President’s Perspective: We Must Stay Faithful 

Wes Church

Wes Church

Wes Church, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Columbia, is 2024 president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention

When I was a kid, a movie hit the big screen that really captured the imaginations of my friends and me. The film “Big” is about a 12-year-old kid named Josh who was tired of being small. He drops a quarter in a Zoltar fortune-telling game and makes a wish to be big. Unbeknownst to Josh, the machine had been unplugged and shouldn’t have worked; nevertheless, the machine dispenses a card that says, “Your wish is granted.” The next morning, Josh wakes up to find he is big — a grown man.

Every kid has made a wish to be grown up at some point in their childhood. Whether they wanted to stay up late or to not have to do homework, everybody has wanted to be bigger or older at some point in their life. But most adults I know would tell kids to stay young as long as they can because growing up isn’t nearly as fun as it sounds.

Growth is a natural part of life, but it never takes place just because of a wish. It requires time plus all the necessary ingredients like water, vitamins, minerals, and proteins. It’s the same thing when we talk about growing intellectually, emotionally, relationally, and even spiritually. Growth is something we all want, but it’s not always fun or easy. Sometimes we are willing to settle for no growth because we don’t really want to put in what is required to grow.

It’s a dangerous thing when a church is content to not grow, or a Christian is satisfied with their current spiritual maturity. When we become comfortable with the way things are and have no real vision for personal or corporate growth, then the kingdom of darkness advances and gospel light grows dim. This is what the enemy wants to happen in our churches and in the lives of believers today.

Paul writes to the church at Corinth in the last part of 1 Corinthians 3:9, “For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.” One way to see the body of Christ in the local church is as a field, garden, or farm. God is the farmer, and we are the field. His desire is to reap a harvest in the soil of our hearts. Paul also compares the body of Christ in the local church to a building. The structure belongs to Him; He is the architect and the builder. We are His workmanship. His desire is to build us up and out, to grow us into a dwelling place fit for a king.

But as fellow workers, God has enlisted us as field hands and day laborers. We are to join Him by sweating in the fields while plowing, sowing, weeding, and harvesting. We are to be concerned about the walls that are being laid and participating in putting on the roof. Two ways we are to stay faithful as fellow workers is faithfulness through personal spiritual growth and faithfulness to seek kingdom growth. I personally mature by regularly reading and applying the truth of God’s Word, participating in the local church where I am shepherded toward spiritual maturity, and staying connected to God through personal prayer. Additionally, I am committed to casting gospel seed through personal evangelism, living as a witness, and praying for the lost.

We are fellow workers, God’s field, and God’s building. We cannot think that kingdom growth and spiritual maturity are going to happen by dropping a quarter in a game and making a wish. We have a responsibility to put our hands to the plow and hammer. Till all have heard, we must stay faithful as fellow workers in God’s field and on His construction site.