Be A Church Planting Movement

Worth a read- Ed Stezer on why established churches should plant new churches:

Most people know me I love church planting.

I've done extensive research on the topic, written books about it and even planted churches. In addition to my love for church planting, however, I also love established churches. I'm as passionate about church revitalization as I am about church planting.

While some may see the two as mutually exclusive, I'm most excited about where the two overlap: churches planting churches. Pastors of established churches should be engaged in church planting. Here are five reasons why.

Church planting reaches lost people.

The first reason is simple. It's one on which, hopefully, all pastors – both planters and established can agree. Lost people need Jesus. This is one that hits me personally, because I grew up in a non-Christian family.

Most of my extended family members are not believers. Recently, however, two of my family members have met Christ through church plants. Their experience is not uncommon.

A few years ago, Christianity Today published "Go and Plant Churches of All Peoples," an article which said church planting has replaced crusade evangelism as the preferred evangelistic method for evangelicals in North America today.

Church planting has experienced so much growth that in some cases, it's harder to find people who want to revitalize churches because there are so many who want to plant. Some of the attraction might be from the entrepreneurial bent in people, but the greatest driving force that I see among church planters is that they want to see people won to Jesus.

I would challenge established church pastors to mother a church plant. You'll see that people will be won to Jesus in the churches you plant and in your church. Some that may be less receptive to your church will be very receptive to your plant. That's why we want to plant churches that plant churches that plant churches.

Church planting follows a biblical pattern.

When we look throughout the New Testament, we see church planting as an established pattern. I will be the first to tell you the Bible never mentions church planting. It never comes out and says, "Plant churches," but it's clearly assumed. It's the first thing the disciples did when they responded to the commissions of Jesus. They planted churches.

Most of the churches recorded in the New Testament were involved in sending people in some form or another to start other churches. Ironically, the Jerusalem Church was an exception. They sent people out to check up on the new churches and to make sure they weren't getting too crazy.

We've got too many Jerusalem churches today. The only time they're heard from is when they believe someone is doing something wrong. We've got to change that truth. Church planting is an overwhelmingly Biblical passion and we need to support it. We were all started at some point. Let's model that spirit again and start more churches.

Church planting is essential for survival.

For any movement to thrive, it has to plant churches. Statistically speaking, if a population just wants to "break even," it has to plant at least at a three percent level—a denomination of 100 churches has to plant 3 to stay even considering attrition. A five percent increase is needed to grow. Ten percent is needed to thrive.

If we honestly believe our movement is the place to land theologically, then we need to support it by planting churches.

9 Facts About Mega-Churches

9 Facts About People Who Attend Mega-Churches from Leadership Network:

But what about the people who attend really big churches? Fellow researcher Scott Thumma and I surveyed some 25,000 of them, with some fascinating discoveries:

1. Nearly two-thirds of attenders have been at these churches 5 years or less.
2. Many attenders come from other churches, but nearly a quarter haven’t been in any church for a long time before coming to a megachurch.
3. New people almost always come to the megachurch because family, friends or coworkers invited them.
4. Fifty-five percent of megachurch attenders volunteer at the church in some way (a higher percentage than in smaller churches).
5. What first attracted attenders were the worship style, the senior pastor and the church’s reputation, in that order.
6. These same factors also influenced long-term attendance, as did the music/arts, social and community outreach, and adult-oriented programs.
7. Attenders report a considerable increase in their involvement in church, in their spiritual growth, and in their needs being met.
8. Attenders can craft unique, customized spiritual experiences through the multitude of ministry choices and diverse avenues for involvement that megachurches offer.
9. In many ways, large churches today are making good progress in reaching people and moving them from spectators to active participants to growing disciples of Jesus Christ.

For more interesting facts about people who attend megachurches, download the free report Not Who You Think They Are: The Real Story of People Who Attend America’s Megachurches.

The China Boom

From Joe Carter at The Gospel Coalition -  "China on Course to Become World's Most Christian Nation" Very interesting...and encouraging!

The Story:  The number of Christians in Communist China is growing so steadily that by 2030 it could have more churchgoers than America, reports The Telegraph.

The Background: The People's Republic of China remains, at least officially, an atheist country. But the number of Protestant Christians in China has grown from one million in 1949 to more than 49 million in 2010. Experts believe that number could more than triple over the next generation:
Prof Yang, a leading expert on religion in China, believes that number will swell to around 160 million by 2025. That would likely put China ahead even of the United States, which had around 159 million Protestants in 2010 but whose congregations are in decline. 

