“Why a local church? Isn’t that going backwards for you?” Not one, but several people have asked and wondered these things. In my opinion that stems from a lack of revelation about the way that God sees His Church and the usefulness of “another” one being established in any locale. So before I share with you WHAT I want to see built, I want to tell you WHY I want to establish it.

ON THIS ROCK…

Jesus said, “…On this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it…” The Church of Jesus Christ is not first and foremost an organization. It is first and foremost His people. A prevailing church equals a prevailing people.

Prevailing against what? The spirit of the age, its values, its pursuits, its darkness, its depression, along with its lies and deceptions.

PILLAR AND FOUNDATION

Ephesians 3:10 says that God’s intention is “that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Did you see what that says? God is revealing His wisdom through us to angels, demons, any other thing that can be considered “heavenly.”

In 1 Timothy 3:15, God tells Timothy through Paul that his previous instructions are how to conduct himself “in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”

The local church is called to bring THE FOUNDATION of life to each person through the preaching of the gospel of Christ and then to disciple the community where they reside on how to conduct their lives until Jesus returns.

When I move around the county and nation and ask simple questions like, “What is the impact of the churches of your region on your community?” If the answer is anywhere near, “Not much”, there is room for another local congregation to help advance the Kingdom of God in that region.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Maybe the most personally important reason that I am planting a local church is that I believe God “said so.” It should not surprise us as the local church has been Christ’s primary means of transforming and discipling the nations for over 2000 years. He said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” So the real question is, “Why NOT plant another church?”

I live to see lives changes by God’s grace in the power of the Holy Spirit through the proclamation of Christ’s Lordship. I have no greater joy than to see people come into the revelation that God loves them and desires them to be completely His. I love holy community where people are free to be real in their weaknesses as they pursue Christ-likeness, yet are called-on by the same community. And I have indescribable joy when God’s people “hear His voice” for the first time and realize it.

I LOVE the family of God expressed in the local church when it is done right. May God give me the grace to love His people the same fatherly way that He does.

Next week I will write about: “Worship: Motivated by the Worth of Jesus Christ.” Stay tuned!

Blessings!

Jimmy Nimon | MESSENGER