The simplicity of the gospel must tell us something.
Church planting has become all too difficult for the average Church to really figure out. If the simple gospel is going to be simply told we are going to have to simply start churches.
All too often our churches have agonized over the expense of starting a new church. For example: raising enough money to partly or even fully pay the salary of a church planter; raising funds to buy land and ultimately build a building. These are legitimate expenses if we choose to start churches the complicated way. That is not to say that at some time in the future these will be real expenses; but who should bear the greater part of this? If it is going to be simply a church then the church that is being started ought to carry the bulk of the burden from the beginning. And when it is ready to buy land and build a building, it will by God's grace.
But simply, why would a new church want to buy land and build a building when it can rent facilities or meet in donated buildings for a lot less than engaging in great financial manuevers. Most unbelievers don't have a church building orientation, therefore they will probably not care if they have their own property unless someone tells them differently. It's the Christian crowd that looks for nice facilities to worship in and that's ok, but who are we trying to reach anyways? Who are we trying to please?
There are numerous places in the free world, including the USA, where churches do not have their own facilities and are quite happy, growing and not saddled with huge million dollar pieces of property. They are simply doing church without all of the trappings. And that's allright, isn't it?
Simply starting a church must be simpler than what some have made it to be.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
Indigenous Churches USA
We have been seeing an outpouring of God's Spirit in numerous places around the globle. It has been evidenced in the planting of 100's of new churches in many different countries. Planting new churches is the most effective way to evangelize a city, a country, a continent. But these churches are part of a movement to establish 'indigenous churches'.
To many in the ABA 'indigenous' is a new term. It's not new, just new to us. It means essentially that something can grow, reproduce, and thrive naturally without any outside or foreign intervention. This, we are learning, is working well with the establishment of new churches in foreign countries that are self-supporting, self-governing, self-propagating and scripturally sound from the 'git go'.
It is time to adapt these principles of indigenous church planting to the USA. We would be establishing many more churches if we seriously considered allowing new churches to be indigenous from the beginning. It would be cost effective. It would call for spiritual leaders to be raised up from their own congregations. It would solve a lot of problems and maybe create some new ones. But, churches would be started. We can work out those challenges that will come. Let's just begin.
To many in the ABA 'indigenous' is a new term. It's not new, just new to us. It means essentially that something can grow, reproduce, and thrive naturally without any outside or foreign intervention. This, we are learning, is working well with the establishment of new churches in foreign countries that are self-supporting, self-governing, self-propagating and scripturally sound from the 'git go'.
It is time to adapt these principles of indigenous church planting to the USA. We would be establishing many more churches if we seriously considered allowing new churches to be indigenous from the beginning. It would be cost effective. It would call for spiritual leaders to be raised up from their own congregations. It would solve a lot of problems and maybe create some new ones. But, churches would be started. We can work out those challenges that will come. Let's just begin.
The Casting of a Vision
For those who need a positive grasp of 'vision' it would be good to define the term:
Biblically, many refer to Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people perish:" when they talk about vision. Of course, we know that vision there initially refers to the Word of God delivered to a man of God who then tells the people of God what God said. When there was no vision it meant that God had not communicated with man the Word of God for a period of time.
Needless to say, we have the Word of God in its entirety and there is no need for more revelation. But 'vision' goes further than that. It speaks of what the people of God will become if there is no vision or spoken declaration of God; it says they will perish. The 'perishing' has to do with eternal destiny and even more to do with daily living and the spreading of the knowledge of God's Word, specifically the "Good News".
When there was no prophet with a 'vision' from God, the people lacked "visionary leadership". This was the kind of leadership that knew what God wanted and weren't afraid to declare it. God wants us to "be witnesses unto Him" and "Go into all the world". This is God's vision for us today. This is the vision that needs to be cast. So sending out a challenge to plant 100 new churches is certainly part of the vision of God.
The casting of a vision requires visionary leadership;leaders who clearly understand God's will and declare it in such a way as to challenge others to obey it. Our leadership influence seems to be restricted to a few school periodicals that live in the days of past glory and little hope for better days ahead. I believe it is time to cast some kind of a vision to our ABA people or they will perish.