By 2030, China's total Christian population, including Catholics, would exceed 247 million, placing it above Mexico, Brazil and the United States as the largest Christian congregation in the world, he predicted.

"Mao thought he could eliminate religion. He thought he had accomplished this," Prof Yang said. "It's ironic - they didn't. They actually failed completely."

Why It Matters:  In his book The Rise of Christianity, sociologist Rodney Stark estimates that during the first 350 years of Christianity, the religion grew at a rate of 40 percent per decade. During the 61 year period from 1949 to 2010, Christianity grew at a rate of 78.7 percent per year.

Part of the reason for the exponential growth is attributable to the sheer size of the population of China. With 1.351 billion people in the country, Christians comprise only 5 percent of the country. If current trends hold, in 2030 Christians in China will make up almost 9 percent of the total population. While the ratio of Christians to population would still be small, the total numbers are astounding. By mid-century, China may have more citizens who identify as Christians than the United States has citizens.

Christians in America often find reasons to be pessimistic about our religion's waning influence on our country. But we should remember that our land is not the last bastion of hope for the faith. The remarkable growth in global Christianity -- particularly in Asia and Africa -- should give us reason to be optimistic. The Holy Spirit is changing hearts and minds around the globe in a way that has not been seen since the first century after Christ's Ascension. For this we should be eternally grateful.

Those of us in the West should continue to support our Chinese brothers and sisters with finances, missionaries, theological resources, and -- most importantly -- prayer. In the latter half of this century, assuming the Lord tarries, we may need them to do the same for the American church.

Links Worth A Look

Notice the numerical theme? - Some links worth a look:

Three Reasons to Get More Sleep

Five Really Bad Reasons to Leave Your Church

Five Things to Remember When It Comes to Church Size

Five Things We Can Learn From Flawed Bible Characters

Links Worth a Look

More links that are worth a look:

No More Pentecostal Popemobiles (Lee Grady's Reflections on Pope Francis' Example of Humility)

Charismatic Renewal: 10 Suggestions For the Way Forward - Sam Storms' follow up to this 

The Gospel According to the Church Fathers

Limitations: Our Gift From God

5 Lessons From Jacob's Night of Wrestling With God

Signs of Church Growth in America's Least Churched Region

An Open Letter to the Church from a Lesbian

Megachurch Trends

I saw an interesting article by Thomas Rainer at Lifeway on Seven Updated Trends on Megachurches. I was particularly interested in #6.

Trend #6: A greater interest in groups. Megachurch leaders have a growing interest in groups as the church mechanism for assimilation, evangelism, fellowship, ministry, and more in-depth teaching. Groups have different names: small groups, Sunday school, life groups, home groups, etc. Megachurch leaders know that the health of their congregations can often be measured by the health of their groups. As the church grows larger, it must intentionally move smaller as well.

A very important concept is buried in that last line: "As the church grows larger, it must intentionally move smaller as well." Note that it must be intentional.

I see signs of all seven trends in my area, and at the church we attend. How about you?

Should Churches Spend Money on Nice Big Buildings?

At the Gospel Coalition Web site there is an interesting conversation taking place on the question whether churches should spend money on building nice big buildings.

We Want to Stay Light and Mobile,  Flexible and Ready - J. D. Greear
Reforming Church Architecture - David Gobel
Buildings Matter Because Bodies Matter - Matthew Lee Anderson
Should Churches Spend Money on Nice Buildings? - John Starke

What do you think?

A Rising Tide in China

It's always interesting to hear about what the Lord is doing in China (miraculous things!), but I am surprised by the source for this article.  The quotes below are from In The Land Of Mao, A Rising Tide Of Christianity Among Chinese  published by (of all places) NPR:

Official Chinese surveys now show that nearly one in three Chinese describe themselves as religious, an astonishing figure for an officially atheist country, where religion was banned until three decades ago.

The last 30 years of economic reform have seen an explosion of religious belief. China's government officially recognizes five religions: Protestantism, Catholicism, Buddhism, Islam and Daoism. The biggest boom of all has been in Christianity, which the government has struggled to control....

...No one knows exactly how many Christians there are among China's population of 1.3 billion. There are an estimated 21 million members of the government-sanctioned Three-Self Patriotic movement, but nobody knows how many Protestants worship in unregistered house churches.

Some recent surveys have calculated there could be as many as 100 million Chinese Protestants. That would mean that China has more Christians than Communist Party members, which now number 75 million.

The article at the link includes quotes from several believers in Chinese congregations.  I also think it is an interesting coincidence that I would find this story along with the one linked in the post below about House churches in the USA.

