As the kingdom of heaven on earth arises during these “Birth Pangs” many will be sensing an overwhelming leading to return to the sort of Christian community Jesus formed with His disciples and the Spirit formed at Pentecost. Our unbiblical church model is event-driven rather than lifestyle-driven to keep God’s people segregated and wandering. We go to church. We go to Bible studies. We go to retreats and other means of fellowship. We even go to do ministry. What do the words “go to” indicate, other than we’re going to return from wherever we’ve gone to? We live on islands of time and circumstance. Church is not who we are, but what event we’re attending.
How do we build a new kingdom model of community upon a new foundation that incorporates all aspects of our lives and helps us to “be together and have all things in common?” as the Acts II church did? We must embrace a new kingdom perspective of what community looks like. We must seek God in prayer to change our paradigms and build upon a sustainable foundation, for Jesus said anything built upon faulty foundations would not stand, and the church as currently constituted is not and will not.
The most critical area of life we have neglected when trying to establish communities is ironically the place most people spend the majority of their waking hours: at work! Jesus selected His disciples from the workplace. There’s a message in that. Work is a good, godly pursuit. But when it becomes just one more of our islands it becomes one more place to compartmentalize our lives. For this reason, the Marketplace Saints will seek to integrate “the marketplace” into our communities. Community is simply not possible when you leave the place where people spend so much of life out of the equation.
How do we do this? We employ a single facility, or campus, depending upon the size of the community, that contains the following elements:
- Offices for kingdom-minded businesses
- Warehouse and office space for a food pantry and member ministries
- A chapel for prayer and worship
- A Family Room for general fellowship, visiting family members, home churches, home schools, etc
- All centered around the gathering place of a café or coffee shop where we can intentionally interact with the public, introducing them to our concept and sharing the love of Christ
- Larger campuses could include a medical clinic, commissary, auto shop, etc.
Imagine a place where every business day would start out and end with prayer and devotions for all involved, along with any individuals or groups who wanted to attend. Imagine a place where during the day there were constant mission opportunities through serving in the ministries and the café. Imagine a place where prayer and worship were going on all day, every day in the chapel, and members could take advantage of it any time they needed or wanted to—a “light on a hill in the city” where their families could come and participate any time they wanted to. Imagine a “church” that is supported, and even profits to reinvest in the kingdom, without donations.
I believe all of this can be done, but we must choose to leave our islands and stand on common ground, with a new perspective, focus, and common purpose. This is how the sheep fulfill their obligation to the Great Commission: the “Word echoing forth to the whole world” (1 Thess.1) simply through the witness of God’s community gathered together in unity and love! With the inspiration of the Spirit, believers given a place to spend their time, their talent, and their efforts working together for the kingdom of heaven on earth can change the world! It is to this cause, and the spread of the Gospel of the Kingdom to which this effort is critical, I am wholly dedicated.
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