The Church God Sees: A Church That Multiplies

The Church God Sees: A Church That Multiplies Acts 6:1-7

1898 New York City was born in chaos. Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island were suddenly united, and the population exploded overnight. Entire families were crammed into single rooms. Many had no windows, no plumbing, no ventilation. Streets were filled with disease, violence, and poverty. Parents worked long hours. Children as young as five worked in factories, on sewing floors, or roaming the streets trying to survive. It was one of the darkest seasons in the Lower East Side.

But in the middle of that overcrowded city, God found a praying woman named Virginia Hawes. She was not famous. She had no staff. No budget. No building. All she had was a burden. She rented a dusty old bar on East 14th Street and opened the doors every morning for six weeks. She taught Scripture to children. She prayed with them. She gave them a place to belong. Soon other believers heard about it. Parents brought what little they had. Neighbors began helping. Volunteers joined in. What started with one woman and a burden became the spark that launched Vacation Bible School across the world.

This is how God works. He takes ordinary obedience and multiplies it in ways no one expects. And that is exactly what we see happening in Acts chapter six.

This passage shows us the blueprint of a church that multiplies.

The early church was only months old, yet more than twenty thousand believers gathered in Jerusalem. Revival was spreading fast. Miracles were happening. People were being saved daily. Families were being restored. Communities were shaken by the Holy Spirit. But with explosive growth came explosive pressure. Real needs were being overlooked. Real widows were slipping through the cracks. Real tensions were forming between Jewish believers and Greek speaking believers. Both groups loved Jesus, but they did not always understand one another.

At the same time the apostles were being stretched beyond their limits. Twelve men trying to shepherd tens of thousands. Twelve men trying to preach, pray, lead, counsel, and care for every need. It was one apostle for every fifteen hundred people. The weight was too much. And right in the middle of genuine revival the early church faced a crisis.

They could burn out trying to carry everything. Or they could raise up the next generation of leaders.

What we hold dies, but what we release multiplies.

Jesus taught that unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies it remains alone. But when it dies it bears much fruit. A seed cannot multiply in your hand. It cannot multiply while being held. It multiplies only when it is buried. When it is released. When it is surrendered.

The apostles understood this. They refused to cling to every responsibility. They released the work. They raised up seven Spirit filled believers who would carry the daily ministry. They planted the work into new hands so it could grow beyond them. If they kept everything to themselves the revival would have collapsed. But when they released it, the harvest multiplied.

This same rhythm is alive at Mountain Valley Chapel. God is calling us to release. To trust Him deeper. To invest in the next generation. The valley does not need a comfortable congregation. It needs the church God saw when He birthed MVC more than a century ago.

The church becomes powerful only when everyone owns the mission.

A church is not powerful because of one pastor. A church becomes powerful when every believer steps into the mission. That is how the early church grew. Every person brought their gifts. Every person carried part of the weight. Every person believed this mission is mine too.

That is why Scripture calls us a body. The hand does what the hand does. The feet go where others cannot. The heart keeps the body alive. The lungs give breath. Every part matters. Every part has purpose. Every part is needed. Mountain Valley Chapel will only be as strong as the believers who take ownership.

This valley is filled with broken families, hurting marriages, hardened men, wounded women, and young people running from God. We cannot reach them by watching from the sidelines. We reach them when we move together. When we step up. When we carry the mission with conviction.

When the body moves as one, God makes the unreachable reachable.

Unity is not a feeling. Unity is not agreeing on every detail. Unity is moving in the same direction for the same purpose. The early church modeled this. They stood side by side even when believers were being arrested. They stood side by side even when following Jesus could cost them their lives. And when they moved as one, heaven moved through them. The word of God increased. Disciples multiplied. Entire communities were transformed.

That is what unity does. A united church reaches people no one else can. A united church breaks barriers no one else can. A united church opens doors only God can open. Our valley is filled with people who seem unreachable. But when the Church moves as one, the Spirit of God reaches where we cannot. He softens what we cannot. He changes who we cannot.

Mountain Valley Chapel cannot be a divided church. We must fight for unity. We must move together. We must multiply together.

The harvest is ready. The valley is waiting. And God is asking who will go!