What is a Successful Church? (Romans 1:1–32)
What makes a church successful? See how Romans 1 measures faithfulness, not flash: success is not how high a church climbs but how low it kneels.
Introduction
Our culture is obsessed with success—bigger and flashier is more successful.
Our culture is obsessed with consumption—more means we matter more.
Is church any different? This same worldview affects and infects how even we at OURC think about church. Like driving by the biggest houses or signs advertising the newest products, we view church as merely one more place to get what we want—not what we need. We “shop” for churches like we shop for cars—looking for the flashiest look, the biggest name, and the best features to show off.
But is that how God measures the success of his church? God’s definition of success looks nothing like ours. He measures faithfulness, not flash.
Transition: When Paul wrote to the Romans, he didn’t write to the biggest, flashiest, outwardly successful church. He wrote to a group of ordinary believers, scattered across the capital city, reminding them of real success in God’s eyes. Last Sunday, we came to the end of chapter 1, but before moving on, let’s pause to tie a bow on what we’ve learned and ask what makes a truly successful church?
Theme
A successful church is measured by the impact of the gospel in our lives—filling us with prayer, participation, and preaching.
A Church Full of Prayer
What is a “successful” church? A church full of prayer. Before saying anything else to the Romans, Paul says, first, I thank my God through Jesus Christ… without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers (vv. 8, 9–10). A successful church isn’t built on strategic programs, but saturated in prayer.
How important is prayer? Our Heidelberg Catechism says prayer is the “chief [most important] part” of our thankfulness to God (Q&A 116). Why? Without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers. Prayer wasn’t Paul’s afterthought; it was his lifeline to God. That sounds obvious, but it’s rare.
Illustration: Several articles have recently detailed the lack of prayer in the modern American church. Megachurch pastors, church growth gurus, and church multiplication experts say public prayer isn’t emphasized because it makes people uncomfortable.[i] We push prayer aside because it makes people uncomfortable.
But how does that make God feel? When prayer becomes optional, power becomes absent.
How different was Paul’s religion from our American religion! Yet for Paul, prayer was the real part of church. Notice how Paul prayed so differently from how we do: I thank my God…for all of you.Prayer lifts our eyes off ourselves and fixes them on God. In a world that tells us to look inward for strength and “you got this”—prayer is where God’s power meets human weakness. We lift hands in prayer because we’re forsaking our own works and casting ourselves onto God’s ability to work. We lift our voices in cries for help for others because we’re helpless.
Illustration: In 1857, a quiet businessman in New York—Jeremiah Lanphier—invited all available to pray with him at the North Dutch Church on Wednesdays at noon. No one came; he prayed alone. After thirty minutes, one man joined. By the end of the hour, there were six. That started a movement—the Fulton Street Revival. Within months, thousands were gathering daily for prayer across the U.S. It began with no marketing plan, no celebrity pastor, and no band. Just prayer.
Paul’s prayer was serious—God is my witness. That’s oath language. “As the Lord lives, I solemnly swear that I pray for you; if not, may he strike me down.” Can you solemnly swear like this that you pray without ceasing for your church family? Are you begging God to pour out his Spirit through the preached Word to save sinners and to sanctify saints? Are you praying for our next convert to be baptized? For those who are, I thank my God…for all of you. I challenge us all to pray as seriously as Paul—I serve [God] with my spirit in the gospel of his Son (v. 9). Serve is the word is latreuō, used of the Levites who “served the Lord.” Paul’s prayers weren’t worthless; they were worship.
Paul’s prayer was thankful—because your faith is proclaimed in all the world (v. 8). In the churches throughout the Empire, the faith of these Romans was known (Rom. 16:19; Col. 1:6). And he was thankful because by the Holy Spirit’s power, the gospel of Jesus was changing Rome from the inside out.
Summary: A successful church doesn’t start or continue with plans—it starts with people on their knees. If we want to be successful, we must be a praying church—that thanks God for one another, prays for our city, and begs God to send his Spirit through the preaching of his Word. The worldly and culturally-compromised church measures success by how high we climb. God measures success by how low we kneel. What is a “successful” church? A church full of participants.
A Church Full of Participants
Transition: But a praying church isn’t complete until prayers become action. Paul didn’t just pray forthe Romans—he wanted to be with them. He ask[ed] that [it was]…God’s will…at last [to] succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you (vv. 10–11).
What was the purpose of his prayers? That I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you…that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith (vv. 11–12). To strengthen them, and to be strengthened by them. What is a “successful” church? A church full of participants.
