Download
1 / 66
691 likes | 727 Views
CHURCH PLANTING MOVEMENTS. “Look to the nations, watch and be utterly amazed for I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told. –Habakkuk 1:5.
E N D
“Look to the nations, watch and be utterly amazed for I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told. –Habakkuk 1:5 If we look around the world today, we can see amazing things that God is doing to rapidly extend His Kingdom. A name which has been given to what’s happening is “Church Planting Movements”.
WHY STUDY CHURCH PLANTING MOVEMENTS? • 1. Because this is how God is mightily moving now, and we want to be on a mission with Him, not just pursuing our own agenda. • 2. Because we need to know our part. We can help promote a CPM when we understand how God is working OR we can hinder or stop a CPM if we ignorantly continue practices contrary to what God is doing. Many well-meaning Christians have done so.
DEFINITION: A Church Planting Movement (CPM) may be best defined as: • “A rapidmultiplication of indigenouschurches planting churches that sweeps through a people group or population segment.”
1. Reproduces rapidly—CPM’s always grow faster than the general population as they race toward reaching the entire people group. • 2. Multiplication—Every church is involved in starting multiple new churches (not just church planters). • 3. Indigenous—“Generated from within”. In CPM’s, the first churches may be started by outsiders (non-local people), but very quickly the momentum shifts from the outsiders to the insiders.
4. Churches planting churches—Although church planters may start the first churches, at some point the churches themselves begin planting churches, and at this time a movement is launched. (Many near-movements have failed because church planters struggle to control the reproducing churches.) • 5. People groups or population segments—CPM’s naturally occur within shared language and ethnic boundaries as they work to provide an opportunity for every person to hear the Gospel and become part of a New Testament church. (However, CPM’s usually flow over into neighboring people groups as the movement grows.)
WHAT A CHURCH PLANTING MOVEMENT IS NOT • 1. Not simply a revival or spiritual awakening among Christians. CPM’s are focused on large concentrations of LOST people who need to be saved, not just revived. • 2. Not just mass evangelism. This is often involved in CPM’s, but the emphasis is always on starting churches where the new believers can be discipled. • 3. Not just “people movements” which are occurring now in several places in the world. In people movements there are mass conversions, but again, no emphasis on starting indigenous, reproducing churches.
4. Not just the Church Growth Movement which began in the 1960’s. This differs from CPM’s in 3 ways. The Church Growth Movement emphasizes: • a. Bigger churches means better churches. (Smaller churches are considered better in CPM’s). • b. “Responsive fields” (where the people have proven to be most open to the Gospel) than the unreached people groups targeted by CPM’s. • c. Sending inincreasing numbers of missionaries and outsiders to areas that seem responsive. CPM’s emphasize quickly raising up locals and minimizing the role of outsiders once the movement has begun.
WHY STUDY CHURCH PLANTING MOVEMENTS? • 1. Because this is how God is mightily moving now, and we want to be on a mission with Him, not just pursuing our own agenda. • 2. Because we need to know our part. We can help promote a CPM when we understand how God is working OR we can hinder or stop a CPM if we ignorantly continue practices contrary to what God is doing. Many well-meaning Christians have done so.
3. Because they accomplish so much. CPM’s are the most effective means in the world today for drawing lost millions into saving disciple-building relationships with Jesus Christ. • 4. They greatly multiply the glory of God. In CPM’s, the glory of the Lord is spreading from person to person, people group to people group like a swelling river as it begins to spill out over its banks until it covers all the earth as the waters cover the sea.
1. INDIA • a. In Madhya Pradesh State a CPM produced 4,000 new churches in less than seven years. • b. In the 1990’s, nearly 1,000 new churches were planted in Orissa with another 1,000 new outreach points. By 2001, a new church was being started every 24 hours. • c. A CPM among the Bhojpuri-speaking peoples resulted in more than 4,000 new churches and 300,000 new believers.
2. ASIA • a. A CPM in a northern Chinese province saw 20,000 new believers and 500 new churches started in less than 5 years. • b. In Henan Province, Christianity exploded from less than a million to more than 5 million in only 8 years. • c. Chinese Christians in Qing’an County of Heilongjiang Province in China planted 236 new churches in a single month! • d. In southern China, a CPM produced more than 90,000 baptized believers in 920 house churches in 8 years time. • e. In 2001 a newly emerging CPM in China yielded 48,000 new believers and 1,700 new churches in one year. • f. During the 1990’s, CPM’s in Outer Mongolia and Inner Mongolia produced more than 60,000 new believers.
