In the previous blog, I gave you four ways that some structures can hinder rapid mobilization. Here are four more to think through.
Fifth, what we might call a “baggage-laden concept” of what constitutes a New Testament Church and its structures can hinder spontaneity. This has been addressed by me in a study where I deal with “What is a Church? What is my Goal?—Ch 1, 2, & 3” available by request by contacting me at my e-mail bobvajko@gmail.com If we add our own cultural baggage as to what a church is to be, then we will be hindered in our multiplication of churches.
In his book Starting a New Church, Ralph Moore, founder of the Hope Chapel Movement which has planted some 200 new churches explains: ““The North American church paradigm seems wired against the rapid multiplication of churches. At its core are three major impediments to the rapid multiplication of the church. Each roadblock is a useful tool, yet each comes with a price tag that is often out of reach or difficult to pay. The costs that stand in our way include the following:
1. Required seminary training for pastors.
2. A dedicated building for church services.
3. Full-time remuneration for pastors.” (Moore 2002, 102)
Note that in China they are keeping the churches simple and that leads to true multiplication. The more one can keep the concept of church and churches in a denomination rooted to biblical norms, the more we will see structures that will result in biblical growth and multiplication.
Sixth, a non-contextualized concept of church planting can be a structure than hinders growth and multiplication. We think that we can import a model which may work well in one culture forgetting the importance of context. This does not mean compromising the basic principles of Scripture but it does mean being flexible in all the areas that are not clearly spelled out in Scripture. The worst thing that one can do is to copy a model from another country or even another area of the country in which one is working without contextualizing.
Seventh, the concept of planting one church and majoring upon it is a structure that is non biblical.This is one structure that is really deadly to church planting and multiplication. It usually involves building one church and not seeing the importance of churches giving birth to new churches. This one-church model forgets the organic nature of the Church which is that it is a “living church” that grows and multiplies organically and not mechanically. Pastors and missionaries struggle with the paradigm of multiplication by thinking (and sometimes stating), “I have such a hard time getting one church planted that I do not have the energy or the vision to see regional church multiplication.” However, this betrays a wrong vision of what God wants to do and means that the DNA of a given church does not have the “multiplication” factor built in. So in spite of the struggle to see “one church” born and growing, we must add the further “struggle” to see that church giving birth and thus multiplying itself.
Eighth, one of the modern hindrances to church planting in a spontaneous way is a wrong mega-church approach that leads to sterility. This is linked to the “one church” mentality. Large churches are not wrong but what is wrong is the idea that we are to build one large church rather than multiply ourselves.
Some “mega-churches” have been fantastic at planting new churches and so it is not the “mega-church” concept that is wrong. What is wrong is the “mega-church” model that does not lead to some kind of daughter church multiplication. “Big churches” need to add to their paradigm the vision of “big churches that plant branch churches.”
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Rapid Mobilization - Structures that are Strictures
We continue with commenting on the fourth of the five qualities of movements that change the world, Steve Addison’s new book—“rapid mobilization.”
Let me comment on four structures for this blog and then deal with more next time.
One of the things that militates against this kind of mobilization is the ecclesiastical structures that exist today that really become strictures against a movement becoming dynamic and spontaneous. What are some of the structures that can easily become strictures that hinder both the growth of a local church in quantity and quality as well as the multiplication of that church leading to a church multiplication movement?
In a recent ministry trip I saw again how structures that are not biblical can hinder the growth, the expansion, the health, and the multiplication of churches. We need to read and realize the implications of what Roland Allen called, “The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church and the Causes which Hinder it.” I would like to encourage us to look at structures that hinder the spontaneous expansion of the church and apply them to your context.
Structures are not wrong in themselves. All work or ministry requires some kind of structure but there are hindering structures that become strictures and there are what could be called “empowering structures” that encourage expansion, growth, and health. Christian Schwarz calls these types of structures “effective structures” – i.e. structures that work rather than hinder.
Here are some examples of non-functional structures that end up being strictures that discourage spontaneity.
