Protecting the Underground Church, Part 4
By Pastor Hal Mayer
Dear friends,
Welcome to Keep the Faith Ministry once again. I hope you have been thinking about the underground church and the various issues involved in it because it is going to become a reality in the very near future. We’re going to explore this again today as we look at how the underground church relates to government opposition and a hostile public. There are some important principles to implement when this kind of environment happens. We have been studying the principles of establishing an underground church. Today, we are on principle #3. So, let us begin with prayer.
Our Father in heaven, we are very ignorant in the western world about how to conduct an underground church. There are many places in the world today where this is a necessity. So, we pray that as we study today, we will have your Holy Spirit to teach us and show us, guide us, into paths of wisdom that we may be ready to help and bless hungry soul looking for salvation during the time of trouble when there is a lot of pain. Please teach us today as we study in Jesus name, amen.
In spite of all that I have said in regard to persecution, that isn’t what drives the underground church. It is the mindset of the people that are part of the underground church that moves it along. You have to prepare your mind for the difficulties of persecution and harden your mind for anything that comes to you. You also have to beware that the hits you take are against Christ, not against you. Christ lets you go through persecution to test your metal to see that it is fully aligned with Christ and His law: so that you won’t betray him or be disloyal. You will have to have your flak jacket on. You will also have to think cautiously and not speak unless you have to. This gives new meaning to the text that’s found in Luke 21:19.
“In your patience possess ye your souls.”
Patient endurance during a time of persecution is vital to the Christian’s experience. But patience only comes with practice. You can’t develop it overnight. And in this case, you must never let yourself become frazzled or impatient or lose control, because your soul is under the control of Jesus. Also notice this principle from Proverbs 29:11.
“A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise man keepeth it in till afterwards.”
Especially in the underground church it is vital that you keep your thoughts to yourself. You never know who is lurking and spying. We’re used to just saying what’s on our minds, and that with many words. But we must be wise and reserved. And Isaiah 26:3 says that peace is related to the discipline of the mind.
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
If you want peace, you have to keep your mind focused on Christ. And if you are under persecution this becomes far more important than you now realize. Many of us need to reform the mind. We often think of reform in lifestyle, or in eating, or in dress, or in music, but we don’t realize that for all those things to be genuine there has to be reform of the mind. And many of us need reform of our tongues as well, because one word spoken in the wrong way can jeopardize the lives of others, maybe many others.
So, let us continue with the principles of establishing an underground church.
Principle #3. You are not to establish the underground church as a way to avoid persecution. You establish the underground church to uplift Christ and His law. And there are other secondary purposes or interests that may lead to or benefit the underground church. But these are not reasons to establish an underground church.
If the underground church is established because it wants to avoid persecution it is a rather cowardly, fear-driven flight. If you do it to avoid persecution, you should not be surprised when you are overwhelmed by the enemy. We must experientially know what Jesus meant in Matthew 5:44.
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you…”
God wants to take us much deeper in this than we may have. Most of us don’t have a clue about what this means. The church is tasked by its Lord to continually extend His suffering love to His enemies. It should be no surprise that Jesus leads His underground church members to their enemies’ front door to give witness to them of Christ’s love in suffering and His sustaining power for his people.
Are you physically and spiritually prepared to die for the enemies of the truth? Notice, I said to die for the enemies of the truth. That is not something I have thought a lot about. But I have to if I’m going to be faithful to Christ and be a member of the underground suffering church. If not, you will not be able to keep the focus on the main thing in the underground church, the preaching of the pure word and the salvation of souls. Otherwise, you’ll be distracted by minor issues. First, prepare to preach, pray, or die anywhere at a moment’s notice, and only then will you be able to plant the underground church and make it effective.
Jesus set the example. He came to earth to work for the salvation of His enemies. Here it is in Romans 5:8.
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
We were enemies of God because of the fall and because of our sins. We could not be reconciled unless there was a sacrifice and the shedding of blood, so that our sins could be forgiven. God intends to turn the tables on Satan and make at least those who are willing, friends with God. And He tells us what the antithesis is of being a friend of God. The apostle wrote in James 4:4.
