Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Acts 2:41-42
So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Acts 2:46-47
A little more about the necessity of the Ordinary Means of Grace (OMG), and why we need to be diligent to major on these instead of the myriad of other activities and events that the Church tends to become about.
Imagine two churches across the street from each other. One has separate programs for men and women, for every age group, and a host of special interests. The other church invests itself only in the OMG—preaching, worship, prayer, caring for one another, evangelism & missions, etc.
Which would you imagine is bigger? Why? Which would you be most drawn to? Why?
Why is it that most church-goers choose and remain in a church for reasons other than attention to the OMG? One of the most common reasons is “my friends go there.”
Would the people who attended the church with all the programs stay if the programs were no longer offered? Or would they look for another place that offers those things? What does that say about the importance of the OMG really are to some people?
The main point of this line of reasoning is that at Grace Bible Church, we do not offer all sorts of extras because we can’t. It is because we do not want to. We are committed to being a church of the OMG.
Everything we need—and is prescribed in the New Testament—is available in a streamlined manner. We do not need more things to do. +We need to attend services every Sunday morning and Thursday evening as often as is possible. +We need to attend prayer meetings, unless we are not able to. +We need to be in discipleship groups for deeper guided Bible study, and in Home Fellowships for fellowship and to care for one another. +We need to be engaged in local evangelism and world missions as much as we are able.
If we needed more, the Lord would have prescribed more in His Word.