The Church Has Left the Building - Part One

They were Jesus’ last words. The ones uttered before He left his disciples forever. His final instructions.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

Then Jesus was taken up into the sky and disappeared in the clouds. Even after He was out of sight, the disciples stood looking at the sky. Can you imagine the emotions that crashed like waves in their spirits? Disbelief and shock. Awe and wonder. Sadness. Excitement. Anticipation. And a whole lot of “What in the world just happened and what was Jesus talking about?!”

The answer started to come a few days later. At Pentecost God poured out the Holy Spirit on the disciples and surrounding crowds. In an awe-inspiring display of natural and supernatural power, eyes were opened, spirits were filled and the Church was born.

It grew exponentially—3,000, 5,000, 10,000 and upward. As the disciples navigated through inevitable conflicts and growing pains, it seems they imprinted Jesus’ final words upon their hearts: 

“Be my witnesses...go and make disciples of all nations ...baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit ...teach them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

This became their mission statement. The place they returned to to regain perspective when things got fuzzy or overwhelming or stirred up.

As a result, in the early days of the Church, “All the believers were one in heart and mind. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them.” (Acts 4:32, 33)

The early church—the bride of Christ—was Spirit-led and -filled, passionate, active, generous, bold and unified. One body with many members, personalities, talents and cultures. Joined by one common goal.

One church.

What’s happened since then? How did we go from one to over 33,000 different denominations?! We’ve fought, fractured and fled over every conceivable reason. And in the last few centuries churches and church-goers have become increasingly insular: My denomination. My church. My pastor. My ministry. My Bible study. My way of interpreting.

But what would it look like if we set aside our preferences and focused less on form and invested more in function? If we stepped outside our barriers to spend less time inside our churches and more time outside them? If we stopped doing church and started being the church? What if every church put Jesus' instructions first and foremost in their hearts? Be filled with the Holy Spirit…Go…Be my witnesses…Make disciples…Baptize…Teach…Feed my sheep…Love your neighbor.

What would our churches look like?

This weekend I got to see the answer for myself.

...To be continued tomorrow 

Go! (aka Just Do It!)

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

By the time you read this all 39 of us missionaries should be cruising at 30,000 feet somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean. And by noon I expect we’ll be in the Santo Domingo airport eating corn pizza and drinking Red Rock soda. Aaah, it’ll be good to be home.

When I look at the roster I see such a diverse group ranging in age from six to seventy-something. We have students from kindergarten to college, business executives, nurses, teachers, stay-at-home moms and stay-at home dads, pastors and pastors-to-be. Some are seasoned travelers, others await the first stamp in their freshly-minted passports. Some speak bits of Spanish, but most are English-speaking only. Some travel with confidence in the skills they have to offer—to heal, teach, sing, lead or construct. Others aren’t quite sure what they’re doing here.

I’m pretty sure no one got a good sleep last night, given that nerves were on edge and alarms were set for 2:30 a.m.! By tonight we’ll all be wiped out, punch drunk with fatigue and incredibly hot. But we will have arrived. And we'll be together. Ready to go.

I know God has a plan for each of us here right now. Before we were born He knew we'd be here. He knows exactly how our unique offerings—our personalities, heart and energy—are needed. His strength will cover our weakness. His joy will be our strength. And His grace will be sufficient. 

It’s an exciting time…just like the apostle Paul said, "This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives ...” (Colossians 1:6, NLT)

As Rick Warren says:

The best way to develop Great Commission eyes is to just get up and go on a short-term mission project to another country! There's simply no substitute for hands-on, real life experience in another culture. Quit studying and discussing your mission and just do it! I dare you to dive into the deep end.


It will enlarge your heart, expand your vision, stretch your faith, deepen your compassion, and fill you with a kind of joy you've never experienced. It could be the turning point in your life.” 

 I couldn't agree with him more!

Please check back for periodic updates during the next ten days and keep us in your prayers.
Dios te bendiga.

Taken last year at the building site. This is where we'll work again.
We'll begin to build a church, plus a school and medical clinic.