LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT OUR CHURCH

 Explaining the Story, Statements, Structure and Strategy Of New Wine Church 

“THIS IS OUR PICTURE”

By Pastor Tayo Adeyemi
New Wine Church, London

Sunday 28 August 2011

Foundation Scriptures: Matthew 16:18 & Habbakuk 2: 2-3

Last week, we looked at the final four of our lifestyle statements, which are fellowship, discipleship, evangelism and ministry. We reminded ourselves that fellowship is an integral part of church life; something about which we must be deliberate and consistent and to which we must devote ourselves.  Looking at discipleship, we learned that we must not be satisfied with just being believers but must strive to become disciples, submitting ourselves to a systematic programme of biblical instruction and ensuring that our lives remind people of Jesus. We went on to look at evangelism, and underscored the key word in the great commission – the word ‘go’, an action word which connotes a change of location, understanding that rather than waiting for people to come to us, we go to them.  Finally, we looked at ministry, and understood that the body of Christ functions at its best when every part of the body ministers to every other part. And so, we challenged ourselves to begin to engage with the biblical ‘one another’ dynamic of church life: to love one another, care for one another, bear one another’s burden, greet one another, encourage one another, pray for one another, share with one another.
Today, we are going to look at our structure, what we look like. You have probably heard people say that the church is an organism and not an organisation. Well, I disagree with that statement. In my view, the church is both an organism and an organisation and the basis of my conviction is in Matthew 16: 18. Here, Jesus said; “I will build my church”( the organisation part); then He said; “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (the organism part). As you go through scripture, you will find that God operates on the principle of what I call ‘structure’ and ‘flow’. By this, I mean that whenever God wants to do something, He first establishes a structure and then He releases a flow. We find this principle when God created man in that having formed him from the dust of the earth, He breathed the breath of life into him. Similarly when Moses built the tabernacle and the glory of the Lord filled it; structure and flow.

There are a number of metaphors used in the New Testament to describe the church including a family, a fellowship, flock, bride of Christ, the building of Christ and the body of Christ and embedded in those metaphors, you see the principle of structure and flow. In fact, take a look at the human body, and you will see the principle of structure and flow. Your body has a form and a shape because you have a musculoskeletal system that gives you a structure. And your body is alive because you have a cardiovascular system and a respiratory system that give you a flow.  Likewise, a mature and effective church is one that has an effective structure and an effective flow. So, let’s take a look at the structure of New Wine Church. 

The whole of New Wine Church is structured on the basis of five circles of commitment and, as I show you our picture, I want you to see if you can identify which circle you belong to.

The Core represents the heartbeat of church life and is where you will find the people who make things happen. You might call them the engine of New Wine. Everything you enjoy when you come to church is as a result of the dedication, faithfulness, commitment and sacrifice of these people. They are the true heroes of this church. And for each of them there is a massive reward awaiting them in this life; and an even greater reward in eternity.  Incidentally, they are the most consistent and most generous givers and so, not only do they carry the church spiritually, they also carry the church financially. The core is made up of two groups: the leaders and the workers. The leaders share the burden of leading this great church with me. They help to shape the vision of the house and they help to direct its execution. They are involved in decision making at various levels and they are the eyes, ears and mouth of the body. Our workers are the people who give legs to the vision – they help to execute the vision. Now, the strength of any organisation is determined primarily by the strength of its core so the stronger our core is, the stronger our church is. These people who form the core are committed to ministry.

