God On The Outside

By Jeff

It was humbling to see God at work in Quillota. It was also humbling to know that a local church was having trouble buying into the vision. God loves them just the same, but if what I was told about that church is true, then it shows me that God will indeed go outside a local body to accomplish His will.

It concerns me that God would leave us to ourselves, to do our thing, to run our programs, while He is really at work somewhere else. I like to assume he is part of my plans, after all it takes a lot of time and money. I like to assume my agenda is God's. Sometimes it actually seems like it is. But, the truth is, God has sheep of other pastures. He is at work all around us. His work began before us and will continue long after our great ideas. In fact, it might be operating despite our great ideas.

I relearned this lesson in Chile. The stark contrast between Renacer and the little church on the hill was unmistakable. Between the two buildings lie a heap of rubble (see photo below), that I believe, God will turn into a place of ministry one day. The little local church has missed a blessing to be involved so far. Perhaps God will move them to be involved in this work soon.
(Note on photo above: This used to be an old slaughterhouse in the 1950s. It sits next to Renacer and is used at night as a gang hang out, drinking, and prostitution. The owner of the land has offered it to Renacer for a price they can not afford. They are praying that God would move in the owner's heart. Up the hill you can see a local church (yellow building.) Renacer has had trouble getting cooperation from this church as they do not feel the same burden to reach the teens and gang members. We don't know the whole story so won't pass judgment. Safe to say Renacer wishes they had greater participation from that church. )

A local church doing its thing while God does something big outside of it is nothing new. We’re seeing more and more of this here. Each year around 3500 – 4000 churches close their doors in America. That’s almost 80 per week! These are actually old statistics from the 90s. Chances are the numbers are even higher today.

Even though the number of churches in America grew by 50% over the last century, the population grew by 300%. I realize many churches are starting that would not make the stats. They are in homes, schools and marketplaces. God is indeed reshaping the look of the church – that is growing – in America.

So, why does this matter? What is God doing? What should the Church be doing?

For me, the lesson is simple. Maintaining programs is not working. Non believers are not looking for a church. Our choice is clear – continue down the same road in America, hoping to catch the few Christians looking for churches. Or, look outside our walls for where God is at work and get in on it. The survival of any church is not the goal. Nothing says a group of believers should endure indefinitely. Even so, we must always be on the lookout for where God is working and be willing to sacrifice in order to get involved.

We must stay vigilant. Church was meant to be a movement, not a monument. It was meant to bring light, not keep the lights on. It was meant to bear witness to the life changing, world changing power of Christ. I believe Renacer is up to something big. The little church on the hill has the choice we all do. Get involved or get out of the way. There is such a thing as dead weight in the kingdom. That’s not to say we can do everything, and perhaps I’ve assumed too much on too little information. It’s just that I’ve seen groups of Christians continue to do their thing no matter what goes on in their community around them. In so doing, they number their days. God will let a group of Christians fade into history while He plants something alive and growing in its place.

May we not shut God outside our walls. May we have the vision to see where God is at work and the courage to get involved even if it means killing what is most comfortable for us.
-Jeff

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