CP Stories and Experiences
A possible emerging church planting movement in the southern
Richard Hibbert,
Introduction
I spent four days from 20-24 September 2004 with Ron and Jeanette Cooke, church planters working in the southern
Over the four days I was a participant-observer who accompanied Ron Cooke on nearly all of his scheduled activities. I observed and had varying degrees of participation in:
1) Three meetings for reflection and planning with members of two teams which Ron and Jeanette work with;
2) Three prayer meetings for the development of the church planting work;
3) Three house group meetings – one for men, one involving three couples, and one for youth
4) Two home visits
5) Interviews with Ron and Jeanette Cooke
6) Conversations with two other team members, and one local leader in the movement
Through this process of observation, participation, and interviewing I discovered a vital, growing network of home groups in a relatively unchurched region of the
Ron and Jeanette have a clear vision and passion for reaching the whole region through multiplying house churches, and they pursue that vision by trying to discern God’s direction at each step. Prayer and listening to God are therefore a foundation stone for their work, and woven into the DNA of the emerging movement. They also have a heart for people which is expressed in their spending lots of time with people in their homes, helping them with basic needs, and tailoring the activities of different house groups to the specific needs of the group. Another prominent feature of their ministry is the way they help people build community by giving plenty of time—between half an hour and an hour—in each meeting for people to informally talk with each other before beginning any more formal activity together.
The situation of the region
Ron and Jeanette Cooke, together with their three children, arrived in the
The area where the Cookes live and work—the provinces of Brabant and Limburg--is in southern Holland, and has a population of about three and half million people. Ninety-nine percent of the people come from a Catholic background, and yet very few go to church regularly. Only one-fifth of one percent—or one in five hundred people--in the region are thought to be evangelical believers. Many people are involved in the occult, through tarot cards, witchcraft, and other activities. The Cookes have found that together with this openness to harmful spiritual powers, many people are also open to hearing about Jesus in a non-confrontational way.
Although willing to consider Jesus, people are generally not positive about the idea of church, which seems to them an irrelevant, oppressive institution. Some of this feeling comes from the special history of southern
The years of growing burden and preparation
“From the very beginning, in 1988, when God called us to work in the Netherlands, we felt as much called to the people of the Netherlands as to the work of starting Cornerstone college. We felt God saying to us, ‘I want you to build my church here’,” said Ron. During the years of working to start and develop the college, the Cookes made many friends in the neighbourhood and surrounding area.
In 1996, many of the evangelical churches in the area disintegrated, leaving Christians hurt and confused. “My heart ached as I saw churches folding up or drying out,” Ron said. Every new initiative by evangelicals to start a church over the previous fifteen years had failed. The situation was so depressing that many people told the Cookes, “Anything you initiate here will not last longer than two years.” Despite the negative comments, Ron and Jeanette’s vision only grew stronger.
Together with a local Christian friend who had a burden for reaching people in the region, Ron began to talk about what they could do. Their first thought was simply to ‘stop the churches stopping’ by trying to bring reconciliation. “We began just by listening to people in the churches and encouraging them,” Jeanette said. One pastor told them, “Until this point, we had no one to talk to.” In 1997 they organized a meeting for church leaders with the purpose of giving them a listening ear, a forum to talk together, and hope for the future. These meetings were warmly received, and continued to happen every two months over the next two years.
It was through the meetings with a core group of leaders which were for planning the larger get-togethers for all leaders that Ron and Jeanette began to discover some key principles for the church planting ministry which they were about to start. Although these were supposed to be primarily planning meetings, they were characterized primarily by sharing and praying for one another. Everybody felt they were the best business meetings they had ever had. After all the sharing and praying, the group worked through the points for discussion very rapidly and easily. This became the basis for the Cooke’s church planting work, and they sum it up by saying, “People are more important than programs.”