Paul didn’t want to show off his gifts; he wanted to share them. He didn’t want to dominate; he wanted to serve the church. He prayed not to dump a bunch of gifts down their chimney like an apostolic Santa; no, he prayed that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine (v. 12). He expected encouragement to flow both ways—him to them, them to him. That’s what a healthy church looks like. Every member giving and receiving. Every believer serving and being served. Christianity is not a spectator sport—it’s a mutual, participatory ministry.
Illustration: Think of a sponge. It can do two things: suck up water and be wrung out of water. It can either take or give. Which are you? Are you here for what you can get out? Are you a taker? Are you passively sucking in the water of the Word? What happens to a sponge that’s not wrung out? It gets moldy and thrown out! Or, are you using your sponge to receive the water of the Word so you can wring it out, another can receive, then they wring it out for another…and another? God doesn’t fill you with his Word so you can store it alone—he fills you so you can share it. Amen?
We are here to be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith. Objection: You might say, “But I’m too introverted…too ordinary…I have nothing to offer.” Here’s what John Calvin says to you: “for there is none so void of gifts in the Church of Christ who cannot in some measure contribute to our spiritual progress.”[ii] Each and every one of us has a gift. Discover it; use it! The Heidelberg Catechism puts it beautifully: every believer is a “living member” of Christ’s body (Q&A 54), whose “duty [is] to use his [and, her] gifts readily and cheerfully for the service and enrichment of the other members” (Q&A 55).
Summary: You’re not a consumer in Christ’s church—you’re a contributor. Spectators watch; servants build. Success in God’s eyes is when we stop asking, “What can I get?” and start asking, “What can I give?” What is a “successful” church? A church full of participants.
A Church Full of Preaching
Transition: Prayer gives power. Participation gives purpose. But both draw their life from one source—Holy Spirit empowered the preaching of Jesus! This is the source that creates a successful church in God’s eyes: a church full of preaching.
Paul prayed to go to Rome for one reason: to preach. He states this strongly: I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians (non-Greeks), both to the wise and to the foolish (educated and non-educated). So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome (vv. 14–15). That’s the heartbeat of a successful church: the gospel preached faithfully, boldly.
Do you remember what he said the gospel is? The gospel is Jesus Christ. Paul prayed to come to Rome so he could participate in mutual encouragement by preaching the gospel!
Gospel: Jesus is good news no matter who you are: cultured or uncultured, black or white, rich or poor. What’s the hope for atheistic communists in Beijing? Persecuting Muslims in Jos, Nigeria? How about Oceanside? Carlsbad? Vista? Encinitas? Solana Beach? Del Mar? Jesus Christ! We’ve been praying for you! Come to Jesus today! Participate in following him with us!
Preaching isn’t optional, OURC; it’s an obligation. In fact, it’s stronger than obligation. It’s a debt. There are two ways you can be in debt. Paul could’ve borrowed from the Romans, then been in their debt to repay them. That’s not what he’s saying here. What he is saying is that Jesus entrusted him with the gospel, to share it with the Romans—until he did, he was in debt.[iii] As he said elsewhere, “necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Cor. 9:16) Application: That’s how every preacher—and Christian—should see the gospel. We’ve been entrusted with a message we didn’t earn, and until we share it, we owe our neighbors. Illustration: Think of a mail carrier. Their job isn’t to write the message—just to deliver faithfully. If they toss a letter out or change the address, they’ve failed. The preacher—and church—are God’s mail carriers. We don’t write the gospel; we deliver it.
Summary: A successful church doesn’t preach itself—it preaches Christ. When Christ is preached, sinners are saved, saints strengthened, and God glorified. The world says success is growth and recognition. God says success is faithfulness and proclamation. The measure of success isn’t how many hear us, but how faithfully we deliver a message. What is a “successful” church? A church full of preaching.
Conclusion: Redefining Success
Romans 1 helps us redefine success. It’s not the church with the biggest building or the largest following. It’s the one that pleases Christ! Amen? Let’s stop asking, “Is OURC successful?” and start asking, “Is OURC faithful?”
A church full of prayer—depending on God.
A church full of participants—serving all.
A church full of preaching—proclaiming Jesus.
That’s a successful church! That’s the kind of church I want! How about you? May God make us that kind of church—to God’s glory alone!
[i] See https://ministrymatters.com/2015-06-18_how_megachurches_have_killed_the_practice_of_prayer/premium-resources-collection; https://www.ncdcma.org/church-multiplication-newsletters/2022-05
[ii] Calvin, 24.
[iii] Stott, 59.