Life Communities: Centers of Light

During Paul’s second missionary journey, his strategy was to establish Christian communities in strategic locations and to nurture them to become beacons of God’s kingdom within the surrounding culture. Roland Allen says Paul’s method was “to establish centres of Christian life in two or three important places from which the knowledge might spread into the country around. This is important…because he intended his congregation to become a centre of light.” He continues by saying that “all the cities, or towns, in which he planted churches were centres of Roman administration, of Greek civilization, of Jewish influence, or of some commercial importance.” (Roland Allen, Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours? Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962, 12-13).

I wonder what that looks like today, especially here in America and on this campus? Instead of spending boat loads of dollars on brick and mortar, what if we were to strategically establish and nurture “centers of light” in cities and towns, colleges and universities? For example within the university, to establish and nurture kingdom communities in dorms, Greek houses, apartment complexes, duplexes and triplexes--centers of civilization and influence for thousands of students--would produce an incredible multiplying effect on the movement of the gospel from within the culture. Instead of trying to get students out of their culture to come to our place of meeting, these communities would have a foothold within the culture itself, permeating it with the influence of God’s kingdom.

What incredible influence our network of Life Communities can have on this University of Arkansas culture!

What do you think?