planting healthy reproducing churches - … · "a history and analysis of the church-planting...

PLANTING HEALTHY

REPRODUCING CHURCHES

PASTORS SEMINARY FISHERS, INDIANA

Dr. Robert J. Vajko

May 13-19, 2006

PLANTING HEALTHY REPRODUCING CHURCHES Course Description: This course examines biblical principles and working methodologies for planting a healthy reproducing church. First, we will deal with the biblical, theological, and missiological bases for church planting, then discuss church health and reproduction and finally move through a step-by-step approach from first contacts to church maturity and reproduction. Course Objectives: 1. Affective - to create a motivation for pioneer church planting and to see a greater love and vision for the local church developed in the life of the student. 2. Cognitive - to enable the student to set up a model for church planting in a chosen community that will enable him to think through a biblical and workable methodology. 3. Spiritual - to help the student understand the relationship between the strategy of church planting and the supernatural resources that are available in beginning a new church. 4. Practical – to give the student tools for competent functioning in a church-planting context. Required Texts: Hesselgrave, David J. Planting Churches Cross-Culturally: A Guide for Home and Foreign Missions. 2nd Edition. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000. Schwarz, Christian. Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches. St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 2003. Recommended Texts: Logan, Robert E. Be Fruitful and Multiply: Moore, Ralph. Starting a New Church: The Church Planter’s Guide to Success. Ventura, CA: Regal, 2002.

CONTENT OF CLASS LECTURES:

1. The Biblical and Theological Bases for Church Planting. 2. The Missiological Basis for Church Planting. 3. Planting a Healthy Church Introduction to Natural Church Development and Planting a Healthy Church I 4. Planting a Healthy Church II 5. Planting a Healthy Church III 6. Planting a Healthy Church IV 7. Building Reproduction into a Church Plant. I Reprint of article and notes 8. Building Reproduction into a Church Plant. II

Lectures on the Pastors Seminary Website: (ten)

9. Conception Phase 10. The Preparation Phase 11. The Birth phase. 12. The Growth phase I 13. The Growth phase II 14. The Maturity phase I 15. The Maturity phase II 16. The Reproduction Phase I 17. The Reproduction Phase II 18. A Master Plan

Bibliography: Allen, Roland. Missionary Methods: St. Paul's or Ours? London: Dominion Press, 1956. ________. The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962. Amstutz, Harold E. Church Planter's Manual. Cherry Hill, NJ: Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, 1985. Boer, Harry. Pentecost and Missions. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1961. Bosley, Harold A. Men Who Build Churches: Interpretations of the Life of Paul. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1972. Brock, Charles. The Principles and Practice of Indigenous Church Planting. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1981. Cheney, Tom. “Twenty-five Pre-launch Questions for the Church Planter.” http://www.churchplantingvillage.net

http://www.churchplantingvillage.net/

________. “Common Mistakes made by Church Planters.” http://www.churchplantingvillage.net. Chilton, Charles A. Planting the House Church. Published by the author. Cole, Neil. Organic Church: Growing Faith where Life Happens. San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass, 2005. Conn, Harvie M. ed. Planting and Growing Urban Churches: From Dream to Reality. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1997. Dever, Mark. Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004. Driscoll, Mark. Radical Reformission. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004. Faircloth, Samuel. Church Planting for Reproduction. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1991. Fee, Gordon D. land Douglas Stuart. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981. Garrison, David. Church Planting Movements. Richmond, VA: Office of Overseas Operations, International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1999. ________. Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World. Midlothian, VA: WIGTake Resources, 2004. Greenway, Roger S. Editor. Guidelines for Urban Church Planting. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1976. Harrison, Everett F. Interpreting Acts. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986. Hodges, Melvin L. A Guide to Church Planting. Chicago: Moody Press, 1973. Hull, Bill. The Disciple Making Church. Grand Rapids: Revell, 1990. ________. Can We Save the Evangelical Church? Grand Rapids: Revell, 1993. Jones, Ezra Early. Strategies for New Churches. New York: Harper and Row, 1976. King, Fred G. The Church Planter's Training Manual. Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 1992.


Logan, Robert E. and Thomas T. Clegg with Jeanette Buller. Releasing Your Church’s Potential: A Natural Church Development Resource Kit for Pastors and Church Leaders. Brighton, Qld.: Direction Ministry Resources, 1998. Logan, Robert E. and Neil Cole. Beyond Church Planting: Pathways for Emerging Churches. St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 2005. Logan, Robert E. and Steven L. Ogne. The Church Planter’s Toolkit, Australian Edition. Brighton, Qld. Direction Ministry Resources, 1991. Lukasse, Johan. Church with Roots: Planting Churches in Post-Christian Europe. Bromely, Kent, England: STL Books, 1990. Malphurs, Aubrey. Planting Growing Churches for the 21st Century. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992. Murphy, Edward. "The Missionary Society as an Apostolic Team." Missiology 4, no. 1 (January 1976): 103-18. Nebel, Tom and Gary Rohrmayer. Church Planting Landmines: Mistakes to Avoid in Years 2 through 10. St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 2005. Nicklas, Norman A. "Adding to Multiply." The Church Planter: A Growing Manual for Church Development. Study no. 1.3 Palm Beach Gardens: Discovering Life Ministries, 1992. Patterson, George and Richard Scoggins. Church Multiplication Guide: Helping Churches to Reproduce Locally and Abroad. Pasadena: William Carey, 1993. Ratliff, Joe S. and Micheael J. Cox. Church Planting in the African-American Community. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1993. Redford, Jack. Planting New Churches. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1978. Schwarz, Christian A. Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches. 6th Edition. St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 2003.

