Article by Teresa Chang
One of the greatest blessings of being a part of my home church is that I’m surrounded by church leaders who love the Word of God. Many of us were raised up in our senior pastor’s marathon bible studies, which were 3-4 hours of inductive Bible study! His motto was “context is king!” and we learned not only from the passage, but how to study the Bible well. We learned Hebrew and Greek, poured through commentaries and concordances and even learned the historical context around the book we were studying. These Bible studies stirred up in us such a love for the Word, and are some of my most cherished moments in our church.
The Bible is our hub, mandate and launching point; it is our final constitution in the Kingdom of Heaven. The Scriptures are our full and final authority on true faith and practice. All of us need to wrap our hearts around the Word of God and be transformed by His awesome truth.
As a church leader, have a vision that will cause people to understand the power of the Word and bring them into right alignment with it. Your vision for the Word needs to be put on display again and again.
How to Build a Vision for God’s Word in Your Church
1. Make your vision for the Word practical.
Your vision for the Word of God needs to be practical, practiced and celebrated. A special gift, teachers see God’s purposes in His Word and are able to communicate them in such a way that they are added to the Body of Christ’s knowledge base and practice. Not only are they anointed to teach the Word, but these gifted men and women are also anointed to impart love of the Word, and even the ability to teach, to other people.
As a leader, you get to echo the heart of Jesus as you encourage those around you to go deep into His Word.
2. Model your vision.
Like any vision, vision for the Word is first birthed in the heart of the lead pastor or couple. Even if they are not called as teachers, love for the Word of God starts in them and then spreads to the leadership team.
Embed love for the Word in your own life. Does your family study the Word together on a regular basis? Do you as a leader actively seek to connect with God in the pages of His book?
Speak to your core team about spending time in God’s Word. Build up vision for the Word within them. Perhaps you and your leadership team could go to conferences and on retreats that are focused on the Word. Actively seek ways you and your team could fall more in love with God’s Word.
3. Make your vision for the Word a priority for your staff and church.
Spend time preaching about God’s Word and study it as a congregation. Equip your church to really delve into its truth, and reveal how you use the Word to guide your decision-making processes. Counsel others with Scripture and hold people to the Word. Inspire them and show them how powerful the Word of God can be in daily life.
Celebrate the Word in personal areas of independent study, meditation and memorization. Also celebrate the actual teachers in your midst (those in the office of teacher), as well as the “regular” members of the church who love God’s Word and are sharing His truths with others.
As you do these things, you reinforce value for the Word, strengthening and upholding your vision for a church that loves Scripture.
