rural area in the middle of nowhere, so I know what it's like to have 25 or 30 people in the church and wonder how you're going to make it and be the only person fast forward some years later, I ended up in a pretty good size city and the Lord's hand was on it and thousands and thousands of people showed up, then people put messages on the radio and the Internet and it went around the world and I have to tell you that although that looked very successful and I was very grateful. I saw a lot of mistakes I saw that even though thousands of people showed up. It was only a small percentage that I would say were fully devoted to Jesus and then God moved me into time. Later my life to delete a parachurch organization that help pastors all around the world. As I got to go all these places.

All these continents and countries and seeing different models, whether in Southeast Asia or South America or Africa. I saw God work in China and what I've come to this point my life is how do we follow the Jesus way of building his church know. Perhaps we put too much energy around that we can service as the only real measurement.

What makes a great church but I want you to know that I think God is going to use this time like he has in all of history to do something great in his church, and I think we need to get back to the Jesus way. How can Jesus do it because promoting think with me, you realize that the world situation right now is very much like the world situation in the first century. Now here's what I want you to know I've had a lot of experience. I made a lot of mistakes and I want to share those with you but I also seen how God grows.

Churches that are deep churches that were literally multiplied by thousands and thousands of people and I believe that God uses ordinary people just like you and me to build this, churches. You know I've had a journey for 40 years and in the midst of that I'm obviously married to Teresa my wife. We have four grown children. I have 12 grandkids so I understand what were talking about. It doesn't happen in a vacuum. I mean being a good father being a good husband dealing with the ups and downs of my children. I like you. One of my children went through a season of rebellion before he returned to the Lord and I had times where we going through cancer I had injuries and just want to remind you that were all in this together and here's what I can tell you that the eyes of the Lord are going to and fro throughout the whole earth right now that he might strongly support those whose heart is fully his at Sutton Chronicle 69. I want to tell you that he's not looking for someone smarter or better or more gifted than you been all around the world its regular men and regular women whose hearts are fully his and he causes his power and the strength of his word to change us first and then use us to follow the Jesus way of growing disciples, and really making a difference.

I think were living in a day similar to Ezekiel, God would say I search for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before me that I should not destroy it, and I think it's that the saddest verse and all of the Old Testament. Ezekiel 2230 and then he goes on to say, and I found no one. This seminar is so that together God will look down from heaven and he will say to you, and he will say to me. I found one in Southeast Asia and Africa and in Central America and South America. This is where God will say to normal people like you and me. I have found pastors who don't want to build their kingdom. They want to build my kingdom, and they have gone back to the very words in the very model of Jesus Christ himself, and they are building their churches the way Jesus formed his disciples and so that's what were all about before we jump in and really get started, let's let's go over some I'm just going to call it my framework of things that I think we all agree on, but I want to make sure we agree on these first. We are here to bring about glory to God not to ourselves not toward churches not to others. We believe that the Bible is the very word of God work in a trusted right second Timothy three every word is God's word and we could trust it. We believe there is a promise the Jesus that I will build my church and the gates of hell cannot prevail against it. There we have the power of the Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, dwelling in us, we believe that we been given a mission that God actually expects us to take the message of reconciliation to all the world and that the power of the Holy Spirit working in his people is literally the hope of the world you know that's what we know, that's what we believe. We believe that history is moving toward a climactic end and that the Lord will return, and he'll make all things right, but until that time he's entrusted to us under shepherds us pastors take my word. I want you to fulfill this great commission make disciples of every nation. I want you to seek into save that which was lost just the way I did, and I want your good works in your communities to so shall by your love in meeting needs in caring for people to marginalize the poor, the hurting dude in such a way that people will glorify our heavenly father that that's the framework of what were going to do together. Now here's what I want to tell you.

God uses ordinary people and our focus isn't to help your church get larger. It's not so that you get more money is not necessarily the you have bigger buildings even if you have a building. My goal in our times don't have greater impact. It may require bigger buildings, it may end up that more money comes into do more ministry. It may have a lot of things on the side.

But here's on Natalia when you go to the first century what you realize.

