clcgh.org Building The Capacity Of Christian Leaders, Equipping The Saints For The Work Of Ministry, Redirecting Straying Christians To The Sound Knowledge Of Christ
Many African churches are spending huge sums of money to put up impressive church buildings. Lead pastors who supervise these church buildings are often praised for good job done.
Of course, it is important that a church gets a decent place to meet and worship God, but care must be taken in order not to pursue and invest in a misplaced priority.
What I mean is that putting up a magnificent church auditorium is impressive in the sight of men, but building up strong, spiritual Christians is the greatest desire of God under the New Covenant.
African churches should not make the same mistake European and American churches made centuries ago when they spent great resources to put up magnificent church buildings but failed to build strong Christians filled with the Word of Christ and Spirit of Christ to withstand the pressures and influences of the world.
Today, those expensive church buildings in these developed nations are empty or being turned into beer bars, residential accommodations and business offices in our generation?
It is simply because the leadership of those churches focused so much on putting up magnificent buildings than building up Christian believers into strong, spiritual houses to conform to the imge of Christ.
If African churches fail to learn from the mistakes of the European and American churches, a time will come when their churches will be like theirs. What are we then to do?
We must put up simple buildings as places for worship, but most importantly fill the buildings with strong, spiritual Christians who are also blessed financially with divine health, and able to stand firm in times of trials, temptations and testing of faith.
We must understand that an expensive building is not the Church Jesus Christ declared to build but His disciples who are people.
Moreover, Satan does not fight and tempt buildings to fall; he fights the faith of God’s children and tempts them to overthrow their position in Christ Jesus.
This is the truth many American and European Church leaders were deceived to overlook and disregard. Satan deceived them into paying attention to physical things than spiritual things.
We know that on the last day all so-called cathedrals, and other imposing buildings will be destroyed as the Jerusalem temple was destroyed in AD 70 as predicted by Christ Jesus in (Matthew 24:1-2).
By James Quansah
