I will build my Church.

A look at what on Earth is happening.

I'm one of a growing number that have decided to make Catalyst’s Emmanuel Church in Sheffield, home. It's growing, thriving and full of life, so you might understand my contempt for the media that says the church is in decline and irrelevant.

It's as if Jesus had made a Trumpian claim about the Church being great, really great — greater than anyone can imagine, free of tariff’s, saying, “I will build my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18) — and then reneged on His Word! Far from it!

Jesus was not handing out sentimental encouragement. He was declaring a kingdom reality: that hell would resist what he was building — but it would absolutely, unequivocally lose. The Church would not be a fortress of mass escape, but an instrument of advance — not retreating from darkness, but confronting it, piercing it, withstanding it and pushing it back. And so it is.

Now, if that’s the kind of advancing, frontier-crossing Church Jesus is building, then we have to talk about power — because you don’t storm the gates of Hades, opposition and cynicism with nice thoughts and tidy sermons.

You do it with authority and with the power of the Spirit, with gifts of the kingdom breaking into the world through ordinary people who are filled with the extraordinary presence of God.

Ephesians 4 doesn't leave us hanging; it tells us how Christ builds the Church — by giving apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers. These are not ceremonial roles but functional gifts — channels of grace, forged to equip the whole Church for the work of ministry, building, encouraging, equipping and advancing the Church under the auspices of the Kingdom of God.

Apostles advance, go where no one has gone, taking the church with them. Prophets speak, affirm and restore hope in the heart of the church, pushing forward, urging trust and obedience, whilst evangelists present the gospel powerfully to everyone who will listen, training up the Church to do the same — accompanied by pastors and teachers who tend to wounded hearts, guiding and grounding the Church in truth and the glory of the gospel. And all of it — every word, every act — flows from the Spirit.

But (and there is one), this is where some churches stall. They embrace the structure of Ephesians 4, but forget the fire of 1 Corinthians 12. They organise, but they do not burn. They have a fireplace but no fire, believe in the gifts of the Spirit but no gifts are evident — not even the ribbons or shredded paper... This shouldn't be!

Scripture refuses to separate the gifts of leadership from the gifts of the Spirit. They are one stream, flowing powerfully together. The same Christ who gives apostles also gives gifts of healing, working of miracles, words of knowledge, tongues and interpretation, discernment, prophecy. This is not optional for the Church — this is the Church. Spirit-filled, kingdom-powered, Christ-centred.

Look at Jesus. He didn’t just teach about the kingdom. He demonstrated it. Sight to the blind. Hearing to the deaf. The dead raised. Demons cast out. That wasn’t just to prove a point — it was to show what the rule of God looks like. When the kingdom comes near, bodies are restored, minds are set free, the impossible bows to the name of Jesus.

And then — he gives that same authority to his disciples. First the Twelve (Matt. 10), then the Seventy-Two (Luke 10), and then — through the Spirit — to the whole Church. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you…” (Acts 1:8). Not power to be impressive. Power to be witnesses. Power to make the invisible kingdom visible.

Philip goes to Samaria and preaches Christ — but he also casts out spirits, and heals the paralysed and lame — and there was much joy in that city (Acts 8:5–8). That’s kingdom power. Not hype. Not performance. Joy. Healing. Deliverance. Real freedom. Because the Spirit of God was at work. Brilliant, isn't it?

The gifts of the Spirit are not spiritual fireworks; fizzle — woosh — bang — done. They’re weapons of love, encouragement and empowerment in a war for people’s hearts. They don’t elevate the gifted — they liberate the oppressed. They reveal that Jesus is alive and reigning, right here, right now; standing up to the spiritual snarling XL Bully dog enemy that has only one multiple purpose; to steal, kill and destroy.

The Church cannot afford to be merely correct — it must be empowered. The world doesn’t need our polish, slickness or smoke-machines — it needs power. The Church, built by Christ, filled with His Spirit, shaped by His gifts, carries the very presence of the kingdom into the chaos of a broken world.

This is not a fringe idea — it’s central; to build the Church without the gifts of the Spirit is to build a body without breath. It may look functional, but it cannot live. The same Spirit who gives teachers also gives tongues, raises up prophets and also heals broken backs and broken hearts. We need it all.

Encouragingly, when the Church functions as it was designed — with apostles pioneering, prophets discerning, evangelists proclaiming, pastors healing, teachers grounding, and the Spirit flowing through every part of the body — then the gates of Hades and all it represents do not stand a chance.

The kingdom of God is not talk. It’s power — and every healing, every miracle, every Spirit-empowered word is a sign: The King is here and His rule is breaking in.

And the prophets? Their message is unambiguous — Jesus is building his Church, not with human might, but with resurrection power.