3. AFRICA • a. Each month an estimated 1,200 new churches are started in Africa. • b. After years of resistance to the Gospel, some 90,000 of Kenya’s 600,000 Maasai have become followers of Jesus Christ.
4. MUSLIM WORLD • a. More Muslims have come to Christ in the past 2 decades than at any other time in history. • b. In North Africa, more than 16,000 Berbers turned to Christ over a 2-decade period. • c. A central Asian CPM saw 13,000 Kazakhs fome to faith in Christ over 15 years. • d. Up to 12,000 Kashmiri Muslims have turned from jihad to the Prince of Peace. • e. In an Asian Muslim country, more than 150,000 Muslims now embrace Jesus and gather in more than 3,000 locally led “Isa Jamaats”(Jesus Groups).
5. LATIN AMERICA • a. During the 1990’s, churches in a persecuted Latin American country grew from 235 to more than 4,000 churches. • b. In Bogota, Colombia, 18,000 youth gather weekly in a stadium to worship, with 500 new decisions each week. During the week they gather in 8.000 youth cell groups.
6. EUROPE • a. A report in 1999 showed 45 new churches started among the refugees of the Netherlands in a single year. • b. About 30% of the Gypsies in Spain have come to Christ, as well as many in France, England and other parts of Europe. • c. In 1996 two young Swiss begin a cell church. In just 5 years it grew to more than 3,000 members
1. Extraordinary PRAYER. • a. Prayer for the missionaries. • b. Prayer for the lost people group • c. Prayer modeled by the missionaries and church planters • d. Prayer FOR the new believers. • e. Prayer BY the new believers. • f. Prayer between partners. • g. Prayer for more workers. • Supporting Scriptures: Psalm 2:8, Matt. 9:38, Mark 1:35, Mark 9:29, Luke 10:2, Acts 1:14, Acts 3:1.
2. Abundant EVANGELISM • -Ask the question daily, “How many of my people will hear the Gospel today?” • -Utilize the principle of “over-sowing”, through as many means as possible (Jesus film, tracts, storying pictures, radio, internet, cd’s, etc.). • -In conjunction with the quantity of Gospel witnesses is the importance of QUALITY, that is, ones which show an understanding of the people’s culture and worldview. • Supporting Scriptures: Matt. 28:19, Mark 1 38-39a, Mark 16:15, Acts 1:8, Acts 17:17, Acts 19:8-10
3. INTENTIONAL PLANTING of REPRODUCING CHURCHES • -Much prayer and evangelism do NOT AUTOMATICALLY result in spontaneously multiplying churches. • A deliberate commitment must be made to model and plant reproducing churches. • Supporting Scriptures: Matt. 28:18-20, Luke 5:1-11; 9:1; 10:l; I Cor. 15:6, Acts 2:41, John 15:8, Acts 9:31, Acts 16:5.
The AUTHORITY of GOD’S WORD • -What keeps CPM’s from falling into heresies? Answer: A firm commitment to these twin train tracks: 1. The authority of God’s Word. 2. The Lordship of Jesus Christ. • Each person must make a habit of approaching every life situation with the following questions:1. “What does God’s Word say?” 2. “How can I best glorify Christ in this situation?”
-How can the Bible be the guiding authority among illiterate peoples? • 1. Memorization. • 2. Audio-visuals. (audio Bible cassettes, stories; films, etc.) • 3. Bible Storying. (simple stories that can be passed on orally) • 4. Songs. (some cultures love to sing their stories) • 5. Using educated youth. (Children can read the Bible passages and then their parents or elders can discuss them.) Supporting Scriptures: Matt. 5:18, Luke 24:27, Luke 24:45-46, Acts 17:11, II Tim. 3:16-17, Heb. 4:12.
5. LOCAL LEADERSHIP • -Keep foreigners and outsiders out of the spotlight. • -“The resources are in the harvest”. Your best workers will be the locals who are being harvested into the kingdom now. • -Use the 222 Principle: “Never do anything by yourself; always bring a brother along with you so you can model and mentor as you go.” • -CPM missionaries were asked the question, “When do you pass the torch to new (local) leaders?” • ANSWER: All of them said, “In a CPM you begin with the torch in their hand.”
Appointing local leaders rather than relying on the leadership of outsiders does several important things: • a. It makes a statement that we are all equally sinners; all equally saved by grace; all equally capable of being used by God. • b. It reinforces the truth that Christianity is not a Western religion, but an expression of Christ’s body given to ALL believers. • c. It avoids setting standards of leadership that are unattainable. Most missionary church planters have far more experience and Bible training than the first generation of new believers will ever hope to achieve. New believers need not think they have to reach the same level of education in order to lead God’s people.
