Much has been heard about church planting in the last few years. To most established church leaders, church planting seems to be a threat for the fear of “competition”. If understood correctly it shouldn’t be so. A simple definition of church planting can be such as “a process that results in a new church being established”. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service is created that is integrated into an established congregation. For a church to be planted it must eventually have a separate life of its own and be able to function without its parent body, even if it continues to stay in relationship denominationally or network. There a basically two ways of approaching church planting. The fist and most popular is planting a church to evangelize a community or a people group. This is where most of the church planting literature is today. The other approach is evangelizing an area or a people group and as a result you plant a church. This seems to be more in line with the first century approach and if done correctly can bear much fruit with a lot less investment of resources. The first approach is depending much more on outside resources, human and financial, the second being more reliable on the willingness and sacrificial efforts of the missionary team. Both approaches can be beneficial to the kingdom of God. Employ whichever approach seems more appropriate to the mission field environment where you are for the glory of God.
Sep 25, 2011
Disciple Making -As followers of Christ Disciple Making ought to be our first preoccupation
The last commandment of the Lord Jesus Christ ought to be our first preoccupation as His followers. Making disciples of all peoples of the world is not only His commandment but also our privilege as His followers. Disciple making is a process that begins with God working in the lives of people everywhere, giving us "divine appointments" so we can engage people with the gospel message that has the power to transform people, making them "new creatures" through the miraculous transformation of the "new birth". Once born into the family, the process of maturing begins and obedience to Christ's commandments are a must to be able to become all that God wants us to become in Him. As a matter of fact, keeping His commandments is the proof of our love to Him. (John 14:15 --If you love Me, you will keep My commandments). Loving Him is serving Him. Serving Him is serving others. Serve somebody today and be involved in making disciples everywhere you encounter people. (Matthew 28:18-20)
Sep 22, 2011
U.S. percentage of “unchurched” is growing
George Barna is the founder of The Barna Group, a market research firm specializing in studying the religious beliefs and behavior of Americans, and the intersection of faith and culture. Barna is known for providing extensive surveys regarding Christianity and the state of the church. (Wikipedia). Barna’s new book on U.S. Christians, “Futurecast,” tracks changes from 1991 to 2011, in annual national survey. In 1991, 24 percent were “unchurched.” Today, it’s 37 percent. Whatever the church is doing is not working and Barna blames pastors for these findings. Read.
Sep 21, 2011
What’s in a name - The Southern Baptist Convention and the name change
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members. It is also the second largest Christian body in the United States, after the Catholic Church. The word Southern in Southern Baptist Convention stems from its having been founded and rooted in the Southern United States. The SBC became a separate denomination in 1845 in Augusta, Georgia, following a regional split with northern Baptists over the issues of slavery (Wikipedia). Many years ago the debate about name change for the Southern Baptist Convention started with motions to study a name change having been presented to the convention on many occasions, such as 1965, 1974, 1983, 1989, 1990 and 1998. A straw poll on name change was defeated in 1999 as well as a 2004 motion to authorize the SBC president to appoint a group to study the name change. On September 21, 2011 the SBC president Bryant Wright announced a task force to study the prospect of changing the convention's name and sparked a lively debate during the SBC Executive Committee meeting in Nashville, Tenn. Read here.
Sep 11, 2011
Only in America!
The Chicago Daily Herald published a story about how a Japanese congregation rents space in a Korean church and has an office in a Romanian Church. It's a story that could only happen in America.
Read.