First, the creation of structures that had a goal of outreach by church planting and multiplication but have turned inward to care for churches that do not reproduce. This happens as denominations or fellowships of churches come into being with a vision of reaching the lost and planting new churches. But then they turn inward and live to keep their structures alive rather than to spontaneously reach out, disciple, and plant new churches. Roland Allen states: “There is a horrible tendency for an organization to grow in importance till it overshadows the end of its existence, and begins to exist for itself.” (Allen 1956, 129). This can happen to missions or missionary organizations that move from multiplication to maintenance. This inward turning is usually towards the tightening of control in such a way that spontaneity is stifled.
Second, a wrong distinction between “clergy” and “laymen.” Leaders are necessary but a wrong distinction between those “set apart” for so called paid, full-time ministry compared to bi-vocational ministry hinders the expansion of the church. I remember attending a key seminar given by Donald McGavran on networks or denominations that grow and those that do not grow. One of the keys to a growing movement was lay leaders who plant new churches. There are vast untapped resources for the planting and multiplication of new churches that is hindered by what could be called “elitism” in our church structures.
Structures that recognize leadership are not wrong but structures that stricture ministry because of a lack of formal education and formal recognition are deadening to the growth of the church. This is also seen in the restriction of the ordinances (or sacraments in some groups) of baptism and the Lord’s Supper to only ordained leaders. It is important to not handle the ordinances lightly and there needs to discipline in the local church but to restrict godly leaders from caring for the ordinances will hinder the growth of the church especially in starting new churches. In a recent article in Christianity Today on the growth of the churches in Cuba, Jeremy Weber states: “ ‘The church is growing because pastors have loosened power,’ said a 34 year-old pastor in central Cuba. Pastors in his rural network of nine house churches are allowing lay missionaries to plant churches and even conduct baptisms and weddings because the pastors can’t travel enough to keep up with demand.” (Weber 2009, 24)
One of the great encouragements in the fellowship of churches that we worked with in France was the setting apart of a young man as a recognized evangelist even though he was lacking educational requirements that are so often put onto those who want to serve the Lord. The result of this was the planting of a new church in a new region as Charles served with his heart.
Third, what Roland Allen called “Fear for the Doctrine” in chapter four of his book The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church (London: World Dominion Press, 1956). he idea here is that if we expand and start new churches or if we unleash potential leadership, we risk a move away from biblical doctrine.
Listen here to Greg Hubbard, “…if we are honest, only God controls His church. Moral failings and doctrinal issues have plagued some of the most structured and controlled church denominations throughout history. Control structures have not proven effective in eliminating problems. It seems that control structures may do more to limit the spontaneous expansion of the church than they have done to preserve its purity.” (Hubbard 2004, 59).
There are true structures that can be put into place that encourage faithfulness to biblical doctrine such as a daughter church having as its doctrine statement that of its mother church.
Fourth, The bias of previous experiences and traditions. Jaroslav Pelikan has said, whereas tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.” (Pelikan in Bellah 1985). The seven last words of the church are “we never did it that way before.” We get entangled in our “sacred cows” –traditions which hinder us from creative ideas. Christian Schwarz states, “Our research confirmed for the first time an extremely negative relationship between traditionalism and both growth and quality within the church.” (Schwarz 2006, 30).
IYKDWYBDYKGWYBG which translates to “if you keep doing what you’ve been doing you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting.” In other words , if we keep doing ministry that is unproductive in terms of winning disciples, planting new churches and raising up leadership things will continue that way. However, if we seek to break through this vicious cycle and move into new ways of doing ministry we may see new things happen.
This was the whole experience of the Jerusalem Council as seen in Acts 15. The apostles and elders decided to move ahead in a new way and the result was the great breakthrough as seen in Acts.
When I was in Melbourne, Australia, in May of this year, I had a fascinating discussion with Jossy Chacko, director of Empart, a church-planting mission working in India. Their vision is to plant 100,000 churches in North India by the year 2030. He shared that the best church planters are gleaned from the harvest and that they discover that workers who have had a more traditional approach to church planting are less effective because of their previous experience. (Chacko 2007)
More next time.
