Who is responsible for the church?

I’m one of those who read everything that has keywords like church, church planter and church leader. I’m one of those who time by time struggle to figure out where is my responsibility and God’s responsibility. I’m one of those who some days I feel I’m fit for the job and some other days as a failure.

Everytime things go well, we praise the Lord.

Everytime things don’t go according to the plan or predictions, we blame the leader and sometimes Satan.

As someone who has been involved in church planting for several years, back in Albania not in a full-time role and here in Canada as the main thing, the person I have been fighting most against has been MYSELF. That part of me who is perfect, blameless and demanding and …accusative. That part of me reminds me that it’s all because of my clear vision, clear plan and finding the right people in my team. Aren’t those thing I have heard in church planting conferences and they are good things? How come these accuse me not doing the right thing or not being the right person for the job?

Then I go back to the basics – the Bible. Why I’m in this place?

1 – Because God wants people to know Him and as someone who is now part of God’s family I feel responsible to be God’s voice and reflection in my generation

2- I love it. Since I became a Christian nothing gave me more joy that to help others and to serve in the church.

3-When I arrived in Canada, I feel that Albanians would come easier to an Albanian church.

So, why I can’t boast on my work as I compare with other church planters and pastors who started as church planters?

Is that because I compare numbers or others remind me the numbers? Both.

But then I’m encouraged. Jesus said go and make disciples. Go and preach the gospel to those who haven’t heard. So the numbers I have in my mind are two: the people who hear the Gospel and the people who are being discipled.

In a normal north american church context having many Christians in the church means having people who take responsibilities and people who contribute financially. Both of them are very important to make sure things are done. So doing ethnic church planting and outreach ministry, I feel that it’s unique and not fair to be comparable with other ministries.

First, because none is reaching Albanians. Second because there is no other outreach ministry who is similar with Albanian Outreach.

So touching the first question: Who is responsible for the church in Toronto? I believe it’s a shared responsibility between the triune God, the universal church and the specific people who are tasked to make it happen as a family and as an institution.