How to measure a Kingdom-centric church – part 2
A Kingdom-centric church always has Jesus at the center of everything. It is a church that is focused on His Kingdom first and foremost. This type of church will always be reminiscent of a heroic, rescue mission for every loved and lost lamb. It is a church that is full of compassion and love because that is what Jesus modeled for us. He came to seek and save the lost, and that is what we must do as well. A Kingdom-centric church is focused on making disciples, not just converts. We want to see people transformed by the power of God and living their best life possible. This is only possible when Jesus is at the center. When we are Kingdom-centric in our thinking and living, everything else will fall into place. It is only then that we can truly be the church that God has called us to be. And that is A church that is in the right relationship with Him and living in the right relationship with others.
3. Are We Multiplying New Communities of Faith?
Are we planting churches and creating new opportunities for people to connect? A church that is not actively engaged in Kingdom work will quickly become irrelevant. The Kingdom of God is advancing, and we must do our part to further the Kingdom through church planting and evangelism. The church is the hope of the world, and every person needs to have a chance to experience the love of Christ and the community of the Church. We must be actively engaged in Kingdom work if we want to see our churches thrive.
Are we planting new churches? Are we creating new opportunities for people to connect with Christ and His Church? These are essential questions we must answer if we want to know whether or not our church is healthy and effective. Without a strategy to "give itself away" to groups with no access to an effective gospel proclaiming church, a church cannot consider its mission accomplished. A church that is unsuccessful in establishing new congregations or Kingdom initiatives will soon become irrelevant.
Let us look at Dollar General Store as an example. Dollar General does not go and say, "Hey, let's build a gigantic superstore over here in this location and invite everybody in and around the surrounding counties to come and shop with us." No! What they have done is gone into places that no one else would go and set up shop. They go into little towns and sparsely populated areas and is providing products that people need on an average day-to-day basis. They work together efficiently to achieve their main goal. They are addressing the need of that area. Their number one goal is not to see how many people they can get into one place but to meet needs where no one else is.
What is the most important value for a church? What, on God's green earth, should anything rank above everything else? Should it not be the eternal reunion of a lost son or daughter with his or her heavenly father? A church that is not Kingdom-minded will never be healthy. A church that is only concerned with its own preservation will always be a dying church. We must have a vision for the lost and a passion to see them come to Christ. Only then can we truly say our church is healthy and effective.
If this is our church's highest value, then it follows that a church would behave somewhat Dollar General-like in its planning. It would become a facilitator for multiple movements of these ‘eternal reunions’ to take place within diverse neighborhoods and people groups. The church operating in this way correctly sees itself as a tool for the assignment, not the reason for the assignment. They will be Kingdom-centric and not church-centric.
Kingdom-centric churches see the gaps of gospel saturation around them and it disturbs their souls that these lost sheep are not being addressed and paid attention to. They are compelled to do something about it.
4. Can We See Community Transformation?
Not only is reaching individual lost souls important for the kingdom of God but also for communities at large. It is possible to see if a church is having a transformative Kingdom presence by looking for signs of change in the community. These changes can be observed as salt and light penetrating hidden places that a worship gathering could never find. The testimony of this health indicator can be seen in how the community is different because of the Kingdom-centric church's presence.
When a church is Kingdom-centric, its membership becomes selfless agents of transformation wherever they exist. This type of community change is an important indicator that the church is healthy and fulfilling its role in the Kingdom of God. In an attempt to make the data more objective the personal accounts about what grass-roots work accomplished improve. Counting ‘Kingdom Imprint’ or fingerprints – the documented occasions when a believer meets a physical need in the community and attaches verbal credit to the grace of Jesus Christ can be one way to make the subjective a bit more objective. The impact of a kingdom-centric church on the community is from testimonies and personal accounts of people that have experienced help through material and spiritual help that has been provided through the church body.
5. Are we learning, loving, living Holiness?
In my simplest explanation of the meaning of holiness, I say this, "holiness is being Christlike." Seeing, being, and imitating the image and character of Christ in our lives. This is what holiness looks like. The Kingdom of God is a church where people are learning to be Christlike. A place where we are growing in our love for Him and others. A community of believers who are living out their faith every day.
If you want to experience the fullness of the Kingdom of God, start by pursuing holiness. You will be amazed at how much more you will see and understand about God and His Kingdom. And your life will never be the same! When the people around us see and hear Christ in us as the church, we are showing kingdom to them. Holiness pervades all of God's attributes. His love is a holy love. His mercy is a holy mercy. His justice is a holy justice. His wrath is a holy wrath. Holiness is what sets Him apart. It is the essence of His complete “otherness.”
We also must be of this holy living that Jesus, the very representation of the invisible God, represented to the ones around Him. In order to have Kingdom living, we must have holiness. Are we learning? Are we loving? Are we living it out?
These are the key things that will allow us to experience more of God's Kingdom here on earth. And it all starts with holiness. So let us pursue holiness, so that we may see more of the Kingdom of God. And as we do, let us be people who are known for our love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23). Pursue holiness so that the Kingdom of God may be made more visible through you!
6. Are we exercising Gospel Saturation?
Gospel saturation is the key to Kingdom impact, yet it's often one of the most neglected aspects of church health. What's the point of gaining new believers if we're not saturating them with the gospel message? It's like planting a field of crops and never watering them. The seed will eventually die and the field will lay fallow. Gospel saturation is a process of saturating an area with the message of the gospel through personal evangelism, church planting, discipleship, and other creative means.
It begins with a heart for the lost and a desire to see them come to Christ. Gospel saturation is God’s vision for the world. The means through which He plans to accomplish this vision is through normal, everyday people saturated with the presence and good news of Jesus in the everyday stuff of life. If we want to see the Kingdom of God impact our communities, we must be saturation people. We must be people who are intentionally and strategically spreading the gospel message in every area of life. Are we doing our part to saturate our world with the gospel? Are we living out the message of Jesus in our everyday lives? Are we sharing His love with those around us?
These are key questions we must ask ourselves if we want to see the Kingdom of God impact our communities. Gospel saturation is the key to Kingdom impact. And let us be intentional about saturating our world with the gospel message!
A church that is kingdom-centric will be one that reproduces naturally and will be compelled to express our King's objectives for his realm. It’s an exciting idea to consider the church of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is united together and has dreams similar to those of Jesus. That vision will be recorded in a history that has not yet been written, but which is nevertheless genuine. A church that is founded on the principles of the Kingdom of God will always retain a sense of a courageous, life-saving rescue mission for every loved and lost lamb.
We all were created for a specific purpose... relationships. We are in the business of relationships from start to finish. It is what we are designed to do. So, when it comes to the church, we must be Kingdom-centric in our thinking and living in relationships. Ask God to show you someone that you can start a Kingdom-centric relationship with today.
