Matthew 28: The Vine, the Trellis and the Heart of Ministry

Introduction

"What ministry do you serve in?" At a church conference, it is often the second question you get asked, right after "Which church are you from?" The answers come easily: kids' church, the home group, the visuals team, worship, drums, guitar, the welcome team.

Paul, who preaches at Hope Church Perth in Australia, closes the "Way" series with this message. The previous weeks were about being with Jesus and doing what he does. This time he announces a message that is more reflective than a Bible study, "something light," after a long holiday weekend.

His question goes deeper than the org chart: why do you do what you do in your ministry? Not a ready-made answer like "of course, it's for Christ," but an honest one. To answer it, he draws on an image, the vine and the trellis, and then on the Great Commission in Matthew 28.

Message outline

1. Ministry is more than the church schedule

When we talk about ministry, we first think of what the church has organized: children, youth, home groups, tech, worship, welcome.
But the ministry of serving Christ is not confined to that list. More and more you hear: "My ministry is talking about Christ with my coworkers," or "My ministry is helping the poor I meet in town, bringing them food, helping in the kitchen."
"That is ministry too." The preacher asks each person to keep the question in mind: what ministry am I in, and why am I doing it?

2. The vine and the trellis

Pastor Lawrence introduced him to a book by Tony Payne and Colin Marshall, The Trellis and the Vine. A trellis is the structure a vine can climb.
Paul shows a photo from his home: a beautiful trellis bought at Bunnings, in the hope that the plant would climb it. It chose the wall instead. The trellis stayed empty.
The vine is the heart of ministry: spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, seeing lives transformed, seeing people grow in maturity by God's power. It means planting and watering the vine.
But a vine needs support. To study the Bible together, you need at least a place, so someone to organize it, sometimes a room to book. To put the Word into the hands of people who cannot afford a device to read the Bible online, you need Bibles, so funds. That organization and leadership is the trellis.

3. When the trellis takes over

About ten years ago, Paul observes, churches were mostly focused on the trellis: leadership team, board of directors (required by law in Australia), one event after another, fundraising for a building.
The result in some churches: almost no vine work left. The Word is limited to the Sunday sermon or to one study a week, a fortnight or a month. Worse, you end up not even talking about the Word: the only goal is fellowship.
The vine work then falls on very few people, while everyone else is busy keeping the trellis running: "I have to organize Mother's Day, prepare this, prepare that." And we lose sight of why we do ministry at all.
Sadder still, many pastors have a heart to see people come to Christ and grow, but they carry all of the vine work and most of the trellis at the same time. They have to feed the flock and, at the same time, find the next board member, the funds, the leaders.
On the other hand, Paul notes that the younger generation tends toward the opposite extreme: "I only want to do what I consider vine work. I don't want to be on the board, it's too organizational, it feels like my job." His message is not aimed at one group in particular: both matter, and neither can be neglected.
Why does the trellis seem easier? Vine work takes time: praying, listening to God, talking about God.
Paul asks two questions. Would you rather buy decorations for Mother's Day, or talk about Christ with a neighbor you have never spoken to? Would you rather sit in a meeting to choose the flooring for the future building, or meet with a brother who is deliberately sinning, again and again, to correct him?
For most of us, the trellis seems simpler. Hence the great temptation to devote ourselves to it so much that we forget why we do what we do.

4. The Great Commission is not only about distant missions

In 1792, the missionary William Carey published a work that, according to Paul, revolutionized the Christian world of his day: An Enquiry into the Obligations of Christians to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens. He is now called the father of modern missions.
At the time, people thought the command to go and preach the gospel concerned only the first apostles. Carey showed that Matthew 28 applies to all Christians, right up to today.
But is the Great Commission limited to world missions? Many churches apply it only that way: "If I can't go, I give to missions." Paul does not say that is wrong, but there is more. He admits he is speaking to himself: for years, the Great Commission meant going overseas to him.

5. All authority has been given to me: the foundation of verse 18

"All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I commanded you. Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20, WEB)
We often focus on verse 19 and forget that without verse 18, there is no verse 19. Without it, answering "I am like Jesus, I follow him" leaves the question wide open: why?
On the mountain in Galilee, the disciples had seen Jesus crucified, then risen. When he says "all authority has been given to me," Daniel's vision may well echo in their minds: a son of man comes on the clouds, receives dominion, glory and a kingdom, and all peoples serve him; his dominion is everlasting (Daniel 7:13-14).
Their rabbi, who raised the dead, healed the sick, cast out demons, turned water into wine and forgave sins, makes them understand that he is the promised Son of Man, the Son of God, divine by nature.