“…whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
Let’s look this statement from Acts of the Apostles, page 523
“The inward adorning of a meek and quiet spirit is priceless. In the life of the true Christian the outward adorning is always in harmony with the inward peace and holiness. “If any man will come after Me,” Christ said, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Matthew 16:24.
“Self-denial and sacrifice will mark the Christian’s life. Evidence that the taste is converted will be seen in the dress of all who walk in the path cast up for the ransomed of the Lord.”
That is a friend of God. Is your life marked with sacrifice and self-denial? Mine hasn’t been, at least not as much as it should have been. So, I have a lot of lessons to learn in this area if I’m going to be a friend of God and a part of the underground church.
Likewise, taking a church underground in order to resist an oppressor turns the church into a political party. And this always draws the same four-word rebuke from the Lord. It’s found in Matthew 26:52. In the garden of Gethsemane, when Peter took his sword and cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant Jesus said something very relevant to the underground church, and to all of us.
“Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.”
Whoever defends the church with his sword, whether it be the sword of the media, or the sword of politics, sword of reason, or the sword of debate, or the sword of the police, or the sword of the justice system, he must also die by the sword. The church does not belong to this world any more than Jesus belonged to this world. It does not need to be defended in this world any more than the Lord needed to be defended when He was here. Every time the church bears the cross it is a fresh reminder to the world of Jesus’ sacrifice. And the Holy Spirit uses it to win some to the truth.
Taking the church underground because other Christians have accommodated the ideology of the enemy to support rock music or the LGBTQ+ movement or anything else of the world is a mistake. Remember when Elijah cried out to God that he was the only one left. It’s found in
1 Kings 19:10.
“And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”
When the underground church cries out to the Lord like Elijah, the Lord will remind the church that He always has His 700 above ground who have not compromised with the Baals.
The only legitimate reason to establish an underground church is to keep the focus on the main point, that is, on Christ and His law of love. The public church will be very compromised and can’t keep the focus on Christ and His law. Therefore, the underground church must do that work. They must prepare the people for martyrdom like the early church.
The only reason to plant an underground church is to do its main work, first, to preach the word purely without mixing anything in of worldly philosophy, or wrong theology; second, to win lost souls, and third, to prepare the members for persecution, prison or death.
Their underground church is primarily meant to overcome any hindrance to the word of God being preached purely and heard openly, and to any elements of its work of evangelism, witness, and piety. When a government determines who may preach, what may be preached, or where preaching may take place, the church is obligated to operate underground rather than accommodate the restrictions. When the government or the general public restrain the free preaching and hearing of the truth of God, the church is obligated to go underground. And when the administration of its work of evangelism, its witness and piety is not permitted, the church is obligated to go underground rather than accommodate the restrictions.
Let us consider a common example. Suppose the government allows the church “freedom of religion:” they may preach and hear the word and participate in the church activities, but only inside the buildings officially registered with the government. Is the church obligated to go underground to do its work?
Yes, the church is obligated to go underground because in that situation the truth is no longer able to be freely preached and heard in that society. The church can’t do its work without hindrance. The public church has difficulty even now with preaching the truth fully. It even sometimes restricts those who do preach the whole truth. Jesus said in Matthew 28:19, 20.
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”
Going into all the world is quite a different thing from staying within the four walls of the church building. The church does not go underground so it can preach, hear and participate with the word in a secret cave or in a clearing in the middle of the forest. Those can become the four walls too. Instead, it goes underground so the word may not be restricted. The truth is defined by scripture, not the government or the general public. These are all hostile to true piety and the truth of God as given in His word and in His law. If the scripture says that the word of God is not restricted, the church believes this even when the government insists otherwise. The Lord may lead His church to many places outside of a church building where He desires that His saving grace and love can be shared.
Here is another example. Suppose a government enacts laws criminalizing statements against homosexuality in public places or media, including Christian teaching that homosexuality is a sin. The government assures the church that it can still do whatever it wants in its own building. Is the church obligated to go underground?