Let me comment on four structures for this blog and then deal with more next time.
One of the things that militates against this kind of mobilization is the ecclesiastical structures that exist today that really become strictures against a movement becoming dynamic and spontaneous. What are some of the structures that can easily become strictures that hinder both the growth of a local church in quantity and quality as well as the multiplication of that church leading to a church multiplication movement?
In a recent ministry trip I saw again how structures that are not biblical can hinder the growth, the expansion, the health, and the multiplication of churches. We need to read and realize the implications of what Roland Allen called, “The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church and the Causes which Hinder it.” I would like to encourage us to look at structures that hinder the spontaneous expansion of the church and apply them to your context.
Structures are not wrong in themselves. All work or ministry requires some kind of structure but there are hindering structures that become strictures and there are what could be called “empowering structures” that encourage expansion, growth, and health. Christian Schwarz calls these types of structures “effective structures” – i.e. structures that work rather than hinder.
Here are some examples of non-functional structures that end up being strictures that discourage spontaneity.
First, the creation of structures that had a goal of outreach by church planting and multiplication but have turned inward to care for churches that do not reproduce. This happens as denominations or fellowships of churches come into being with a vision of reaching the lost and planting new churches. But then they turn inward and live to keep their structures alive rather than to spontaneously reach out, disciple, and plant new churches. Roland Allen states: “There is a horrible tendency for an organization to grow in importance till it overshadows the end of its existence, and begins to exist for itself.” (Allen 1956, 129). This can happen to missions or missionary organizations that move from multiplication to maintenance. This inward turning is usually towards the tightening of control in such a way that spontaneity is stifled.
Second, a wrong distinction between “clergy” and “laymen.” Leaders are necessary but a wrong distinction between those “set apart” for so called paid, full-time ministry compared to bi-vocational ministry hinders the expansion of the church. I remember attending a key seminar given by Donald McGavran on networks or denominations that grow and those that do not grow. One of the keys to a growing movement was lay leaders who plant new churches. There are vast untapped resources for the planting and multiplication of new churches that is hindered by what could be called “elitism” in our church structures.
Structures that recognize leadership are not wrong but structures that stricture ministry because of a lack of formal education and formal recognition are deadening to the growth of the church. This is also seen in the restriction of the ordinances (or sacraments in some groups) of baptism and the Lord’s Supper to only ordained leaders. It is important to not handle the ordinances lightly and there needs to discipline in the local church but to restrict godly leaders from caring for the ordinances will hinder the growth of the church especially in starting new churches. In a recent article in Christianity Today on the growth of the churches in Cuba, Jeremy Weber states: “ ‘The church is growing because pastors have loosened power,’ said a 34 year-old pastor in central Cuba. Pastors in his rural network of nine house churches are allowing lay missionaries to plant churches and even conduct baptisms and weddings because the pastors can’t travel enough to keep up with demand.” (Weber 2009, 24)
One of the great encouragements in the fellowship of churches that we worked with in France was the setting apart of a young man as a recognized evangelist even though he was lacking educational requirements that are so often put onto those who want to serve the Lord. The result of this was the planting of a new church in a new region as Charles served with his heart.
Third, what Roland Allen called “Fear for the Doctrine” in chapter four of his book The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church (London: World Dominion Press, 1956). he idea here is that if we expand and start new churches or if we unleash potential leadership, we risk a move away from biblical doctrine.
Listen here to Greg Hubbard, “…if we are honest, only God controls His church. Moral failings and doctrinal issues have plagued some of the most structured and controlled church denominations throughout history. Control structures have not proven effective in eliminating problems. It seems that control structures may do more to limit the spontaneous expansion of the church than they have done to preserve its purity.” (Hubbard 2004, 59).
There are true structures that can be put into place that encourage faithfulness to biblical doctrine such as a daughter church having as its doctrine statement that of its mother church.
Fourth, The bias of previous experiences and traditions. Jaroslav Pelikan has said, whereas tradition is the living faith of the dead, traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.” (Pelikan in Bellah 1985). The seven last words of the church are “we never did it that way before.” We get entangled in our “sacred cows” –traditions which hinder us from creative ideas. Christian Schwarz states, “Our research confirmed for the first time an extremely negative relationship between traditionalism and both growth and quality within the church.” (Schwarz 2006, 30).
