Sunday 10 May 2026 – The Function of the Church
The Function of the Church
Real stories from the family at Garston. Some are breakthroughs. Some are still in season. The thread through all of them is the goodness of God — who came that we might have life, and have it in abundance. (John 10:10)
The Structure of the Church
We all make every effort to come to church regularly each Sunday — but what is the purpose of the Church? We may all have different ideas and thoughts, but how does the Word of God instruct us?
According to Jesus Christ, the Church is not merely a building or a weekly gathering, but His body on the earth — built by Him, led by the Holy Spirit, and established to teach, equip, strengthen, and mature believers.
The Commandment
So we have this direction from the Lord given to the disciples — for those who would believe and follow Him.
How Christ Starts to Unravel This
Christ triumphed over death and Satan, freeing those held captive — leading a victory procession after conquering. He now has the keys to give to His Church on earth.
He Provided Gifts to Mankind in This Way
Equipping the Saints for the Work of Ministry
This means: leaders equip believers, believers do the work of ministry, and the whole body is strengthened and built up.
- “Equipping” — teaching, training, correcting, encouraging, helping believers mature spiritually.
- “Work of ministry” — preaching the gospel, serving others, praying, encouraging, helping the weak in spirit, teaching truth, caring for people, using spiritual gifts properly, living as witnesses of Christ.
- “Edifying the body of Christ” — building up the church spiritually so believers grow in love, truth, unity, maturity, holiness, and the likeness of Christ.
The Main Teaching for the Saints Today
The New Creation — The New Identity
Through Jesus Christ, the believer becomes a new creation. The old life has passed away, and a new identity is found in Him.
The New Mind — The Mind of Christ
As believers renew their minds through the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, they begin to think according to the mind of Christ. Once you know who you are in Christ, you can begin to walk out that new identity.
The picture is not of one man, or a few people in a church, doing everything while others simply watch. The picture is the whole body functioning together under Christ the Head.
The Church is meant to be a place of spiritual growth, transformation, discipleship, and maturity — teaching people how to live according to the life of Christ. In this sense, it becomes a school of life, where believers are equipped and developed by the Creator Himself through His Word and Spirit.
The Church’s Responsibility — Teach the Saints “The Way”
Before believers were commonly called “Christians,” they were often referred to as followers of “the Way.” In Acts we see phrases like “the Way” (Acts 9:2, 19:9, 19:23, 24:1). The name connects to the words of Jesus Christ:
The term “Christian” first appears in Acts 11:26: “And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.” So early believers were known first as disciples, brethren, saints, believers, and people of “the Way” before “Christian” became the more recognised name.
Boot Camp or Holiday?
Share rain or shine. Church is a boot camp, not a holiday.
Who Empowers the Church? Not Humans.
The Spirit Talks to the Churches
This continues all the way to the book of Revelation — seven types of churches on the earth, who the Spirit of God speaks to:
- The Loveless Church
- The Persecuted Church
- The Compromising Church
- The Corrupt Church
- The Dead Church
- The Faithful Church
- The Lukewarm Church
To each one: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
The Structure of the Church — Five Things to See Together
- The command — teach them all things
- The structure — through the Five-Fold Ministry, to equip the saints for ministry with His authority
- Empowered by the Holy Spirit — no human power or philosophy, but those anointed by the Spirit
- The seven types of churches who continue to listen to the Holy Spirit from Revelation
- So Christ Himself, through the Holy Spirit, can build His Holy Church on the earth
Who Builds the Church?
Jesus Christ is declaring that He Himself is the builder of His Church. He appoints people, and the Holy Spirit empowers, oversees, and leads them. The powers of death and hell will not overcome His Church. So the Word and the Spirit together build the Church on the earth.
So when we are getting ready to come to church each Sunday, this is what we are entering into: God’s teaching and equipping centre throughout the ages, established by God Himself for His people.
We should take every opportunity to enter into what the Lord has prepared for us through His Church in these last days — to be taught, equipped, strengthened, corrected, encouraged, and built up together as the body of Christ.
8 Testimonies of the Week
The Function of the Church · 10 May 2026 · in the order they were shared
Healed of a heart condition — four years after the prayer
“Four years ago you prayed for me — and I’m completely healed.”
Yesterday I was with a few friends who are believers — at lunchtime in the afternoon — and as we were gathering together outside, a woman approached and said to one of them, “Four years ago you prayed for me, and I’m completely healed.” It was just so amazing to see the joy in her face and the fact that she remembered that time from four years ago.
It was a heart condition — really serious. She had been going to the doctors and hospital and everything. So she was so happy to see my friend. Praise the Lord.
Our help comes from the Lord — a song from Psalm 121
“In times of the floodwaters coming, don’t be wary — because afterwards we rebuild. We lift the standards.”
A friend of mine was going through a really challenging time. The floodwaters came, but God always lifts her standard. So we thank God for that. The scripture God brought to mind is Psalm 121 verse two — our help comes from the Lord.
(Sings Psalm 121:) “I will lift up my eyes to the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, the Lord which made heaven and earth. He will not suffer thy foot to be moved. The Lord which keepeth thee — he will not slumber nor sleep. The Lord is thy keeper, the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand. The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night. He shall preserve thy soul, even for evermore.”
God came to her and lifted her out of the floodwaters. Praise God.
Got the job after a terrible interview
“God is the God of the impossible — but also the God of second chances.”
