Following the New Testament example, we believe the contemporary Christian church should be community driven and community focused.  Instead of promoting larger regional churches, we believe churches should be raising up leaders to minister within their own communities.  Instead of spending untold millions on church campuses, we should encourage smaller churches that minister to, and can be supported by, a small local body.  Sometimes, those small church bodies may need to start in a home, or they may need to meet in a park, but they should always reach out to those within their own community.  When that happens, the sense of community that builds within the church will reach out to the community as a whole, drawing others in.  As people within the church become aware of needs within their community, the church should use its resources to meet those needs.  That was the model of the early church, as proclaimed by Jesus, Paul, and James.  They were intentional about meeting the needs of the orphan, widow, and indigent. Today, the government has assumed that role, all but eliminating the need for community church outreach.  As a result, the ability and effectiveness of the local church body has been greatly diminished, so regional churches thrive.  That is shameful.  Instead of a vibrant church body that exemplifies Jesus’ hands and feet, meeting the needs of the broken and disenfranchised within the community, the contemporary Christian church has become inwardly focused.  Sure, we still have programs to meet the needs within the church, but that means that the community must travel to the regional church rather than the community church reaching out to meet the needs of their community. We need to change that trend.  As the body of Christ, we need to refocus our attention on what is truly important.  Do we really need more small church groups, or do we need more small churches?  Do we need more social events, or do we need more outreaches?  Do we need ornate buildings, or do we need to meet the needs of the community?  There is an old adage: People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.  How much does the contemporary Christian church show its concern for their unbelieving neighbors? We also need to break down the wall of separation between church denominations, uniting as one body under the banner of Jesus Christ.  Unfortunately, that task is not simple, because we have allowed a cancer of false doctrine to grow in some circles.  Jesus only proclaimed one message, as did the disciples, yet we have divisions among us that prevent true unity.  We need to get back to the basic Truth of scripture, so a disenfranchised world will know that we are disciples of Christ because of our love for one another.  That is the goal of Master’s Plan Ministries as we move toward a new year and the end times.  We want to be salt and light to a flavorless, dark world, so they can experience the true liberty of being a follower of Christ.  Life may be difficult, but we can handle it together as a community of believers!