Since the ABA in Spokane we have seen two new works started. There maybe more but it is becoming increasingly more difficult to get information due to the ABA News going to a message board system. We will be utilizing that nonethless in the near future.
Because 100 new works is definitely not within the range of our associated churches at this time, we have simply doubled the number of works done last year as a possible goal for this year, 26!
Is 26 new works an achievable goal for over 1200 ABA churches?
I fully realize that this goal is set by me! I am nobody. But no one is challenging us to do anything in the way of church planting and that is unacceptable to me. We need goals to strive for and pray for. I'd love for someone in our ABA leadership to challenge us with goals like this rather than me. It would be far more effective coming from them. I would gladly step aside from making any presumptuous attempts in this area of setting goals if someone would just do it and not be concerned about what others might say or think.
Our churches need a vision of how they can achieve these goals. There is no vision and the churches are perishing. How can we achieve greater church planting?
There is a way, in my humble opinion which will be talked about more in future blogs.
David
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9 comments:
By God's murcy,your vision moving greatly.
I am happy about it.
When Jesus said go and baptize to the whole world. His vision inculuded ,someday like Xstream will apear in this world .And it stands on the rock of Jesus.
Living church will grow healthy.
I am happy Ukrainian team came back safely.
Thank you God.
Bro. David,
I would like to hear more of your thoughts on church planting. Write faster please :) Would love to discuss them with you personally. Email me if you would like.
I keep commenting but have yet to see any change in the way we do things ... I will reaffirm my thoughts though ....
We have to get churches fired up with a vision.
We have to find a way to accelerate the transition time from "called of God to start a church" and the time the person actually gets to the field to start.
We have to change the way church planters are funded. When called and trained the planter should not have to spend 6 months going from church to church to "beg" for support.
We should also have a method to link church planters together to share the work. Jesus sent them out by "twos"
I would love to be of help. I have no shortage of vision. However I am at the BOTTOM of this ladder and have yet to figure out how to move up until I finish school and either go to a church or start a church (part of the problem again)!
I have rambled enough ... just food for thought.
Email me or give me a call if you like:
John Skipworth johnskipworthjr@yahoo.com
903-647-7669
Hey John
I will be elaborating much more on a "Church Planting Fellowship" in the near future. There are a number of things I am laying down that I believe will clarify a lot of what the purpose would be and the reasons behind it all.
There is no real short-cut from the "call to start a church" to getting on the field to actually "start the church". Shortening that time up isn't really the issues that I am addressing. It is possible that the time factor could be shortened but probably not much. Doing deputation is very important and can be most beneficial.
David
Bro Suzuki,
It's always nice to hear from you. We are praying that new churches get planted in Japan. The field there is ripening for a harvest. It will be important to become aggressive in soulwinning and evangelism.
Keep up the good work you are doing and reproduce more churches.
David
When I surrendered to go to Brownwood, I would have moved in two or three weeks if the doors had opened (through employment). WHen that did not happen, I purposed in my heart to get moved out at the end of the school year, doing deputation in the mean time.
In 7 months, God supplied a sending church and almost a dozen supporters. While the response to deputation was good, deputation was very beneficial to me in the way of encouragement and prayer from sister churches. Looking back on it, I wouldn't trade that time for anything.
If one is committed to going to the field, God will get him there in His time. If one is waiting to hit a certain financial goal, he may never get to the field. It depends on the heart of the missionary.
I know missionaries who went to the field after only 4 months of deputation, and those who spent 18 months on deputation. In both cases, God has supplied their needs.
I've also known missionaries who were waiting to raise a certain level of support before going. They have never made it to the field, and haven't been able to maintain a sending church.
So, to summarize, deputation is good, if it is done with the right heart.
David,
Could you send me your email address? I would like to comment more but I would like this to be a private conversation ... if you after hearing them you deem my thoughts worthy of others reading them then I can post them
Thanks,
John
Church Planting needs to be accelerated.
One of the ways in which this could happen is for all of us to do some serious praying for more laborers. Then when they reveal themselves, or we find them, gather them up into a 'brotherhood of church planters'. We don't want to lose these guys once we find them.
Reach America has done some of this but I'm not sure what RA is doing these days. We are friends to RA and will work with them if they wish.
David
Church Planting will begin to slowly take off once we have caught the vision of "Reproducing Churches" and then cast the vision to others everywhere and to everyone that we can.
We need to talk about reproducing and then act on reproducing.
My church is praying seriously about starting a new church in less than three years. We are new church ourselves.
They are catching the vision because we are casting the vision. We are building it into their DNA as a new church.
David
David,
In your comment below, you mention that we need to gather up those interested in church planting then gather them up into a church planting brotherhood and get it done. I think that is the thing I have been trying to say in all my comments. Right now that is not happening so those interested in getting it done eventually either lose heart or leave and go somewhere else to get it done.
I definitely agree that we need to have a vision but without action that vision is useless.
I think you have the vision and are WORKING toward getting it done so for anyone who might misunderstand this comment is in NO WAY directed to be negative toward David.
I am merely emphasizing what David already said .... we need to get a Vision and then GET IT DONE!!!
John Skipworth
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