6. LAY LEADERSHIP • -Why is lay leadership so important in a CPM? 1. For Practical Reasons -If 1000’s of new churches need 1000’s of new leaders, you need to fish for those leaders from the largest pool of candidates possible. • 2. For Theological Reasons -Lay leadership is grounded in the doctrine of the priesthood of the believer. Every believer is now fully endowed with the right and responsibility to lead the lost to salvation and maturity in Christ. 3. Following Jesus’ Model -Jesus called laymen to follow Him.
4. For the Purpose of Retention • Putting laymen and women to work within the church has proven to be the single most effective means of “closing the back door” to church membership and ensuring a lifetime of close involvement within the body of Christ. • 5. For Reasons of Relevance -In CPM’s the pastor remains one of the people sharing his lifestyle and struggles. • 6. For Economic Reasons -Limited financial resources can be directed toward missions and ministry, rather than to church-staff salaries and facilities. -Professional clergymen are not excluded from CPM’s, and may be involved at key points in the movement (such as in overseeing large cell networks), but on the cutting edge of its growth is the laity who are leading the way.
-For CPM’s to be able to effectively rely on lay leadership, two important factors must be present: • 1. Churches must remain small enough (20-30 members) to be manageable by either one or several lay leaders. • 2. Church leaders must be lifelong learners. -Lay leaders typically have an insatiable desire for more learning, ongoing training modules, on-the-job training and mentoring must be provided. • Supporting Scriptures: Matt. 4:18-20, Mark 3:18, Luke 5:30, Acts 4:13, I Cor. 1:26, II Cor. 3:4-6.
7. HOUSE CHURCHES -Advantages of meeting in houses include: • 1. Leadership responsibilities remain small and manageable. • 2. Heresies can be sealed off in a single compartment, not endangering the whole movement. • 3. You can’t hide in a small group, so there’s more accountability. • 4. Member care is easier, because everyone knows everyone. • 5. Because house church structure is simple, it’s easier to reproduce. • 6. Small groups tend to be more efficient at evangelism and assimilation of new believers.
7. Meeting in homes positions the church closer to the lost. • 8. House churches blend into the community making them less visible to persecutors. • 9. Basing in the home keeps the church’s attention on daily life issues. • 10. The nature of rapidly multiplying house churches promotes the rapid development of new church leaders. • Supporting Scriptures: Mark 2:1-2, Luke 10:7, Acts 5:42, Acts 8:3, Acts 12:12, Rom. 16:5, I Cor. 16:19, Col. 4:15, Philemon 1:1-2.
8. CHURCHES PLANTING CHURCHES • -A CPMis considered successful when the house churches are planting the 4th generation (when the mother church plants a church that plants a church that plants a church). • -Missionaries must consciously progress along the 4-stage process of Modeling, Assisting, Watching and Leaving. • Supporting Scriptures: Acts 8:4, Eph. 4:11-12, • I Thes. 1:8, Luke 19:13-26, John 15:8, Mark 6, Luke 10.
9. RAPID REPRODUCTION • -In CPM’s, both leadership development and every-member discipleship are built into the ongoing process of starting new churches. • -The urgency of rapid reproduction must be set into the DNA of the mother church, so the daughter churches will also follow this paradigm. • -This is contrary to the view that a church must first grow large and mature enough before it can plant a new church.
-Rapid reproduction indicates that several healthy dynamics are present in the movement: • 1. The movement has gone beyond the control of the missionary or any outsider. • 2. The movement has its own internal momentum. • 3. The new Christians passionately believe their message to be so important it must be spread rapidly. • 4. The field are confirmed to be “ripe unto harvest.” • 5. All the elements that are foreign to the church—and not easily reproduced—have been eliminated. • -Rather than trying to control the movement from the outside, CPM missionaries have learned to build theological controls into the DNA of each church. • Supporting Scriptures: Mark 1:18, Mark 1:20, Mark 2:2, Acts 2:47, Acts 14:21-23, Acts 16:5, Acts 19-20.
10. HEALTHY CHURCHES • -A healthy church is one which fulfills these 5 purposes: • 1. Fellowship • 2. Discipleship • 3. Ministry • 4. Evangelism/Missions • 5. Worship • -The ultimate test of a healthy church is: “Does it glorify God?” • Supporting Scriptures: Matt. 18:20, Acts 2:41-47, I Cor. 12:27, Eph. 4:12.