_________. The 3 Colors of Love. St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 2004. _________. Color Your World with Natural Church Development. St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 2006. Schwarz, Christian A. and Christophe Schalk. Implementation Guide to Natural Church Development. St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 1998. Shenk, David W. and Ervin R. Stutzman. Creating Communities of the Kingdom: New Testament Models of Church Planting. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1988. Snyder, Howard A. "The Free Methodist Church in Sao Paulo, Brazil." in Guidelines for Church Planting. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1976. Steffen, Tom A. Passing the Baton: Church Planting That Empowers. La Habra, CA: Center for Organizational and Ministry Development, 1993. Stetzer, Ed. Planting New Churches in a Postmodern Age. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2003. ________. Planting Missional Churches: Planting a Church That’s Biblically Sound and Reaching People in Culture. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2006. Stetzer, Ed & David Putnam. Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2006. Stimulating and Nurturing Church Planting Movements. International Centre for Excellence I in Leadership. International Mission Board SBC, 2001. Strauch, Alexander. Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership. Revised and expanded. Littleton, CO: Lewis & Roth, 1995. ________. Study Guide to Biblical Eldership: Twelve Lessons for Mentoring Men for Eldership. Littleton, CO: Lewis & Roth, 1996. ________. The Mentor’s Guide to Biblical Eldership: Twelve Lessons for Mentoring Men for Eldership. Littleton, CO: Lewis & Roth, 1996. Towns, Elmer & Ed Stetzer. Perimeters of Light: Biblical Boundaries for the Emerging Church. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2004.

Vajko, Robert J. "A History and Analysis of the Church-Planting Ministry of the Evangelical Alliance Mission in France from 1952 to 1974." MA Thesis, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1975. ________. "Principles for the Design and Implementation of a Working Strategy for the Multiplication of the TEAM-related Churches in France by the Daughter Church Method." D. Miss. project, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1996. ________. “The Biblical, Theological, and Missiological Bases for Planting New Churches” in Proclaiming Truth, Pastoring Hearts: Essays in Honour of Deane J. Wood edited by R. Todd Stanton & Leslie Crawford. Adelaide, Australia: ACM Press, 2003. ________. “Why Do Some Churches Reproduce?” Evangelical Missions Quarterly 41, no. 3 (July 2005): 294-299. Van Engen, Charles. The Growth of the True Church. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1981. Wagner, C. Peter. Church Planting for a Greater Harvest: A Comprehensive Guide. Ventura, CA: Regal, 1990. Warren, Rick. The Purpose Drive Church: Growth Without Compromising Your Message & Mission. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995. Waterman, Leonard. A Manual for Starting New Churches. Published by the author, Enfield, Connecticut, June 1979. .

Planting Healthy Reproducing Churches

The Biblical, Theological, and Missiological Bases for Planting New Churches

Robert J. Vajko∗∗∗∗

Biblical and Theological The Danger of Building on Pragmatism for Church Planting and Multiplication What is pragmatism? Philosophically, the question could be complicated, but in this study pragmatism is understood to be the concept that “if it works, it must be right.” What is its danger? That the implication be given that church planting and the multiplication of daughter churches is simply a question of “know-how” or “techniques.” The assumption could so easily be made that all one has to do is to follow a workable guide plan and then “voilà—a daughter church.” That is a deadly base to build upon.

Bill Hull warns against the dangers inherent in what he calls a "programmic" approach. He believes in teaching what he calls a “utilitarian model,” but he is concerned about a solid foundation in Scripture and biblical principles:

If the attendees do not ask the questions, then the teacher must. Our objective is to provide a theology of mission that will service programmic thinkers all their lives. It is only a secondary objective to provide them with a working model because it is culturally limited and possesses a short life span. Like a ship at sea without engine or sails, it sits on changing tides, slowly taking on water, with only a matter of time until it sinks.1

Missiology without a clear theological base easily and imperceptibly becomes pragmatism lacking solid roots in biblical data. This wrongly pragmatic approach to ministry can lead us to make both theology and

∗ Dr. Bob Vajko has been responsible for the Department of Missions at Adelaide College of Ministries. “I would like to express my appreciation to Deane Woods in this Festschrift not only for his character and leadership but also for his missionary vision. We had a wonderful experience sharing the vision of church planting in Taiwan together. God encouraged us as pastor Stephen Wong caught this vision and, working with George McFall, planted a daughter church. Those times together in Taiwan were very meaningful. My wife and I wish you God’s richest blessing on you and Margaret as you continue to serve Him.” --Bob Vajko 1 Bill Hull, Can We Save the Evangelical Church? (Grand Rapids: Revell, 1993), 42, emphasis mine.

truth peripheral.2 However, a missiology of church planting that conforms to Scripture will be both true and workable. It will stand the test of time and will lead to true fruit. Wells says that, “Christian faith should be defined and driven only by truth as this has been biblically given.”3 Change the words “Christian faith” here to “missiology” and the necessary truth base is laid for both effective and biblical church planting and reproduction. Bill Hull also shares his concern for correct doctrine as a base for ministry: Orthopraxy (right practice) is always derived from orthodoxy (right doctrine). Those who say, 'Let's not be doctrinal, let's be practical,' amuse me, because I find it impossible to be practical without being doctrinal. Doctrine drives practice. Paul's

applications are helpful because they grow out of a theological base. Modern church thinkers have increasingly lost sight of this truth. Contemporary theology often allows application to grow from pragmatism and the social sciences. Rarely will a church pastor, board, or team start from a theological base identify principles, and apply them in contextualized form.4

Nine Biblical Reasons for the Planting and Multiplication of Churches

It is the Will of God that His People Multiply In an insightful look at Matthew 16:18 where Jesus declares, “I will build my church.” Donald Carson explains that the Greek verb “to build” (oikodomeô) used here is in direct line with the OT idea of “building” a people.” The Hebrew word banah is used in this sense in Ruth 4:11: “May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel.”5 To build up the house of Israel is to multiply the people of God. In Exodus 1 there is the same motif of multiplication. The same God who multiplies his people in the OT multiplies them in the NT as predicted in Matthew 16:18. He does this by building up his church. His church grows as his people multiply and churches then multiply because of this growth. The only way to accommodate the multiplication of believers is by the multiplication of churches.

2 David F. Wells, No Place for Truth or Whatever Happened to Evangelical Theology? (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1993), 106. 3 Ibid., 216. 4 Bill Hull, The Disciple-Making Church (Grand Rapids: Revell, 1990), 158. 5 D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” EBC (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), 8: 369.

