“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:3-5)
Spark communities are shaped by the gospel for the renewal of all things. When we talk about the renewal of all things, we are talking about the biblical expectation that God will renew all of creation. This includes a new earth, new Jerusalem, and new heavens (Rev 21:1-5). This includes resurrected physical bodies for each of us - living eternally on the renewed earth. The nature of the Gospel, God’s restoration of all things, His healing, the sanctification of the saints, and more, is that it is “already, but not yet”. It’s done, but still coming to pass. In part now, in full later.
In light of this, we believe Christians have a mandate to partner with renewal efforts in our time. We can approach renewal in two main ways.
Through our work. We can bring order out of a chaotic world and help create a more garden-like experience.
Through local and global channels, focusing on the orphan, widow, vulnerable, the marginalized, and the under-evangelized.