How it started and developed
During 1999, three Christian couples, all from traumatised churches, each wanted to start some kind of Christian meeting in their homes. They asked the Cookes for help. Ron and Jeanette said, “You can do it. Your Dutch is much better than ours.” But the people insisted that they needed help. This was the beginning of the first ‘house gathering,’ which still continues today. Over the following year, four other groups were added, bringing the total to five. By mid-2001, when there were seven groups functioning, Ron and Jeanette were able to pursue this calling full-time. Up until then they were only able to give a night or two a week to this ministry. By the end of 2002, seven groups had grown to twenty-three. Today (October 2004) there are over thirty groups, and there are eight new groups about to start. About half of all the participants in the groups also attend some kind of traditional church, whether Catholic, Protestant, or Evangelical.
The groups have different sizes and special characteristics. Four of the groups are open to people from across the region, and are therefore larger. The bulk of them are composed of between four and twelve people. The rest are called “micro-groups” and have just two to three people in them, and focus on mutual mentoring and encouragement. These micro-groups are a key to continuing growth, as they are the main way in which new group leaders are mentored. Despite the distinctive nature of each of the groups, they all meet with the desire to discover, encounter, and connect with God, and to connect with one another better. Most groups meet once a week, although some meet once a month.
As the work has grown, the challenges have multiplied, and at times it has seemed overwhelming. But God has continued to lead the way. He gave the Cookes a picture of the five loaves and two fishes to show them what He plans to do in this area by multiplying his people, and the assurance “I am going to multiply what you have.” Aware of the many demands on their energies, Ron and Jeanette realized they needed a group to be accountable to, and asked a small group of trusted Christian friends to provide this. The group has continued to meet with the Cookes each month and provide accountability for them.
Ron has been active in the start-up of the most of the groups, and generally takes a role in leading them for somewhere between one and ten weeks, but he quickly passes leadership or coordination of each group to others in the group. As the number of groups continues to increase, it is becoming clear that Ron’s role needs to change from starting up the majority of groups to training others who can do this. Already, he is taking less responsibility in the groups, and spending more time planning and mentoring a few people. The total number of people involved in groups is now about two hundred, and the Cookes are thinking through what changes need to take place in their role to break “the 200 barrier.”
Sometimes people who are not yet believers lead new groups. In one instance, the Cookes saw that the non-believer was doing a better job than some Christians! The not-yet-Christian was leading a group which focused on Bible reading and discssion and said, “This week I want to do something a bit different” and started the group with prayer.
The first signs of multiplication are just starting to be seen. Ron writes:
In a nearby town we had contact with an eighty-five-year-old woman who wanted to commence a group. In December 2003 another lady joined her for prayer with a view to commencing a house church. We gave them suggestions as to Bible studies they could follow and as to others who could possibly join them. A few weeks later they responded that they didn’t want to add to the group and that they just wanted to share together. Not really our idea of how a group should function, but our ways are not always the ways of the Lord. As a result of this, the eighty-five-year-old lady has found new hope and is now becoming an inspiration to many others. She has discovered that she has gifts and ministries that she never knew about. Recently she was the motor in getting two different social groups reading the Bible and Christian poems and now from one of these groups has come the request to help another group get under way.
Jeanette’s story
While Ron is more focused on training and motivating people to start new groups, Jeanette’s focus is reaching people who are not yet believers. Yet only a few years ago, Jeanette was burnt out. In the depths of this time of feeling spiritually dry, in January 2003, God spoke to her. She was out shopping when she clearly heard a voice saying, “Dream!” She looked around to see where the voice was coming from, but soon realized that it was the Lord. Her response was “Ron’s the dreamer; speak to him.” But she felt the Lord saying, “No. I want you to dream.” “But what about, Lord?” “Dream about what you would really like to see happen.”
In mid-2003, in a meeting attended by the Cookes, the speaker said, “I want you to dream.” Ideas started to flood into Jeanette’s mind. God reminded her of a plant outside their back door that had died, but had just started producing new shoots and buds. She felt she should give each of these buds the name of a person whom God would touch and be part of the vision.
