Practical Steps towards planting multiplying churches cross-culturally

 

 

STAGE 1 – Getting to know God’s vision, the harvest, and the workers

 

  1. What? – What is God’s vision? What are you aiming for?

·        Not just one church, but a movement of multiplying churches

·        Think through “What is a church?” and what shape might it take in the culture of your people so that it can best express God to the people and look like good news?

·        Pray for God to reveal His vision

 

Tools:

a. Ask yourself this question and meditate on it: "If God poured His blessing on my life and ministry, what would the result look like in my people group in 20 years?" Can you draw a picture of what it would/could look like? What will the churches look like that are part of this envisioned movement? How many will there be, of what size? Led by whom? How will they reproduce?

b. Write a 29th chapter for the book of Acts for your people group. Be creative. Think big. What does God want to see happen? If you are part of a church planting team, you could each do this individually and then share what you have written with the rest of the team.

c. List of verses on what is a church - Read each of the following passages, and write a few sentences or notes on the way the church is described in each one. Then write a summary paragraph at the end to describe what a church is. Feel free to add other passages if you want. Doing this as a group or team can be even more interesting.

Mt.16:16-19; Mt. 18:15-17; Acts 2:41-47; Acts 4:32-35; Rom.12:4-8; 1Cor. 14:26 Efes.1:22 Eph. 4:11-16; Eph. 5:18-19; 1Pet. 4:10-11; Heb.10:24-25; Jas. 5:13-16

Most of the cases of rapid church multiplication over the last 15 years the churches have been small groups which meet in homes or at least based on household networks. This seems to be the kind of church described in Acts.

d. Church Multiplication Guide chapter 13 (George Patterson and Dick Scoggins) – Church reproduction from the point of view of a Field Supervisor available at http://www.fcpt.org/fcpt/books.php

 

  1. Where? - Ask for God’s guidance about where to start a new church or churches

The best places to start are:

Ø      places which have few or no churches

Ø      places where believers have relatives or friends

Ø      places which are not too far away from where you or other believers live (or will move to)

 

  1. With whom?(in the Body of Christ) - Share your vision with others and gather a team

Work out:

Ø      Who to share with – preferably people who can give at least half a day per week

Ø      How to communicate the vision – a picture or map can be helpful

Ø      What you want to plant – one house church, or a cluster of churches, or what, and what will it look like when you leave?

Tools:

a.      Team Building Manual at http://www.iroteam.com/Tools/Inhouse_Training/Workshops/Team_Building/TBW.htm 

b.      Pioneer Church Planting: The Rookie Team Leader’s Guide at www.calebproject.org/books.htm

 

  1. With whom? “(It’s not by might , nor by power, but by the Spirit of God”) - Pray together,  get many others to pray, and keep praying

Pray for:

Ø      God to reveal His strategy for evangelism and making contacts (see Judges chapter 4)

Ø      People of peace (Luke 10:1-9)

Ø      Other people to catch the vision of planting new churches

Ø      The people you are trying to reach

Tools:

a.      WEC’s prayer advocacy pamphlet and people partnerships pamphlet, both available at 

b.    CPM bathed in prayer and strategic prayer at www.iroteam.com/

 

  1. Get to know the people you are trying to reach and the resources available to reach them

Find out about:

Ø      Their culture, religion, worldview and needs

Ø      Their population and where they live

Ø      How many Christians and how many churches are in the area and people group

Ø      What resources are available to reach them

Ø      What other organizations are trying to reach them or may be interested in helping to reach them

Ø      Other groups who are trying to reach this area or people (if any)

Tools:

a.      Detailed set of ethnographic questions to view or download at http://www.iroteam.com/Tools/Resource_List/Anthropological_QL/Anthropological_QL.htm

b.      Exploring the Land  available from www.calebproject.org and look undere “resources” and “advocacy and research”

c.      General demographic questions. Go to www.iroteam.com then click on “church planting” and then, under “Tools,” on “General Questions to understand your people.”

d.      Set of questions to assess existing resources for evangelization of your people. Go to www.iroteam.com and then click “Church Planting” and then, under “Tools” click “List of Questions on Existing Christian Resources      

 

 

 

 

STAGE 2 – Sowing, Gathering, and Watering

 

  1. Share the gospel with the people

Ø      Think about “What is your gospel?” and “Does it speak to the felt needs of the people?”

Ø      Do broad sowing of gospel seed – cast your net wide

Ø      What are the nest ways of sharing with the people so that they will be able to  understand and be able to use the same method with others?

