Location

Location is important for spiritual welfare. The spiritual powers of evil leverage their power by controlling territory. Government-spirits or political-spirits control most towns and cities. They delegate small-power spirits to control smaller territories.

A king with no territory is not a real king, no matter how many crowns he puts on. The Holy Spirit needs demon-free territory where he can work. Followers of Jesus should join together in a location to establish territory that belongs to him.

Benefits

Choosing to live in the same location will enable Christians who make the commitment to develop much stronger relationships and deeper fellowship.

• Living closer together makes the One Another Stuff and a sharing lifestyle much more practical.

• Spiritual protection will be more effective if Christians are closer to each other. Those who stand alone can be picked off one at a time by the evil one.

• A Church based in a neighbourhood will provide an environment where the radical demands of the gospel can be lived out in a simple, distinctive lifestyle.

• Strong Churches will supply an environment that supports family life through mutual support and economic sharing.

• People who have been really messed around by evil will receive intense emotional and spiritual support from Christians living around them.

• Poverty is a major challenge in many parts of the world. A Church could take responsibility for the poor in their neighbourhood and help them to climb out of poverty.

• In a hostile culture, community-based evangelism will be more successful than church-based evangelism. If there is only one church in the centre of town, most non-Christians will never go near it. By living together in the same locality, Church members will be on display in the neighbourhood where they live.

• Our dependence on the automobile is very risky. The Middle East is getting more unstable, as our dependence on it for oil increases. Every church leader should be thinking about how they will care for people prevented from driving to Church by an oil crisis.

• Locality-based churches will allow Tens and Hundred to emerge and societies to be restored.

Location, Location, Location

Church is something we are, not something we can attend. To be the body of Christ in the place where we live, we must live close to the rest of the body. Our Church should be a central part of our being, so we must belong where it is.

Each Church should be attached to a particular locality, so there can be as many Churches as there are different localities. Ideally, there should be one Church in each location and each location should have one Church. To have a number of different kinds of church in the same locality is inconsistent with the New Testament.

Being a Christian changes how we live;
it might also change where we live.

See Real Community.