Biblically, many refer to Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people perish:" when they talk about vision. Of course, we know that vision there initially refers to the Word of God delivered to a man of God who then tells the people of God what God said. When there was no vision it meant that God had not communicated with man the Word of God for a period of time.
Needless to say, we have the Word of God in its entirety and there is no need for more revelation. But 'vision' goes further than that. It speaks of what the people of God will become if there is no vision or spoken declaration of God; it says they will perish. The 'perishing' has to do with eternal destiny and even more to do with daily living and the spreading of the knowledge of God's Word, specifically the "Good News".
When there was no prophet with a 'vision' from God, the people lacked "visionary leadership". This was the kind of leadership that knew what God wanted and weren't afraid to declare it. God wants us to "be witnesses unto Him" and "Go into all the world". This is God's vision for us today. This is the vision that needs to be cast. So sending out a challenge to plant 100 new churches is certainly part of the vision of God.
The casting of a vision requires visionary leadership;leaders who clearly understand God's will and declare it in such a way as to challenge others to obey it. Our leadership influence seems to be restricted to a few school periodicals that live in the days of past glory and little hope for better days ahead. I believe it is time to cast some kind of a vision to our ABA people or they will perish.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Someone Tell it...100 New churches!
We are in the middle of our ABA messenger meeting as this blog is being written. So maybe some of my brothers will catch this.
How simple it would be for someone on the platform of the Messenger Assembly to say: "Let's set a national goal of starting 100 new churches", or "How wonderful it would be if the churches of ABA would determine start 100 new churches next year." Would someone be bold enough to cast that vision?
In the meantime we could help this little grassfire to spread by simply telling others around us:
"Let's encourage our churches to plant 100 new churches this year".
Someone keep telling it until we catch it. Let's start 100 new churches!
David
How simple it would be for someone on the platform of the Messenger Assembly to say: "Let's set a national goal of starting 100 new churches", or "How wonderful it would be if the churches of ABA would determine start 100 new churches next year." Would someone be bold enough to cast that vision?
In the meantime we could help this little grassfire to spread by simply telling others around us:
"Let's encourage our churches to plant 100 new churches this year".
Someone keep telling it until we catch it. Let's start 100 new churches!
David
Saturday, June 16, 2007
More Churches Started
If more churches are going to be started there will be a need for greater emphasis on associational cooperation as well as increased information on the topic of church planting. I believe that there would be more funds in the ABA missions program if churches saw that there were more new churches being started.
Without compromising the autonomy of the local church it would be essential to establish some meaningful structure within our associated work that enables church planting. This structure ought to be servant to the churches providing every conceivable element necessary for successful church planting. Of course, it would not send missionaries and it would not be a board. Just a simple committee on "Church Planting" given the freedom to do everything it can to advance church planting. Is this too hard or what?
This structure could be established and funded easily by a simple motion on the floor. It would be so easy to establish a "church planting offering" once a year like the Thanksgiving offering and totally fund this effort. Why not have our own "Lottie Moon offering" or "Annie Armstrong" offering? Or maybe we ought to redirect the Thanksgiving offering to a "church planting committee"?
Thank God for at least one ministry that is trying to address this issue of church planting. O that more would arise!
Without compromising the autonomy of the local church it would be essential to establish some meaningful structure within our associated work that enables church planting. This structure ought to be servant to the churches providing every conceivable element necessary for successful church planting. Of course, it would not send missionaries and it would not be a board. Just a simple committee on "Church Planting" given the freedom to do everything it can to advance church planting. Is this too hard or what?
This structure could be established and funded easily by a simple motion on the floor. It would be so easy to establish a "church planting offering" once a year like the Thanksgiving offering and totally fund this effort. Why not have our own "Lottie Moon offering" or "Annie Armstrong" offering? Or maybe we ought to redirect the Thanksgiving offering to a "church planting committee"?
Thank God for at least one ministry that is trying to address this issue of church planting. O that more would arise!
Can We Start 100 New Churches?
I guess it has a lot to do with what we mean by starting 'new churches'.
A new church would definitely be an assembly of born-again, baptized believers of at least 2 or 3 in agreement to carry out the Great Commission. But this question certainly implies that we are looking for a development of beginning absolutely new works in a given year in order that we may call them 'new churches'. So, let it be 'new churches'.
