Three stages of church development - Anatoly Kozachok

Throughout all the history there is a war against the Church.

The word "church" in the Greek original of the New Testament, ἐκκλησία (for example, in Matt. 16:18 "And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it") means governmental assembly of the city where decisions were made. For some reason, our Lord used this secular word in relation to His Church.

The Church is sustained by God. The highest structure that He created on earth is the church.

The apostle Peter said: "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light". (1 Pet.2:9).

The structure of the church should be built not on leadership and subordination, but on responsibility! We should speak about responsibility and efficiency, not about beauty and prettiness. If we learn to understand that God has given every person the talent for some ministry, we will be able to build the proper structure of the church.

I have came to the conclusion that as a pastor, I am not “the sharpest pencil in the box”, I'm not a superman; there are people in the church who understand something better than me in some aspects (music, administration, etc.).

Three stages of the development of the church.

1. The calling

There is a question: how can one find and understand his or her vocation? Personally, I did not have a special revelation as a pastor, I did not want to be a pastor. But I wanted to serve God. What I really wanted was to develop the Christian education. But I have already been a pastor for a long time and I find joy in the fact that many people around me have grown up: they have become ministers not only in my church, but also beyond its borders.

It is very important to be confident in your calling. At the first stage of the development of any of our ministries, we need the confidence from God. However, the moments of doubt will still occur.

2. Formation

The period of formation can depend on situation. I have the experience of a large city, because I am the pastor in Kiev. As I think, the period of formation is when there are up to 300 people in the church (for Kiev). This is the period when we must have a vision of the church: what should it be?

For example, in our church "Philadelphia" (which means "brotherly love"), we took the vision to become church-family, the church, where you can feel comfortable, as in the family. Interestingly, for a long time our name was associated with America (after the city of Philadelphia in the USA), but today the Philadelphia church is already a brand.

The important point: let people be themselves, not be like you. Do not be afraid that strong people will steal authority.

When the church grows up to 50 people, if you do not engage in the education of new ministers - nothing will happen, growth will stop.

We must create a structure according to the challenges and needs.

When we see that the church stops growing, one of the reasons is the lack of ministers. The minister must engage helpers.

3. Delegation

How to understand that it's time to delegate authority? Firstly, there is growing discontent and murmur (as it was in the case with Moses) in the church. Secondly, stagnation is being delayed.

In the matter of delegation, it is necessary to engage in the development of ministers and in handling the future challenges of the church.

The higher you become in your ministry, the more free time you need to spend it with God and meditate on the challenges.

Anatoly Kozachok is a senior pastor of the Philadelphia Church, Kyiv, since 1998. In 1993 he entered Kiev Bible Institute, after which he studied at Evangelical Theological Seminary. In 2010 he was elected a senior presbyter of the Kyiv Association of the Union of Churches of Evangelical Christians. He is married and has four children - two boys and two girls.