The very next week after these meetings, one of the women she had named as part of the vision phoned her, and was willing to come to a fellowship group. Jeanette received one vision after the other about this lady, as if to say, “Concentrate on this one lady.” Jeanette’s response was, “But why this one lady?” Jeanette felt that the Lord showed her that it wasn’t only for this one lady’s sake, but for the sake of her hundreds of friends and contacts who could get to know Jesus through her.
As they have been led by God, Jeanette explains: “God has allowed us to see her through His eyes, and this has helped us to feel with other people who are going through deep problems. We want to be there for people, being with people where they are, and practising the presence of Jesus.”
The cost
The growth of the network of house groups has not been without cost. “The spiritual opposition has been intense. One of the areas under constant attack is our health,” Ron said. He was diagnosed with cancer in 2002, and the family went through difficult months not knowing what would happen. Through surgery and God’s touch, Ron was healed, but he was not the only one to become ill. Seven out of the forty-five people who hold some leadership responsibility in the movement have experienced a life-or-death sickness in the last four years, and one died.
Ron and Jeanette explain that disunity is the primary cause of new groups dying or struggling:
A major obstacle for Christian activities here over the years has been disunity, along with manipulation, control, and misuse of leadership positions. As a result of these things there are many hurting people—people who just cannot recover from their hurts and as a result are disillusioned with Christianity and with other Christians.
A third area in which the church planters are paying the cost is the reactions of other Christians, which has sometimes been very discouraging. One Christian leader told them early on, “You are too idealistic. Forget trying what you are doing. It won’t last.” Others have been more caustic in their opposition.
Some keys
One of the leaders in the movement shared with me two of the most important principles he has learned: First, keep things simple by avoiding complicated structures, and second, think small, in the sense of concentrating on the development of small groups, and of putting a lot of effort into the foundations of groups by discipling and mentoring just one or two people over a significant time. Ron highlights both principles when he says, “God reminded us recently of how this all started with Peter and I simply meeting together every week for an hour or two.”
A third principle is to “keep going for it, even when everything is against you,” Ron said. There has been strong opposition to the work, as well as more subtle ways the movement could have been led off track. Over the years there have been many people and groups who have wanted help, or wanted to help Ron and Jeanette, and yet it was clear that some of them have had other agendas or visions. Ron said, “You have to take a very strong stand on your convictions.” He reminded himself of this by a placard on his desk which said, “Go for what God puts on your heart.”
Prayer is a very high priority for the movement. Members of the team together meet together every evening for half an hour of prayer. Another prayer group meets for one morning each week. There is also a monthly day of prayer for the whole movement. They have also found some innovative ways of praying for villages, including prayer trips around villages by bike and by car. For example, Ron and Jeanette spent one summer holiday with their family cycling through fifty villages, and praying for each of them. They sometimes feel they need to focus prayer on a particular village, and repeatedly cycle around it each week and pray. Currently twenty-five prayer trips (which will be made either by bike or car) are being organized for the coming months.
Associated with prayer is a strong emphasis on listening to God, trying to discern his direction and what he is doing, and working along with Him. God has given members of the leadership many visions and dreams about the way forward. Several people have also been healed from serious illnesses in response to prayer.
Another key principle is the way each group is started in response to the felt needs of the people involved. As a result, some groups begin by helping people work on their marriages, others with a simple participative Bible study, others with a focus on helping people understand Christianity, and others with sharing of personal needs and prayer as their beginning.
Training leaders has been very important for continuing growth. This started by training a large group of people as Alpha group leaders, but as these people began to lead groups themselves, many found they had no time to continue doing the training. Other setbacks also hindered training. Ron then began to insist that all leaders continue in some form of on-the-job training. They do this both in a group, and through one-to-one mentoring, and through phone and email. Recently the leaders have realized that every group can be seen as a leadership training program, as leadership is modeled and can be learnt in each group. Ron writes: “In April of this year the Lord clearly showed us that we should stop training in formal ways, but simply do what we have been doing: training on the job by example.”