At the end of March I went for a job interview — an activities coordinator role at a boarding school in Harrow. It was a really good job, but I did not prepare properly for it. That was my fault. I thought it would be easy and so I didn’t steward it well.
When I went, I found myself being very embarrassed. It was honestly terrible in my eyes. When I was going home on the bus I was weeping in tears. Not because I knew I wasn’t going to get it, but because I felt I’d let God down. I take pride in representing God well, because how I represent myself is like I’m the Jesus in their life.
It wasn’t that I didn’t have faith that it would work out — it was more, “Lord, I’ve learned my lesson, I’m sorry, next time I’ll work harder.”
Then somehow — I have no idea how — God’s mercy is just so mind-boggling. I got the job. They said they were impressed. I know that was only supernatural. So I praise God and thank him — because he’s the God of the impossible, but also the God of second chances. He gave me another chance to do this properly.
Vision of cotton fields — the harvest is ready
“The fields are ready. People need us to go out and share the gospel.”
The Lord gave me a vision the other day — of cotton fields. It started off as one plant with the cotton buds on it, and then I saw a field full of cotton. I was asking the Lord what this meant, and he led me to John chapter 4, where Jesus is speaking to the woman at the well.
He says, “Say not ye, there are yet four months and then cometh harvest? Behold, I say unto you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, for they are white already to harvest.” The Lord was showing me that indeed the fields are ready. People need us to go out and share the gospel so they might come into the fold.
I’d encourage you all in whatever way you can to reach out to people around you. I go for a walk every day, about four miles, and I always take those little blessing cards with me. I know the Lord will bring somebody on my path that I can share that with.
In Proverbs it says, “The fruit of the righteous is the tree of life, and he that winneth souls is wise.” So may we all ramp up and reach out to those that are lost at this moment.
For every passion there is a preacher — discernment
“For every passion there is a preacher. Search your heart and ask God why you’re listening to someone.”
A few things — but this one keeps flashing for me. Last week, from a few sources, there was a message coming to me. It’s about fake prophets and the fakeness of this world.
I was listening to a few podcasts and the same message was coming through all of them randomly: to know why we’re listening to certain people, and to know why we’re following certain influences.
The message was that for every passion there is a preacher. So search your heart and ask God to search you on a daily basis. Why are you listening to someone? Is it because you see Jesus in them? Or is it because there is something that has not been cured in your heart — some passion, some desire that you haven’t crucified yet, that you haven’t brought to the Lord? And that’s why you’re following certain people, because they’re tickling your ego.
The reason is Jesus.
Restored — the enemy attacks, the Lord restores in two hours
“The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy — but Jesus came to give life, and life in all its fullness.”
About a month ago I was in a room with a little one. I took the Bible in there to have a quick read. She asked me two questions: “What’s your favourite chapter in the Bible? And what’s your favourite thing that you do?” I said Psalm 23 (hers was Psalm 24). And for the favourite thing — I said outreach.
She looked at me, and I said, “What have I said? I should have said being in the presence of God.” That’s what I should have said. So I repent of that, Lord.
Since then my heart was racing without a rhythm. It was awful — I wasn’t sure if I was going to have a heart attack. Then I had a couple of dreams from the Lord just over a week ago. While they were encouraging, I got the wrong meaning from them. Then the enemy came and gave me more dreams which brought me right down low — because I believed the lie.
Now I understand what it is when a person has no hope. I was sitting in a place where hell was on one side and heaven was on the other, and I was in the middle. A frightening place to be.
So I looked at the Word — just believe the Word. What Jesus says there, believe the Word. The enemy chose to attack me when the pastor was away. So last Sunday I spoke about love — or rather the lack of love I had presented to people. In my heart I was broken, truly broken.
Pastor prayed for me. In two hours, the Lord restored me again because of the truth. The enemy comes to steal, kill, and destroy — but Jesus came to give life, and life in all its fullness.
As a result, I’m going to give up the Friday outreach for a couple of months — or until the Lord says go — because I want to come into his presence. I encourage you all to do the same. Presence, presence, presence of the Lord. Because we want to hear his voice clearly. “My sheep hear my voice.”
I give the Lord praise that he is a restorer of souls.
Jehovah Shamma — the Lord is there
“The first thing I heard when I woke up was ‘Jehovah Shamma’ — the Lord is here.”
One day this week I was going to bed — very tired. I was praying, but I knew I was praying from a place of frustration. But God is truly amazing. He’s always speaking to us.
When I woke up the next morning, the first thing I heard was Jehovah Shamma. What was amazing was that I didn’t know what it meant at the time. I had to get up and check — Jehovah Shamma: the Lord is always there. The Lord is here. His presence is here.
I just want to give God thanks. He’s amazing. Glory to God.
Outreach in Luton — value your prayers
“I value your prayers — Satan does not like what we’re doing.”
Sometimes when I go out and play, I feel the Lord’s presence — even in Luton, in the evening, at the shopping centre. I always carry tracts with me, and as I wander from the different places I play, I quite often get chances to talk to people. I was giving out a few in Luton Shopping Centre.
I do value your prayers — because Satan does not like what we’re doing and he will have a go at us. So I value your prayers, because I meet all sorts of interesting people, as you can imagine. And they’ve got all sorts of needs. Thank you.
Has any of this stirred something in you?
Maybe you read one of these and recognised yourself in it. Maybe you came here looking for hope. Either way — we’d love to hear from you.