Location, Location, Location

Location, Location, Location

When people talk about real estate, they often say, "Location, location, location." While that saying comes from the business world, there is a lesson in it that brethren would do well to consider.

One of the things that stands out to me when I read the book of Acts is that Paul was not careless about where he went. He was certainly led by God as an apostle, but look at the places where he spent much of his time. Antioch. Corinth. Thessalonica. Ephesus. Rome. These were not little villages hidden off the beaten path. They were major population centers. They were crossroads. They were places where people came and went every day.

Paul understood something that ought to be obvious. If you want to reach people, you need to go where people are.

In Ephesus, Paul spent two years teaching, and Acts 19:10 says that "all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks." Think about that. Paul did not personally knock on every door in Asia. He taught in a strategic location, and the gospel spread outward from there.

The same thing happened in Thessalonica. Paul planted the seed there, and later he could tell those brethren, "For from you sounded out the word of the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 1:8). Their influence reached far beyond the city itself.

None of this happened by accident.

Today, we are not apostles. We are not receiving visions. We are not waiting for dreams. We are not looking for some inner voice to tell us where to establish a work. God has already given us His revealed will in Scripture. What He expects from us now is wisdom.

Paul wrote, "Walk in wisdom toward them that are without" (Colossians 4:5).

Wisdom means thinking ahead.

Wisdom means planning.

Wisdom means asking what course of action gives the gospel the greatest opportunity to reach the most people.

Jesus said, "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost" (Luke 14:28).

Yet sometimes brethren will spend more time thinking about where to build a gas station, grocery store, or restaurant than where to establish a center for evangelism.

If a group of believers wants to plant a congregation or establish a meeting place, shouldn't they ask some serious questions?

Where are the people?

Where is the community growing?

Where can visitors easily find us?

Where can the greatest influence be exerted?

Where can the gospel be heard by the largest number of souls?

Those are not worldly questions. Those are stewardship questions.

Now, let me be clear. This is not an argument against rural communities. People who live on country roads need the gospel just as much as people who live in the city. Souls are souls no matter where they live. The gospel should be preached in small towns, farming communities, and places that most people drive right past.

But if we are talking about establishing an evangelistic center, a place from which teaching, outreach, and influence can spread, then location matters.

The goal should never be to hide.

The goal should never be to become difficult to find.

The goal should never be to place ourselves where we have the least opportunity to impact the community.

Sometimes it seems that brethren act as though visibility is somehow unspiritual. Yet Paul repeatedly went to places where he could have the greatest impact. He preached in synagogues because people were there. He reasoned in marketplaces because people were there. He established works in influential cities because people were there.

The message never changes. The gospel is the same whether it is preached in a storefront, a home, a rented hall, or a meeting house. But common sense tells us that where we place ourselves can either help or hinder our ability to reach people.

The issue is not buildings.

The issue is souls.

The issue is not convenience.

The issue is influence.

If we truly believe the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, then we ought to put ourselves in the best position possible to get that message before as many people as we can.

Paul understood that principle nearly two thousand years ago.

I think many of us would do well to remember it today.