Marketplace Ministry Part 1

Marketplace Ministry Part 1

Jesus taught his disciples to pray "Your [God's] Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

This means that the ultimate goal of Christianity is not to get human beings into heaven, but to bring the Kingdom of God and will of God to reality on earth. The Kingdom of God means God's reign on the earth. This means nothing less than societal transformation.

Paul wrote that the Kingdom of God is "justice, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost." This is intended not just for individuals, but for society as a whole. Therefore the task of Christian leadership is to equip followers of Jesus to be agents of societal transformation in every field: education, business, government, media, entertainment, science, technology, etc.

Pastors focus way too much energy on church services and sermons when the focus should be on equipping followers of Jesus to make a difference Monday through Sunday in the marketplace.

Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:11-16 that leaders equip the people in the church to do the work of service. This work of service that Paul refers does *not* take place primarily in church meetings.

For many years I thought that was the context of the work. What I have come to understand is that the work of service takes place in the marketplace, in the family and in our leisure spaces (e.g. sports, media, entertainment, bars, etc).

For this reason the equipping and training needs to be done by leaders who are already seasoned in letting the love and power of God flow through them in these contexts. In other words, this is *not* a job for the typical pastor. As the church of Jesus Christ, we need to open our minds to new ways of training and preparing people to function as agents of transformation in our world.

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