The story of Joe, a jeepney (taxi) owner and driver in the Philippines, provides a vivid illustration of the way the Kingdom of God, the Church and the marketplace can interact to transform individuals and touch a city.
As Joe was driving his jeepney shortly after his conversion to Christianity, he heard God tell him to serve right where he was. Since he was a new believer and the marketplace was what he knew best, he focused on a bar called Sweet Moments. He decided to apply the principles of prayer evangelism as listed in Luke 10 to make peace with the lost, fellowship with them, take care of them and eventually announce that the Kingdom of God has come near them (see Luke 10: 1-8).
Everyday he would go into the bar, order a soft drink and pray peace over the place, its employees and the customers. After a few days of doing this, he befriended the manager, Brian, who was a homosexual, a gambler, a drug user, a drug dealer and a pimp to 35 prostitutes. This pedigree left no doubt that Brian was a certified, full- strength sinner.
The friendship grew. After just a few days Joe was able to lead Brian to the Lord and baptize him at a nearby beach. As Brian emerged from the water, the power of God came upon him and he experienced an instant transformation. All of his homosexual drives disappeared. He was also freed from gambling and drug addiction. He was delivered from all of the vices and stopped being a pimp, which had supported his sinful lifestyle.
Brian’s transformation became evident to those around him, and in a very short time all 35 prostitutes also became Christians. Joe and his wife decided to move into a neighborhood near the bar so that they could minister to this unusual congregation. His wife baked rice cakes, prayed over them and distributed them among their neighbors, using food as way of introduction. One of those neighbors was Teddy, a lawyer, who was also the owner of the bar. He later testified that when he ate one of those cakes something happened to him. He became interested in what Joe had been teaching his employees, joined the Bible study and soon became a Christian. As he grew in the Lord, he realized that his line of business was not pleasing to God and turned the bar into a Church. In less than a year Joe, the pastor of the bar – turned- church, established 12 cell groups in the area, and the Kingdom of God has come to significant portion of the marketplace.
The Key? Joe saw the church as the means to take the Kingdom of God to people in the marketplace. When sinners discovered that the Kingdom had come near them, they came into it, and once they did, he simply taught them how to have church in the marketplace!