Yes, the church is obligated to go underground because once again this would be an attempt to restrict preaching of the word. The church must share the word whenever the Lord wants the word to be heard. The Lord does not respect the world’s boundaries of where, when, and by whom He may send His word, nor to whom He may send it. He has overcome the world, not simply acquired real estate in it.
There are many underground churches that have existed in recent times. We can think back to communism in Eastern Europe. The church there had to exist under discrimination, persecution, and oppression. We also think of China today with its heavy surveillance and security police. True Christians still have to operate underground in that country. We can also think of places where Islam is dominant like in Iran or Malaysia. Again, there may be discrimination, restrictions and outright killing of Christians in some cases.
North Korea is another example that comes to mind. The church has to meet in secret, publish with hidden hand presses on smuggled paper, and educate their children by stealth. While all these examples are difficult for the people living there, their faith is strong and though their lives may be in danger, they still press on.
Persecution actually strengthens faith and stabilizes a Christian in Christ. So, we really shouldn’t be afraid of persecution. When it comes, it is an opportunity to expand our faith, strengthen our souls, and under the Holy Spirit, glorify God as well as do a mighty work in winning souls to the Master.
We have no idea what it will be like to live in that kind of society. Spies will be everywhere. And snitches will find opportunities to increase their social score with the government. Religious propaganda will be spewed out everywhere by the media much like it is today in the political arena. AI will deep fake the character of God’s people to make them look evil. Surveillance will make it difficult to conduct any kind of ministry in the way we have been used to. Yet, in the midst of it Jesus wants us to love our enemies, our persecutors.
Taking the church underground in order to resist an oppressor turns a church into a political party. This always draws the same sharp four-word rebuke from the Lord: “Put away your sword!” Though Jesus told this to Peter when he zealously tried to defend Him with the sword, but it still applies to us today with the various legitimate swords we use. But we have our sword. It is the word of God. Here is what Jesus actually said to Peter. It’s found in Matthew 26:52.
“Then said Jesus unto him, put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.”
Whoever defends the church with the sword, whether it be the sword of the media, the sort of politics, the sword of the justice system, the sword of the legal system, for the sword of reason, will die by the sword. The church does not belong to this world any more than its Lord belonged to this world. So it cannot use the world’s methods. It does not need to be defended in this world any more than the Lord needed to be defended in this world. Actually, Jesus called Peter “Satan” because Satan inspired his words and actions without realizing it. The Lord and His church are present in the world as living sacrifices. Look at it from Romans 12:1, 2.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
If our Lord and Master was not conformed to this world, we cannot be either. We are to be a peculiar people in the world. We are quite different from the world if we are true Christians. And the underground church clearly takes its stand in opposition to the world and its ways of thinking and acting.
Taking a church underground, or establishing an underground church, because other Christians have accommodated the ideology of the enemy is grievous. At the end of time the Bible says there will be a turning away from the truth. Let’s read it from 2 Timothy 4:4.
“And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
So, what is the primary reason to take a church underground? Preaching the word, especially the three angels’ messages, and actively winning souls is the primary work of the underground church and under no circumstances is it ever to lose focus on it or neglect it. There may be many good private ministries, but they are secondary. This cannot be hindered, and it involves the hearing of that word, so people have to have as safe a place as possible to meet and hear the word. It may be in homes and private dwellings. It may be in the forest or in a cave. Technology won’t be available to us if we are faithful to God, so we have to meet in person. Don’t bring your mobile phone to church, or any other technology. That will be very dangerous both to you and to the other church members in attendance.
Let us consider an increasingly common example. Suppose the government permits the church “freedom of religion”: They may preach and hear the word and participate in the activities of the church, but only inside the buildings officially registered with the government. Is the church obligated to go underground under these circumstances? Listen to this statement from Great Controversy, page 289.
“Rome began by enjoining what God had not forbidden, and she ended by forbidding what He had explicitly enjoined.”