May the Lord's blessings be on and grace be with His faithful witnesses in such dangerous places.
 

Pastors Playing 21 Questions

Fro all my pastor friends - Do you ask yourself the same questions that Timmy Brister is asking? See -21 Questions I’ve Been Asking (Myself) Lately « Provocations & Pantings:

"1. If our church would cease to exist in our city, would it be noticed and missed?

2. If all the pastors were tragically killed in a car accident, would the church’s ministry cease or fall apart?

3. If the only possible means of connecting with unbelievers were through the missionary living of our church members, how much would we grow? (I ask this because the early church did not have signs, websites, ads, marketing, etc.)

4. What are the subcultures within the church? Do they attract or detract from the centrality of the gospel and mission of the church?

5. Is our church known more for what we are not/against than what we we/for?

6. What are we allowing to be our measuring stick of church health? (attendance vs. discipleship; seating capacity vs. sending capacity; gospel growth, training on mission, etc.)

7. Are the priorities of our church in line with the priorities of Christ’s kingdom?"

And that's only the first seven questions! The article is very thought provoking; read the whole thing at the link above.

The Christian World is Changing

Interesting statistics on the current state of Christianity worldwide. What does this mean for American churches?

From Skye Jethani, concerning the state of Christianity in the world:

* Today there are more missionaries from Brazil engaged in crosscultural ministry than fromBritain or Canada.

* There are over 10,000 foreign Christian workers serving in Britain, France, Germany and Italy–and more than 35,000 in the U.S. Most of the missionaries in Britain are from Africa and Asia.

* “This past Sunday it is possible that more Christian believers attended church in China than in all of so-called ‘Christian Europe.’”

* “This past Sunday more Presbyterians were in church in Ghana than in Scotland.”

* “Today, the largest Christian congregation in Europe is in Kiev, and it is pastored by a Nigerian of Pentecostal background.”

* “More than half of all Christian adherents in the whole history of the church have been alive in the last one hundred years. Close to half of Chrisitan believers who have ever lived are alive right now.”

* In 1900, over 80 percent of the Christian population was Caucasian and over 70 percent lived in Europe. Now, according to historian Dana Robert, “The typical late twentieth-century Christian was no longer a European man but a Latin American or African Woman.”

Copied from Forward Progress

Building From the Ground Up

This week I'm covering topics from our church's "Ministry Class" where we train our prayer ministry workers.

One of the illustrations we use is thinking of our church and its ministry as a building. The building must be built from the "ground up." In order to build we must first dig down to the foundation rock -Jesus. The only foundation that can be laid is Jesus: His work on the Cross and His message of the Kingdom. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:11 - "For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ."

Next we lay the ground level floor or upper foundation. This floor is composed of the core values of the church or movement. It is only as strong as those values find their source and connection to the foundation rock of Christ. Our central core value is understanding the Kingdom of God as Jesus taught it in the gospels, and the implications of that understanding (more of that to come). Some other core values are intimacy with God, authenticity, simplicity and right relationships.

Next comes the load bearing framework and structures of the building. These structures must be solidly rooted in the foundation and floor core values, or the building will be unstable. In this illustration the frame is composed of models, i.e. reproducible patterns of behavior and practice. Examples include the five-step prayer model taught in the class, worship that is focused on intimacy with God while being culturally current, and decentralization of ministry to all parts of the church body.

Finally, the internal structures of the building, the ones that are not load bearing and can be changed, are specific practices and ways of doing the models. Examples of these include praying with eyes open to be aware of physical signs of God's activity, placing hands in a position of receptivity and openness, etc.

It matters how one builds.

Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (1 Cor. 3:10-15)

So, we teach a Kingdom understanding of reality grounded in Jesus' message and work, values that are based on and derive from that conceptual and experiential framework, models to express those values in practical ways, and practices as steps to actually do the model.

How to Drive Visitors Away From Your Church

Want to run visitors away from your church? Here's a quick easy lesson on how It's the little stuff that'll get you from Steve Nicholson at Vineyard USA:

Today a friend told me about visiting a church in another city. The first time he went it was for a Sunday evening service he found on their web site. But when he got there the place was closed - no signs, no lights, no notice, and no people except for three other newcomers who did the same thing - look on the web and come to the stated service time. So eventually he tried again on Sunday morning. But the service was much longer than he expected - he had arranged a ride from someone else and had to leave after 90 minutes and the sermon still hadn't started! The worship lasted for an hour, during which people were free form dancing in front, lying down on the floor in front, etc. Then they had everyone who was new, including "anyone new in the last six months" stand and introduce themselves to everyone. This took awhile. And then they had a coffee break - this is where his time ran out.

