Why is the church essential for hope in our society?

Kris Baines emphasizes the crucial role that church shepherds, pastors, and elders play in contemporary society. According to 1 Timothy 3:15, the church is described as the pillar and ground of truth. This underlines the importance of church leaders in consistently preaching the Word and being a steadfast base of truth amidst a shifting cultural landscape. The absence of the church in society leads to a lack of hope, highlighting the shepherds' responsibility to let Christ be the great shepherd and to govern the church by His Word.

Baines further explains that church shepherds are tasked with equipping the saints for the work of ministry, as instructed in Ephesians. This preparation enables believers to engage in evangelism in their everyday lives, armed with a reason and defense for their hope. Shepherds are indispensable, as they must be biblically qualified to lead, feed, care for, and protect the flock, especially in today's challenging cultural environment. The church, thus, serves as a beacon of hope and truth through its committed leadership.

Hebrews 10:24-25 (NKJV): "And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching."

As far as church shepherds, pastors, elders, they play a vital role in the times that we're living in because every community, every society needs the church because the church is the pillar and ground of truth as it says in 1 Timothy 3.15. So church shepherds have a responsibility to build into the members by preaching the Word consistently, faithfully, and being a place where truth is proclaimed in society, being a solid base that is not moved even though the culture around is moving all the time. Without a church in society there's no hope. And so we have a great responsibility as shepherds to let Christ be the great shepherd, to let the church be governed first and foremost by his word, and to seek to do what we're commanded to in Ephesians, to equip the saints for the work of ministry. So that they can go out to the front lines of evangelism, which is their everyday life.

But it's such an important role to do that equipping so that they they're ready with a reason and a defense for the hope that's in them in their normal everyday life. So shepherds, The church needs shepherds. Without shepherds there is no church. Men who are qualified biblically to lead, feed, care for and protect the sheep is essential in the culture that we live in.