Great Commandment / Great Commission Essence
What are the basics of any church? by George Klippenes
harles Dickens opens his classic A Tale of Two Cities with the famous line, “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” As I observe the church in America, I see a tale of two churches.
In spring 2008, Steven Furtick, pastor of one of the fastest-growing churches in America (Elevation Church in Charlotte, N.C.), reported 500 first-time conversions in five months.1 In April, 2,700 church-planting leaders gathered for the largest training of church planters in American history.2 Leadership Network research reported a record number of new churches (4,000) started in 2007.3
During this same period, however, Willow Creek’s “Reveal” study discovered that many churches are not making disciples.4 The largest Protestant denomination in America, the Southern Baptist Convention, reported for the first time in its history that it is in decline.5 In March, Dr. David Olson released The American Church in Crisis, which reports that less than 17.5 percent of Americans attend church on any given weekend.
In the midst of the best of times/worst of times in American Christianity, leaders are experimenting with many different models of church—from simple, organic house churches to large, megachurch multi-sites. This has caused leaders to go back to the Bible and ask, What is the essence of the church? In response, they have distilled their answers in various ways (see “Innovation and Ecclesiology,” by Ed Stetzer).
GC7 ESSENTIALS
In the EFCA, we have engaged in the same search for the essence of “church.” In the New Testament, we are confronted with two major themes: the Great Commandment (Matthew 22) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28).
When these themes are broken down, we see that Jesus is commanding the church to be a worshipping community on a disciple-making mission. No matter which model is chosen (house church, multi-site, missional, attractional, emerging, etc.), we have recognized at least seven things a church must do to be a church. We call these the GC7 essentials. Two come from the Great Commandment; five come from the Great Commission.
The Great Commandment says to love God (worship) and love others (community). There has to be both a vertical and a horizontal dimension to your ministry.
Most people understand there are four parts to the Great Commission: win the lost (evangelism), build the believers (discipleship), equip the workers (lay ministry) and multiply the leaders (leadership development). In the EFCA we recognize a fifth part to the Great Commission that is often neglected: reproduce missionaries to all people (Acts 1:8).
Many churches today are so busy “doing church” that they have not dug into Scripture to ask the pivotal question—What is the essence of what we are called to do?—and make the often-tough choices that result. Without a doubt, their ministries will reflect how far they have moved from that essence. It is the worst of times.
But churches that are asking the question and making the choices—whether they incorporate the GC7 approach or another—will reach far more people for Christ than they ever imagined. It is the best of times. 
1: www.youtube.com (“Pitting Evangelism Against Discipleship”) and www.christianpost.com (“Top 100 Largest, Fastest-Growing Churches,” October 3, 2007)
2: According to coordinators of the 2008 National New Church Conference, held April 2008 (www.exponentialconference.org).
3: www.leadnet.org (“Church Planting Overview: State of church planting USA,” copyright 2007).
4: www.revealnow.com.
5: www.lifeway.com (“2007 ACP: Baptisms in SBC fall to lowest level since 1987”).
George Klippenes, EFCA director of church planting, is a member of Hope EFC in Monticello, Minn. He loves working with church plants as they wrestle with this crucial question of essence.
Innovation & Ecclesiology by Ed Stetzer
SO WHAT MAKES a church a true church, and who decides? These are important issues, because innovation means we change parts of the church, generally with the intent to reach more people.
We need a standard to determine what is eternal and what is open to innovation, and a process for considering the difference between the two.
I include the following as essentials primarily because of their frequency and description in Scripture. Secondarily, I include them because of the witness of the ancient and historic church. Thirdly, I include these because they are the most frequent objects of innovation.
Scriptural authority > (Acts 2,7,17:2-3; 2 Timothy 3:15-17)
Biblical leadership > (Ephesians 4:11,12; 1 Timothy 3:1-14, 5:17; Titus 1:5-9)
Preaching and teaching > (1 Timothy 4:12,13)
Ordinances > (Matthew 28:19,20; Acts 2:41,42; 1 Corinthians 11)
Covenant community > (Acts 2:42-47)
Mission > (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:46-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8)
Innovation is clearly needed, but biblical discernment must come first. If it doesn’t, we can innovate away what “church” really is.
Excerpted with permission from “Church Innovation Matters,” by Ed Stetzer, presented at the American Society of Church Growth 2006 meeting.
Ed Stetzer serves as president of LifeWay Research and as LifeWay’s missiologist in residence.