IYKDWYBDYKGWYBG which translates to “if you keep doing what you’ve been doing you’ll keep getting what you’ve been getting.” In other words , if we keep doing ministry that is unproductive in terms of winning disciples, planting new churches and raising up leadership things will continue that way. However, if we seek to break through this vicious cycle and move into new ways of doing ministry we may see new things happen.
This was the whole experience of the Jerusalem Council as seen in Acts 15. The apostles and elders decided to move ahead in a new way and the result was the great breakthrough as seen in Acts.
When I was in Melbourne, Australia, in May of this year, I had a fascinating discussion with Jossy Chacko, director of Empart, a church-planting mission working in India. Their vision is to plant 100,000 churches in North India by the year 2030. He shared that the best church planters are gleaned from the harvest and that they discover that workers who have had a more traditional approach to church planting are less effective because of their previous experience. (Chacko 2007)
More next time.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Contagious Relationships - Bridges of God
Continuing through Steve Addison's recent book movements that change the world (available through Amazon.dot.com), his third quality of a dynamic movemnt is "contagious relationships." Some have called this "bridges of God" --first coined by Dr. Donald McGavran.
Let's talk about these "bridges of God." Understanding this principle should radically change our vision of evangelism and growth in the local church.
In his Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Frederic Godet uses the expression "bridge" in reference to evangelism through social structures:
"In every Gentile city where Paul opens a mission he begins with preaching the gospel to the Jews in the synagogue. There he meets with the proselytes from among the Gentiles, and these form the bridge by which he reaches the purely Gentile population." [italics mine] Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1956), p. 13.
Later, Donald McGavran developed this idea in his book The Bridges of God (New York: Friendship Press, 1955):
"The basic question is this: HOW DO PEOPLE BECOME CHRISTIANS? The
answer is simply, by the "bridges of God." What is a “bridge of God”? This question can be complicated but for the purposes of this blog we will not go into all the pros and cons of people movements but deal with the basic idea. Basically, a "bridge of God" is a contact (people, one person or group) that God gives us in order that we might touch a whole new group of people or a special group of people (family, tribe, ethnic group, nation) in order to win them to Christ.
The general approach in Western evangelism is to see winning people to Christ in as individuals. But But notice the difference when the biblical text speaks of evangelism (as for example as seen in Acts 16:31 and other texts. The Bible sees the individual person in his social context (family, ethnic group, people, etc.). The person who accepts the message of the gospel can become a
marvelous bridge to touch many other people.
So we need to see evangelism in terms of web relationships, Again McGavran states: “But the truth not often seen or stressed is that Christianity, like electricity, flows best where there is a good contact. The power of God acts best within a people." Bridges of God, p. 93. And again "cold sparks with good contacts have, as a matter of historical fact, produced more growth than hot sparks with poor contact." Bridges of God, p. 94.
Rodney Stark in his book The Rise of Christianity (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1997) states the same thing: “The basis for successful conversionist movements is growth through social networks, though a structure of direct and intimate interpersonal attachments.” (p. 20)
This explains why even revival within a group may not lead to growth by conversions—if the contact with unsaved people is minimal. This also explains the relationship of the eight essential qualities that have been discovered by research reported in Natural Church Development by Christian Schwarz. Just because groups grow in what he calls “passionate spirituality” does not lead to conversions that cause the church to grow if there is a low quality index in the areas of “need-oriented evangelism,” “holistic small groups” and “loving relationships.”
The question is a key one for effective communication to take place within social structures.
Mark 5:1-18 - what kind of bridge here? John 1:35-46.- what kind of a bridge here?
What are some of the possible "bridges of God" in your target area?
Have you already had a breakthrough in effective evangelism and church growth and multiplication by means of some kind of a "bridge" to reach others?
What can you do to develop "bridges of God"?