What could be more biblical than churches starting other churches by branching out and forming daughter churches?

Furthermore, Christ is Lord of his church and he is at work causing it to grow. It is not human know-how, techniques, demographics, and surveys. Iain Murray, in his book Revival and Revivalism, marks a clear distinction between these two often-confused subjects. For him, revival is the sovereign working of God where there are "times of quickened spiritual prosperity and growth in the church."6 Revivalism is men trying to fabricate this by techniques. Again Murray says:

True church growth and multiplication is the forgotten truth that the work of Christ

in salvation did not end with his ascension, thereafter to be carried on by the church and human energies. Rather, Christ remains the source of all authority, life and power. It is by him that his people are preserved and their numbers increased.7

And it could be added that it is by Christ that the church multiplies into local churches

giving birth to new churches and the marvelous process continues. When this promise in Matthew is fulfilled in Acts, the accomplishment of this “building” by multiplication is seen. A study of the structure of Acts that is informed by the key transition passages (Acts 6:7; 9:31; 12:24; 16:5; 19:20 and 28:30) shows that each section of this book aims at "expansion."8 Acts shows the growth of local churches and their multiplication. The Antioch church is one of the best models of this as it extends out to begin new congregations. The Lord's command in Acts 1:8 is obeyed as the church occupies more territory and new churches are planted. If the Acts model is to be followed, churches should not only multiply believers but also churches. Acts 2:42-47 describes the church as meeting in the temple court and in homes. This two-pronged approach gives credence to the idea of the expansion of the church giving birth to new groups in new regions. Those committed to cell-groups point out that the church is just as much the church in the cell-groups as in the larger congregation. This does not prove that churches should start branch churches, but it does show that God wants his gathered people meeting in different geographic areas as a witness. Theoretically and practically this is best accomplished not only by cell-groups but also by some of these cells becoming functioning churches on their own and thus expanding the church into new areas. This will be dealt with later as the question of theory and practice are related.

The Activity of the Holy Spirit in the Birth Process The second reason for this multiplication of churches comes from the activity of the Holy Spirit in this birth process. He works to bring new believers into being but also to bring new churches into being. Boer points out that the impetus for the growing church came not from the commandments to evangelize but from 6 Iain H. Murray, Revival and Revivalism: The Making and Marring of American Evangelicalism, 1750-1858 (Carlisle: Banner of Truth, 1994), 20. 7 Ibid., 19, emphasis mine. 8 Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981), 88-89.

the impetus of the Spirit to move out. He says “Two things stand out with great clarity in Acts: the irresistible missionary expansion of the Church, and the power of the Spirit in that expansion.”9

The expansion in Acts 13 comes about as the Spirit moves Barnabas and Saul to give themselves to the work of planting new churches. Much missiological thought has been involved in the discussion about whether this was a modality (church structure) or a sodality (mission structure) planting new churches. From an exegetical point of view, it seems as though a modality type structure of an “apostolic team” is present here. However, the sending out of this team was within the context of the believers in the church at Antioch. Their being sent out from the church to plant new churches was not planting daughter churches (where a solid group forms the nucleus of the new church). This event does show us, nevertheless, that when the Spirit is at work,10 the church (or at least its leadership) recognizes the need to be willing to let others move out from within the church to plant new churches.

Emil Brunner clarifies this: Mission work does not arise from any arrogance in the Christian Church; mission is its cause and life. The Church exists by mission, just as a fire exists by burning. Where there is no mission, there is no Church; and where there is neither Church nor mission, there is no faith.11

So how could a church not envision reaching out to begin new churches in new areas if it

is truly “on fire”? The Holy Spirit is given to make believers “holy” by working in them for he is the Holy Spirit. However, he is also the Holy Spirit. As such He has a ministry to make these holy believers “moving” witnesses who expand the church geographically by the power of their testimony (Acts 1:8). The result should be the creation of new bodies of believers wherever these witnesses go. It is striking to note the multiplication of daughter churches among Pentecostals in France. One reason seems to be their recognition of the fact that groups of believers in an area become the core of a new church. France has long been recognized as resistant to evangelism, yet in this resistant soil, the Pentecostals have seen many churches planted. According to Operation World, the Assemblies of God alone have created 650 congregations in France with a membership of 66,500 and an affiliation of 133,000.12 Does their theology of the Spirit and the congregating of believers encourage this multiplication?

The Church is an Organism -- A Body ( 1 Cor 12:12-31) Organisms give birth to other organisms by reproduction as life generates life. The church is born to reproduce by giving life. When filled with and guided by the Spirit, the church not only reproduced by multiplying believers but it reproduced by multiplying new churches. We should be concerned to see churches born that recognize from the moment of their birth that they are to produce other churches. This will lead to the multiplication of churches.

9 Harry Boer, Pentecost and Missions (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1961), 109. 10 See Harold R. Cook, “Who Really Sent the First Missionaries,” Evangelical Missions Quarterly 11 (October 1975): 233-39. 11 Emil Brunner, The Word and the World (New York: Scribners, 1931), 108. 12 Patrick Johnstone, Operation World (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993), 224.

