Ministry in small places is difficult and the evil one loves to sow seeds of doubt and deception into how we view the nature of ministry in such places. Prominent among the libels of Lucifer are the suggestions that we are on our own, that we are insignificant, and that we will never have enough (people, resources, space, time, etc.) to make an impact for God’s kingdom.
In response to the lies of the enemy we should hold fast to the truth. And when we corporately confess the realities of our faith together in gathered worship, we wield the shield of truth. Particularly, against the aforementioned lies, whenever we confess together the Apostle’s Creed, we anchor ourselves in a spiritual reality necessary for faithful ministry. Among the truths professed in that ancient document, I find particular help and hope for ministry in small places when we proclaim belief in the communion of saints.
The Communion of Saints
The communion of saints expresses the spiritual reality that through faith, by the Spirit, those united to Christ are inherently united to all who are also in Christ. Through that communion we are not just teammates, allies, or friends, but participants in the life of one another through our shared participation in Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:14-22). Paul captures this reality in the image of the body (1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4) and speaks of its implications when he commands us to “rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15).
The Westminster Confession of Faith captures well the substance and implications of this truth we confess. “All saints, that are united to Jesus Christ their Head, by His Spirit, and by faith, have fellowship with Him in His graces, sufferings, death, resurrection, and glory: and, being united to one another in love, they have communion in each other's gifts and graces, and are obliged to the performance of such duties, public and private, as do conduce to their mutual good, both in the inward and outward man” (WCF 26:1).
Not Supposed to Have it All
Confessing the communion of saints counters the lie that we are meant to have it all—every gift, every capacity, every ministry, and every calling. Each saint, and indeed each local church, is designed by God to be dependent upon Christ as our Head and upon one another. When we are tempted to believe that not having every sort of program, ministry, or gift set within our church makes us deficient, our confession reminds us that we were never intended to have every capacity or resource.
Conversely, it is a check to the temptation of well-resourced churches to believe that they can have it all. No church is sufficiently gifted, resourced, staffed, or funded that it can operate independently from God’s provision for its work through the rest of the Church.
The Necessity of Every Saint and Church
When ministry in small places may lead us to think our ministry is of little consequence, the Bible tells us we are indispensable to the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:14). When networks, denominations, megachurches, and conferences may overlook, ignore, or diminish us, Scripture says, “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I have no need of you,’ nor again the head to the feet, ‘I have no need of you’” (1 Corinthians 12:21).
Christ has knit together the saints through his Spirit such that we are all necessary. We are all able to contribute according to the gifting of the Lord. Consider how Paul commends the churches in Macedonia (2 Corinthians 8:1-7). Though they were among the weakest and poorest of churches, their joy in Christ overflowed in a generous contribution to the needs of other saints. When rich and powerful churches like that of Corinth might glory in their gifts and giftings, Paul holds up the generosity of the weak and poor as a model and blessing to the greater church.
The Goodness of Asking
When we feel needy and under-resourced in our ministries, we may be hesitant to ask our sister churches for help and resources. Or we assume “beggars can’t be choosers” and only ask for the bare minimum. Instead, the communion of saints means we are co-heirs with Christ. Our successes and failures are those of the rest of the church. We have a right to ask for help, for resources, for people. Saint to saint, church to church, “being united to one another in love, [we] have communion in each other’s gifts and graces,” (WCF 26.1). Asking with boldness according to the riches Christ has given us as our rightful inheritance in the saints (Ephesians 1:18) invites us to better remember who we are as the children of God upon whom God has lavished his grace (Ephesians 1:8).
Asking also helps remind our siblings in Christ that their calling is not the amassing of God’s providential blessings, but the expending of what God has given as generously as God has given it to them. When churches perform “such spiritual service as tend to their mutual edification” and work in “relieving each other in outward services according to their several abilities and necessities” (WCF 26.2) they express the reality of what the Spirit of God has formed the church to be, Christ’s body, “the fullness of him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:23).
“Confession is good for the soul” is not just true when it comes to repentance. It is also true about corporately declaring our statement of faith in who God is and what he has done. When we confess the communion of saints it invites our souls, our churches, and our communities to deny the lies of the evil one and delight in the truth of who we are together in Christ. We are not alone but united, not poor but rich, not marginal but indispensable. That is good news worth repeating.
Ian Hard
Ian Hard is the pastor of Christ Church PCA in Pembroke, NH where he lives with his wife Rebecca and four children. He completed a doctorate in ministry from Covenant Theological Seminary in 2022 and serves on the board of the PCA's New England Church Planting Network. On top of his passion for preaching and teaching, Ian loves rowing on the Merrimack River.