Question one: how many of you know your name? Excellent! That is 100%!

Question two: how many of your know where you live? Great!

Question three: how many of you who have a telephone know your telephone number? Wonderful!

The last two are a little more difficult, but not hard.

Question four: how many of you know your abilities, your talents?

Question five: how many of you know ways you want to serve as a Christian?

1. Consider some scriptures from Acts that talk about the very first Christian congregation to exist, the church in Jerusalem.
   1. The scriptures in Acts:
      1. Acts 2:40,41, And with many other words he solemnly testified and kept on exhorting them, saying, "Be saved from this perverse generation!" So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)
         1. Note that this congregation began with 3000 new converts.
         2. They had 3000 new converts the very first day of their existence!
      2. Acts 2:47, ... praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)
         1. Every day God increased the number of Christians in that congregation.
         2. Every single day it was growing numerically.
      3. Acts 4:4, But many of those who had heard the message believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand. (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)
         1. This interest was produced when the lame man was healed at the temple and Peter and John were arrested.
         2. The number of men in the congregation were now 5000.
      4. Acts 5:12-14, At the hands of the apostles many signs and wonders were taking place among the people; and they were all with one accord in Solomon's portico. But none of the rest dared to associate with them; however, the people held them in high esteem. And all the more believers in the Lord, multitudes of men and women, were constantly added to their number, (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)
         1. Ananias and Saphira died sudden deaths because Satan filled their hearts and motivated them to lie to the Holy Spirit.
         2. As a result converts increased, not decreased.
         3. Multitudes of men and women were constantly added to their number.
      5. Acts 6:7, The word of God kept on spreading; and the number of the disciples continued to increase greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were becoming obedient to the faith. (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)
         1. This statement is made after the congregation faced its first major crisis that could have produced a major split.
         2. The way the crisis was handled produced the opposite affect.
         3. Not only did the number of disciples greatly increase, but many of the priests were obedient to Christ.
   2. How big was this first congregation? I have no idea. After we passed 5000 men converts, terms like "multitudes" and "great numbers" are used.
      1. I do not care whose standards you use, this congregation was enormous.
      2. Now I want you to note what this enormous congregation did when they faced their first major crisis.
         Acts 6:1,2, Now at this time while the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint arose on the part of the Hellenistic Jews against the native Hebrews, because their widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food. So the twelve summoned the congregation of the disciples and said, "It is not desirable for us to neglect the word of God in order to serve tables." (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)
         1. In this enormous congregation, the widows who were not native to Palestine did not receive the food they needed.
         2. Can you imagine establishing and overseeing an internal benevolent program in a congregation of this size with their needs?
         3. To deal with this serious crisis, the twelve apostles summoned the congregation.
      3. Note what happened when this huge congregation faced a second major crisis.
         Acts 15:4,12,22, When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them.
         ¹² All the people kept silent, and they were listening to Barnabas and Paul as they were relating what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.
         ²² Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas--Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)
         1. The crisis: should non-Jewish converts be required to be circumcised before they were baptized? Did they have to comply with Jewish law before they became Christians?
         2. When Paul and Barnabas traveled to the Jerusalem church to discuss this urgent question, the congregation, and the apostles, and the elders received them.
         3. The congregation listened to the discussion of the apostles, elders, and principle opinion leaders .
         4. The whole church agreed with the apostles and elders that it was a good idea to send personal representatives from the Jerusalem congregation to verify their controversial decision.
      4. Years later, after the Jerusalem persecution, this congregation was still huge.
         Acts 21:20, And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law; (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)
         1. Its membership still numbered in the thousands.
   3. How did a huge congregation at that time function so effectively?
      1. I have no idea; I just know that they did, and they did very successfully.
      2. And they did without:
         1. A church building.
         2. Mail.
         3. A telephone.
         4. A fax machine.
         5. Computer.
         6. E-mail.
         7. Typewriters.
         8. Paper.
         9. Bibles.
         10. Bulletins.
         11. Printed information.
         12. Or automobiles.
      3. I cannot imagine addressing their needs, nurturing new converts, evangelizing, and caring for essential matters in a congregation that size without those things.
      4. I have no idea about how they functioned, interacted, maintained themselves, assimilated new converts, or coordinated serving.
      5. I do not even comprehend how leadership functioned in those circumstances.

2. With a huge church building, mail, telephones, fax, computers, e-mail, typewriters, offset printing press, paper, bulletin, printed information, Bibles, and automobiles, we could not do what they did.
   1. We could not assimilate into this congregation, nurture, and coordinate the essentials if twenty-five new converts a week were added to West-Ark.
      1. We could open the doors and preach, but we could not take care of them.
      2. Our current methods and forms of leadership could not handle it.
      3. Our current methods and forms of fellowship could not handle it.
      4. Our current methods and forms of teaching could not handle it.
      5. Our current methods and forms of nurturing could not handle it.
      6. Our current methods and forms of serving could not handle it.
      7. Do you doubt me?
         1. If twenty-five new members became a part of this congregation each week, we would double in number in less than 6 months.
         2. In one year we would have almost 1500 members not counting children and visitors.
         3. Do you have any idea of what that would mean?
   2. "Yes, we would have trouble seating people in worship."
      1. Our assembly challenges would be minor compared the challenges we faced in being a living, interactive, serving community of Christians.
      2. There is not one thing we currently have in place that would be adequate for such growth.
      3. There is not one fellowship method, teaching method, interacting method, nurturing method, or serving method that would be adequate for such growth.
      4. Yet, the very first congregation was adequate for that kind of growth.

3. We do not know all of our inadequacies, but we do know several of them.
   1. In the immediate future we will begin building a better data base and better methods of communicating and coordinating.
      1. That begins with very simple things.
      2. It begins with names, addresses, telephone numbers, abilities, interests, and desires to serve.
      3. It begins with your name, address, telephone number, and interests.
   2. We will urgently need your help; please help us become a growing, serving, interacting congregation.

Question: why should the Lord entrust us with more believers if we are not prepared to take care of them? Acts 2:47 And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved. (The New American Standard Bible, 1995 Update, La Habra, California: The Lockman Foundation, 1996.)