My friend and colleague, Jason, and I were talking about church-planting the other day. He is a member of a 1000+member church near Akron, and has been commissioned by this body of believers to help lead a portion of them (200, give or take) down here to Canton where they hope to plant a new church, which I think is absolutely wonderful, and had I not felt called this semester to proceed with this blog, I probably would have done what I can to get involved and strive alongside him.
I read and listen to sermons and hear people talking about church-planting in similar ways: "We have enough people now to start a new church!" Or, "When we reach xxx number of members/regular attenders, we'll begin praying about planting a new church." Or, "We've outgrown our current facility, and are thus going to plant a new church in this or that city." Granted, these examples do not encompass all, or even the majority of church-planters and their various perspectives. I didn't do a survey to figure out the actual percentages of these mindsets. Nonetheless, I think we can all relate to them in some way.
Let's think about the other side of that same coin: "We can't afford to plant a church. We missed our budget by x% as it is!" Or, "We hardly fill the building we're in now, so why would we try to plant a church?" (Again, no survey, but can't we all level with this line of thinking to some degree?)
Don't get me wrong. I don't mean to imply that these perspectives on church-planting are in any way wrong, I just wonder how complete they are. They seem to be reactional, subject to circumstances and situations that may or may not arise. And while God is able to do immeasurably more than our wildest imagination, he also expects and requires us to be good stewards of the resources we're given.
That said, what do you think our God, with his unlimited resources and power, with his providence and immutability, could do through a tiny parcel of believers completely committed to becoming a church-plant? What if, instead of reacting to circumstances, we proactively, and radically stepped out in faith, even if it seems crazy or ill-advised? The very idea of 'church-planting' is of human origin as it is. What if, say, five people, being called by God, decided to forsake all and entirely commit to the idea of 'making disciples' (Christ's divine term, which some might refer to as 'church-planting)? What if Living Hope Church sent two families into their respective neighborhoods to begin house churches with their neighbors? What if these grew to ten, or twenty apiece, over the course of two or three months? And then came together to celebrate with the mother church? The original congregation has doubled!
Now what if my friend Jason, and his 200-ish member church-plant adopted this small church's mentality of church-planting and decided to send their 50-ish families to their own homes, their neighborhoods, and each grew from four to twenty in a matter of six months? And then each mini-church of 20 broke off and began, say, two apiece, and worked toward making disciples and growing together in authentic, sacrificial community, and each of THOSE church grew to twenty people in six more months?
...I gotta get my calculator...
In six months that 200 member church is at 1000 or more, and after one year of committed growth, maturity and disciple-making the 200 has increased by a factor of ten! (That is, assuming my math checks out; either way it's mind-boggling, which further's my point.)
Hold your horses, there, Serafino. It's not all about the numbers.
Exactly. And those hypotheticals weren't number-oriented, they were possibility-oriented. Instead of seeing the numbers, see what God COULD do if we'd really let him.
Could God plant a church through my wife and I? In this small upstairs apartment in northeast Canton? Could that little church double, triple, grow exponentially?
Could God use you in the same way?
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ReplyDeleteI like how you think, Serafino! Why don't people pray about it and then follow the direction that God desires? We spend too much time talking about OUR vision and OUR master plan and implementing it according to human wisdom and then praying and asking God to join us. Isn't that backward? When we pray and wait upon the Lord and "hear" from Him - we receive a vision and direction that, when followed through obedience and trust, will ultimately succeed in ridiculous ways! Here is what happens - we move the way that God tells us to, even if it defies human logic and plans, and through His power and to His glory we see people, resources and plans come together to accomplish His purposes.
ReplyDeleteI like it!
I have an idea, at the end of the summer, when you and the little lady get done with the western tour that you will be on, come on back to Indiana and let's start a church. It has been on my heart and mind for years. I have been waiting for the right timing and we'll see if He wants you to help. We could go across the state line into Michigan (Lord knows they need Jesus - LOL) and then march right on up to the U.P. planting churches filled with faithful Christ followers! Cool idea!
http://www.acts29network.org
ReplyDeletegreat thing to have on your heart and something I could for sure see you and Hannah doing! Acts 29 is one of the greatest resources if you are serious about it. They are great network of church planters and they have boot camps throughout the year to help equip possible young leaders.
great specific article "Am I a Church Planter?"
ReplyDeletehttp://www.acts29network.org/acts-29-blog/am-i-a-church-planter/
I think it all begins with how one defines church...does a church have to have a defined space to meet with pews and a pulpit? Can it happen in the living room of a neighborhood home? Can it be a fellowship of believers who meet regularly somewhere else? In my unprofessional opinion, I believe the church is where two or more are gathered in the name of Christ, a place of love and acceptance, a place where one can worship God and meet Him at the feet of the cross.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in LA, I went to one of the larger churches in the area that decided to plant a church. They asked for around 200 people to join in committing to six months of service to help establish this church in a movie theater out in Ventura. This involved extensive hours of volunteering prior to the “opening” of this church plant to make this church shine...aka a children's ministry, a A/V crew, a worship team, etc, etc. It became a very seeker friendly environment (I am no opposed to this necessarily – a whole different topic of conversation) that was “built” more to impress the crowd and draw them in. Yes, the Word was shared, but it seemed to me that more of an effort was placed on making the appearance of the church cool/trendy/hip and the focus of spreading the Truth throughout the community was put more on the backburner. After six months, the majority of the 200 volunteers came back to their home church (my church home)...after building/establishing relationships within the community of Ventura and building the church up to meet a goal. I wonder what those new church attenders/members thought when the church shrank by so many members?
Coming from working in inner city ministry might have changed my mindset on a church plant. I do think that the church sometimes tends to be reactional to the church planting process as you mentioned. Oh, we've outgrown our building; we have split off into two groups with slightly different viewpoints; let’s start a church plant to solve a problem or disagreement. Sometimes these church plants can be (from my experience) to selfishly benefit a group of people within the church who feel "church" should be done a different way. Other times, it can be out of sheer necessity due to growth. Grant it, not all churches are this way that is not what I am saying. I have been a part of a few churches who have done this, but I have also seen other churches who prayerfully approach the process of church planting to fulfill a need in His Kingdom (both mega churches and small churches).
I see a church plant being something that is very intentional that meets the people of the community where they are at. Going back to “what is church?”, does it mean you have to have a building and a community of “x” amount of people to start a church? Do you have to have a building/public venue to meet at? Can’t it be a few visionaries/missionaries who feel called to spread the gospel to an area of the world that is in need of God’s teaching? I have seen many of churches develop from a house church where a few families and/or individuals starting meeting together in the name of Christ to be challenged by His Word and be discipled by one another.
I currently attend a mega-church in downtown Chicago that has great teaching and worship, however, I receive the most benefit from my church experience within my small group. This is where I am most challenged and where we can get into the meet of the sermon/message/small group study. This is where my accountability is, where I am called out, where I can be a testimony, where I can lead and be led. My mega-church is a gathering of many small groups in one place for corporate worship and teaching. Is my small group a church – it is the gathering of two or more in the name of Christ?