The Local Church

  • Mark Lauterbach
  • Apr 22, 2008
  • Series: Home page

Acts 13 begins the rapid descent down the most exciting part of the roller coaster of Jesus continuing work.  At the start, there is a church localized to the Eastern Mediterranean, ethnically monochrome, a regional religious sect.  At the end of this ride, there are churches in every major city of the Mediterranean basin, scattered across the entire Roman Empire.  Christ has claimed the obedience of faith among all the nations.

And what is his method?  Do we find bible colleges, seminaries, cross-cultural training institutions, cross-denominational think tanks and strategy meetings? No, as his work intensifies, we find a local church at the center of his purposes and methods.  It is the church in Antioch.  It was established by the preaching of the Gospel.  The believers were gathered together and trained and encouraged by Barnabas and Saul.  As Christ worked among them, he changed their lives so much that their neighbors renamed them -- Christians.  New leaders stepped forward.  God the Holy Spirit worked among them.  They met for God and his glory. And God the Spirit asked them to send out their best and to multiply their Gospel influence through the preaching of the Gospel and the establishing of other churches.

But why the church?  Because Jesus died for the church.  She is his bride.  His purpose is to lavish his grace upon her.  

And the church is only visible in particular and specific local churches.  Each local church, founded on the Gospel, is an outbreaking of the invisible church.  Each church is the bride of Christ. 

The method of Christ in Gospel expansion is the planting and multiplying of local churches. New Christians are to be made into congregations where they will be nurtured, taught, care for one another, and protected.  Evangelism without church planting is parallel to generating babies and then throwing them into the street.

At Grace Church in San Diego we believe we are called to build our lives into a local church.  We believe that we are called to build a church together, and not to provide a church for consumers.  We believe that the heart and eyes and hands of Jesus were upon the church when he died and are upon the church today.  We want to give our lives to what He loves.