Not very many train people didn't have any buildings to meet what they had was people that were fully devoted to Christ, and they followed the Jesus way, here's the promise I will build my church, but here's our assignment. Go therefore and make disciples. My invitation to you is will you join me to rethink church to tip to step back and honestly say to one another. This is where the world is and this is where the church is and there's a gap. The church is not the salt and the light that we all know it should be. So how we change that could meet even in it that has to begin with us. I believe one of the primary principles that Jesus gave to his disciples and that he he modeled for them is that God must work deeply in us before he's going to work significantly through us. Now, high-impact pastor creates as he follows Jesus as he submitted to the Holy Spirit as he trust God's word and as he gathers a core group of people and community high-impact pastor grows what I call a high-impact church and let me just give you a description of what a high-impact church is the kind of church that really makes a difference in your world in your community in your village in your middle size city in your big city in any place all around the world. A high-impact church has three characteristics ready number one lost people are regularly systematically coming to Christ and the early church was the Lord added to them daily. I'm not saying that it will necessarily happen daily but you are aware and unaware that there's the great majority of churches all around the world. They go months. Some churches even years before they see general conversions of people coming to know the Lord, high-impact church has people coming to the Lord regularly. Jesus said in Luke 1910, I came to seek and to save the lost. You can have a church grow. With lots of people, but if people are not coming to the Lord regularly systematically is not high-impact church. The second characteristic of a high-impact church is that found people right people that are saved. Their lives are transformed actually mature and they change and they grow in their character, their more loving the more kind.

They have more peace.

Their self-discipline and they minister to other people.

They make a difference in the lives of others. It's Ephesians 411 through 16 right.

We write give some as pastors and teachers, apostles and evangelists to equip the saints to do the work of the ministry until they all grow up into the fullness of Christ and then in the last part of that passage. She says here's how you know when people are mature, they speak the truth in love. They fit into the body that the character changes and they are outwardly focused, making a difference it makes different moms and dads and employers and people.

They live the kind of life.

Not perfect, but they live the come alive for people under what do you have how you forgive that way I don't have that kind of a marriage how you raise children. That way, so number one high-impact church has people coming to Christ regularly. Second, those who are in Christ are actually maturing and ministering in the third characteristic is a high-impact church is meeting some of the deepest needs in your community.

In other words it's it's outwardly focused where I pastored at times it was to the poor for other times it was runaway teens in one ministry I had.

It was we had lots of wealthy business people whose marriages and issues were of huge problems. It was a ministry to them in other places. It was schools that were closed and we we cleaned up the schools and we help the students. Another words, what are the needs in your community, where when you as believers of Jesus begin to meet those needs of those that don't know Christ. The people that one your communities, your cities and your villages. They scratch their head and they say these Christians. Why do they care so much about others because that's what the early church did and that's what Jesus commanded were to let our light so shine before men, that they would see our father in heaven. Matthew 25 said that when we minister to the least of these to the marginalize to those in prison to those in poverty to those that no one cares about. He says you've done it unto me. So here's what I want you to know you can build a high-impact church. There is a Jesus way to learn. After being rejected by his family. After being rejected by the religious leaders that he pulled his disciples together and he said this is how the kingdom works. This is what you need to do this is where I will be with you. Here's the next step that you take an here's how I will use you to turn the world upside down and that's for more than a learn together by step ready today.

I want you to think about what your pastor might be feeling right now. Many of us as pastors grew up in a world where successor what really mattered or what made the church effective was how many people were showing up on Sunday morning and that's a very important part because we believe in the preaching of God's word. But over time, I think, myself included, we begin to think that the weekend service was the most important thing instead of one of the most important things and when we couldn't do the weekend service anymore.

We had to do it online or by Facebook live or some other means. What begin to happen was we we salt throughout America and honestly throughout the world that we don't have strong, mature Christians, we really haven't seen Christians for the most part be mature and strong and loving and kind and godly.

We heard a lot of bickering, a lot of anger of the church is been revealed as shallow and often very immature, but I can tell you that it breaks my heart but also tells me that there's pastors all across America and others I've talked to all around the world who sing what we do now. If that's not the measurement of success. What is in over the years it's been my journey to come to study what God says about the church. What I can tell you is from the Lord's perspective, high-impact church is one where people are regularly coming to Christ member asked to the Lord added to the church daily and not only that, but people that are found. People that come to know Jesus. Their lives are really changing their in God's word.

They pray together there generous with their their time, their money, their energy and finally the early church and in great seasons of God's blessing that meets the deepest need in the community and were in a time in human history, where the Lord Jesus longs to show his light and show his love, but were his hands and were his feet and so what I like you to do today is join me and pray for your pastor. Support your pastor and be a part of what God is doing in your local church and so holy father right now you see every single pastor all across America.

