Consumed Christians and Kingdom Food Trucks

One of the analogies that is often used to explain the reason there are so many kinds of churches is to compare them to restaurants. I have used that comparison myself in the past. We see Lutherans, Presbyterians, Baptists, the Episcopalians, Pentecostals and “non-denominational” churches and we say that it is like different kinds of restaurants with various cuisines. Some like Mexican food, other Italian, some go for French cuisine, while others prefer southern barbecue.

This is a good description of “consumer Christianity.” I feel like the Lord is saying that He is changing the Church from consumers to consumed. If the Church is to be compared to restaurants, I think what God has in mind is more like food trucks. Food trucks are mobile and can go anywhere there is a need. They can position themselves wherever the Boss says to go. They are efficient and effective because they only require a small team of servants.

These food trucks have been given the pejorative nickname “Roach Coach” by some. The enemy has tried to discredit true workers outside the walls of the church by drawing attention to those who have been judgmental, weird and religious in the public eye. But the food trucks the Lord is sending out now are delivering the True Bread from heaven in a humble, relational and loving manner. You can spot a good food truck by the line of people outside of it waiting to get the food. It has an earned reputation as being worth the wait, and its customers tell their friends about it. I’m not just talking about Operation PRAY, but all the creative ways the Lord is giving His followers to do Kingdom ministry outside the walls of the local church.

I see teams of “consumed” believers getting what they need in supplies by encountering God in the local assembly and then going out as the Lord directs them. They have gifts of evangelism, healing, deliverance, prophecy, as well as other gifts of the Spirit to offer as they go out into the highways and byways. They are full of grace and truth, and the love of God is manifest in all their interactions with those they meet. As they distribute the Bread of Life, they are also reaping a harvest, as souls are added to the Kingdom. Let it be said of us that “the Church has left the building!” 

“Go out into the highways and along the hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.” Luke 14:23