Another principle is reaching people by starting from where they are, and by developing friendships. Ron said:
We reach them by being their friends! We sit with people—drink coffee, listen, go dishing, mow lawns, do shopping, clean houses, sit in saunas, go swimming, go running, care for animals—you name it, we love it!! Many are being healed—physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Another way of starting where people are is to name the groups in a non-threatening way. Because of the prevailing negative perception of new churches, the Cookes together with local leaders have decided to call the groups house gatherings (“huissamenkomst”) rather than house churches
England (provided by John Bardlsey)
A couple from my church live in High Wycombe. They are using a plan called 'Adopt a Street'. It is very simple. Every Saturday morning they and a couple of friends visit very house in one street, offering to mow, trim hedges, take away rubbish, clear out attic, chat, or pray. If no one answers, they leave a card saying who they are, with a phone number to ring.
One man just started to weep. He said 'My wife died two months ago, and this is the first human kindness I have experienced since then. This is the first time I have been able to weep'.
It's early days. They haven't planted a church yet, or even a Bible study. But they are developing strong friendships and trust, and earning the right to speak honestly.
Our Experience as Church Planters among the Konkomba-Limonkpeln in Ghana (R& R Lidorio)
Since 1994 we have been involved
in seeking to reach part of the Bimonkpeln, a branch of the Konkomba tribe,
in the Koni area of North-east of Ghana, Africa. We were sent to them by WEC
Ghana where we could see the Lord's hands blessing the ministry and over 10
churches were born in our area in the first 5 years. The rapid growth of the
church in Koni area is having a tremendous impact on the culture: perplexing
and embarrassing the witch doctors, transforming the tribal society according
to Gospel standards and causing native evangelists to be thrust out into new
areas
The Church hasn't always been victorious and joyful throughout its journey over
the last years. There have been moments of sadness, defeats, problems among
the leaders and cases of discipline. Also our errors as missionaries could be
seen and we are sure more will become clear in the near future.
However some guidelines were followed during this church planting time that
I believe could be helpful.
1- Prayer support
The Lord was so gracious that we could have a very good prayer support from
the beginning, especially through some segments of the Brazilian Church. Up
to now we have 460 small prayer groups involved in prayer for the Konkomba church
in Koni area. Also in WEC Ghana field we could sense that the ministry use to
go faster when we were closer praying for each other. Another point to highlight
is that E.C.G (Evangelical Church of Ghana) established by WEC in Ghana, is
a church of prayer and very often pioneering church planting gets deep attention
in the local prayer meetings nationwide.
2- Cultural study
Beforehand there was the need to understand the religious tribal universe. In
the Konkomba worldview there is no distinction between religious and non-religious,
sacred and secular, spiritual and material or body and soul. The "religious"
is present in all of the various expressions of life: work, food, wars, procreation
and rest. To be born into Konkomba society means to follow a set of rituals
and ceremonies that are part and parcel of tribal life and survival. There are
no atheists. Everybody believes in spirits, evil or amoral - since there are
no good spirits; in fetishes represented by mountains, trees, rocks or even
those made by human hands; in the idols made of wood or stone; in the totems
generally represented by various animals; in Satan - "Kininbon" -
lord of all the evil spirits; and in the souls of the ancestors that demand
respect and sacrifices as a means of avoiding punishment. Parallel to that immense
universe of wickedness everyone has already heard something about Uwumbor, an
ancient God of by-gone eras and distant dreams who no longer has any relationship
with the people. It is said, "Uwumbor no longer wishes to be God among
the tribe because of some wicked offence committed by one of our ancestors,"
but the story has long since been lost.
Therefore the introduction of the gospel was presented based in three pillars:
God (Uwumbor) is stronger than Satan (Kininbon);God was never far and He desires
to become known by the tribe, through His son Jesus; The values of God are based
on love, mercy and forgiveness, and could fulfil lives.
3- Intentional Church Planting
We believe that no ministry goes beyond its vision, therefore church planting
should be an intentional process and not by chance. Goals and strategies should
be clear before the work starts. We also believe the general aim should be establish
and not just planting a church. That made us to invest most of our time making
disciples and having in mind to step out even before the ministry begins.
