In the Eye of the Storm: God is Building His Church

In The Eye of the Storm

Jesus Christ said, "I will build My church." Down through the ages, from the first century to the 20th, God has done just that. There have been dark times in church history and glorious times, but the church, God’s people, has weathered the storms. God has always kept His plan to have the church within the eye of the storm where He is building even in the midst of stormy seas.

God gave a church government pattern for us to follow so that He can build believers together as living stones to form His house. He organizes the Body and determines what function each member will perform so the church can be built with the proper foundations to last. God wants His people to work together to get the job done!

However, God would never want us to start building without first following His blueprint. But, haven't we done just that? Since apostolic church days, we have often succumbed to traditions and a structure of church that is neither biblical nor efficient. For example, the apostles and prophets who God ordained as designers and navigators of the church have literally disappeared from view since the early church. We desperately need them in today's church to lay proper foundations and keep us on track.

While not presuming to have the final word on how God will build His church, still, I believe God has designed the pattern for church building and left us the blueprint in His Word. Incredibly, He wants to use earthen vessels like you and me to implement the plan!

My goal in writing this book is not an attempt to set up a model of church structure, but to show a biblical standard for church structure—an ideal to strive for—so we can work together in harmony and effectiveness to see God's kingdom advance. It is what God is calling the church to be today so that He can come back to a mature church, not having spot or wrinkle.

People today are recognizing that each person^'s unique contribution to the body of Christ is needed and they want to work as a team to discover that special place of service He has designed for each one of them. They want to be equipped saints who can go out and do the work of ministry so that God can build His church and the gates of Hell cannot stand as Christians march, unified, to destroy the works of darkness!

For years ,I administrated a ministry which encompassed people from many different denominations working together to reach the masses through huge "Jesus Festivals." What a privilege it was to work with Christians from different backgrounds with the common goal of wanting to see the kingdom of God advance! God wants to move across denominational lines to unite us as one Body!

God will build His church so that His people are ministering in two phases. The first phase is the spiritual family relationships which God's people can have in small group settings—where they can be nurtured and learn to make disciples.

During the past several years, I have worked within house fellowship based churches in America and overseas and have seen how these small family group relationships are so essential in equipping believers to do the work of ministry and in fulfilling the Great Commission to go into the world and make disciples.

From this beginning in family groups, where leaders are homegrown, they can continue to grow and be ordained for ministry in corporate church settings. My interest in church operations with a particular burden for counseling church leaders spiritually and financially has led to extensive travel throughout the world, spending time investigating and seeking ways to serve the body of Christ.

The second part of this book comes from this experience of interacting with God's people as they lead out in a corporate church setting. It will tell how God deals with the people holding responsibilities or offices within the corporate church (governmental, equipping part of the body of Christ). We will discover how God has called and anointed leaders, giving them special tasks to perform so the church can be properly built.

Using the analogy of a ship and describing its crew and passengers to enlighten us how the church will operate and function if "the whole body is fitly joined together," I dare you to dream of the unlimited possibilities of a church that fully understands its mandate.

May we all ride the high seas, remaining faithful to Jesus until that time when our ship will come into the harbor after its final voyage on earth …

Harold Zimmerman

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