WHY THE HUB MINISTRY CENTER?
The Antioch Dynamic
“The disciples were called Christians first at Antioch” (Acts 11:26)
Antioch was the third largest city in the ancient world, after Rome and Alexandria, and was the gateway to the nations geographically. The outstanding characteristic of the church of Antioch is that it managed to break down the middle wall of ethnic partition (Eph. 2:14–16), proving that multiculturalism is possible. The gospel had broken through the Jewish barriers and entered the Greco-Roman world. The Church at Antioch marked a radical shift for Christianity, which was almost exclusively Jewish, to a Gentile-inclusive faith. This diverse community of servants on mission became a ministry hub that sent and received missionaries who were making Jesus unignorable to every man, woman and child among the nations. “And from there they sailed to Antioch And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles (Acts 14:26-27)
Kingdom Movement: Circles & Squares
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8)
The Kingdom of God is a movement that is not meant to be contained. Like the ever widening ripple of impact on water when a rock is thrown into the middle of a pond, the Kingdom of God is advancing and expanding in lives, places and spaces. The movement of the Kingdom is integrated into life, community and a geography through the church. Like a square within a circle, the church is an earthly expression of the Kingdom of God and is a means of inviting people into the Family of God. Like a skeleton gives structure, provides support and serves the mobility of the living organism, the church provides organization for experiencing community and fulfilling calling. Because the Kingdom is like a vine that grows and bears fruit, the management of the church seeks to provide enough structure like a trellis for the movement of the Kingdom to move and serve people.
Church(es) partnering with The Hub Ministry Center allows movement (circle) to lead and embrace the assistance of management (box) that expands the circle and add boxes as needed. When the box of management seeks to put the circle of movement inside the box, the church becomes ultimate instead of the Kingdom. The tendency of supporting a movement is that there is always the temptation and pull to put the circle of movement into the box of management or to add too much trellis ahead of the direction of the vine. When the Church at Jerusalem began to focus more on structure and control (box), it was persecution that unleashed the Kingdom movement (circle) to every man, woman and child. The Kingdom of God has a church. It was the Church at Antioch that stood in the gap and did not allow the prescriptiveness of Jewish leaders to add regulations on the Gospel for the Gentile world. Like a model for movement & management, the Hub Ministry Center at Antioch was a diversity of generations, ethnicities, ministries.
THE POWER OF “WITH”:
CHURCH COOPERATION & COLLABORATION
“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you…because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” Philippians 1:3,5
Churches of the New Testament were interdependent within their relationships as well as their shared mission of making Jesus unignorable to every man, woman and child. The Church at Antioch set an example and become a hub for leveraging leadership to advance the Kingdom as well as support resources to provide relief to those in need: “So the disciples determined, everyone according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea. And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul” (Acts 11:29-30). There is movement among the churches of Greater Charleston to connect and collaborate to advance the Great Commission of making disciples of Jesus by mobilizing members as missionaries and developing leaders to shape Kingdom movement.
The Charleston Baptist Association (CBA) seeks to connect churches for greater Kingdom potential. Since 2021, the CBA has office at The Hub Ministry Center (HMC) due to its central location to the tri-county area and collaborative co-working spaces. The CBA is comprised of 73 churches who willingly participate and strategically support the vision of saturating every life with the Gospel. Additionally, Mission Charleston offices at the HMC and is an interdenominational alliance of 12 denominations and 215 churches who cooperate around Kingdom initiatives for prayer, good of the city, discipleship strategies, healthy leaders and church multiplication.
Churches are the centerpiece to leveraging strengths, sharing hope, serving communities and multiplying missionaries. The HMC fosters and fuels cooperation and collaboration in multiple ways among churches as well as non-profit organizations. It’s co-working shared spaces serves as a convening center for collaborative learning and strategizing. It’s cohabitating ministries and location serves as a missional lab for mission teams to conduct and coordinate ministry projects. It’s convening events and workshops provides a greenhouse incubator for equipping and mobilizing next generation leaders. It’s collaborative partnerships creates a transitional intersection for helping individuals and families take their next step up toward greater vitality. It’s missional environment creates a classroom for envisioning leaders toward their own missional outreach.