You see, every pastor all across the world. You know their struggles, their loneliness in some places deep persecution. You know their financial needs, their emotional needs. The cracks in their marriages.

The struggles with their children.

Lord, how discouraged, depressed, so many of them are.

We ask you in Jesus name would you encourage your shepherds today. Lord I pray that today you would move every single person listen to my voice to pray for two techs to call to do something to encourage their pastor. In Jesus name, amen. But strip while you been listening to a message from our new series, the high-impact pastor building God's church, Jesus way and shipped thanks to the challenge you just cheered.

I honestly never thought about taking time to pray for my pastor before but I'm definitely going to be more intentional about it. Now you know it's really obvious after listening today that you have a genuine passion for pastors when share with us where that came from and help Living on the Edge is been ministering to church leaders lately.

Will Dave, I think for many years of had a heart for pastors but it was during the pandemic. I found myself actually very discouraged and I reached out to the man who's in charge of all the churches in Egypt and he was deeply discouraged in the markets were closed and things were falling apart and and so I did a little series called the art of survival and we ended up doing a webinar for all the pastors in Egypt and within you know a month we had 300 cities in India and we were ministering to pastors throughout India and pretty soon we had like 60 countries and 10,000 pastors in this I listen to the pain and the persecution in some places it was just so heartbreaking and heart rendering so we stepped out and begin to help the minister to pastors a well beyond anything we've ever done beyond China in the Middle East and as a result of that, they then begin to ask us where you come and help us in the series that I'm teaching right now is a one and 1/2 day seminar that were taking all around the world. I will spend time we already trained 4000 pastors in Kenya, then Malawi, Uganda asked for help in effect this month were training pastors in three key cities throughout Mexico and all around the world.

What were seeing is pastor saying I have to rethink the ministry what what we did was helpful but I realize there's a new opportunity and we are Living on the Edge or investing, especially in under resourced pastors across the world and I wanted to teach this Dave so that people in America would sorta click again and understand what's happening in the life that there pastor.

What is Jesus goal for the church and how can they be a part of making their church, the light of the world. Great reminder chip thanks will you like to learn more about the work Living on the Edge is doing with them for pastors all across the globe. Read through our ministry reported LivingontheEdge.org, it highlights the specific ways we've been encouraging church leaders this past year, so go now to LivingontheEdge.org and read our latest ministry report which it before we wrap up this program I can see your wanting to jump back in her one last time and talk about something that's close to your heart you know back in 2020.

We developed a really practical tool called daily discipleship with chip could help people study the Bible for themselves. Take a minute if you would and reflected how God has used this resource to impact people's lives.

I'd be glad to Dave what what a privilege it was to literally walk through whole chapters of the Bible and do it virtually and do it personally.

Now, as I consider the impact of those two years. I'm grateful for Living on the Edge team and the supporting technology that allowed the daily discipleship to become possible and successful.

We had over 150,000 people participate so far. Second, I'm humbled by the testimonies of people experiencing spiritual renewal of addressing issues in their lives rebuilding marriages. I got to hear stories of people gathering their kids around her streaming with other people from other cities. As I got a chance to mentor them in God's word and third. I'm invigorated by the magnitude of God's grace and power as he birthed this tool at a time of great necessity when people's lives were shut down when they didn't know what to do. It just blew my mind to meet with them personally and hear that instead of just podcast are teaching more. Thanks for the information they were getting to God's word for themselves. They begin to write me and share with me how they are hearing God's voice there.

Walking with God. They are making decisions, but for us to continue with this level of technology in investment. It's extraordinarily expensive and here's my request. If you did any of the daily discipleship's or if you've met someone that's made a difference in their life, would you just pray about giving a gift today so we can keep doing what we've been doing to mentor people one on one, and right now there couldn't be a better time because every gift that you give from now to July 7 will be double dollar for dollar. I can't wait to make the next daily discipleship and I sure need your help. Thanks so much. Thanks chip in the difficult times were living and were grateful for the opportunities to minister to people all around the world and listeners like you who partner with us financially make that possible. Right now, thanks to a handful of very generous friends of the ministry. Every gift we receive up until July 7 will be doubled dollar for dollar to make a donation go to LivingontheEdge.org to donate on the app or give us a call at AAA 333-6003 that's AAA 333-6003. Your generosity is greatly appreciated.

What does it for this program for chip and the entire team.

This is the very same. Thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge