Church Planting, Growth, and Renewal

As I continue through my first semester here at Covenant, I find I am increasingly being interested in Church Planting for several reasons:

1.) It truly is the most effective mode of evangelism and fulfilling the great commission. The infrastructure of a church, and the unified vision and mission inherent in it, is the best foundation and platform for loving a city (or region, people, etc.).
2.) Without a purposeful and intentional focus for a church to plant other churches, it is easy to fall into laziness and sloth when it comes to outreach. The Gospel never outlines a point in a church's life where it does not continually seek to reach out and grow the body of Christ.
3.) New churches are forced to confront and adapt to the culture of their environment. This is something that many older more traditional churches refuse to do because it is difficult. This obviously hurts the city.

Beyond all that though, the Acts 29 Network (www.acts29.org) recently posted an awesome explanation and vision for the renewed planting focus of the global church. You can read it in it's entirety here or feel free to read it below. I copy-pasted it with no alterations, and all copyrights belong solely to Acts 29. Please read it. It's incredible.

Beyond the article, if you are even a little interested in church planting or the movement catching speed in the church, go and check out their website. There are so many amazing resources and information on there that you won't even know where to begin...

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Seattle Boot Camp Wrap Up
By Scott Thomas, Acts 29 Director

"Acts 29 provides boot camps for the purpose of setting the theological compass for missional church planting. Last week we had the biggest boot camp of our existence.

Over 350 people converged upon Seattle for the Acts 29 Church Planter's Boot Camp. 32 men and their wives were assessed as potential planters with Acts 29 Network. Over 42 Acts 29 member pastors came in to assess. 20 pastors began their 6 month training to be a church planting coach.

We had seven main sessions and six workshops. Each of these sessions emphasized conservative theology and radical ecclesiology. The gospel was articulated over and over and church planting was presented as the plan of God to most effectively evangelize the world.

What became clear to me was that man creates networks, but God creates movements. Church planting movements are defined as "A rapid multiplication of indigenous churches planting churches that sweep through a people group or population segment." [David Garrison, Church Planting Movements, (Midlothian, VA: WIGTake Resources 2004) p. 21].

In other words, churches reproducing faster than one would think possible with a vision to reach an entire nation or people group by those who are common to the area and engaged in church planting churches within interrelated population segments.

Some characteristics of church planting movements:

1. Only God can orchestrate a movement
God can use men to transform an area, but only He sovereignly decides where and when He pours out an abundance of His power and grace through a people group that is passionately seeking Him.

2. A movement is too large to control
A movement is not meant to be controlled. It is a measure of God's grace that cannot be prepared in advance. As we sense His movement, we respond in humility and allow Him to work through weak vessels.

3. We don't always recognize a movement of God because of man's involvement
Men mobilize others toward a cause and inspires others to plant churches. God uses man's efforts to have an effect on His will. A movement is not dependant on the skills of man. A movement is recognized as outcome that can no longer be attributed to man.

4. Movements include unusual gospel-driven partnerships
Movements of God do not only think outside of the box, they do not have a box. Partnerships with other gospel-driven church planting networks will be forged without effort.

5. God gets ALL of the glory
Although man may plant churches, pray, preach the gospel, develop leaders and posture churches toward health, God is to get all of the glory. Garrison said, "Church Planting Movements multiply the glory of God...No other avenues so quickly and effectively multiplies the glory of God in the hearts of so many people." (pp. 28-29)"

All copyrights and privileges belong to Acts29.org.

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