4- Building a Church Identity
We feel that those first years of consolidation were vital for the establishing
of the Christian identity within the Konkomba universe. So in our teaching in
the context of "church" we sought to emphasise in general terms that:
" the Church as the community of the redeemed, was brought to birth by
God, and belongs to God;
" the Church is not an alienating society; those who have been redeemed
by Christ are still men and women, parents, children, farmers and fishermen
who breathe the Gospel wherever they may be;
" the Church is not a community in isolation; we are called to be holy
in the world and not apart from it;
" the Church is a community without borders, and is therefore missionary;
" the life of the Church, accompanied by the word, is a great witness to
the lost world. It is necessary that we preach a gospel that makes sense both
in and out of the temple;
" the major mission of the Church is to glorify the name of God;
" the life and thinking of the Church should be centred in the word of
God. The word never contradicts itself nor the action of God in the Church.
5- Getting the Church involved
in the social work
The digging of wells, opening of tracks, building a clinic and a scholl also
improved the quality of life of the tribe, so the church was referred to as
an extensive community that demonstrates purpose both inside and outside the
church building. However, today the challenge to get all projects self-supported
still going on.
6- Involving local lay workers
in the "big picture"
To involve local workers in a church planting ministry is a well known missiological
advice. Even more important, we believe, is to pass the vision to them. Visionaries
have higher motivation than followers.
7- Theological answers to cultural
questions
We could identify some main cultural questions related to the community and
from the beginning the church started promoting theological unswears.
Birth After one year a name is given to a child, following a complex
analysis of the events that surrounded the birth. The church began to name the
children of Christian parents in a special meeting and the names, culturally
acceptable, immediately began to reflect what God was doing among them at the
moment the child was being born.
Marriage Culturally there is no such thing as a marriage ceremony
among the Konkombas, and this fits in perfectly with their tribal view of time
as cyclic and not linear. The church began to hold wedding services, during
which the Lord's blessing was invoked on the new family according to the same
cyclical cultural perspective. The whole process was divided into culturally
acceptable parts.
Funeral To die at a ripe old age, with many children and a large
number of people dancing at your funeral is the dream of every Konkomba. In
order to preserve this, the church adopted a funeral procedure in which fetish
values are not practised, but the cultural core is maintained. Instead of old
songs in which fetishes are invoked, occasionally the church composes new ones
that glorify the name of the Lord and speak about the reality of life with God
after the death of the believer.
Feast of new yams Straight after the harvesting of the new yams
there is a feast with a tremendous demonic emphasis, during which collective
demon possession normally occurs, under the leadership of a group of witch doctors
from the region. The church suggested that the believers bring their first fruits
(yams) so that prayer could be made in a special service to thank the Lord for
the harvest and pray for the planting.
Offerings Before we came, It used to be common practice to give
offerings to the witch doctors, healers and magicians (shaman) of the village.
So it was not difficult for the believers to accept the idea of giving a tithe
to the Lord. They bring their tithes periodically, according to the harvest
time or the birth of the animals, in the form of yams, manioc, corn, chickens,
pigs and also money.
Conclusion
To contextualize the Gospel is to translate it so that the lordship of Jesus
Christ is not an abstract principle or mere doctrine, but the determining factor
of life in all its dimensions and the basic criterion in relation to which all
the cultural values that form the very substance of human life are evaluated.
To do so we may need to observe some criteria of Gospel communication:
1. All Gospel communication should be based beforehand in the biblical principals
and not merely be guided by both the giver or receiver culture as we understand
that the Bible is both cros-culturally applicable and supra-culturally defined.
It is for and above all men.
2. Gospel communication has the aim of seeing the Church built in a new cultural
universe: indigeneity. The local church must see itself as the Church of Christ
in its local expression. Also the Church must be indigenous in its self-functioning
and interacting with each other. It must also have a self-determining capacity.
3. Gospel communication can be na activity done in terms of observing, studding,
applying and evaluating the message inside in the cultural frame we are associated.
The result of that should be to see the local society coming closer to a Gospel
that makes sense in their universe and worshiping a Son of God which speak their
language and answer their questions.