"...That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God..." (Col. 1:10)

I heard a discussion between two Christians who hadn't met for some time. One asked the other how the church where he attended was doing, and he answered, "The church is growing tremendously; as a matter of fact, it is doing better now than it has ever done." His friend asked, "How many have you baptized?" He said, "None! We recently withdrew from ten!" He explained, "This action of purifying the church has made the church stronger and the members are studying and working together better now than they ever have."

This inward growth of the members is the kind of growth in the early churches the inspired writers stressed, and is the kind strongly needed today.