Equipping!

On most beaches in the Greek islands, you can find a few old men repairing broken fishing nets. One word that would describe these fishermen is meticulous…showing great attention to details or very thorough. They had the job of equipping, making things ready to go. Equipping in the Greek is kataritizo…it’s all about repairing, mending and preparing. There is more to catching fish (or men) than simply casting out nets. A lot of time has to go into making the necessary repairs and preparations so that when the nets are dropped, the catch can be pulled into the boat.

The apostle Paul suggest that the roles God gives to individuals within the church have this common purpose: to make ready the saints for the task at hand. (Colossians 1:28) That is a place of alignment training, heart mending and mind repair and renewing. The church is mainly responsible for helping people in three areas: worship and loving God, equipping the saints for service and going into all the world to evangelize. The church is to be more of a boot camp…preparing the saints to fight for the kingdom in the world. You and I need to be stretched, challenged, taught/trained in order to be prepared and empowered to take Jesus to the marketplace or everyday living.

Pastor Dave Stallman