Church in the Green
What is Church in the Green?
Church in the Green is orthodox in its Christian beliefs. We believe all that the Bible teaches. A few examples you are familiar with might include: Christ’s birth from the womb of a virgin, Christ’s sinless life and Jesus’ substitutionary death on the cross and subsequent resurrection, His ascension back into Heaven and impartation of the Holy Spirit whereby He dwells in His true followers. We also fully believe God’s ministry to mankind has been and will involve His miracles. They did not ever end. There are countless Christians who will testify that every day of their life is blessed with some form of the miraculous. Our lives certainly are! Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.
Just as importantly we must assert that apart from the miraculous (in Psalms it says God only does wondrous things) there is no hope for creation and if God did not shorten the very days we are living in, no flesh would be saved. God is capable of changing the very nature of nature. He is Lord of all. I am not just speaking theologically. God has demonstrated infallible proof of this and will do so more and more.
What many of us want, like I once did, is for God to go through a neighborhood doing miracles and we want to follow behind preaching the gospel to them. God works exactly the opposite of that! His way is that we would preach the gospel to them and then Christ will confirm the word with signs following.
Our emphasis will often be on the important things that modern day Christianity has ignored for the most part such as the restoration of all things (Acts 3:21) and the hope that God has set before every creature and all creation of being set free from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God and that event’s dependence on the sons of God being made manifest. And many other things like that which many churches have avoided to the alienation of multitudes who suspect that their pets might go to Heaven or that even trees have feelings, which things the Bible clearly declares, but they hear refuted from the pulpit! We believe in the infallibility of the word of God, the reality that far too many so called Christians do not meditate in it, understand it, or even study it as all believers are instructed to do. The situation is so bad that God says, “My people (His people) perish for their lack of knowledge.” Just as He wrote through the psalmist David that His people were perishing because, “They do not know my ways.”
The Church in the Green may not look like the church you are used to because we prefer to meet out in God’s creation and we may appear to be more like a Christian training center than a church today. That is because the biblical church was a Christian training center and we continue in that paradigm. Here for space sake we can only say that, “He gave some apostles, some prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers for the maturing and equipping of those believers who are following Christ to become the doers of the work of the ministry.” This is what every Christian is called to. Another way to say this is that a pastor and evangelist or any of those listed above has a job and that job is to train you according to your calling and gifting. When you are trained his job may have ended in your community because you have become his replacement. (This doesn’t mean that your pastor will no longer be able to pastor or your apostle will no longer be able to start churches, but they will do so in whatever new location God calls them to just as He may one day call you to go into all the earth and preach the gospel to every creature.)
We said all that to say that the Church in the Green, both locally and internationally, will be to function as a Christian training center. This does not mean that we are less of a real church, but more of what a Biblical real church should be all about. The Bible is very clear that ministers are not to be lords over God’s people, but examples. Socialists now have unlimited proof that children learn much more from what we do than from what we say and such is the case of the children of God. There is a word “Nicolaitans” in the New Testament where one church had the doctrine of the Nicolaitans and another actually had the deeds of the Nicolaitans: “Which things, Jesus said, I hate.” (Nicolaitans means conqueror of the people.)
God’s desire is that we all grow up into Christ in all things. His goal is that ultimately, “God would be all and in all and fill all things.” God’s strong will for all of us is that we learn how to function in the spirit and exercising our spirit. Just like someone with no strength might develop their muscles by going to the gym, the church, the Christian training center, is the place where we gain experience in exercising our gifts and our spirit until our spirit is the strongest part of our being. Scripture says it like this, “How is it then church? When you come together every one of you has a psalm, has a doctrine, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying.” (1Cor 14:26) This means that when you’re in a gathering of the called out ones (church or ecclesia) you all have the opportunity and gain the experience of functioning: blessing others and being blessed. The scripture goes on to say that the body of Christ is built up by that which every one of you supplies; usually by speaking something forth (most people do not realize this but your spirit, where Christ indwells us, is connected to your mouth)!
The reason that Jesus so hated the Nicolaitans teaching and position was that they controlled the entire Church and brought it under their dominion instead of allowing it to be controlled by the Holy Spirit and the word of God. This prevented the body of Christ from functioning as God intended, thereby preventing all of the true believers from bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to earth. Jesus had one core teaching and that was the Kingdom of Heaven. He said, “Turn to God completely because His Kingdom is now close enough for it to become yours.” At Church in the Green we will encourage you to discover and share the gems of truth and wisdom that Christ will manifest in you with the other participants in the assembly.
There is nothing more wonderful to see and experience than a church that is under the leadership of the Holy Spirit and the word of God. The most remarkable wisdom often comes “out of the mouths of babes and suckling’s.” Church in the Green exists only for the sake of bringing God’s Kingdom to earth. It is a Kingdom of peace and joy and righteousness brought to us all through the Holy Spirit. For this reason we specialize in sending teams to the uttermost parts of the earth (as the Spirit leads you) to spread the gospel of the Kingdom, to speak truth to power regarding the rights of all creatures and to restore the earth. An exciting and fulfilling lifestyle awaits you and will even blossom in you and reach out through you as you mature in Christ. We at Church in the Green are here to assist your transformation in God.
Chitto Update
This is the story of Chitto our best female Tibetan Yak. Chitto developed a severe physical problem. The emergency vet labored for two hours to correct it and gave her a number of sedations. The vet said the final one could have killed her. After an unsuccessful resolution, the vet told me, “We’ll have to put her down tonight because she will be dead by morning anyway.” My wife and I said, “We won’t be doing that” and right in front of God and everyone we laid hands on her and prayed for her healing.
Chitto didn’t die and the next morning she seemed quite lively but still had the physical problem. Several weeks later we took her to another vet, after we finally located one that would do surgery on her. To make a long story short, when I picked her up I asked what I should do with her after bringing her home now that her operation was complete. The vet replied, “Just put her out on some green pasture for a few days” as he shook his head. I asked, “She isn’t going to survive is she?” He hung his head and said, “No.”
We continued to pray for Chitto and from the day she came home Chitto not only steadily improved, but she grew a replacement body part and became even more energetic and happy than she had ever been. We give all the praise to the “Lord that healeth thee.” (Exodus 15:26)
At Church in the Green we do a real blessing of the animals, and we will pray for the recovery of your pet upon request.
Just a moment of testimony: we have prayed for three animals which were resurrected including a white tail deer, a yak and Romance the Romanoff ewe who had given birth to five little lambs. Mary had a little lamb and He healed everyone who came to Him with that request. He still does.
If we can help you let us know.
Life and Love,
Ministers David and Yvonne Prather
