Recently, while preaching near the Ghanaian border in West Africa, a member of a small congregation asked me, “How can we promote and advertise the church?”  Not sure exactly what the gentleman had in mind:  free clothing give-a-ways?  free suppers?  free music concerts?  or some other cotton candy events.  It seems that many are trying to appeal to worldly people by enticing them with worldly things.  That is not the nature or the purpose of the church.  The main purpose of the church is to “glorify God throughout all generations forever and ever” (Ephesians 3:21).  We do this by “glorifying His Word” (Acts 13:48;  2Thessalonians 3:1).

The truth is you ARE advertising the church every day.  The things you do, or don’t do; the courtesy you show or don’t show; your demonstration of love and concern for one another and the lost; the depth of your sincerity toward spiritual things in your conversations with your friends and family.  All these things either promote, or de-mote the church, as well as the genuineness of your commitment and conviction to Jesus Christ and the Cross on which He was slain for your sins.

We can run ads in the newspaper about what the true church is, but that has a negative effect when  people realize it’s a conviction written only on paper and not in our lives.  As God said to Jeremiah, “I have seen a horrible thing in Jerusalem. They commit adultery and walk in lies; they strengthen the hands of evildoers so that no one turns away from his wickedness.  All of them are like the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah to Me!” (Jeremiah 23:14).

Stop and consider what your daily life is teaching about the Lord’s church.  What is it advertising?  Does it advertise that the church does not need to be financially supported?  Does it teach that mission work is unimportant?  Does it advertise that a brother who has been over-taken in a fault should be thrown to the wolves?  Does it teach that assembling for Bible study and worship are unimportant?

Jesus said, “a tree is known by its fruit” (Matthew 7:16 & 20).  Paul writes, “You are our epistle, known and read by all men…clearly you are an epistle of Christ, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of flesh, that is of the heart” (2Corinthians 3:2-3).

Don’t ask how to promote and advertise the church.  It is impossible NOT to promote and advertise it. You do it every day.

Toby Miller