A Place of Sanctuary

Sanctuary

What is sanctuary? In the Bible there were cities of sanctuary or refuge. Numbers 35:11 “Select some towns to be your cities of refuge, to which a person who has killed someone accidentally may flee.” Over the years, the church became a place of sanctuary – of protection from arrest – not just for accidental killings but for all sorts of crimes. So what is the definition of the word sanctuary today? According to an on-line dictionary – “A sacred place, such as a church, in which fugitives formerly were immune to arrest. Immunity to arrest afforded by a sanctuary. A place of refuge or asylum.”

My wife and I recently had reason to question all of this because, shortly after we moved to our present home, the Lord impressed the name “Sanctuary” upon us. Not just one of us but both. Not just once but several times. So much was our spirit moved that we did not rest until we had procured an engraved stone name plate for our home which is now adorning our gate.

However, it was not just the name plate that the Lord wanted of us. That was only the start of an idea that has recently culminated in the proposed launch of our new ministry of the same name. Under the aegis of our church, and with the approval and encouragement of our leaders, it was suggested to us that we might become a very small house church planted from the parent church whilst remaining an integral part of that organisation.

So what is Sanctuary within the confines and constricts of todays church. To us, it seems to be a place of healing, and a place of refuge from the church while still within the church. It is a place for friendships to be developed, for old wounds to be first tended and then healed. It is a place of restoration, where faith can be restored without the ‘requirement’ of being a part of any formal church. Friendship first; tending and healing second; restoration of faith third; and then, just maybe, restoration to the congregation.

So that, in a nutshell, is what our new ministry is all about. We are not going out seeking people. Rather we are asking the Lord to bring people across our path – even to our door. Yet there is a serious question we must still answer, and no matter how much folk say that this type of ministry is necessary, we need to address it in order to understand those we are seeking.

Are there really that many people who perhaps used to go to church but no longer do so? Oh yes. The Church has damaged more peoples faith than we will ever know about. They have hurt and wounded more people than perhaps we can imagine. And the worst thing about this is that they never seek out their lost and wounded. Unbelievable isn’t it? So the need is there, the opportunity is there, and we are there – hence Sanctuary.

Please pray for us that the Lord brings the people and that we listen to Him when ministering to them? Sanctuary is as necessary today as it was when Numbers 35:11 was originally written.