1. CLIMATE of UNCERTAINTY in SOCIETY • -Most CPM’s (not all) flourish in times of unrest, transition, turmoil, persecution. • Conversely, great social and financial security often lull people to sleep spiritually. • -The 21st century promises to have plenty of uncertainty, troubles & change on a global basis
2. INSULATION from OUTSIDERS • -Most CPM’s occur where there are large concentrations of lost people and few Christians. • -Easy access to outsiders and their resources often leads to dependency on outsiders. The opposite is also true. • -(Outsiders have a vital role in the INITIAL stages of a CPM. Someone from outside has to bring the Gospel and training to new areas.)
3. A HIGH COST of FOLLOWING CHRIST • -Most CPM’s are taking place in places where there is persecution. • -Persecution refines the church and filters out casual believers. • Supporting Scriptures: Matt. 10:17-25, II Cor. 11:23-29, I pet. 4:12-13, Rev. 6:9-11, Rev. 12:10-12.
4. BOLD, FEARLESS WITNESS • -Often in the midst of persecution. • -An invitation given by the Maasai of Africa is “Anyone willing to follow Jesus and be persecuted, come forward.” • Supporting Scriptures: Luke 21:12-15, Acts 4:13, Acts 4:29, Acts 4:31, Acts 5:41.
5. FAMILY-BASED CONVERSION PATTERNS • -In most of the world, decisions are never made without considering their family’s and community counsel (unlike the individualism of the West). • -Rather than press for a seeker’s immediate decision, it has proven wiser to first allow him opportunity to discuss what he’s learning with his family. • Supporting Scriptures: Acts 16:15, Acts 16:31
6. IMMEDIATE ENLISTMENT of NEW BELIEVERS • -In most CPM’s, new converts are not only welcomed, but also put to work. • -In China, church planters deliberately channel new believers into new churches rather than older fellowships, so that they will begin to take an active role in the church right away.
WORSHIP in the HEART LANGUAGE • -In most CPM’s, the worship, songs and prayers are expressed in their heart language (rather than just the common trade language). • -Worship in the heart language allows the Gospel to flow freely through a people group.
8. DIVINE SIGNS and WONDERS • -CPM’s are usually always born and nurtured in an atmosphere of God’s mighty acts (healings, miracles, deliverance). • -From India, “I interviewed about 50 believers. Every one of them knew Jesus as Healer before they knew Him as Savior.”
ON-THE-JOBLEADERSHIP TRAINING • - CPM’s have various types of practical, continual on-the-job training. • -An example is the Cascading Model of leadership training. This allows training to multiply out by using cascading tiers of mentors who convey biblical training from level to level. -For example, 24 “master trainers” mentor 10-12 trainers, who then mentors 10 pastors, who then train 10 church members. -There are many advantages of the cascading model: • 1. Allows for exponential multiplication of training that’s able to keep pace with exponential church growth. • 2. Can be transmitted with or without written materials. • 3. Is interpersonal and relational. • 4. Can take place anywhere so less chance of being shut down by government opposition. • 5. The requirement to immediately pass on the teaching is reinforced by all involved in the process.
10. MISSIONARIES SUFFERED • -In most CPM’s, the key missionaries involved encounter serious illnesses, problems, or attacks. Helpful guidelines for all those involved in CPM’s include: • 1. Find an accountability partner to share with openly and honestly, one who will tell you what you need to hear. • 2. Commit to the spiritual disciplines of daily quiet time and regular church involvement. • 3. Do regular physical exercise and eat a healthy diet. • 4. Limit the nights away from home and family. Work on your marriage. • 5. Schedule time with your children. • 6. Develop a strong prayer network of support. • 7. Stay humble and grateful for the privilege of serving God. • 8. Remember there is an Enemy. And avoid seeing individuals as your enemies.
1. BLURRED VISION • -If you don’t have a VISION for a CPM, you’re not likely to achieve one. Vision is vitally important, because “you can’t hit what you can’t see.” • -Leaders must clearly state and restate the vision for a CPM. • -Sharpening our vision is exercising our FAITH.
2. TRYING TO IMPROVE ON THE BIBLE • -When we try to exceed the Bible’s own requirements for Christian life, we mimic the Pharisees. (Matthew 23:15) • -Two common ways to yoke new believers with extra-biblical requirements are by distorting the God’s teaching on: • 1. The CHURCH—What is a church? • 2. CHURCH LEADERSHIP—What are the qualifications?
3. SEQUENTIALISM—“Inch by inch, step by step” • -Don’t feel you need to complete all of Step 1 before working on Step 2 or Step 20. Many things can be modeled and worked on at the same time. • -When leaders are yoked to sequentialism, they lose their sense of urgency. • -Time is not the precondition for a good foundation; sound doctrine and practice are.
