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We are wondering in this place like outcast, but I remember, oh dear Lord I remember when you moved. I pray for the day when I can see you move again in the places that are yours.

Church as usual has become a very cold, dead, dry place no matter what the title of the church is. When do we stop playing church and become the body of Christ?

Men seem to be cursed by some kind of turf-war mentality and more concerned with their own empire building of personal ministry than with building the kingdom of God. We came to the sad conclusion that the “powers that be” at the top church structure don’t really want a church built after the pattern God laid out in the Bible at all, but rather something built after the pattern of the business world. What if Noah hadn’t built the ark according to the pattern God gave him? What if Solomon hadn’t built the temple according to the pattern God gave David? Until the church that Jesus died to birth is built according to His pattern, we are going to see more and more sickened people leave a church that is all programmed with no “true” move of God.

Inside the life of every man and woman lies a destiny and future that God alone has woven together. Some men and women spend their whole lives trying to fill the void that comes from living outside their God-designed destinies. “Why am I here? What is my purpose? What am I suppose to do with my life?” Most of us realize that there has to be more to life than just 30-40 years, then retiring. At Soul Town, we are convinced and devoted to the reality that Jesus has an incredible plan for each of our lives and we are committed to helping those who have lost their way, or have been wounded by the enemy of their souls, and those that have suffered as much from the church as they have for it.

Many people have become “Unchurched Christians”. These are people that have been Christians for years, and may have served in various capacities who no longer attend church meetings. These are sincere people, born-again Christians who know the Bible, who pray and who have been faithful in various levels of church involvement for years, and yet for various reasons they can no longer be found in church. These people shy away from organized religion. They have been badly hurt by the current Pentecostal/charismatic religious system and they are not eager to re-enter it. These are people that were declined ministry position if they didn’t dress a certain way, talk a certain way, or jump through all the hoops that church leadership desired. They nurse the wound for years and shrivel up and become unfruitful for years. Some in their bitterness may even lose their relationship with God totally. These people have not given up on Christianity or God at all. It is today’s church system that they have given up on. Many very anointed and prophetically gifted people have had their fill of “playing church” and have opted out of organized religion. These are people who want fellowship, love God and don’t go to church regularly. People are tired of all the polished programs and sermons, never once seeing or feeling the movement of God in the churches and that is the reason people leave them. There is little prayer and what prayer there is, is void of passion, power and fire. Church has become a social time. Time to dress-up and participate in “holy-gossip”. The gifts are denied, and there is no concern for the true needs of the brethren. Sin is candy coated. Leadership wants your tithes, your presence and unquestioning obedience. How many Christians are being virtually driven out of churches because of terrible experiences?

Perhaps you have become disillusioned by some of the things that you have seen or heard in church, or you feel like you’ve been overlooked and could not express or use your gifts in the church, or maybe you have devoted large amounts of time and resources to a ministry only to be discarded when you could not agree with the direction your minister was taking the church, or a new doctrine that was being promoted, or been blacklisted for organizing activities without the blessing of the pastor.

Many people have started home fellowships, or meet with other couples on a casual basis, but many meet with no one at all and consider themselves in a “wilderness place”, alone with God. Many quality people have left the church in their quest to find His glorious presence rather than another program or tradition. In their wilderness, they have developed an unquenchable thirst for His water of life. The concept of going through a wilderness just before entering the Promise Land is totally scriptural. In fact it is right through the Bible. Even Jesus went through such a wilderness. Look at King David, how he had to spend all those years running in the desert before his anointing could take effect. There is much truth in the concept of God using the wilderness not so much to get people out of the system, but rather to get the system out of people. God has lead you out into the wilderness for a purpose, and He will lead you from it in his good time that he may one day shine through. He has led you into the wilderness to speak tenderly to you. It’s a place where there is only wilderness and him. No distractions. He’ll then make your wilderness into a fruitful garden.

But it is not possible to stay alone forever. Some day, if you are going to be a part of a new move of God’s Spirit, you are going to have to come out of the wilderness and become “plugged-in” to the body Jesus brings together. The cry of our hearts at Soul Town is not to live our memories of incredible intimacy with God in years past, but to discover Him anew and in deeper ways than ever before. We are desperate for Him. We see the church as the people of God, and not the trappings of ministry, buildings, tithes and offerings, and program after program.

We need to get out of the mindset of going to church and to realize we are to be the church. Church is not some place that you go. Church is something that you are. If you are not the Church, then going to some building in a pretext is not going to make you a Church. You can put a horse in a garage, but it doesn’t make him a car. We want to be part of God’s movement. We want to lift up his church, not man’s agenda church. We want to see Jesus lifted up and people coming to know him in a real way.

If you are ready to come to a greater understanding of God’s love, to experience God’s marvelous touch and remove the cloak of heaviness and replace it with a garment of praise and be mightily free in Jesus we want to see you at Soul Town. We just long for pure fellowship with a community of Believers without agendas and with Jesus as the only King.

Being Jesus on earth, loving and honoring people, not building for the glory of man, but to glorify Jesus. We are a safe place.