Let's talk about these "bridges of God." Understanding this principle should radically change our vision of evangelism and growth in the local church.
In his Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans, Frederic Godet uses the expression "bridge" in reference to evangelism through social structures:
"In every Gentile city where Paul opens a mission he begins with preaching the gospel to the Jews in the synagogue. There he meets with the proselytes from among the Gentiles, and these form the bridge by which he reaches the purely Gentile population." [italics mine] Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1956), p. 13.
Later, Donald McGavran developed this idea in his book The Bridges of God (New York: Friendship Press, 1955):
"The basic question is this: HOW DO PEOPLE BECOME CHRISTIANS? The
answer is simply, by the "bridges of God." What is a “bridge of God”? This question can be complicated but for the purposes of this blog we will not go into all the pros and cons of people movements but deal with the basic idea. Basically, a "bridge of God" is a contact (people, one person or group) that God gives us in order that we might touch a whole new group of people or a special group of people (family, tribe, ethnic group, nation) in order to win them to Christ.
The general approach in Western evangelism is to see winning people to Christ in as individuals. But But notice the difference when the biblical text speaks of evangelism (as for example as seen in Acts 16:31 and other texts. The Bible sees the individual person in his social context (family, ethnic group, people, etc.). The person who accepts the message of the gospel can become a
marvelous bridge to touch many other people.
So we need to see evangelism in terms of web relationships, Again McGavran states: “But the truth not often seen or stressed is that Christianity, like electricity, flows best where there is a good contact. The power of God acts best within a people." Bridges of God, p. 93. And again "cold sparks with good contacts have, as a matter of historical fact, produced more growth than hot sparks with poor contact." Bridges of God, p. 94.
Rodney Stark in his book The Rise of Christianity (San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1997) states the same thing: “The basis for successful conversionist movements is growth through social networks, though a structure of direct and intimate interpersonal attachments.” (p. 20)
This explains why even revival within a group may not lead to growth by conversions—if the contact with unsaved people is minimal. This also explains the relationship of the eight essential qualities that have been discovered by research reported in Natural Church Development by Christian Schwarz. Just because groups grow in what he calls “passionate spirituality” does not lead to conversions that cause the church to grow if there is a low quality index in the areas of “need-oriented evangelism,” “holistic small groups” and “loving relationships.”
The question is a key one for effective communication to take place within social structures.
Mark 5:1-18 - what kind of bridge here? John 1:35-46.- what kind of a bridge here?
What are some of the possible "bridges of God" in your target area?
Have you already had a breakthrough in effective evangelism and church growth and multiplication by means of some kind of a "bridge" to reach others?
What can you do to develop "bridges of God"?
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Commitment to a Cause or Vision
We are continuting to talk about dynamic movements and Steve Addison's book on movement that change the world. His second dynamic in chapter two is "commitment to a cause." I believe that this kind of commitment comes from a vision and this takes place in dynamic church planting where the vision is to multiply churches. Let's talk about vision:
What is “vision”? “The capacity to see beyond right now to what could be.” Heb. 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (ESV).
David Garrison says, “If you can’t see it before you see it, you’re never going to see it.” (2004, 200) Roland Allen says: “What is necessary is faith. What is needed is the kind of faith which, uniting a man to Christ, sets him on fire. Such a man can believe that others finding Christ will be set on fire also.” (Allen 1956, 208) Aubrey Malphurs says a vision is “a clear, challenging picture of the future of the ministry as it can and must be.” (1992, 237-8)
Moore talks about vision: “ Do you possess an unavoidable urge to start a new congregation? If you can live without this project, you probably should. The best church planters easily qualify for Peter Drucker’s descriptive ‘monomaniac with a mission.’ They are driven by a call similar to the ones given to the apostle Paul and the Old Testament prophets. These are the people who can run their blood pressure up 10 points just by poring over a map of potential meeting sites.” (2002, 35)
Hudson Taylor said, “How often do we attempt work for God to the limit of our incomptency rather than to the limit of God’s omnipotency.”
One French pastor stated this about vision: “The desire to evangelize, a burden greater than just seeing our city reached.” The elder of one church that planted six daughter churches and two grand-daughter churches said the same thing.