Commenting on the power of the reproductive model as seen in the church of Antioch, Bill Hull states, “We see the power of the model of reproduction: If you multiply a reproductive church, it creates other reproductive churches. This will remain true until modeling breaks down.”13 The powerful movement of life coming from the church as an organism led to the expansion of the church everywhere in the Roman Empire. Norman A. Niklas explains:

The first element in this equation represents the most important factor. Without the supernatural resources of our sovereign God, the planting and growing of churches would be impossible. By His power believers are born, disciples are made and churches reproduce.14

A French missiological book, quoting a German pastoral theology (Grundriss der Praktischen Theologie), stresses the same truth:

The Church particularly insists on the fact that it is not in good health without this expansion beyond its present frontiers. These remarks signify that one should not count missions among the 'works' of the Church, to be mentioned after many others, but missions is an integral part of her organism.15

The Church Functioning According to God Will Manifest a “Yearning”

Fourth, as Charles Van Engen explains, when the church functions as the “true church” it will manifest certain characteristics. One of these will be a profound desire to see others come into fellowship:

The true church “Yearns” for the incorporation of those persons, groups, and cultures which will gather with it in fellowship around the one Head of the Body, and thus construct a true, loving, growing, serving demonstration of koinonia.16

This is true biblical motivation that causes new churches to come into being. This motivation is a supernatural, Spirit-given desire that incites to evangelism. Churches that have this “yearning” will never be content with one church in one area but they will reproduce themselves so that more and more regions are

13 Hull, The Disciple-Making Church, 86. 14 Norman A. Nicklas, “Adding to Multiply,” The Church Planter: A Growing Manual for Church Development (Palm Beach Gardens: Discovering Life Ministries, 1992), 1.3. 15 Marc Spindler, La Mission, Combat Pour Le Salut Du Monde (Neuchatel: Delachaux & Niestle, 1967), 59 (my translation). 16 Charles Van Engen, The Growth of the True Church (Amsterdam: Editions Rodopi), 504.

touched with the gospel and new churches are born. This is where daughter church planting finds its highest motivational level.

The Wonderful Power of “Spontaneous Expansion” Within the Church Fifth, although to a degree implied in the other reasons, the church of Jesus Christ has within itself the wonderful power of what the renowned missiologist Roland Allen called “spontaneous expansion.” He perceptively saw that this expansion was not just the expansion of this or that congregation but was more than that.

This then is what I mean by spontaneous expansion. I mean the expansion which follows the unexhorted and unorganized activity of individual members of the Church explaining to others the Gospel which they have found for themselves; I mean the expansion which follows the irresistible attraction of the Christian Church for men who see its ordered life, and are drawn to it by desire to discover the secret of a life which they instinctively desire to share; I mean also the expansion of the Church by the addition of new churches.17

The Example of the Self-Giving of Christ Sixth, the multiplication of churches should be theologically driven by the example of the self-giving of Christ. That involves sacrifice. A pastor or a church can fall into the trap of building an empire in and around their church ministry. It is much more difficult to give unselfishly to build someone else's ministry. If a pastor or church leadership find the church where they minister growing, it is generally to their credit. If they start to plant daughter churches who gets the credit? The planting of branch churches encourages unselfishness. It “fits” better the concern of the Apostle Paul that the servanthood of Christ be applied to ministry:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interest of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus (Phil 2:3- 5).

This “attitude” of Christ will be the key to beginning daughter churches.

Charles Chaney, both an experienced church planter and a church planting strategist, comments on how the pastor's attitude is of utmost importance if churches are to give birth to new churches:

17 Roland Allen, The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962), 7 (emphasis mine).

I have not even touched upon one very fundamental problem involved in creating a climate for planting new congregations. I have assumed that the pastor is sympathetic with growth by the multiplication of churches. This is very often not the case. In fact, he is often the point of primary resistance. How to deal with the problem is a crucial matter. Nevertheless, if a pastor is committed to multiplying churches in every segment of society, an environment for church planting can usually be brought into existence in a local church.18

Patterson and Scoggins state that “leaders who simply control rather than help others to

minister are a major reason why churches fail to reproduce.”19 A pastor shows that his mind-set is that of Christ's by helping another leader to develop a

new church even if this involves sacrifice for the mother church. A powerful example can thus be set for the pastor and the leadership of the daughter church. This unselfishness in beginning new daughter churches could become contagious. Thus everyone is seeking the multiplication of new congregations for the glory of God rather than majoring on only one church. This biblical principle will result in churches that are planted giving of themselves unselfishly to begin new churches:

Church planting efforts should start with the assumption that local churches will normally start daughter churches. Consideration should be given as to when a local church is ready to plant a daughter congregation. Prosperous churches should be encouraged to put their resources into church multiplication instead of spending them entirely on themselves.20

The Model as Seen in the Book of Acts

Seventh, the theology of the multiplication of local churches has as a model the church as seen in the book of Acts. The outpouring of Pentecost created a large church in Jerusalem, but God's will was that congregations be multiplied by his witnesses not only in Jerusalem, but “in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Whether or not the disciples did not fully grasp the importance of this or whether they delayed too long nevertheless “a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1). These dispersed believers were the means for the planting of churches everywhere.

An experienced Southern Baptist church planter and strategist calls this “the New Testament pattern” and explains: 18 Charles L. Chaney, Church Planting At the End of the Twentieth Century (2nd ed., Wheaton: Tyndale House, 1991), 177. 19 George Patterson and Richard Scoggins, Church Multiplication Guide: Helping Churches to Reproduce Locally and Abroad (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1993), 12. 20 Howard A. Snyder, “The Free Methodist Church in Sao Paulo, Brazil,” Guidelines For Urban Church Planting (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1976), 29, emphasis mine.

The New Testament pattern in evangelism was not to make many new disciples and leave them unrelated to other Christians. That is why the local church is of crucial importance. Nor is the biblical pattern to enlarge existing churches until their membership numbers in the thousands. The biblical pattern is to move converts into new churches, let them meet in homes, and then multiply the number of such churches.21

Some cite the fact that Paul stayed in certain areas for a longer time, such as Corinth and

Ephesus, to justify spending a longer time to build a larger church. There is nothing inherently wrong with building a large work in an area, but Paul kept on reaching out to new areas to begin new churches. The question should not be bigger churches as over against branch (or daughter) churches since both are necessary. Malphurs states that "the churches in Acts were large churches in terms of numbers."22 That may be true of churches such as Jerusalem and Antioch but may be more questionable when it comes to churches like those found at Philippi and Athens. The truth is simply that we have churches of various sizes in Acts. A look at the larger strategy of Paul sees him concerned about regions and not just one local church.

