For generations well intentioned Pastors throughout the Western world have preached from the New Testament Epistles, immediately applying the principles directly to their congregation without ever thinking about how those truths apply to their relationship with the other congregations in their community that lift up the name of Jesus. I am theologically trained and a teacher and preacher of God’s word, and I preached that same way for most of my ministry.

It wasn’t until I was preparing an expositional series through the New Testament book of Ephesians that I had a theological “Ah-ha moment” that would change my view of the Church forever. Here is what I read, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus” (Ephesians 1:a). Do you see it? Let me give you another example. “Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus … to all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints” (Romans 1:1,7). It hit me like a ton of bricks! Paul wasn’t writing to a single congregation or gathering of believers. He was writing to the collective Church of the city. My western “how does this apply to me” worldview quickly raced past the fact that Paul was writing to “the saints who are in Ephesus.” I chose, instead, to limit the application of God’s word to the local congregation I served rather than pondering the profound implications Paul’s epistles had on the visible unity and spiritual vitality of the Church of my city. I invite you to ask God to grant you the freedom to think new thoughts about what you believed you already knew.

The New Testament vision for the Church in a city context (Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, etc.) is one unified Body of believers. The apostle Paul consistently addresses the collective Church of the city in his epistles (See Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:2; 2 Cor. 1:1; Eph. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:2; 1 Thess. 1:2; 2 Thess. 1:1). The implications of that one single idea are disruptive, to say the least. For example, all of the “One Another” commands to love, forgive, be devoted to, honor, and more, are incumbent upon the Church of the city and are not merely to be applied on a congregational level. There were certainly multiple gatherings of believers throughout the cities the Apostle Paul wrote, but they were all an expression of the one collective body of Christ – the City Church.

The documents that follow are an effort on my part to think deeply and dream about the implications of recognizing and nurturing the vitality of the Church of the city. My hope is that we will witness an ecclesiastical renaissance, a return to that which has been lost or forgotten, regarding the oneness and unity of Christ’s Church in city contexts. -TW

A City Church World View and Apostolic Structures

Regarding Modalities and Sodalities

Dr. Ralph Winter first introduced the terms Modality and Sodality into the missiological world in the early 1970’s. The two terms describe two different kinds of organizational structures within the church to accomplish Christ’s mission. A modality is an organizational structure that is designed for long term stability. It establishes routines and typically stays in one place for an extended period of time. The local church is typically organized as a modality.

A sodality is a group structure that is designed for mobility and trans-local activity. Their goal is not permanent residency, but seasonal, itinerant residency, that is marked with transition and travel. The Apostle Paul and his Church planting team are an example of a sodality.

Dr. Sam Metcalf, former president of CRM/NOVO has observed that apostolic leaders (Sodalic in calling and gifting) typically need apostolic structures to facilitate their ministry. Dr. Metcalf advovates for the recognition that the Apostle Paul’s missionary team (a sodality) in the book of Acts is just as much an expression of the Church as a local house church in Ephesus (a modality). When the two structures honor each other and collaborate for the advance of the gospel the result can be transformational.

The pages below briefly discuss modality and sodality in relationship with the ministry of Tracy and Debra.