I cannot believe TransformNation is finally here! I’ve been working on this for years. The concept for it goes back to November 2008 when I accepted God’s call into full-time ministry. This really is a huge answer to prayer and I’m excited to see what God will do with this.
So why TransformNation and what is it? My passion for ministry is all about the Kingdom of God. Jesus called all of us to pray to God: “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” What did Jesus mean when He said this? In Revelation, at the very end of the Bible, we’re given a clearer image of what the Kingdom in all of its fullness looks like:
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: ‘Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death will not exist anymore – or mourning, or crying, or pain, for the former things have ceased to exist.’” (Revelation 21:3-4 NET)
This is a beautiful picture of a loving God and King reigning over His people where death, suffering, sadness, and evil are no more because of Him. The Kingdom of God is where the presence of God is; where His will is done; where there is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control because God has changed us (Gal. 5:22-23 NET). Jesus also gives a picture of the current ministry of the Kingdom in the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats:
“Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me…I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!” (Matt. 25:34b-36; 40 NLT)
This is what it looks like to be a person in the Kingdom of God. If you’re a Christian then it is in your DNA, your character, to do these kinds of things. By Jesus sacrificial death for our mess, our sin, we can become transformed people of the Kingdom. On the cross He beat death and the Devil, He paid our entrance fee into the Kingdom and He rose again victorious. We all have stories about how we have messed up in our lives, but when we accept His sacrifice for us He forgives us and He gives us His Spirit to change us, to live transformed lives.
Through this transformation at the cross we can know that we will see the Kingdom of God like we read in Revelation 21, but it does not stop there. We have become a part of the Kingdom now and Jesus wants to use each of us to introduce the Kingdom of God to others and bring about transformation like we see in Matthew 25 and to invite them into that transforming Kingdom! THIS is the heart of TransformNation!
I don’t believe that we can bring in the Kingdom of God in all of its glory by ourselves like we see in Revelation 21, Jesus will do that when He comes back. What we can do is to do the ministry of the Kingdom that Jesus talks about. When we do, people experience the presence of God, His will being done on earth as it is in Heaven. When we proclaim and demonstrate the love of God, people experience an introduction to His Kingdom and transformation of lives and whole communities can happen!
I call it “TransformNation” because I believe that name can serve as a modern day translation for the Kingdom of God. If I’m talking to someone on the street who has never heard of the Kingdom, they may give me a confused look and say, “So are you trying to take over our community through military force?” No, of course not! I think “God’s TransformNation” is a concept that both Christians and others can easily understand. (To clarify, I’m not saying we should reword the Bible, but TransformNation can be a way of introducing the concept of the Kingdom of God to those that are seeking and have questions about Christianity.)
It is my hope that TransformNation would inspire and equip a missions movement around the world. All the blog posts and media that are published here are for that purpose. It is intended to be a resource for anyone who is searching for something that can change their lives or for those who want to see transformation in the lives of others. We believe in Jesus Christ, that He died for our mess, our sin, and that He is still alive and relevant today as He was 2,000 years ago. We believe that through Him we can experience lasting transformation. Those of you reading may believe that, others of you may not, but are still searching for answers. In either case, welcome. I hope you can find answers here and that this will be a help to many of you around the world.
The needs for transformation in our world are seemingly endless: hunger, thirst, poverty, crime, slavery, human trafficking, racial injustice, violence, disease, poor education, corruption, homelessness, unemployment, divorce, abortion, natural disasters, drug addiction, and a world that desperately needs a hero. Together as the TrasnformNation of God, let’s transform the world around us and introduce them to the Hero that transformed us!
