Church PLANT Manual

Session 2: Launch and Assemble • 43

The church is a vital part of Christian mission because it reveals the nature of the inbreaking rule of God. Mission takes place as people see our love for God, our neighbor, and one another. Therefore, it is vital for the church to be aware that the gospel is communicated both through the words that we say and the lives that we live. In this manner, the invisible God is made visible through the love of the people of God (1 John 4:12). C. The church is more than a gathering place, it is the visible expression of the kingdom of God in the neighborhood. Like an embassy embodying and representing the interests of their sovereign country on foreign land, the church is God’s embassy on the block. The church is God’s ambassadors, representing His Kingdom in real time, with real people, as we live out the power and implications of the gospel in this world. “The Church is the Community of the Kingdom but never the Kingdom itself. The Kingdom is God’s reign and the realm in which the blessings of his reign are experienced; the church is the fellowship of those who have experienced God’s rule and reign and entered the enjoyment of its blessings. The Kingdom creates the church, works through the church, and is proclaimed in the world by the church.” 3 IV. Conclusion The driving force of the gospel is present in the Scriptures, because as Jesus said, “they testify about me” (John 5:39). From Genesis to Revelation the Scriptures point to Jesus, our Savior and King. So, as you preach, teach, and make disciples,

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Mere Missions , p. 148.