-         story-telling, song, drama, proverbs

Tools:

a.      Storying scarf, with 21 pictures showing 21 key Bible stories, available by contacting memawartz@aol.com or idea@iroteam.com

b.      Storying training CD, available from www.siutraining.org

c.      Pictures to use while story-telling at www.languagerecordings.com/products.html and look under “audio-visual materials”

d.      Tracts available in many languages by searching www.tractlist.com

e.      Help with developing and encouraging indigenous gospel-communicating music by contacting  ethnomusicology@wec-int.org

f.        The Jesus film in your people’s language – try www.jesusfilm.org/languages

g.      Gospel cassettes in your people’s language at www.globalrecordings.net – and look at their catalogue. They have cassettes in over 5000 languages!

h.      Radio broadcasts in your people’s language – try looking at TWR’s page of languages at www.gospelcom.net/twr/world/world.php ,

FEBA’s at www.feba.org.uk/schedule/welcome.htm

and FEBC’s at www.febc.org/people_group_frame.html

 

  1. Gather interested people and teach them the gospel in more depth

Ø      Think about how often and where to gather – in a home, under a tree, in another neutral place

Ø      Identify people of peace

Ø      Develop a way of  teaching so that new believers can reproduce it and teach others

Ø      Pass on responsibilities to others from the beginning

 

Tools:

a.      Church Planting Manual (by Dick Scoggins) chapters 7-9, on the Man of Peace, available online at www.dickscoggins.com/books/networks.php 

b.      Church Multiplication Guide (George Patterson and Dick Scoggins) has great ideas on how to do things in a reproducible way – purchase at  http://www.fcpt.org/fcpt/books.php 

c.      Indigenous Church Planting:A Practical Journey (Charles Brock). Outstanding and very practical step by step know-how from a veteran church planter on how to run a gathering evangelistic meeting which leads to a church – order from www.churchgrowthinternational.com    

 

  1. Baptise those who want to follow Jesus, teach them, and help them reach others

Ø      Think through “What is a church?” and what kind of churches you want to see planted

Ø      Encourage and equip the new believers to reach their relatives and friends

Ø      Equip believers to run their own gathering meetings, first with their families, and then with others. These can become new cells or churches.

Tools: Church Planting Manual and Church Multiplication Guide  (see under no.6) 

 

  1. Choose 2-3 people from the new group and disciple them in more depth

Ø      Think through “What is a disciple?”

Ø      Spend extra time with these people. Eat with them. Pray with them. Discuss with them. Share your life with them.

Ø      After several months, stop leading the group and let these 2-3 people (or others who have emerged as natural leaders through discipling chains) lead in the way you have shown. Keep meeting with them frequently to pray and discuss issues.

Tools:

  1. Church Planting Manual  (Scoggins) has a very good section on discipling and discipling chains. See under no. 6
  2. The seven basic commands of Christ/Activities of disciples in the Church Multiplication Guide (see under no.6)

 

 

Stage 3 – Leadership Development and Reproduction

 

 

  1. Identify and train leaders  

Þ    Let God show you and the group who He has chosen to lead

Þ    Have at least two leaders preferably, even if one is the main leader, and the other(s) are provisional/helper leader(s).

Þ    Model to them, assist them, watch them (with course corrections and encouragement as necessary), and leave them to continue on their own.

Tools:

  1. Train and Multiply is an excellent course available in many languages for developing leaders on the job. See www.iroteam.com under “church planting” and then “tools” and then “Materials for discipleship and training leaders”
  2. Discerning potential – a helpful article you can read at www.iroteam.com/Training/Church_Planting/discerning_potential_leaders

 

  1. Encourage and help the new church to start another church or churches

Ø      In the first year or so, encourage the new group to start another group. Help the new leaders to do this by going with them the first few times.

Tools:

The Church Multiplication Guide (see under no.6 above) is especially helpful here.

 

  1. Provide ongoing leadership training to the new leaders in the new churches

Ø      Encourage a monthly gathering of leaders together once a month for a day of worship, fellowship, sharing problems, learning from each other, teaching, and praying together

Ø      Develop a system of continual on-the-job mentoring, with more experienced leaders mentoring newer ones.

 

Tools:

a.      The chapter “Developing Leadership” in The Indigenous Church (Melvin Hodges) gives excellent advice about how to do this. Available from www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/102-7488624-2062521

b.      The chapter “Church Reproduction from the Point of View of Trainers of Pastors and Church Planters” in The Church Multiplication Guide (see under no.6 above on how to order it)