On the blocks
I’ve had a lot of encouraging feed back to my 20 things to do while you’re not multiplying churches. Thanks.
Now I’ve had my fun and released a bit of frustration here’s 7 things we should be doing to prepare the way for church planting movements.
1. Start by starting
No amount of research, feasibility studies, consultant reports, strategic plans, training events, or prayer meetings will get a church planted. Find someone who has enough heart, pioneering ability and passion to make a mess and get started. After you find that someone go find more.
Nothing builds momentum for church planting like seeing lives transformed by the Gospel.
2. Get desperate
You don’t have anyone to send out? Fast and pray. Build relationships broadly. Cast vision. Go fishing.
3. Find the stories
Go find out where effective church planting is happening and where the effective church planting movements are—anywhere in the world. You’ll find them on the fringe. Get them to tell you their stories. Two reasons. Stories build faith and expectancy. You’ll learn by watching what God is already doing.
4. Tell the stories
Rang Wayne the other day—a church planter just north of Sydney. He starts telling me the stories of the people who have come to faith in the last few months. It’s conversations like those that remind me why I signed up. Only a Pharisee could argue against them. The light attracts or it repels. Turn the light on. Who gets attracted?
5. Try lots of stuff
The only way you’re going to discover what works is to try lots of stuff and see what happens. Let it grow and then prune. Some systems are highly defined and will not tolerate diversity. Others are very loose and have no grid with which to evaluate new expressions.
6. Find the small “a” apostles
They see cities, regions and people groups. They don’t do hospital visits. They don’t do committees. The wake up in the morning thinking about the leaders they can grow and deploy. Their gift of faith is off the chart. You can’t have a church planting movement without at least one of them. So if God gives you one, what will you do with them?
7. Don’t forget the pigskin
Vince Lombardi, coach of the Green Bay Packers, in the middle of a losing streak holds up the pigskin and says to his players, “Gentlemen, THIS IS A FOOTBALL!” When all else fails go back to basics. What basics characterize great movements?
- White-hot faith
- Commitment to the cause
- Contagious relationships
- Rapid mobilization
- Adaptive methods
