A Bigger Vision for Church

I recently visited a large church where the pastor shared his vision of having a third Sunday morning service and starting another church in another nearby town.

This is a typical vision of our current church model where church is a weekly sermon centered service, where people go to listen to an uplifting message presented by a talented speaker. Is this God's vision for church or does He have a bigger vision? I think God's vision is much bigger. In my opinion, there needs to be a shift in our thinking from church being a service where people come to listen to a sermon once a week, to the church being the people of God - the priesthood of believers- who obey Jesus, make disciples of the nations, and teach their disciples to obey Jesus.

On a local level, the church would gather for the purpose of equipping the saints for the work of ministry, and for the edification of the body of Christ.  There would be more than one overseer, and the gifts of the entire body would be utilized within the gathering so that the primary focus would not be on one person or their message. “He gave some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”

The regional level would be similar, but there would be overseers who are the leaders of communities or regions of God’s people. 

In both cases, God's people are not merely attending a weekly church service to hear an uplifting message, but they are making disciples of all nations and doing the work that God created them for. In other words they are teaching people to obey King Jesus and building God's kingdom. They are changing the world. 

The true story of Shimabuku which was published in Readers Digest is a good example of what I'm talking about. It's about how the village of Shimabuku in Okinawa was changed after being visited by a Christian missionary on his way to Japan. The missionary wasn't there very long, but while he was, he taught two of the men a couple hymns, gave them a Bible, and encouraged them to live by it. Thirty years later, the entire village was living and operating under the authority of God's word. The men who visited the village after this occurred described it as an "oasis of serenity" among the chaos of other parts of the country that were affected war. 

The story illustrates the influence that Christians have had on a society. Cultures that have been influenced by Christians have higher moral standards, recognize human rights and women's rights, are healthier, and more productive. It is because of Christian influence that slavery was abolished, that hospitals exist, and that crime is lowered. This is what building the kingdom of God is. God's kingdom overcomes the world until the entire world is conquered by God's love, justice and righteousness. 

When Christians go into an unreached village, which might include our place of work and/or the neighborhoods where we live, there should be an impact on the place and the people there. God's righteousness and justice that was not there before we came, should exist before we leave. A Christian is an ambassador of Christ the King, and should not go into an unreached place without representing the King by bringing forth some kind of change that will benefit the people and the community by providing them with Christ's love, righteousness, and justice.

I believe this is God's vision for the church. There are Christians around the world who have implemented this vision and are doing it. Because of their efforts, the lost are being found, the unreached are being reached and communities are being impacted and changed. I hope all Christians will catch a bigger vision of church and not be content with the status quo.

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