Why is there a lack of vision for this?
First, business as usual stifles vision. All denominations that plant new churches grow and all those who do not, do not grow. Second, training that does not include this but emphasizes pastors of existing churches as the great need. Third, looking at the “how many” instead of the “how few.” How often in Adelaide, Australia, I heard there are “too many churches” as people just looked at the existence of congregations that were static and not growing. We need to calculate “x number of churches” rather than “x number of lost people.
Who needs vision? Church planters, association of churches, churches, missions, trainers of church planters. students. One of the things that surprised me in training students in church planting is that fact that they would state that they never heard about this before. It was a new concept to them.
How important is vision to you? Is it seen in your life? How?
Allen, Roland. 1956. The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church and the Causes which Hinder it. London: World Dominion Press.
Garrison, David. 2004. Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World. Midlothian, VA: WIGTake Resources.
Malphurs, Aubrey. 1992. Planting Growing Churches for the 21st Century. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
Moore, Ralph. 2002. Starting a New Church: The Church Planter’s Guide to Success. Ventura, CA: Regal Books.
What is “vision”? “The capacity to see beyond right now to what could be.” Heb. 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (ESV).
David Garrison says, “If you can’t see it before you see it, you’re never going to see it.” (2004, 200) Roland Allen says: “What is necessary is faith. What is needed is the kind of faith which, uniting a man to Christ, sets him on fire. Such a man can believe that others finding Christ will be set on fire also.” (Allen 1956, 208) Aubrey Malphurs says a vision is “a clear, challenging picture of the future of the ministry as it can and must be.” (1992, 237-8)
Moore talks about vision: “ Do you possess an unavoidable urge to start a new congregation? If you can live without this project, you probably should. The best church planters easily qualify for Peter Drucker’s descriptive ‘monomaniac with a mission.’ They are driven by a call similar to the ones given to the apostle Paul and the Old Testament prophets. These are the people who can run their blood pressure up 10 points just by poring over a map of potential meeting sites.” (2002, 35)
Hudson Taylor said, “How often do we attempt work for God to the limit of our incomptency rather than to the limit of God’s omnipotency.”
One French pastor stated this about vision: “The desire to evangelize, a burden greater than just seeing our city reached.” The elder of one church that planted six daughter churches and two grand-daughter churches said the same thing.
Why is there a lack of vision for this?
First, business as usual stifles vision. All denominations that plant new churches grow and all those who do not, do not grow. Second, training that does not include this but emphasizes pastors of existing churches as the great need. Third, looking at the “how many” instead of the “how few.” How often in Adelaide, Australia, I heard there are “too many churches” as people just looked at the existence of congregations that were static and not growing. We need to calculate “x number of churches” rather than “x number of lost people.
Who needs vision? Church planters, association of churches, churches, missions, trainers of church planters. students. One of the things that surprised me in training students in church planting is that fact that they would state that they never heard about this before. It was a new concept to them.
How important is vision to you? Is it seen in your life? How?
Allen, Roland. 1956. The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church and the Causes which Hinder it. London: World Dominion Press.
Garrison, David. 2004. Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World. Midlothian, VA: WIGTake Resources.
Malphurs, Aubrey. 1992. Planting Growing Churches for the 21st Century. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.
Moore, Ralph. 2002. Starting a New Church: The Church Planter’s Guide to Success. Ventura, CA: Regal Books.
Commitment to a Cause -- Vision?
The Importance of Vision
What is “vision”? “The capacity to see beyond right now to what could be.” Heb. 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (ESV).
David Garrison says, “If you can’t see it before you see it, you’re never going to see it.” (2004, 200) Roland Allen says: “What is necessary is faith. What is needed is the kind of faith which, uniting a man to Christ, sets him on fire. Such a man can believe that others finding Christ will be set on fire also.” (Allen 1956, 208) Aubrey Malphurs says a vision is “a clear, challenging picture of the future of the ministry as it can and must be.” (1992, 237-8)
Moore talks about vision: “ Do you possess an unavoidable urge to start a new congregation? If you can live without this project, you probably should. The best church planters easily qualify for Peter Drucker’s descriptive ‘monomaniac with a mission.’ They are driven by a call similar to the ones given to the apostle Paul and the Old Testament prophets. These are the people who can run their blood pressure up 10 points just by poring over a map of potential meeting sites.” (2002, 35)
Hudson Taylor said, “How often do we attempt work for God to the limit of our incomptency rather than to the limit of God’s omnipotency.”
