1. Our relationship with God (Father Son Holy Spirit)
When we are in relationship with God he makes us like Jesus through his Spirit and his word (John 14:26,16:9-15, 1 Cor 2:10-13,1 John 2:27).
Church ministry supporting our personal relationship with God includes: Preaching and teaching about God, his word, how to personally study the Bible, and how to pray.
2. Our relationship with church leaders
God uses our relationship with elders and other church leaders to make us like Jesus. They preach, teach, provide an example, lead, correct, care for, watch over, and equip us for service (1 Ti 3:2-13, Tit 1:6-9, Heb 13:7, 17, Eph 4:11-13, 1 Thess 5:12).
Church ministry supporting our relationships with church leaders: elders lead, preach, teach, & provide an example of Christ-likeness.
3. Our relationship with family
God uses our relationships with spouses, parents, grandparents, and children to make us like Jesus (Eph 5:22-6:4, 1 Ti 5:4,8,14, Ex 10:2).
Church ministry supporting our relationships with family members: preaching and teaching on the disciple-making role of spouses, parents, and grandparents, providing marriage seminars/retreats, parenting training, children and youth ministries, and encouraging family worship/devotions.
4. Our relationship with Christian friends
God uses our relationships with Christian friends to make us like Jesus. They teach, encourage, rebuke, serve, and comfort us (Prov 27:9, David & Jonathan, Paul & Timothy).
Church ministry supporting our relationships with Christian friends: preaching and teaching on the God-glorifying value of Christian friendship, and celebrating Christian friendship.
5. Our relationship with church members
God uses our relationships with church members to make us like Jesus. He uses their spiritual gifts to make us grow (1 Cor 12, Ro 12:3-8, Eph 4:12-13, Heb 10:24).
Church ministry supporting our relationships with church members: preaching and teaching on the disciple-making importance of the church using its spiritual gifts, corporate worship services, Sunday school, small groups, serving teams, and celebrating and encouraging love for each other.
6. Our relationship(s) with Christian influencers
God uses our relationships with Christian influencers in our culture to make us like Jesus. These Christian influencers include authors of books on the Christian faith, online sermons, parachurch organizations such as campus/school ministry organizations, Christian retreat centers, Christian conferences, and other Christian ministry organizations and ministry efforts that are not connected to churches.
Although cultural influencers in our day of published Christian books, the internet and conferences differs from the influencers of the early church, the New Testament has examples of Christian influencers. Examples include Timothy (1 Cor 4:17, 16:10, Phil 2:19), and Titus (2 Cor 8:23, 12:18), who Paul sent to churches to teach, encourage, and assist them. These men were not elders or members of the churches they visited yet they had great influence on them.
Church ministry that helps Christians to benefit from Christian influencers is the important role that elders play in screening Christian influencers. Elders should be the primary “gatekeepers” for the people of their churches by guiding them to helpful Christian influencers in the culture and warning and dissuading them from other books, online preachers and teachers, etc that encourage wrong thinking about the Christian faith. Ideally, Christians should check with their elders before allowing themselves to be spiritually influenced by a person not under the authority of their church elders or the authority of a church or denomination they have solid reason will not lead them astray. Elders should proactively screen popular Christian influencers and take advantage of opportunities to encourage the good and warn against the bad. Examples of this are regularly recommending Christian books at member meetings and arranging for a group of members to attend a helpful concert of conference.
7. Our workplace relationships—employers, employees, customers
God uses our workplace relationships to make us like Jesus (Col 3:17, 22-4:1, Eph 6:5-9, Tit 2:9-10, 1 Ti 6:1-2, 1 Peter 2:18).
Church ministry supporting our workplace relationships: preaching and teaching on the Christian view of work and proper Christian conduct in workplace.
8. Our relationship with civil authority
God uses our relationships with civil authority to make us like Jesus. As citizens he calls us to honor, respect, obey, and pray for civil authority (Ro 13, Titus 3:1, 1 Pet 2:13-17).
Church ministry supporting our relationships with civil authority: preaching and teaching on God-honoring citizenship and praying for civil authority.
9. Our relationship with those with needs
God uses our relationships with those with needs to make us like Jesus. He calls us to love, serve, provide, and proclaim the Gospel to the sick, poor, illegal resident, grieving, widowed, orphaned, etc (Gal 2:10, James 2:14-17, Luke 14:21-24).
Church ministry supporting our relationships with those in need: preaching and teaching on caring for those in need, ministries that care for those in need-such as: visiting the sick, jail ministries, post-jail reintegration job help, teaching ESL, providing residency application assistance, offering poverty assistance of various types, caring for widows and foster children, supporting adoption assistance ministries, etc. etc.
10. Our relationship with unbelievers
God uses our relationship with unbelievers to make us like Jesus. We grow by reminding us of our spiritual need before coming to faith and when we proclaim the Gospel to all people and provide a defense for the faith (Matt 28:18-20, 1 Pe 3:15, Prov 11:30).
Church ministry supporting our relationships with unbelievers: preaching and teaching on evangelism and missions, offering evangelism/apologetics training, supporting global missions and local evangelistic efforts, and providing public testimonies of conversions to remind the church of its mission and enabling her to celebrate when God gives faith to people.
Copyright 2026 David Baum
David Baum 