Talk about a lesson in how to drive newcomers away! This is what is meant by "seeker-hostile.' In fact, it's pretty hostile to all outsiders, even Christians. This is the kind of thing that keeps church plants from succeeding and other churches from growing to the point of being able to plant churches. But we can learn some lessons from my friend's bad experience:

1. Make sure your website is up to date and accurate! If it's on the website - do it! If you have to cancel at the last minute at least get a live person there to offer regrets and perhaps go out for coffee with any newcomers who do show up. These days nearly everyone checks out a church online before visiting for the first time. They'll check out the beliefs, the pictures (what kind of people are there), the times, and often even listen to a podcast sermon or two ahead of time. More and more, this is THE FRONT DOOR of the church, so it needs to be good.

2. Tell people up front (preferably on the website) how long they can expect any given meeting to last. In other words, give ending times and well as starting times. This helps people plan (e.g. the ride situation) and also prepares them mentally.

3. If you let the exhibitionists have free reign up front willy nilly then a lot of regular people will find the worship off-putting. They won't come back, or at least they'll think twice before bringing their parents or other non-regular church goers with them.

4. Don't make your visitors stand up and introduce themselves to the group. Did you know that public speaking is the number one rated fear of Americans? For any but the most extreme and secure extroverts this is the definition of miserable. Plus, it's something only a church that is small and intends to stay that way would ever do. Imagine how long this would take if Willow Creek or Saddleback tried it!There are other much, much friendlier ways to help newcomers feel welcome and have the opportunity to meet people when they are ready.

Besides, in a small church you don't need to do anything to be able to recognize who is a newcomer!

Church Growth Motivational Poster ?

Hat Tip: Motivational Poster | The Sacred Sandwich

Ranking the States in Religious Belief?

Per a new Gallup poll, Mississippi (my home state) ranks as the most religious state in the USA. Click the link below to see more readable versions of the map and chart.

Unfortunately, that characteristic many times translates into vast numbers of people inoculated against true Christianity. We residents of the Magnolia State sometimes have just enough cultural Christianity to keep us from catching the real thing.

This poll also makes the ministries of Mark Driscoll (Mars Hill Church, Seattle, WA) and Tim Keller (Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Manhattan, New York) stand out for the achievements they are. Building mega-churches in two of the most unchurched parts of the country without compromising on the Gospel has to mean something is being done right.

Hat Tip: World Net Daily: here does your state rank in religious belief?

God Acting = Kingdom Come

As regards the kingdom of God? Theologians such as Ladd say that the kingdom is both present and absent, but this basically means we focus on the absent! But I didn’t come to understand the kingdom through theologians. I came to the understanding when I was a young Baptist Minister. I noticed that I spent a lot of my time trying to get people to come and hear me, and other ministers did the same. But when I looked at Jesus his problem was getting away from people! So I said there has to be something different here. So I found what every scholar will tell you, that Jesus’ message was the kingdom of God. He proclaimed it, he manifested it and he taught it. When he sent out his disciples, he didn’t send them out to teach (that’s the hard part), but to proclaim and manifest (the easy part!) It was very powerful. …

When you look at the Bible you see that the kingdom of God is God acting. It is the range of God’s effective will. When I pray ‘thy kingdom come, thy will be done’ I am praying first that God’s will may be done in my own life and then around me. This is the open door for his teachings, for it is his effective will that I bless and don’t curse, that I let my yes be yes and my no be no, that I not be motivated by anger and contempt etc … (as outlined in the Sermon on the Mount). So as someone who is living in the kingdom, I am praying that this may become a true expression of who I am by inner transformation. Discipleship is learning how to do that.

Dallas Willard, Quoted at Dallas Willard on the kingdom and church growth « City of God

Small Churches - the 99 and the 1

From Steve Murrell at the reluctant leader in a post about church size, and the fact that most churches are small.

Warning: controversial statement coming…

Jesus seemed to put evangelism, not worship, at the top of the spiritual priority pile.

I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents (that sounds like EVANGELISM) than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent (that sounds like a CHURCH MEETING). Luke 15:7

Wanna make heaven happy? Wanna please God? How about occasionally skipping the non-stop 24/7 worship/prayer/revival meetings that only involve the “99” and instead, engage your community and culture so you can find “1” who is not currently a “99” and introduce the “1” to Christ.

