From Consumers to Servants: How the Church Grows

Pastor Johnathan delivered a passionate message on serving the church as part of the ongoing "Serve" series for 2026. Drawing from his personal experience of growing up serving in church, he addressed the concerning trend of 86 Protestant churches closing weekly in America and the dangerous lie that Christians can love Jesus but not need the church. He emphasized that loneliness kills an estimated 100 people every hour globally, making the church's role as a community vital for combating isolation. Using Acts 2:41-47 as his primary text, Pastor Johnathan outlined four foundational truths of the church: the apostles' doctrine (teaching God's unchanging Word), fellowship (koinonia - contributing to others' needs), communion of saints (designed for community, not commodity), and prayer (corporate prayer with expectation of miracles). He challenged the congregation to change their perspective from "what's in it for me?" to "how can I serve?" when attending church. The pastor concluded by explaining three practical ways to serve the church: inviting people (noting that 80% attend because of personal invitation), serving with a comforting spirit through the Holy Spirit's power (2 Corinthians 1:3), and serving with the gift of hope as "more than conquerors" through Christ who loves us (Romans 8:35-37).