Kingdom mentality and church planting

By David Jackson, BCMD Missionary for church multiplication

The Gospels are abundantly clear that the Kingdom of God is the prevailing theme in the teaching of Jesus. 

Scholars indicate that our Lord mentions the Kingdom over 100 times, while the church in comparison is only mentioned less than five. Add in additional allusions to the Kingdom that are not explicitedly expressed and the theme multiplies considerably. The point is clear: from the beginning sermon of Jesus in Mark 1:14-15 to the concluding Acts 1:8 challenge, our Lord frames his message around the importance of the Kingdom.

Now I’m not suggesting that I’m an expert on the concept of the Kingdom of God. However, the above reality causes me to pause and consider the ramifications of Kingdom living on my life and my ministry, especially in relationship to the church. And while I don’t know everything about the Kingdom, I do think the following things are abundantly clear.

The Kingdom gets its directives from above. Every kingdom has a king, and it’s not you or me, or anyone else for that matter. Our Lord is the king and it’s His kingdom. That means that He sets the agenda and He “calls the shots.” He determines the roles and responsibilities of us all. The priorities of our ministry should be the priorities of His heart. By the same token, we are to be His loyal subjects, following His command. After all, what kind of kingdom would it be if the subjects were the ones in charge? Kingdom subjects need to be discerning the heart and desires of their King, and then doing their part to accomplish them.

The Kingdom is larger than any single church. Scholars disagree to some extent over the manifestation of the Kingdom. Is it just people or is creation included? Is it internal, external or both? And while all people may not agree that it is bigger than THE Church, everybody does agrees that it’s bigger than any SINGLE local church. No individual church has a “corner on the market” of Kingdom enterprises and no one church can accomplish all that needs to be done. What this means for me is that for His Kingdom to come “on earth as it is in heaven,” it will take more than my own church to make that a reality. My eyes need to scan the horizon, too, in order to make sure I’m aware of God at work around me, not just with me, so I can join Him in it.

The Kingdom emphasizes cooperation, not competition. Because we all work for the same King and because He sets the agenda, then I’m not in competition with other Gospel-preaching churches down the street or in my convention. We are doing together what needs to be done to achieve His desired results—that “none should perish, but all come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). I need to find ways to cooperate with my brothers and sisters next door in order for us to complement each other, rather than see each other as competitors. So I need to ask how we can work together to extend the Kingdom, rather than simply live life on my own.

The Kingdom is a “macro view” of God at work. Some of the confusion over the roles of the Kingdom and the church appear to be clarified in the discovery of perspective. While Christ talks about the Kingdom, Paul and other New Testament writers speak most often about the church, especially the local expression of it. Are they at odds? Of course not! Rather, Jesus has shared the big picture, visionary, “macro” perspective on God at work, while the other writers have focused on the “micro” individual pieces of the larger whole. The problem is that when we are on the inside of one of these micro pieces, in a single local church congregation, we may miss out on the larger, more expansive picture of Kingdom life and ministry. The challenge for local churches is to remember the larger perspective of God’s work and how we all form but one part of it.

The Kingdom extends, not just enlarges. The Kingdom must grow wider and broader, not just larger. Here’s where church planting and missions endeavors enter the picture significantly. When we plant other churches or make new disciples in other places, we allow God to extend the Kingdom in new locations and among other people at the same time that he enlarges the Kingdom among ourselves. Any mathematician will tell you that the chances for influential impact increase exponentially the more often we multiply the opportunities for the Kingdom to increase. Because of this, church planting is a Kingdom of God endeavor that all churches should seriously consider for our King.

David Jackson is the BCM/D missionary for church multiplication. He can be reached at (800) 466-5290, ext. 225, or by email at djackson@bcmd.org.