That should ruffle some feathers.

Yep. But he is right.

Competative Churches

In a post entitled One Church Jared Wilson comment on reports that popular singer/song writer Chris Tomlin will be worship leader at a new church in Atlanta, to be pastored by Louie Giglio. Apparently. some other pastors in the area are afraid that the new work with celebrity leaders will draw off some of their members. Jared asks one question and makes one point:

1. Do you really think losing people who are interested in the celebrity factor is a loss?

2. I've said it before: If you treat your church like a business, you will treat other churches like competition.

Very good question. Very good point.

Gospel-Centered Assimilation

Pastor Joe Thorn has an interesting concept on his blog called Gospel-Centered Assimilation.
His concept is to tie all stages and aspects of assimilation of non-believers into new Christians and on into church membership and following Jesus under the Gospel message. He lists four stages:

Gospel Encounter
The first sphere is a gospel encounter. At every event, in all our gatherings and ministries, and in even our homes as we practice hospitality, we expect visitors to encounter the gospel in word and/or deed. This is something we are completely in control of. While we cannot ensure that an individual will embrace the gospel, we can ensure the gospel is demonstrated through works of mercy, preached in our worship gatherings, seen in our parenting, fellowship and dialog with the world.

The unchurched, non-Christian and the mature believer who has walked with Christ for decades will both encounter the gospel. A gospel encounter is not dependent on a particular program, but can use them as appropriate. The point is that in every point of entry to the body (worship gathering, mercy ministry, etc.) the gospel is exalted and people are in some way confronted with it.

Gospel Experience
The second stage of assimilation for us is experiencing the gospel. This is out of our control, but is the aim of all our ministry. By gospel experience I mean people are not only confronted with the gospel, but are in some way affected by it. Conviction of sin, seeking God, and eventually faith and repentance (conversion) are progressive goals. There is overlap between the gospel encounter and gospel experience, for some will have been prepared for this in advance, and some will be Christian. Therefore, some who come into our midst will encounter and experience the gospel immediately. Others will experience it later as they continue with us.

For many of our visitors, the first two stages of assimilation focus on the gospel and them as individuals and families. People are more the recipients of the gospel, rather than the servants of it.

Gospel Service
The second stage in assimilating into the church is gospel service - where people begin to see the gospel as something not just for them, but for everyone. Consequently they begin participating and serving with the church in her mission. It is our goal and expectation that everyone at Redeemer will participate in and serve both the body and the community with the gospel. At some point in this stage covenant membership is expected. How a church moves forward with membership varies greatly, but I like the idea of a class or classes to help in this aspect of assimilation.

Gospel Calling
As believers are growing in grace the church must work to help individuals identify their spiritual gift, mature as followers of Christ, be able to reproduce themselves via discipleship, lead in whatever capacity God has equipped them, and determine what God has called them to (in church life, family, vocation, etc.).

I like Joe's thinking - and also his cool hand-drawn diagrams! This post ties to his earlier one on his Full Church Paradigm ( again with a diagram!) which I wrote about here.

It's about time we all realized that the message of the cross is not just how we get into the Kingdom but where and how we live in the Kingdom. The church is the community of the Cross. The Gospel of the Cross is not just a bridge we cross over but a bridge between heaven and earth where we live.

WANTED - 1000 Reformed Charismatic Churches

Adrian Warnock wants to see 1,000 Reformed Charismatic Churches! See WANTED - 1000 Reformed Charismatic Churches

Do we need lots of reformed charismatic churches? I believe we do. Firstly, we need reformed charismatic churches to show Christians that there really is a third option between arid intellectualism and brainless experiential showmanship. It’s not that the caricatures we tend to make of both cessationists and charismatics are entirely accurate; it’s just that churches that are unashamedly both reformed and charismatic can give confidence to others to make that plunge, or at least ensure they do not meet the caricature defining their end of the spectrum. I believe that it is a good thing to have different churches in any given town that can provoke each other and learn from one another.

But I also believe that reformed charismatic churches are often uniquely placed to become genuinely missional churches that can reach out and grow largely by salvation. We live in a culture that has, for the most part, turned its back on traditional church. Why shouldn’t we offer the world a church whose methods, music, style, and experience are totally up-to-date, but where the message remains old-fashioned and traditional in the sense of being solidly biblical?

Sounds good to me.

Update: A helpful and timely reminder aboutthe priority of Evangelical identity before Reformed identity by Lee Irons at Between Two Worlds.

Scientific Church Growth

Hat Tip: Rick Ianniello