Roland Allen alerts us to Paul's far-reaching vision as he explains: Both St. Luke and St. Paul speak constantly of the provinces rather than of the cities. Thus St. Paul was forbidden to preach the word in Asia, he was called from Troas not to Philippi, or to Thessalonica, but to Macedonia.23 It is erroneous to consider the time spent at Ephesus as devoted only to the development of one large regional church. Bill Hull affirms that:

Under Paul's direction, the Ephesian leadership community expanded into the whole province of Asia. The six sister churches that join Ephesus and undergo Christ's scrutiny in Revelation 2, 3 are the fruit of the Ephesian church's leadership community.24

Likewise, Beals in A People for His Name, states, “As a result of this widespread witness through Paul's converts it is likely that the churches at Colosse, Hierapolis and Laodicea were planted (Col. 4:13).” And he exhorts, “Each one plant one' is a realistic goal for Bible-believing churches in every culture around the world.”25

Womack agrees with this evaluation of Paul's strategy:

21 Chaney, Church Planting, 176. 22 Aubrey Malphurs, Planting Growing Churches for the Twenty-First Century (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992), 63. 23 Roland Allen, Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours? (London: World Dominion Press, 1956), 17. 24 Hull, The Disciple-Making Church, 196. 25 Paul A. Beals, A People for His Name: A Church-Based Missions Strategy (Rev. ed., Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1995), 183.

The Apostle Paul had a world-wide missionary interest, but he tackled the world one region at a time in a growing Christian witness. He chose strategic centers like Antioch, Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus, and Rome; and he depended on the local Christians to evangelize their own surrounding territories. In the case of Ephesus, he selected an important population center from which he knew that there would result a spreading Christian witness over all the Province of Asia and out along the busy trade routes and shipping lines.26

The Longing to See Local Bodies of Believers in Each Town or City

Eighth, as we examine the biblical data, church multiplication happened in this way because of a longing to see local bodies of believers in each town or city. If, as some have stated, leaders from the church at Ephesus were instrumental in the planting of the seven local churches mentioned in Revelation 2 and 3, then we see the importance of one church planting another within a nearby town, city, or area. The concept of large regional churches that draw people from a large area is foreign to the NT scene. Our modern capacity to commute long distances may, in the long run, run counter to the biblical idea of the local church as a light within its area. When local churches plant new local churches in adjoining areas then the witness takes root in the community incarnationally and powerfully. This does not necessarily militate against large churches such as those of Jerusalem and Antioch, but it does militate against planting a church that does not multiply like the strawberry plant moving out and beginning new plants along an extended line out from itself. This strawberry image is used by church planters with France-Mission in France. It is called “the principle of the strawberry plant.”27

Christ Manifests Himself in Each Area by the Multiplication of Churches Finally, the theology of church multiplication is a means of Christ being present by his body, the church, in region after region. The goal is not just the multiplication of churches but the multiplication of churches as a vehicle used by God to make Christ known. Chaney, commenting on Roland Allen's missiology, states:

To my thinking, Roland Allen was on target when he said that what we ultimately seek in our efforts to bring the nations to faith in Christ is not converts, the multiplication of congregations, or the Christianization of the social order, but a manifestation of the character and glory of Christ . . . And though Allen would say that the ultimate mission of the Church is

26 David A. Womack, Breaking the Stained-Glass Barrier (New York: Harper and Row, 1973), 17. 27 David Brown, “ La Multiplication D’Eglises: Des Conseils Pratiques,” Departement Relations Avec Les Eglises Partenaires De France-Mission (Paris: France Mission, 1993), 1.

not identical with the growth of churches, he would also insist that the manifestation of Christ is achieved through and in the multiplication of congregations. When we plant churches among any people, we make it possible for the character and beauty of Jesus to become incarnate in that culture.28

In writing to the local church at Corinth, Paul makes the astounding statement: “Now

you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (1 Cor 12:27). He does not say that this local church is a part of the body of Christ but that it is the body of Christ. As this church lives a life empowered by the Spirit, it shows forth Christ in the city of Corinth. Is this not a high and lofty motive to multiply congregations everywhere by churches giving birth to new churches? A greater witness extends to region after region as churches that function as lampstands multiply the light and the person of Christ is seen more clearly.

Missiological

Having looked at the biblical base for the planting of new churches (nine reasons), we now want to consider the missiological base. In other words, it is good missiological practice to plant new churches. Seven key reasons are given here. Planting New Churches is the Key to Effective Evangelistic Growth Ralph Winter points out the growth power of the daughter church approach wherever it is used. In a lucid study on this subject, he speaks of the importance of “expansion growth” (the quantitative growth of one church) and then turns to the question of producing daughter churches which he calls “extension growth”:

Extension growth is where new churches are planted. Few pastors have a vision for this and in certain spheres it is almost a lost art. It requires a very different set of skills from that of expansion growth; yet it involves, crucially, all the skills of internal growth and expansion growth as well. Studies have shown that a church movement that falls back on expansion growth alone -- and is not able and willing to plant new congregations -- is a movement whose growth rate will rapidly taper off.29

These two verbs should be emphasized: “able” and “willing.” Churches in a dynamic movement must not just be willing but also able to reproduce themselves in daughter congregations. A church planted by a missionary that does not become a reproducing church becomes an end in itself. But the goal is not just creation of a new church but multiplication by daughter churches. “Spontaneous expansion” is the goal. If the goal is to create a dynamic movement

28 Chaney, Church Planting, 10, emphasis mine. 29 Ralph Winter, “Seeing the Task Graphically,” Evangelical Missions Quarterly 10 (January 1974): 20, emphasis mine.

that grows even when the missionary leaves, then the only correct strategy is that of planting reproducing churches.