One French pastor stated this about vision: “The desire to evangelize, a burden greater than just seeing our city reached.” The elder of one church that planted six daughter churches and two grand-daughter churches said the same thing.
Why is there a lack of vision for this?
First, business as usual stifles vision. All denominations that plant new churches grow and all those who do not, do not grow. Second, training that does not include this but emphasizes pastors of existing churches as the great need. Third, looking at the “how many” instead of the “how few.” How often in Adelaide, Australia, I heard there are “too many churches” as people just looked at the existence of congregations that were static and not growing. We need to calculate “x number of churches” rather than “x number of lost people.
Who needs vision? Church planters, association of churches, churches, missions, trainers of church planters. students. One of the things that surprised me in training students in church planting is that fact that they would state that they never heard about this before. It was a new concept to them.
How important is vision to you? Is it seen in your life? How?
Allen, Roland. 1956. The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church and the Causes which
Hinder it. London: World Dominion Press.
Garrison, David. 2004. Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World.
Midlothian, VA: WIGTake Resources.
Malphurs, Aubrey. 1992. Planting Growing Churches for the 21st Century. Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Books.
Moore, Ralph. 2002. Starting a New Church: The Church Planter’s Guide to Success
Ventura, CA: Regal Books.
What is “vision”? “The capacity to see beyond right now to what could be.” Heb. 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (ESV).
David Garrison says, “If you can’t see it before you see it, you’re never going to see it.” (2004, 200) Roland Allen says: “What is necessary is faith. What is needed is the kind of faith which, uniting a man to Christ, sets him on fire. Such a man can believe that others finding Christ will be set on fire also.” (Allen 1956, 208) Aubrey Malphurs says a vision is “a clear, challenging picture of the future of the ministry as it can and must be.” (1992, 237-8)
Moore talks about vision: “ Do you possess an unavoidable urge to start a new congregation? If you can live without this project, you probably should. The best church planters easily qualify for Peter Drucker’s descriptive ‘monomaniac with a mission.’ They are driven by a call similar to the ones given to the apostle Paul and the Old Testament prophets. These are the people who can run their blood pressure up 10 points just by poring over a map of potential meeting sites.” (2002, 35)
Hudson Taylor said, “How often do we attempt work for God to the limit of our incomptency rather than to the limit of God’s omnipotency.”
One French pastor stated this about vision: “The desire to evangelize, a burden greater than just seeing our city reached.” The elder of one church that planted six daughter churches and two grand-daughter churches said the same thing.
Why is there a lack of vision for this?
First, business as usual stifles vision. All denominations that plant new churches grow and all those who do not, do not grow. Second, training that does not include this but emphasizes pastors of existing churches as the great need. Third, looking at the “how many” instead of the “how few.” How often in Adelaide, Australia, I heard there are “too many churches” as people just looked at the existence of congregations that were static and not growing. We need to calculate “x number of churches” rather than “x number of lost people.
Who needs vision? Church planters, association of churches, churches, missions, trainers of church planters. students. One of the things that surprised me in training students in church planting is that fact that they would state that they never heard about this before. It was a new concept to them.
How important is vision to you? Is it seen in your life? How?
Allen, Roland. 1956. The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church and the Causes which
Hinder it. London: World Dominion Press.
Garrison, David. 2004. Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World.
Midlothian, VA: WIGTake Resources.
Malphurs, Aubrey. 1992. Planting Growing Churches for the 21st Century. Grand Rapids, MI:
Baker Books.
Moore, Ralph. 2002. Starting a New Church: The Church Planter’s Guide to Success
Ventura, CA: Regal Books.
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