The Committed are the members of this church who have made a personal commitment to spiritual growth. They are the ones we described as disciples last week; their involvement with church goes beyond just Sunday attendance, they are serious about their faith and they’re serious about making a difference for Christ. They are not yet actively involved in ministry, but they are growing in their relationship with God. These people are more than just members. These are the consistent, reliable and dependable members of your church. You will find them in Cell Group; in Power Night; in fasting and prayer and at community outreach, volunteering whenever anything needs to be done, whether for prayer chain or donating Christmas Hampers. These people are committed to growth.  The Congregation have formally been received into membership and so they consider themselves to be members of New Wine Church. They understand the vision of this church and they want to be involved. They recognise their responsibilities and benefit of membership; and are committed to living up to those responsibilities and actively take advantage of those benefits. They are involved in the ‘give and receive’ dynamics of church life and are committed to membership. The Crowd are people who attend on a regular basis. They consider New Wine to be their home church, but their relationship with the church is still very loose. These are the people Jesus would call the multitude. They have no objection to being members; in fact, if you asked them, they would call themselves members of New Wine Church. It’s just that they have never really seriously thought about taking their relationship with the church to the next level. The people in this category are committed to attendance. The Community would be anyone within a thirty minute driving distance of New Wine Church; and these are the people that God has called us to reach. Some of them are believers, but most of them have not yet received Christ as Lord and Saviour. A good number of them will attend church once or twice a year. These are the people we see at Easter, Christmas and especially New Year’s Eve. They are usually the people who arrive a few minutes before midnight; and by 12.30am, they are gone! The people in this group are committed to . . . nothing!  

Commitment is the common thread that runs through all the circles. The key is; whatever circle you belong to, God is calling you to the next circle. Even if you are part of the core, there is always a higher level of commitment – a higher level of involvement. We are called the church, the Greek word for which is ‘Ecclesia’, which means a called out people. So, God is always calling us out. Out of the multitude, Jesus called seventy. And out of the seventy, He called twelve. And out from the twelve, He called three. And out from the three, He had the beloved. Out from something into something greater: Out from the community into the crowd; out from the crowd into the congregation; out from the congregation into the committed; and out from the committed into the core. So, how do you answer that call and move from your current circle to the next one? The answer is in one single word – commitment. Whenever God calls you to a higher level in anything, He is actually calling you to a deeper level of commitment. Commitment first starts in your heart and ultimately manifests in your actions. It is first a decision and then a corresponding action.

Now, let’s zero in and take a microscopic look at how the core of New Wine church is organised.  Just like the entire church, our core can be grouped into five circles:

  

At the core of the core, we have the Pastors. In New Wine, there are two pastors – the Senior Pastor and the Executive Pastor, who is the number two. For the first twelve years of the life of this church, God did not permit me to name a number two. Of course over time, the reason became clearer to me. And even after God told me who it was, He instructed me to hold my peace until the appointed time. For the first time ever, I now have great pleasure in officially announcing Pastor Michael Olawore as my deputy.

The Pastors and Ministers together form the Board of Ministers; and they are responsible for spiritual oversight of this church. The Board meets once a week to pray for the church and to deliberate on church business. The Team Leaders are responsible for providing spiritual and administrative leadership for the various teams or ministries in the church. The Cell Group Coordinators are responsible for providing spiritual and administrative oversight for a given number of Cell Groups. The Cell Group Leaders are responsible for providing pastoral oversight for their particular Cell Groups. Deputy Team Leaders assist the Team Leaders in carrying out their responsibilities. The Workers are the people who make ministry happen in New Wine. The 31 teams in New Wine are organised into six portfolios; each of which is overseen by a minister as follows: Admin, Events and Missions (Pastor Michael), Business (Min Kola Taiwo), External Affairs (Min Gbenga Ajanaku) Membership Training and Development (Min Gbenga Ajanaku), Outreach (Min Kola Taiwo) and Support Services (Minister Muyiwa Obasa). The seventh portfolio, the Executive Portfolio, which is overseen by myself, oversees the other six.

So there you have it: our picture. The big question today is: where are you in this picture? But perhaps a more pertinent question is: what are you going to do about it?  There is no neutrality or stagnation in the spirit realm. You are either marching forward or you’re sliding backwards. You are either gathering or scattering; either an asset or a liability and therefore I ask you ‘which one are you?’ Where ever you may currently be, it is important to remember there is a higher place for you. God is calling you to a higher level of commitment; I urge you therefore to receive the grace and anointing to go to the next level, a higher place in which promotion and blessings await you.