JUN 5

Matthew 28:18-20
Memorise Matt 28:19
“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you”

HOW DID THE BP CHURCHES GROW? (IV)

Read the three verses today, right at the end of the Gospel of Matthew. We call this “The Great Commission” – the instructions that Jesus gave His disciples before His ascension. This is the blueprint for church growth!

The BP churches started with one church – Life BP Church, founded by Rev. Timothy Tow. He split off from the mainline Presbyterian Church because he found that it was becoming too liberal and ecumenical! He called it the Bible-Presbyterian Church because he knew that we should obey God in whatever we do, including building churches – and that God has given us instructions in His Word – the Bible!

God blessed the BP churches in the initial decades of its existence because of this obedience – to go (all over Singapore, and beyond), to teach (make disciples through preaching the truth), and to baptize (showing the commitment of the members to the church of God). These were amazing years!

But the Great Commission does not just stop there. It continues on with verse 20 which calls upon us to continue to teach the whole counsel of God. It is not enough to just evangelise and bring people to church. After they have been saved, we must continue with the ministry of follow-up and discipleship, whereby we teach the new converts to obey the Lord in all things.

This is therefore the two-fold purpose that the church has, in evangelizing to the lost, and then the edifying of the saints. We must have a good balance of both, all the while relying on the presence of the Lord who promised to be with us always, even until the end of the world.

Through the years, the BP Church held to this blueprint, through the simple preaching and teaching of God’s Word, and that is how the church grew!

Thought: Am I obeying the Great Commission?
Prayer: Lord, open my eyes that I may have the mind of Christ.