Jul 4, 2024, 10:42 AMCareen Lawrence
Inspired for Mission: Mission Driven Church in Welling
Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV) “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Over three days, 26th, 28th, and 29th June 2024, Pastor Royston Smith, Personal Ministries Director, delivered a captivating and thought-provoking series for Welling Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church, enabling individuals to think introspectively. By thinking first on an individual level, identifying and understanding what the church is, each person can recognise how much we need God.
The overarching point which drove home the theme for the three days was the importance of our mindset. Romans 12:2 was used as a reminder to us that we should not conform to the world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This then helps us to prove what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. This highlights that as children of God, our minds are to be changed.
On Wednesday 26th, we were reminded that we must be sober and vigilant as the enemy we face is not other individuals, but the devil. A moving point made by Pastor Smith was, “he who controls your mind, controls your destiny.” We were reminded that we can’t fight what we can’t see, and this is all the more reason we need Jesus. Pastor Royston left us with, “the world is under the influence of the enemy. The world is strangled by sin, and we need outside help to deal with this stronghold.”
On Friday, we covered Emotional Healthy Church, where we were implored to do a personal inventory consisting of two steps. The first is to develop an awareness, and the second is to look at the why and question what is going on. A question posed by Pastor Royston was, “can we be spiritually mature if we are emotionally immature?” The question and the discussion around it were beneficial in allowing us to understand where we are as individuals and the work required. This was then followed by Pastor explaining that we ought to do mission in our own lives, as this has an impact on the growth of the church.
On Sabbath, three themes were explored: “The Relevant Church”, “Don’t Laugh”, and “Message, Mindset and Mission”. During Sabbath School, congregants were able to biblically explore and understand what the church is. It is important for us to know the biblical definition, as we were made aware that how we view the church depicts how we approach church, and so how we do church. When we understand what the church is—the bride of Christ—we will not allow church to become a social club. When we stop allowing church to be a social club, we ensure that it is driven by mission, which also makes it important to know what the mission of our church is. Congregants were given ample opportunity to discuss with each other the differing questions that were given to them.
Furthermore, our relationship with God must be seen within our lives with all. We must share our happiness with others. When thinking about why many of us are struggling in our Christian walk, Pastor Royston reported that this is because of our “lack of relationship with God” as well as the “passive relationship with God.” From the message given, it is clear that God wants to show up in our lives, but we must assess what room we are giving to God. Additionally, we must understand that when God makes a promise to us, we don’t need to help Him, but we must trust that our man-made or woman-made solutions have no impact on what He has in store for us. We need a person or persons of faith to speak over our lives because once we enter the presence of God, His Spirit will take over.
Pastor Royston’s message was timely and very well received by all. The reminder to do a personal inventory and understand what the church is, was not one to be taken lightly. This message is something I believe not only members of Welling should take heed to, but members of the faith as a whole. For our churches to grow spiritually, we all, as individuals, need to ensure we are emotionally mature and are approaching church as true children of God, where we are the bride of Christ, sharing His love with those around us.
Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV) “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Over three days, 26th, 28th, and 29th June 2024, Pastor Royston Smith, Personal Ministries Director, delivered a captivating and thought-provoking series for Welling Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church, enabling individuals to think introspectively. By thinking first on an individual level, identifying and understanding what the church is, each person can recognise how much we need God.
The overarching point which drove home the theme for the three days was the importance of our mindset. Romans 12:2 was used as a reminder to us that we should not conform to the world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This then helps us to prove what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. This highlights that as children of God, our minds are to be changed.
On Wednesday 26th, we were reminded that we must be sober and vigilant as the enemy we face is not other individuals, but the devil. A moving point made by Pastor Smith was, “he who controls your mind, controls your destiny.” We were reminded that we can’t fight what we can’t see, and this is all the more reason we need Jesus. Pastor Royston left us with, “the world is under the influence of the enemy. The world is strangled by sin, and we need outside help to deal with this stronghold.”
On Friday, we covered Emotional Healthy Church, where we were implored to do a personal inventory consisting of two steps. The first is to develop an awareness, and the second is to look at the why and question what is going on. A question posed by Pastor Royston was, “can we be spiritually mature if we are emotionally immature?” The question and the discussion around it were beneficial in allowing us to understand where we are as individuals and the work required. This was then followed by Pastor explaining that we ought to do mission in our own lives, as this has an impact on the growth of the church.
On Sabbath, three themes were explored: “The Relevant Church”, “Don’t Laugh”, and “Message, Mindset and Mission”. During Sabbath School, congregants were able to biblically explore and understand what the church is. It is important for us to know the biblical definition, as we were made aware that how we view the church depicts how we approach church, and so how we do church. When we understand what the church is—the bride of Christ—we will not allow church to become a social club. When we stop allowing church to be a social club, we ensure that it is driven by mission, which also makes it important to know what the mission of our church is. Congregants were given ample opportunity to discuss with each other the differing questions that were given to them.
Furthermore, our relationship with God must be seen within our lives with all. We must share our happiness with others. When thinking about why many of us are struggling in our Christian walk, Pastor Royston reported that this is because of our “lack of relationship with God” as well as the “passive relationship with God.” From the message given, it is clear that God wants to show up in our lives, but we must assess what room we are giving to God. Additionally, we must understand that when God makes a promise to us, we don’t need to help Him, but we must trust that our man-made or woman-made solutions have no impact on what He has in store for us. We need a person or persons of faith to speak over our lives because once we enter the presence of God, His Spirit will take over.
Pastor Royston’s message was timely and very well received by all. The reminder to do a personal inventory and understand what the church is, was not one to be taken lightly. This message is something I believe not only members of Welling should take heed to, but members of the faith as a whole. For our churches to grow spiritually, we all, as individuals, need to ensure we are emotionally mature and are approaching church as true children of God, where we are the bride of Christ, sharing His love with those around us.