Edify People, Build the Church, Shape the City

Introduction

God does not build buildings first. He builds people, he builds his Church, and through his Church, he builds cities. In this Sunday message at Hillsong Paris, Brendan White returns to three pillars that sustain the life of a healthy Christian community: edifying the people around you, participating in building the Church, and believing that God wants to build cities through those who belong to him. A simple call to find your place and build alongside others.

Message Outline

1.Edify people

Brendan shares a memory from his Christian school: Mr. Solfield, a teacher, gave him a book with a note that spoke of everything he could accomplish. A simple word, never forgotten, that marked an entire trajectory.
Later, he was singled out in a crowd and someone spoke over his life: "You are going to build the Church, you are going to live in Europe." It was not new, but it confirmed what God had already placed in his heart.
God sees more in us than we see in ourselves. This is true for Jeremiah: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you" (Jeremiah 1:4-7). The young prophet answers that he is too young, that he does not know how to speak. We all have our reasons, often legitimate. God, however, sees beyond.
Bartimaeus the blind man cried out to Jesus. He was told to be quiet, but he cried out all the more. Jesus called him, healed him, edified him. That is the DNA of a Church: believing for one another and watching people move forward.
In Luke 5, men carry a paralyzed man on a stretcher. Because the crowd is too dense, they climb onto the roof, break through it, and lower their friend down to Jesus. Edifying others sometimes means carrying them to him, whatever the cost.
God transformed Saul, the persecutor, into Paul, the church builder (Acts). No one is disqualified in advance. Our words can become the instruments through which God reminds someone that they are loved, accepted, called to something.
Edifying is not flattering or inflating the ego. It is helping others grow in maturity, to know Jesus better, to find their place in a community, a Connect group, an evening class.

2.Build the Church

In 1996, at Bible college in Australia, Pastor Gary Clark asked his students to write down their dream. Brendan wrote: "I want to build a church in Europe." His teacher, who later became his pastor in London, told him: "You will do that with me." Much later, it became a reality in France.
We do not just come "to church." We are the Church. Each person has a role to play so that this Bride becomes more and more beautiful, brick by brick.
Jesus said he would build his Church. We want to build what Jesus builds, not our own projects on the side. He is the foundation, we are the living stones.
Ephesians 4:16 describes it this way: "From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work."
In 1 Corinthians 14:12, Paul encourages us to desire spiritual gifts, but especially those that build up the Church. Whatever your gift, find the place where it can serve the community.
At just twelve years old, Jesus already knew why he was here. Found in the Temple, he answers his parents: "I must be about my Father's business" (Luke 2). Knowing our community's mission is what keeps us from forgetting, through the ups and downs.
When Peter confesses "You are the Christ, the Son of God," Jesus responds: "Flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven" (Matthew 16:16-17). Being his Church is a revelation we receive, not just a conviction we muster ourselves.
The early Church was one in heart and mind. They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer (Acts 2). Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.

3.Build cities

Brendan acknowledges the teams he recently met in Lyon and in Lausanne. Then he turns his gaze to Paris: a massive city, full of history, in which God has placed his Church.
In Acts 16, Paul and Silas go from city to city to preach the Word and build communities. That movement is not over. It continues through us, wherever we live.
Jeremiah 29:7 invites the exiles to seek the peace and prosperity of the city where God has placed them, and to pray for it. This is a mandate of blessing over the city, not just over ourselves.
Making a difference in a city starts where you are: your family, your company, your workplace, your neighborhood. Every week offers opportunities to be the hands and feet of Jesus around you.
There is also the collective dimension of social impact: look this year for a concrete way to serve your city with others, so that it bears the marks of a community that loves.
Matthew 28:19 frames it all: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit." The ultimate goal is for people to come to know Christ.

Key Takeaways

God sees in you more than you see in yourself: accept that others speak life over your life, and speak it over others.
We do not go to church, we are the Church: every gift has a place to build it, not just to be displayed.
Building what Jesus builds protects from distraction: the mission is not to invent a parallel project, but to join his.
The revelation that we are his Church comes from the Father; it does not rest on our own strength.
The city where God has placed you is a field of blessing: start where you are and let God multiply.

Personal Application

Who is the "Mr. Solfield" in your life, that person whose simple word left a lasting mark on you? Give thanks, then ask God whom you can offer the same gift to this week.
Around you in the Church, who could you believe more for, so that he or she can move forward? To whom can you speak a concrete word of edification next Sunday?
What gifts or skills could you put at the service of building the Church, rather than keeping them for yourself or for another purpose?
What is the mission you carry as a member of a local community? Do you know it well enough not to forget it in the tough moments?
Where has God placed you this year (neighborhood, company, school, family)? What small, concrete action can you take to build that city?

Cited Verses

Frequently Asked Questions

Practically, how do you edify someone without falling into flattery?

Brendan insists on this distinction: edifying is not flattering. It is not telling someone what they want to hear, but speaking what God sees in them. A word of edification has an anchor: it reminds the other person of a capacity, a calling, a work of God in progress. It pushes toward maturity, not toward a veneer. The best place to learn this is in an ongoing relationship, a Connect group, a team, a friendship within the Church, where you see the other person live and can accurately name what God is building in them.

Why insist so strongly that "we are the Church" rather than "we go to church"?

Because the difference completely changes the posture. Going to church is consuming a service and going home. Being the Church is understanding that you are a living stone set alongside others, forming together a building that Jesus is constructing. It reframes the question from "what am I coming to get?" to "what am I coming to bring—what gift, what presence, what prayer?" Without this awareness, the community drains from the inside, even while it continues to display a program.

What does "building a city" mean for an ordinary Christian without a spectacular mandate?

It starts with what Jeremiah 29:7 calls "seeking the peace of the city." Practically, that means praying for your neighborhood, your municipality, your authorities. It also means choosing to serve where you live: your family, your company, your neighbors, an association, a community outreach project. Brendan invites each person to look, this year, for a tangible way to do good in their city. Building a city is not necessarily launching an organization; it is letting life rise around you, week after week, the way the early Church did in the streets where they lived.

to take notes and ask questions.