The Church Without Borders

Let me ask you a question. If the walls of your church came falling down and was unreversibly destroyed, would your church continue?

This question was posed to me recently and the thought wrecked me. Of course many of us understand that the Church is the people and not the building, but there is still practically the idea that this may not be true. Tell anyone about your church and they are bound to ask you where it resides. A building gives credibility. A building also keeps the amount of resources available for ministry limited. Yet, a church without walls is . . . .weird. 

The greatest challenge in ministry is this: to equip the parishioners to be the Church and see their call as a lifestyle and not a limit. We are all meant to be tour guides more than we are to be travel agents. We discover the things of God with those around us. We must always look for divine opportunities to show, direct, and provide in ways that carry the Church with us whatever our context. Church is an all-swim event and ministry was never meant for the “professionals” alone. While church attenders may not be Christ followers, those committed to Christ must be committed to the expression of the fundamentals of Church with the culture around them. They must be in kinetic community with other believers that seeks which is lost and helps to fix what is broken. If Church is to be the hospital for the sick, we must make house calls.

Yes, a building is an incredible blessing. In many ways it allows us to do ministry that would be difficult without it’s consistent covering. But we must never get so enamored or placated that we miss what the Church truly is. Today, carry the Church with you. Carry it’s history and essence into your surrounding community. The only walls a Church has is those the believers build. Lord, may we truly be without border.