And Rome is ready to do it again when she finally has the opportunity. Rome is actually supporting the LGBTQ movement. So, a requirement to be accepting of any aspect of the sexual revolution would be a reason to take the church underground, so that Rome cannot control the free preaching of the range is messages. A Sunday law, or requirement to break the Sabbath would be a reason to take the church underground, not because of the persecution but because of the inability to preach the word faithfully elsewhere. The church doesn’t go underground to primarily preach the word in a small cave or a secret clearing in the middle of the forest to somehow escape persecution.
The church goes underground so that the word of God will not be restricted or hindered in any way. The church must be faithful to the truth, no matter what. Truth is defined by the scriptures, not by the government or the general public. The Lord may lead the church to many places outside the public church buildings where He desires that the everlasting gospel and the three angels messages may be preached.
The public church is prone to accept restrictions from the government, rather than going underground. The public church says, “Our congregation is still able to preach and hear the word, it is not necessary for us to go underground.” This will even be used against those who are being called into the underground church by saying this. They want to protect the institution and the organization, the real estate rather than the church, which is the people. It will make the church Lord, and the Lord a servant of the church. In this case the church is like the fool in the Lord’s parable of Luke 12:16-21.
“And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
“And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
The word of God is not to be stored up for the church, in the church and by the church. The church can no more bind the word within its own precincts then the governments of the world can. The church is obligated to follow the word and serve it wherever the will of Christ pleases to take them.
The world treats people who love the truth and are being sanctified by it by censoring them, deplatforming them and debanking them. The world is essentially trying to marginalize them. But if you think about it, tragically many of these things have happened to those who teach the strait testimony within the public church for years. It is a prelude to what the government will do to them in the future. And the church will cooperate and even encourage the government to take action against those who preach the straight testimony. You can tell where the church is headed by the way it treats those it deems to be offshoots, or radicals, or who don’t go along with the prevailing philosophy or spiritual narrative.
Are you planning to plant an underground church because you are against something in society or in the existing public church? If so, see it immediately and repent; no church may be planted because the planter is “for” something or “against” something else, or because he has a little root of bitterness in his soul. Jesus told us to love our enemies. These may be in the public church itself or in the world. Jesus had enemies in the public church of His day, so we can expect to have enemies today both in the church and in the world. The underground church is a servant of the word, not a place to vent your bitterness or anger.
Maybe you should take a spiritual barometer of your church. Are sermons becoming shorter and shorter? Is Sabbath school, communion, and especially foot washing, and team outreach of the church becoming less and less popular? Do the church members have to tolerate, or endure, a 20-minute sermon based on solid meat of the word through biblical preaching, and does the pastor accommodate that. Or does he preach as long as necessary for the fullness of the everlasting gospel and the three angels’ messages to be heard, no matter how unpopular it may be with the church members at large and visitors.
The rich young ruler was prepared to obey the word without changing his own life, but he was not prepared to abandon his own life and follow the word wherever it would take him. Let’s read it from Mark 10:17-27.
“And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.
“Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
“And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!”
The Bible says he went away grieved or sorrowful because he had great possessions that he wasn’t willing to give up. As the government and the general public begin to restrict the preaching of the word, is your church prepared to sell all your church has in order to go underground so that you can accompany the word wherever it wants to go, or are they willing to compromise with the law? The Lord says that the man with big barns was not wise to be tearing them down in order to build bigger barns. He should have at least been distributing the excess to the poor. What does wisdom dictate that you do now to be able to follow the word into the areas where the government and general public are likely to try to restrict them?
Now we come to principle #4.
As principal #3 makes it clear, the problem within the church is that it too often begins with the premise, “there is a need in this area for a church building where people can go when they want to hear the word of God preached like a trumpet with a certain sound and an unequivocal message.”
This is exactly backwards. The apostle Paul did not have the intention to build church buildings in every city or town he visited. Neither did the Methodists like John Wesley and his colleagues. And there were other groups in history that didn’t do that either. They had to meet in someone’s barn, or attic, or basement or anywhere else they could meet for the preaching of the word without interference by the government or society. They were committed to preaching the truth. John Wesley said the world is my parish. He didn’t have in mind a building campaign to place Methodist chapels in every village. What he meant was.