Now, lest we get sidetracked, this is about planting churches. If we (ABA) planted 100 new churches in a given year, it would probably be an historical event, because I don't believe it has ever happened. But it could easily happen if just 10% of ABA churches decided to take this seriously.
Here's how the churches of the ABA could start 100 New Churches:
1. Empower the President, VP's, Secretary Treasurer, to set church planting goals so that the churches of the ABA would be encouraged in a greater way to start new churches.
2. Elect a church planting committee for the sole purpose of evaluating, encouraging, researching, and recommending to the churches of the ABA how and where to effectively establish new churches in order to achieve increased church planting. (give them the means to do this if at all possible).
3. Encourage each local church to either plant a new church or assist in meaningful partnership with a church that is starting a new church in order to facilitate church planting.
4. Ensure that each new church start is indigenous as possible from the very beginning.
5. Establish internship programs in healthy local churches for the purpose of developing new church planters.
6. Enlist churches and church planters specifically for this purpose.
For a single church to start a new church here are some simple suggestions:
1. Tithe your membership (100 members? take 10 and start a new church. 50 members? tithe off 5 and start a small group. Don't let your size or age determine whether you will start a new church.) Let's start churches 'on purpose' instead of by the 'split' process.
2. Start a small group in a neighborhood where a church member lives for the specific purpose of starting a new church.
3. Coordinate several churches in a given locale and each tithe off its membership to start a new church. (churches that give up members will find that God replaces those given up.)
4. Release leaders in the church and send them out to start a small group which could become a church.
5. Raise up spiritual leaders from within the local church and don't wait for an 'ordained preacher' to begin the new church.
6. Start a new church by faith and don't wait for the resources to begin it. Rely on God.
Well, those are simple suggestions to what seems to be an overwhelming task for some. The solution lies within the desire of the heart. Is it in your heart to get involved? Would you like to be a part of the solution to starting new churches? Then let's begin.
A new church would definitely be an assembly of born-again, baptized believers of at least 2 or 3 in agreement to carry out the Great Commission. But this question certainly implies that we are looking for a development of beginning absolutely new works in a given year in order that we may call them 'new churches'. So, let it be 'new churches'.
Now, lest we get sidetracked, this is about planting churches. If we (ABA) planted 100 new churches in a given year, it would probably be an historical event, because I don't believe it has ever happened. But it could easily happen if just 10% of ABA churches decided to take this seriously.
Here's how the churches of the ABA could start 100 New Churches:
1. Empower the President, VP's, Secretary Treasurer, to set church planting goals so that the churches of the ABA would be encouraged in a greater way to start new churches.
2. Elect a church planting committee for the sole purpose of evaluating, encouraging, researching, and recommending to the churches of the ABA how and where to effectively establish new churches in order to achieve increased church planting. (give them the means to do this if at all possible).
3. Encourage each local church to either plant a new church or assist in meaningful partnership with a church that is starting a new church in order to facilitate church planting.
4. Ensure that each new church start is indigenous as possible from the very beginning.
5. Establish internship programs in healthy local churches for the purpose of developing new church planters.
6. Enlist churches and church planters specifically for this purpose.
For a single church to start a new church here are some simple suggestions:
1. Tithe your membership (100 members? take 10 and start a new church. 50 members? tithe off 5 and start a small group. Don't let your size or age determine whether you will start a new church.) Let's start churches 'on purpose' instead of by the 'split' process.
2. Start a small group in a neighborhood where a church member lives for the specific purpose of starting a new church.
3. Coordinate several churches in a given locale and each tithe off its membership to start a new church. (churches that give up members will find that God replaces those given up.)
4. Release leaders in the church and send them out to start a small group which could become a church.
5. Raise up spiritual leaders from within the local church and don't wait for an 'ordained preacher' to begin the new church.
6. Start a new church by faith and don't wait for the resources to begin it. Rely on God.
Well, those are simple suggestions to what seems to be an overwhelming task for some. The solution lies within the desire of the heart. Is it in your heart to get involved? Would you like to be a part of the solution to starting new churches? Then let's begin.
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