Mere Missions

T he H oly S pirit : E mpower • 75

The harvest field is vast and complex when considering Jesus’s Great Commission mandate to go to “the nations” ( ta ethne : race; people who are joined by practicing similar customs or common culture), to disciple and then gather into Communities of the Kingdom. Having these four marks for the foundation of a church brings clarity to the planter and the movement, and it stops our enemy from infiltrating any confusion as to the task and its completion. One can say, when observing these four established marks in a gathering of any size and location, “there is a church.” What these four marks also address is a strategic way to move forward in this mission field of lost souls. Let me explain by a simple analogy of comparing this to building a house. The beginning and most critical step in building a house is to lay the foundation. Forms are put into place and cement must be properly mixed before it is poured into the frames. Before any framing and building occur upon the foundation, the cement must be cured, smooth, and without any cracks. In church planting, the church planter lays the foundation. He sets the spiritual forms in place and pours the spiritual cement into the forms. These spiritual forms and cement are the four marks of a church. Once the planter determines that the foundation (the four marks) is firmly established, that is, cured, smooth and without cracks, the nations (race; people of a common culture – language, customs, celebrations, etc.) can frame and build upon this foundation a “structure” that is culturally sensitive and relevant according to their cultural preferences. To expand on this spiritual comparison, they can frame in different size rooms (mega, micro, simple, organic, etc.), put 2x4s at different lengths (meet once a week, three times a week, every other week, etc.), secure electrical outlets where they deem best (have a food pantry, a thrift store, provide legal aid, etc.), use different size drywall (sing hymns, listen to tape worship, have a band), texture, colors, etc. Everything in parentheses are non-absolutes of what makes a church. The four marks of a