Niklas states:

When the Lord adds a person to his family, He expects him to reproduce. When group of believers forms a church, He expects that church to have the same reproductive qualities . . . “Adding to multiply” is the proven way to establish reproductive churches and effectively evangelize our land.30

So the first reason why daughter churches should be planted is that this is

the only way to “effectively evangelize” as Niklas puts it. Peter Wagner says it succinctly, “The most effective evangelistic method under heaven is planting new churches.”31 Planting New Churches by the Daughter Church Method is More Rapid This is the second reason for the planting of daughter churches. My experience shows that often beginning a church in any given area takes years of work. But by having a branch nucleus to form the core of a new church plant, the work moves more rapidly. Some interpret this as wanting results quickly. Would it not be better to interpret this as wisely using our resources as good stewards of God? Planting Churches by the Daughter Church Method Normally Give a More Solid Church Start The third reason for the planting of daughter churches is that normally daughter churches have a more solid beginning because of help from the mother church. The daughter church comes into the world with certain resources that can help it have a good birth. This is provided by the image given to the new work by the more established mother church. If the mother church has a building and credibility coming from being a recognized church, this can help the new little work being born. In our ministry in St. Quentin, France, the good public relations the mother church had with officials and the press were of help to its daughter churches.

When beginning a daughter church it is important to make a courtesy visit to the mayor using the mother church to establish credibility. At that time it can be explained that this is the daughter work of a recognized church in a nearby area. In France, where we ministered in church planting, evangelical churches are easily confused with cults. The help of an image of credibility from the mother church can be invaluable. William Boggess, who was responsible for planting a daughter church in Montigny-le-Brétonneux, France, declares that one of the great

30 Niklas, “Adding to Multiply,” 1.3. 31 Peter C. Wagner, Church Planting for a Great Harvest (Ventura: Regal Books, 1990), 11.

benefits of being a daughter church is what he calls “instant credibility” in a context where the beginning of a new church can be suspect.32 (Boggess 1996b).

This help can also be in the form of believers from the mother church helping with distribution of literature, attendance at evangelistic meetings for outreach, finances, and administration. Leadership can be provided in the beginning when the young church is weak. The use of the mother church's confession of faith can protect the new daughter church from elements that would divide it.

If the newly-planted daughter church is not able to become an independent body for some reason or other, the believers can return to the mother church. William Boggess, the missionary pastor responsible for the daughter church plant cited above, gave a reason for the daughter church strategy by using the concept of safety. “If the daughter church is weak, it can come under the mother church.” If there were no special link like that of a mother-daughter model, the believers in a small work would tend to be dispersed whereas in the daughter church model new believers are under the umbrella of protection of the mother church. New Church Planting Increases the Receptivity of a Given Region The fourth reason for the planting of new churches is that this method increases the receptivity of a given region. The more church plants there are, the more the ground is worked over and this plowing of the ground opens the region to additional church plants.

In a study on the growth of the church in Mexico, McGavran explains: Nothing increases general responsiveness like the spread of Evangelical churches. Every Christian has scores of relatives who know him intimately. Every congregation is a center of influence. Even weak Christians and weak congregations are more influential than we suppose, for they have far more contacts than any foreign missionary can possibly have. The great increase of Evangelicals today creates an entirely new magnitude of responsiveness.33

This encourages the planting of daughter churches in such a way as to have regional

concentration that promotes receptivity and daughter churches grow better in receptive areas. This increased receptivity helps a fellowship of churches to grow more dramatically.

Multiplying churches within a region leads to multiplied influence on people and opens the door to more conversions and a resultant multiplication of churches. This is true not only for the AEEI churches (a fellowship of churches formed by TEAM missionaries in France), but, by planting daughter churches, greater responsiveness can be created for all evangelical churches within an area. Wagner states: “in more cases than not, a new church in the community tends to raise the religious interest of the people in general and if handled properly can be a benefit to existing churches.”34 A New Church Has a Potential for Growth That an Older Church Does Not Have The fifth reason for planting daughter churches is that a daughter church normally has a greater potential for growth than a mother church just as a child has a greater potential for growth than his parents. The planting of daughter 32 Telephone interview with William Boggess, April 22, 1996. 33 Donald A. McGravan, Church Growth in Mexico (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1963), 64. 34 Wagner, Church Planting, 20.

churches by the Orly church where we worked in France showed this in almost every case. In some cases the daughter churches doubled in a very short period. If these groups had stayed within the mother church, the same growth would not have been experienced. Both the mother church and its daughter are stimulated to growth by daughter church planting. The mother church senses a need to replace the ones who have left to form the new church. The daughter church senses its smallness and the need to grow in order to survive. Here is the principle:

New churches grow better than old churches. Built into new churches is a potential for growth that older churches no longer have. This does not mean that older churches cannot grow. They often do. Nor does it mean that all new churches grow. Frequently they do not. But across the board, growth is more likely with less effort in newer churches.35

If more churches understood this, they would perhaps be more willing to plant daughter churches. Planting New Churches Becomes a Model for Church Reproduction The sixth reason for encouraging churches to plant daughter churches is that this process provides a model for the daughter church to become a mother church. The case study of the Longjumeau church's daughter church in Brétigny and the four grand-daughter churches of Nation showed this working out in practice. The new church saw the importance of reproducing after their kind. In a study of church planting in Japan, a national pastor has diagrammed this process by showing how two daughter churches started three grand-daughter churches.36

This question needs further study to see how modeling can be more effective. Not all daughter churches see the importance of reproducing themselves by means of another daughter church. Etienne Bracke, a Free Church missionary, points out that although the mother-daughter church model helped them in church planting in Belgium, “So far, none of the planted churches has become a mother to a new church.”37 What was there lacking in the modeling in this context that produced no daughter churches?

35 Ibid., 32, emphasis his. 36 Keichi Sakano, “Church Planting in Japan,” paper presented at the Fifth Annual Church Planting School Symposium (Evangelical Free Church Overseas Missions, Nov 30 – Dec 5, 1987). 37 Etienne Bracke, “Church Planting in Belgium,” paper presented at the Fifth Annual Church Planting School Symposium (Evangelical Free Church Overseas Missions, Nov 30 – Dec 5, 1987).

Planting New Daughter Churches Helps a New Church to be Growth-Oriented The seventh reason for planting daughter churches is that a mother church can train leaders that are growth-oriented for its daughter churches. This comes about as leaders for daughter churches repeat what they have learned in the context of the mother church. The case study of the Orly church in France is a good example. The founder of the church, Arthur Johnston, trained two men who went out to plant two daughter churches at Longjumeau and Savigny-le-Temple.