“whatever part of (the world) I am, I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty to declare unto all that are willing to hear, the glad tidings of salvation.” (John Wesley, “All the World My Parish,” Journal of John Wesley.)
Wesley was originally horrified by the idea of open-air preaching (i. e. preaching in public in the places where people already were, instead of acquiring buildings where people could come to hear him preach). But it soon became a practical necessity as he was put out from church after church for his public rebuke of the sins of his day. When all the church buildings were closed to him, he had no option but to use any venue he could. That was often where the people were. Sometimes in the marketplaces, sometimes in the open air in an open field, and other times in the streets of town. Often he was pelted with rotten tomatoes or driven out of town by angry mobs, but he faithfully preached the truth of God.
But ultimately it was conviction, not practical benefits, that convinced him of the necessity of open-air preaching. He wrote that he was motivated to preach in the open air simply because of his desire to be a Christian.” Today the Methodist Church has accommodated the culture with women’s ordination and the LGBTQ + movement. John Wesley would be stunned.
I know what that’s like. In my ministry, when the public churches were closed to me, I had to preach in barns, under canopies, in open fields, private homes, and other unusual places. When the churches become unavailable to you, you have to make do with whatever you have available. And the Lord blesses greatly.
The underground church must be the servant, not the Lord of the word. Then the underground church can understand why they do not acquire buildings. It is not only because they are legally unable to do so, but it is also because it must live according to the biblical truth that the word cannot be restricted or bound. It is not authorized to accept a government’s offer of support because the government will tell them that they must “Preach here but not there,” “Preach this but not that,” “Preach to these people but not those.” And while it doesn’t seem like that is blatantly happening right now, it actually does to some extent already. Again, I’d point you to the pandemic. The public church was getting a lot of money from the government for its hospitals and educational institutions and who knows what else. The government used its “money power” to coerce the church into accepting its position on the vaccine and promoting it. It was not free to teach otherwise because of the unspoken implication that they could lose all that money if they did not comply. Of course, they will not admit that, and they protest that that was not the case, but very few people believe that.
So, in the simplest terms, we are to plant the underground church where we, and those we know are already living, working, and meeting. If the word of God cannot be restricted, churches should agree with the Lord and not with governments who wrongly say that the word is to be restricted to certain specially designated buildings. Governments can open or close any building, but there will always be people in a country, who will always be living, working, and meeting somewhere. Wherever the people are living, working, or meeting this is where the underground church takes root. In this way the darkness can never put out the light. John 1:5 says.
“And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.”
The light will put out the darkness. But the darkness can never put out the light. God’s word always shines light. And if the public church is complicit or compliant with the government it will become darkness and the light will move on to the underground church. The truth will become merely a shell, a shell of what once was to the public church. The truth will be made a lie. Paul, writing to the Romans, explain to them the effect of making creation your master instead of the God of creation, and he explained its consequences. Romans 1:24, 25.
“Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever.”
This is why you should not say that the underground church is “in hiding.” Instead, it is simply meeting wherever it can find a place that does not restrict the preaching of the truth. In the book of Acts, the young church met in homes, by a river, and in a school hall, not because it was hiding but because these are the places where ordinary people were already meeting or near to where they were involved in a community. And there the Lord chose to present Himself. Let’s read a number of passages in Acts once again. The first is Acts 2:1.
“And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.”
We are not told where they were, but we know that it was not in the synagogue, because there were all manner of gentiles from many countries listening to them. The second biblical example is interesting and should be clearly understood. It’s in Acts 2:46, 47.
“And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.”
