Unlimited Growth

The Five Biblical Ministries

By Al Felder

“And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:47)

Most congregations talk about growth. Fewer congregations build the kind of ministry system that can actually sustain growth. But the New Testament makes the relationship simple:

The church grows in proportion to its ability to carry out biblical ministry effectively and simultaneously.

That last word matters: simultaneously. Many churches can get one “plate” spinning for a while—then a key family moves, a teacher burns out, a leader gets discouraged, or a ministry loses momentum. Suddenly, the whole system wobbles. Growth slows. Energy fades. The problem isn’t that God stopped working. The problem is that the church stopped functioning like a coordinated body.

The New Testament doesn’t leave growth to guesswork. It gives a clear pattern—laid out in Acts 2—and it shows the church functioning through five biblical ministries. When those five ministries work together simultaneously, they produce what can only be described as spiritual “liftoff.” A congregation gains momentum. Service multiplies. Members take ownership. Love becomes visible. And the Lord adds.

So let’s look closely at what Scripture shows us.

The pattern is Acts 2: five ministries working together

Luke introduces the ministry system in a sequence:

1. Evangelism (Acts 2:1–41)

2. Education (Acts 2:42a)

3. Fellowship (Acts 2:42b)

4. Worship (Acts 2:42c)

5. Service (Acts 2:43–47)

Everything a church does fits into one of these five areas. And if a church wants to grow in a healthy and sustained way, it must be active and effective in all five.

1) Evangelism — preaching the gospel to the lost

Evangelism is where growth begins. On Pentecost, Peter boldly preached Christ. He proclaimed the core truth: Jesus—whom they crucified—has been made both Lord and Christ. That preaching produced conviction, and the listeners asked the right question: “What shall we do?”

Evangelism always includes two parts:

A) Communicating the gospel

People cannot respond to what they do not know. Evangelism means telling the story of Christ—His death, burial, and resurrection—and declaring His Lordship. The gospel is not just moral advice. It is news—a divine announcement of what God has done in Christ.

B) Calling for obedient response

Peter didn’t merely inform. He urged a response: repentance and baptism. Evangelism that never calls for obedience is incomplete. The goal is not simply to “share,” but to bring people to saving submission to Christ.

C) Baptizing repentant believers

The result of evangelism is not only interest—it is conversion. Repentant believers were baptized, and souls were added.

A practical question for every congregation is this:

Can we clearly name and describe the ways we are actively communicating the gospel to the lost in our community?

If the answer is vague—or if evangelism happens only occasionally—then the evangelism “plate” is not truly spinning. A church cannot grow consistently without a conscious and ongoing effort to proclaim the gospel.

2) Education — teaching disciples to obey Christ

Once people are converted, the work of teaching begins. Acts 2:42 says the disciples continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine. That means new Christians didn’t stop at conversion—they began a life of instruction, growth, and obedience.

Education includes:

• teaching Scripture

• equipping disciples to live what they learn

• forming habits of obedience

• training people to teach others

The goal is not to produce hearers only, but doers—Christians who practice the word with enthusiasm and conviction.

And education is not limited to one method. The New Testament shows teaching in public, in homes, in assemblies, and throughout the week. The principle is: teach consistently, teach clearly, and teach toward obedience.

A church that evangelizes but does not educate will produce shallow disciples. And shallow disciples become unstable disciples.

3) Fellowship — integrating believers into shared life in Christ

Fellowship is not just being friendly. Fellowship is shared life—Christians sharing Christ with one another and therefore sharing one another’s burdens, joys, time, and faith.

Acts shows believers together, sharing a sense of community, excitement, time, and life. That is the early church’s pattern.

Fellowship matters because Christians who remain isolated become vulnerable—temptation grows stronger, discouragement grows heavier, and the pull of the world grows louder. Fellowship is one of God’s safeguards against spiritual isolation.

A church can baptize people and still lose them if fellowship is weak. Converts must be integrated into the body—bonded through love, connection, and shared spiritual life.

4) Worship — reverence expressed in God’s appointed way

Worship is not entertainment. It is not performance. It is the church honoring God according to His revealed pattern.

Acts 2:42 mentions prayer and the breaking of bread, and later New Testament teaching clarifies the basic elements of public worship:

• Communion

• Prayer

• Singing praise

• Teaching God’s word

• Giving to support the work

Worship must be done “decently and in order.” And worship requires preparation and organization. There is far more involved than “picking songs.” Worship is strengthened by thoughtful structure—so that the congregation is helped, visitors understand what is happening, and God is honored with seriousness.

When worship becomes casual, the church’s spiritual seriousness fades. When worship is strong, it anchors the church in reverence and truth.

5) Service — love in action

Service is the natural outflow of the cycle. People forgiven, taught, bonded, and anchored in worship begin to love—and love leads to service.

Acts 2 describes believers pooling resources, meeting needs, and caring for one another. Luke doesn’t list every detail; he simply shows the spirit: they used what they had to help wherever needs existed.

Service is not a side ministry. It is essential. It demonstrates the gospel in visible form. It blesses the body, and it impresses those outside the body, because love is hard to ignore.

Service can take many forms, but it always flows from the same source: love for God and love for brethren.

The outcome: ministry produces growth—God does the adding

Acts 2:47 ties everything together. The Lord added to the church daily.

Notice the wisdom of the pattern:

• The church focused on ministry.

• God provided the increase.

That means the objective is not to obsess over numbers, but to strengthen ministry. When the church is active and effective in all five ministries—working together—growth becomes dynamic.

We minister. The Lord adds. Don’t worry about the adding part. Focus on the ministry part.

Practicing what is taught

Here are practical action steps that turn this into a congregational reality:

• Evaluate the five ministries honestly: Which are strong? Which are weak?

• Assign responsibility: Each ministry needs leadership and continuity.

• Build a “new convert path”: Education + Fellowship + Service integration from day one.

• Protect momentum: Don’t allow one ministry to collapse without immediate support.

• Train members to own the work: Growth accelerates when members serve without being asked.

  
  

Reflection questions

1. Which of the five ministries is strongest in our congregation right now—and which is weakest?

2. Are we functioning in all five ministries simultaneously, or only occasionally?

3. If key members moved away tomorrow, which ministry would collapse first?

4. Do we have a clear system for integrating new Christians into education, fellowship, worship, and service?

5. What is one specific way I can strengthen one ministry area this month?