These seven missiologically-proposed and proven reasons for daughter church planting can be a powerful motivation for this strategy. As discerning missionaries and candidates grasp these reasons for daughter church planting, they should be more open to develop this as a part of their own ministry. Conclusion As we look at the vast number of lost people around the world and the powerful method of reaching them by church planting, we are driven to build not on pragmatism but on the solid rock of biblical mission theology. This mission theology then informs our missiology which helps us to see that planting new churches is God’s way of conquering vast regions with the good news of Jesus Christ. This was Paul’s methodology and needs to be ours today. May God give us this vision to plant new churches for his glory! This study comes from the book Proclaiming Truth, Pastoring Hearts: Essays in Honour of Deane J. Woods (Klemzig, South Australia: ACM Press, 2003), chapter 13, pages 201-217.

PLANTING HEALTHY REPRODUCING CHURCHES

HEALTHY CHURCHES –AN INTRODUCTION TO NATURAL CHURCH DEVELOPMENT

The research done by Christian Schwarz and his associates on the relationship between quality and quantity as they relate to church growth has helped me personally to grasp more clearly the importance of a healthy church and of dynamic natural growth in churches. I. What is “Natural Church Development”?

A. Seen in relation to the church growth movement. p. 6 of NCD.

1. Christian Schwarz's evaluation of what the church growth movement has been seen as by many. p. 6 of NCD.

a. A "technocratic" approach to church growth. b. Church growth done by men using principles.

2. An uphill fight all the way.

a. A "robotic" approach like a computer b. Not "The kingdom of God is like a computer program--your

output depends on your input." p. 9 of NCD. B. Seen as a "natural" or "biotic" approach to church growth.

1. "Biotic" means ""of or relating to life." 2. "Biotic potential" - "the inherent capacity of an organism or species to

reproduce and survive." C. Seen as an understanding of the principles that: 1. God makes things grow not us. 1 Cor 3:5-9. 2. God makes things grow automatically. Mark 4:26-29 ( Note especially v. 28 "all by itself" (Greek automate) II. What is the Basic Thesis of “Natural Church Development”? A. That because the church is an organism, growth is inherent in it provided we act toward the church as a living organism.

B. It is interesting to note the similarity between this recent development of the way we see the church and previous missiology.

1. Roland Allen's key book The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church

and the Causes which Hinder it. (London: World Dominion Press, 1956).

2. Allen explains: "This is what I mean by spontaneous expansion. I mean the expansion which follows the unexhorted and unorganised activity of individual members of the Church explaining to others the Gospel which they have found for themselves; I mean the expansion which follows the irresistible attraction of the Christian Church for men who see its ordered life, and are drawn to it by desire to discover the secret of a life which they instinctively desire to share; I mean also the expansion of the Church by the addition of new Churches.

I know not how it may appear to others, but to me this unexhorted, unorganised, spontaneous expansion has a charm far beyond that of our modern highly organized missions." pp. 9-10. III. How is this Basic Thesis Developed?

A. "Growing churches utilize this principle ["all-by-itself"]. It is the 'secret' of their success." NCD p. 12. B. "What does 'natural church development' mean? "Releasing the growth automatisms by which God Himself grows His church" p. 13

C. See p 14 of NCD for three major differences between NCD and church growth as generally understood.

1. Not but

2. Not approach but approach.

3. Not church growth but

IV. Three Approaches to Church Growth that Help Us Understand Natural Church Development. See p. 14 of NCD.

________________Paradigm

________________Paradigm

_______________Paradigm


NATURAL CHURCH DEVELOPMENT: THE EIGHT ESSENTIAL QUALITIES I

THE QUESTION OF QUALITY/QUANTITY

“Four distinct categories of churches” p. 21 of Natural Church Development.

1. Quadrant top right: High quality + and quantitative growth + 2. Quadrant top left: High quality+ and quantitative decline - 3. Quadrant bottom left: Low quality - and quantitative decline - 4. Quadrant bottom right: Low quality - and quantitative growth +

FIRST ESSENTIAL QUALITY: “EMPOWERING LEADERSHIP”

I. Why Two Words Here?

A. What is “leadership”? 1. Taking people where they would not go themselves. 2. Great definition “Working in partnership with believers to help your

church to be effective in evangelism, discipleship as well as planting and establishing the church in the world.”

B. What is Empowering?

1. “to give power or authority to” “to enable or permit” McQuarrie 2. Emphasis on the word “enable” – “to make possible” “to provide with a)

means, b) opportunity, c) power, or d) authority to do something.”

NEGATIVE EXAMPLE : OVERHEAD “SEMINARY TRAINED PASTOR”

p. 23 of NCD.

You do not need to be a “superstar” to have quality and quantity.

II. What Does the Scripture Say?

A. Mark 3:13-15 1. “be with him” 2. “send them out” 3. “authority to drive out demons”

B. Acts 6:1-7 – seven men empowered for ministry C. Ephesians 4:1-16

1. Eph. 4:1-6 “unity” “one” 2. Eph 4:7-16 “diversity” “many”

a. “but to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it” v. 7.

b. “he gave gifts unto men” (“to his people” – NLT) “Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ” v. 12 NLT

III. What Characterises “Empowering Leadership”?

A. That leaders do not direct to dominate but lead a symphony. B. That the pastor and leaders are not the center of things.

Ill. of spider web direction

C. Leaders are necessary to give direction and this is a spiritual gift (Rom 12:8 “if it is leadership.”)

D. That leaders give a vision that comes from God and enable each person to be a

part of that vision. “Vision will be empowering to the degree that it is embraced by others.” Tom Clegg

E. That leaders keep looking for men and women’s giftedness and passion and

encourage them in this. “Looking at people as packages needing opening in which there are wonderful gifts.” Bob Logan

F. See NCD p. 22 second paragraph. What are the four verbs that describe

empowering leadership?

1. 2. 3. 4.

G. What do “empowering leaders” do in relation to natural church development according to p. 23 of NCD?

1. 2. 3.