Verse 46 tells us that they “continued daily with one accord in the temple,” But they also were “breaking bread from house to house.” What were they doing in the temple? They weren’t there to enjoy the worship services. They were there to witness of Christ. That’s where the people were gathered. Then when they had witnessed for several hours they were gathered in a home and had a meal, perhaps with some new interested people. And then they went out to witness again. When it was time for another meal they went to another house and “broke bread.” This happened day after day. Finally, Peter and John healed a lame man. This caused such excitement that the temple leaders couldn’t take it any longer. Let’s read what happened in Acts 4:1-3.
“And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.”
Has your work ever caused church leaders to rise up against you and lay hands on you and arrest you from doing your work? I haven’t been arrested, but I have on occasion made church leaders a little upset with my politically incorrect views and teachings. I’ve also had meetings cancelled and had to go elsewhere. I and my colleagues also have been falsely accused. I suppose they weren’t as upset as the leaders in apostle’s day. Maybe the land was still free enough that they couldn’t do physical violence like they did to Paul.
They use civil lawsuits today where they can, to be aggressive against those that offend them too much. I have no idea what that was like, but I probably have a little idea of what it’s like to make church leaders upset with me. That is going to happen again in the time of the pouring out of the latter rain through the Holy Spirit. Let’s look at another example in Acts 16:13.
“And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.”
Why were they meeting by the riverside for prayer? Were they meeting there because they were persecuted everywhere else? No, they may have been persecuted, but that wasn’t the reason they were meeting there. They were meeting there because they had no place else to meet and there were people, women there by the riverside that they wanted to speak to. Maybe people want to wash their clothes and this would be a great time to speak to them of the truth. Anyway, some were meeting there for prayer. I don’t know about you, but I never thought of these incidents as they really were until I began to think about the underground church. This is how they did things. And it made quite an impact. They believed the truth. They weren’t off shoots. But the public church wasn’t going to preach Christ, and Christ needed the apostles to find those who would listen and believe, wherever they possibly could. Let’s read another example in Acts 19:9.
“But when divers were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus.”
Notice here that when they were spoken evil of, they resorted to a school hall to speak the truth. I have had that experience. Once in Jamaica, I was to speak in a tent that was being used for an evangelistic series. But I was interrupted and told I could not speak anymore because I was from an institution that was “against the church.” Which was a lie. They also falsely accused me of being a Shepherd’s Rod. A schoolteacher was very interested in what I had to say, so she organized her classroom and pretty soon we had most of the people that were in the tent down in her classroom. It was crowded. Since it was a public school, the pastor, who was very hostile, couldn’t do anything about that. He broke one of my CDs into several pieces and threw them on the ground. A woman came and asked me to replace her CD that he had broken. I said I will do so under one condition, that you bring me the broken pieces. I wanted to frame them. I still have it to this day as a souvenir.
These people were not meeting in these alternative places because they were hiding, but because they were places where ordinary people could meet without interference to the preaching of the truth through the word. It was where the Lord chose to present Himself.
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To borrow an image from Jesus in Matthew 13:33, the church is the yeast and the places where ordinary people already are, are the dough. The problem with our thinking today is that we mistakenly identify the church itself as the dough. We seek to live as members in the church, and as the church continues to grow it needs a bigger and bigger breadbox. Meanwhile, the true dough, the word, languishes. This is what is happening in the public church.
Because the world is the parish of the underground church (and here we use the term “world” not geographically but in the biblical sense of all that opposes the truth and the power of God), the choice of where to meet is obvious: we meet exactly where we’ve been already meeting. If we acquired a special building in which to meet, we’d be leavening ourselves and leaving the true dough unleavened.
By meeting where ordinary people already are, the underground church can learn how to convene anywhere, any time. This is an essential skill in times of great persecution. Further, we begin to see our homes and hangouts as sacred places, and we start treating them accordingly. Expense for facilities stays close to nonexistent, so Christians can devote their offerings to displaying God’s wonderful suffering love to the world.
So, plant the underground church by preaching in the open air. Preaching in the open air does not necessarily just mean preaching while standing on a street corner or under a tree. It means preaching to the public as well as to members. Many preachers in the past had to use open air venues where people gathered. There’s too many to list.