6. Making disciples, at the heart of every ministry

Reading it, "go" seems to be the main word. But in the Greek text, Paul explains, the main verb is "make disciples." Going, baptizing and teaching are three participles: the means by which discipleship happens.
Baptizing speaks of a change, a repentance that brings someone under the authority of Jesus Christ. Teaching means doing what Jesus does, as a disciple learns from his rabbi.
Discipleship does not always look the same. Ten years ago at Hope Perth, people first thought of one-on-one meetings using the "Foundations of Faith" course. But as the vine grows, the trellis has to change to support it.
On the visuals team, you are not just making sure the slides arrive on time: you are making disciples. On the keys, you are not just looking for the right note: you want to see someone on the team grow in Christ. At the welcome desk, a smile and a hello are "only the trellis."
For leaders, Paul suggests a path: instead of fitting people into existing ministries, let ministries blossom according to people's gifts. Ten to fifteen years ago, the church had a thriving dance team. There are still people who dance, but no one has stood up to restart it. "And if you ask me to dance, the gospel won't move forward."
In his young professionals group, one sister had a heart to invite moms she met at the park to celebrate their children's birthdays at her home, with entertainers. A big party, with people who had no connection to the church. "That is Christian ministry."

7. Three traps, and a call for each person

Some Christians organize, do, do and do again, to the point of forgetting the heart of serving God: discipleship.
Others look at any structure with suspicion: "The heart of Christianity is spreading the gospel, and that's all I want to do." Yet even the apostle Paul had a form of structure in his work. The danger is not the trellis, but freezing in it, thinking ministry must always run that way.
Still others do not think about the Great Commission at all: "I received Christ, I'm saved, end of story." If that is you, the preacher encourages you to pray and read the Bible. Accepting Christ "is not the end of the road, it is only the very beginning."
To know what making disciples means, look at Jesus: he said "Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men" (Matthew 4:19, WEB), he trained his disciples, revealed himself to them, then sent them to make others, to the end of the age.
Paul admits there are few songs about discipleship; he thinks of "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus." Because discipleship is not only teaching, it is intentionally training someone to be with Jesus, to become like him and to do what he did.

Key takeaways

The trellis (structures, organization, events, finances) is useful, but it exists to support the vine: lives that come to Christ and grow in him.
The main verb of the Great Commission is "make disciples." Going, baptizing and teaching are the means.
Everything rests on verse 18: we make disciples because Jesus has received all authority. Without who he is, discipleship would make no sense.
Whatever your service, its heart is to see someone grow in Christ, including at work, in your free time and at home with your children.
Accepting Christ is not the end of the road, "it is only the very beginning."

Personal application

What ministry do you serve in today, and honestly, why do you do it?
In your service, do you spend all your time on the trellis, or is there a person you are concretely helping to grow in Christ?
Between talking about Christ with a neighbor and taking care of a practical task, which do you choose most often?
What gift has God placed in you, or in someone in your group, that could become a ministry outside the existing frameworks?
Do you feel tired or dry from "doing, doing and doing"? What would it take to rediscover the joy and privilege of serving the King of kings?

Verses cited

Frequently asked questions

What do the vine and the trellis represent in Christian ministry?

The vine is spreading the gospel and seeing transformed lives grow in maturity. The trellis is the structure that supports it: rooms, finances, organization, boards, events. Both are necessary, but the trellis exists for the vine.

What is the main verb of the Great Commission in Matthew 28?

According to the preacher, in the Greek text the main verb is not "go" but "make disciples." Going, baptizing and teaching are three participles: they are the means by which discipleship happens. And everything rests on verse 18: all authority has been given to Jesus in heaven and on earth.

How do you make disciples when you serve on the tech team or the welcome team?

Paul answers that the visible service is only the trellis. On the visuals team, you are not only making sure the slides arrive on time. On the keys, you are not only looking for the right note. At the welcome desk, you are not content with just a smile. In every service, the goal is to see someone keep growing in Christ.