I. The Way for the Practice of the Church Life

C. A Concluding Word

2. The Proper Ways for the Lord’s Servants to Minister to the Believers

Witness Lee also points out the proper ways for the Lord’s servants to minister to the saints in a local church according to the New Testament pattern:

Finally, I would speak a little word concerning the ministry meetings. The ministry meetings are meetings of the ministry to help the saints and the local churches. These meetings are for the local churches, but they are not local church meetings and are not in the hands of the local churches.

According to the pattern set up in the book of Acts, there are three ways for the servants of the Lord to work and minister to the saints. One is that, as a servant of the Lord, you can go to any locality to help the church there. You can attend the church meetings and take the opportunity to minister to the saints.

Another way is that you can be in a place where there is a local church, yet at the same time you can rent a place for your ministry. Paul did this when he was in Rome. In Acts 28 we are told that while Paul was in Rome, for two years he rented a house for himself to work and “welcomed all those who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ” (vv. 30-31). Paul did not form another group by his ministry. The fruit of his ministry was for the church in Rome. Remember that you should not form anything of your own to keep the results of your ministry. All the results of your ministry must go to the local church.

The third way is that if you stay in a locality for a long time, spontaneously you become a member of the local church there and serve the Lord as a local member. Peter was an example of this. He stayed in Jerusalem for a long time, so he automatically served the Lord in the church in Jerusalem as a local member. (108-109)

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