Preach wherever you have an opportunity, wherever the wind blows, so to speak, or wherever it pleases the Holy Spirit to take you. You are not set in a certain place. One of the problems with the public church is their disobedience to the Lord. They will assign a pastor to a certain church buildings or set of churches. The churches are supposed to be under their authority. They supervise and hover over what happens in the churches that they exercise authority over. Then they can be sure that what is spoken aligns with the politically correct narrative that the church wants to promote. This limits the preaching of the word. It binds and restricts the word. Listen to this statement from Evangelism, page 382.
“Our ministers should plan wisely, as faithful stewards. They should feel that it is not their duty to hover over the churches already raised up, but that they should be doing aggressive evangelistic work, preaching the Word and doing house-to-house work in places that have not yet heard the truth…. They will find that nothing is so encouraging as doing evangelistic work in new fields.”
And here is a statement from Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 7, page 255.
“The world is to be warned. Ministers should work earnestly and devotedly, opening new fields and engaging in personal labor for souls, instead of hovering over the churches that already have great light and many advantages.”
Instead what most pastors are doing today is that they are changing the doctrinal understanding of church members. Many of them don’t believe what the church used to believe and taught. Certain issues are not discussed because they either don’t believe them, or they know that this would not be acceptable to the conference leadership. I listened to a sermon recently by a pastor who was overseeing a group of churches. The sermon was partially about child sacrifices. And he mentioned some pretty awful examples of child abuse today but bypassed one of the most prominent and evil practices done at church hospitals and clinics. He did not mention abortion.
Pastors should go out and evangelize the public. They should leave the churches to the elders who should take charge of the various needs of the congregation. That is the way God designed it should be. And that is the way it will have to be in the underground church.
An underground church is not simply a house church or home church. The central issue is not the type of structure in which the church meets, but whether the church is understood as the leaven or the loaf. As you begin to plant the underground church, be intentional about meeting in a variety of different environments near where people already are. If you only meet in your own home, you will simply be a church that meets in a small building; you will not become an underground church.
Rotate your worship services in different places, sometimes in the homes of church members, sometimes in other places even out of doors. Don’t advertise evangelistic meetings or organize visitation teams to go from door to door and invite everyone to church. In times of persecution that could be dangerous. But as you meet people in your normal course of daily life speak to them of Jesus or speak to them of the things that matter to them. Be willing to listen. Be willing to engage in helping them with their problems. Instead of finding excuses to not help someone because his problems are difficult, make that problem an object of prayer and see what the Lord would have you do. People have problems in order that God’s people can get involved with them in helping them address the problem or solve it, or at least pray about it. Then they win them for Christ. Remember the words of Ministry of Healing, page 143.
“Christ’s method alone will give true success in reaching the people. The Saviour mingled with men as one who desired their good. He showed His sympathy for them, ministered to their needs, and won their confidence. Then He bade them, “Follow Me.”
Christ has set the example for ministry in times of prosperity and in times of adversity. Remember that if you are interested in the good of those you meet, He can show you the way to reach their hearts. So, don’t isolate yourself. That’s cowardly. Have confidence that you have more to give the people than they can probably take at one time for the most part.
Don’t fear persecution. Persecution separates the dross from the wheat. And it’s the final preparation of the wheat for heaven. The underground church must reflect the suffering love of Jesus. He died for the human race, so everyone is included. And while not all will come to salvation, many will accept it when they see true Christianity, especially at a time of great chaos, pain, and uncertainty.
If you are still in a public church, whether it’s in the conference or a self-supporting church, continue to work for the good of all. But start to think and plan for the eventuality that you will have to become part of the underground church, especially in the time of severe opposition. That time is coming very soon.
Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank You for the underground church. Though many of us have not experienced it yet, the time is coming when it will be necessary for all of Your faithful souls who follow all of Your commandments and preach the three angels’ messages to the world. Please help us understand what the underground church is, and what it is not. And thank You for the things we have studied today. We want to be in Your will and follow Your teachings. So please send Your Holy Spirit to help us discern for ourselves what we must do. In Jesus name, amen.