Forward: How to Make the Church's Work More Effective

It’s been an exciting year at the home office, especially in the media and communications services department. You’ve no doubt heard about our new airtime opportunities for Beyond Today in Europe, Africa and Asia. We are now evaluating the early responses from Middle East TV, Far East TV and the World Harvest Network. Viewers are already writing in and responding to our message.

The home office management team is making a concerted effort to communicate to you the work of the Church and the needs of the Church. In particular, we are very thankful for the progress being made in our media department to more effectively preach the gospel of the Kingdom in all the world.

But to be truly effective in our work, we must be a Church knit together in this work. We must have a godly love for one another. This bond comes through the common indwelling of the Holy Spirit in each of us. The relationship among the people of God is founded upon a real spiritual unity, not a human treaty or social contract, and not just because of mutual monetary or political interest.

As the apostle Paul explained, God has predetermined that His people would become one in Christ. As converted but imperfect individuals, there will still be friction between the brethren, but we have a true foundation for unity in Christ, and we also have the spiritual resources by which to maintain the unity and to resolve conflicts. This will lead us to do a more effective work as a Church—even when it comes to preaching the gospel message.

The vision for the United Church of God, an International Association, uses material from Ephesians 4. You can see our vision statement on our website at www.ucg.org/about.

In particular, please note the section from Ephesians on being joined and knit together in verses 13-16: “Till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect [mature] man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—from whom the whole body,joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working [Greek: energeia] by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (emphasis mine throughout).

Every part must do its share—young and old alike, minister and member alike. We must become joined and knit together by what each of us supplies.

In Colossians 2:2, the apostle Paul uses similar language: “...that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love.”

We want to be joined and knit together, all of us, to help fulfill God’s great purpose to bring many sons and daughters to glory. This is also referenced in our vision statement and is taken from Hebrews 2:10-12: “For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying: ‘I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.’”

May Jesus Christ call us all His brothers and sisters, His brethren, as we are knit together in love, one with another, in preparing for glory in God’s Kingdom.