IV. How Does This Apply to Each One of Us?

A. Everyone is a “leader” in one way or another. B. Does your education get in the way? “the great training robbery”

C. What are you doing to encourage other people’s giftedness?

D. Do you really believe in other people’s possibilities?

E. Do you see something that no one else sees?

F. Do you encourage people in the right direction?

G. Are you willing to give other people ministries that you have started?

H. Are you willing to take risks?

SECOND ESSENTIAL QUALITY “GIFT-ORIENTED MINISTRY”

Why Two Words Here?

A. What is “ministry? 1. Service. 2. Servanthood in service Mark 10:45 3. Serving according to what you are and not according to what you are not.

B. What is “Gift-Oriented”? 1. The direction you take in your service is based on the gifting God has

given you. 2. You do not fit into a slot but into what God has “wired” you for. 3. Example of animal Olympics. 4. Gift-oriented ministry give you what you cannot live without. Thomas T.

Clegg in Releasing Your Church’s Potential states that spiritual gifts give meaning to life as they work in the following three areas:

Transcendence – God Significance – God and man Community – within a group of people for we are social creatures.

What Does the Scripture Say?

A. Romans 12:1-8

B. 1 Corinthians 12 to 14.

C. Ephesians 4:1-16.

D. 1 Peter 4:10-11

What Characterizes “Gift-Oriented Ministry”?

A. That leaders keep looking for men and women’s giftedness and passion and encourage them in this. “Looking at people as packages needing opening in which there are wonderful gifts.” Bob Logan

B. That people are not pushed into slots like I used to do.

C. That we start from people and not programs.

D. What is to be the direction of your life?

Tape of Tom Clegg about Lula.

Why is This Essential Quality so Important to Church Life? A. See p. 24 of NCD (2nd paragraph) on relationship between this and joy in the

Christian life.

B. See p. 24 of NCD (3rd paragraph) on relationship between this quality and church life.

How Does This Apply to Each One of Us?

A. We need to teach spiritual gifts.

B. We need to discover spiritual gifts.

C. We need to implement a way to fit people’s ministry to their gifts.


NATURAL CHURCH DEVELOPMENT: THE EIGHT ESSENTIAL QUALITIES II

THIRD AND FOURTH ESSENTIAL QUALITIES

THIRD ESSENTIAL QUALITY -- “PASSIONATE SPIRITUALITY”


A. Not just spirituality – a spiritual life (prayer, Bible reading, other aspects of the Christian life). 1. Spirituality can be legalistic. 2. Spirituality can be focused on “duty.” (see 2nd paragraph of NCD p. 26).

B. But “passionate spirituality” – a very committed spiritual life. Psalm 42 “As

the deer pants.” 1. Passion is found here. 2. So is enthusiasm

See diagrams on pp. 26-27 of Natural Church Development.


A. Prayer. 1. Jesus – Mark 1:35 and us 1 John 2:6 2. Disciples Luke 11:1 – one of his disciples – “not teach us to preach, plant

churches, lead Bible studies, administrate” but pray. 3. “only by prayer” Mark 9:29 “only by prayer” 4. “They all joined together constantly in prayer” Acts 1:12-14 5. “Acts 2:42 6. Acts 3:1 7. Acts 4:31

B. The Fulness of the Spirit. Acts 1:5, 8 4:31 C. Fasting. Acts 13:1

D. Giving Acts 2:45

III. What Characterises “Passionate Spirituality”?

A. A hunger for God B. A realization that God can do things through us.

C. An antidote to poisoned programmic thinking. Ill. of Jim Cymballa Fresh

Wind, Fresh Fire.

1. My house shall be called a “house of preaching” no – “prayer” 2. How much do we pray and truly depend on God. “God if you don’t do it,

nothing will happen.” IV. How Does This Apply to Each One of Us?

A. If everyone prayed like me, what would this church be like? B. “Teach me to pray, fast, be filled with the Spirit, give.

C. The spiritual disciplines.

FOURTH ESSENTIAL QUALITY –“FUNCTIONAL STRUCTURES”


A. We all have structures, this deals with “functional structures.” B. This means critical look at what we are doing.

C. This means intentionality in our structures.


Is God’s Word against structures?

A. Jesus – Luke 4:16 “as was his custom.” B. Jesus and others – Mark 3:13-16 “12 appointed”

C. Structures for discipleship – Acts 2:42

D. Structure for prayer. Acts 3:1

E. Structures for needs. Acts 6:1-7

III. What Characterises “Functional Structures”?

A. The structures fit the goals of the church and in particular: 1. Adoration. 2. Edification 3. Evangelization

B. But the structures are linked to “spiritual gifts” as well as “character”

1. Leadership – leadership gifts 2. Teaching – teaching gifts 3. Mercy – compassion gifts

C. The structures “work” and are not merely there by tradition.

1. Tradition “we never did it that way before” 2. One of the greatest enemies of growth is tradition.

D. Try diagramming your church structures and how they function.


A. How tradition-bound are you? See diagram on p. 29 of NCD.

B. Methods change but doctrine and character never.

C. What changes are needed to do the job?

D. What needs to be thrown out?

E. What needs to be creatively discovered?

F. But change carefully and prayerfully – ill. of thing frozen into place that needs

to be defrosted before it can be moved.


NATURAL CHURCH DEVELOPMENT: THE EIGHT ESSENTIAL QUALITIES III

FIFTH AND SIXTH ESSENTIAL QUALITIES

FIFTH ESSENTIAL QUALITY -- “INSPIRING WORSHIP SERVICE”

II. Why Two Words Here?

C. Not “worship service” which almost all services have. 3. A time set apart for corporate worship. 4. There are different approaches to worship services.

D. But “inspiring worship” – a very different thing. 1. Does this mean a “seeker service”? See p. 30 and diagram on p. 31. 2. What does “inspiring” mean? see pp. 30-31 of NCD.

III. What Does the Scripture Say?

A. John 4:21-4,

1. True worship is in 2. True worship is in

B. Acts 2:42-47 – various aspects of inspiring worship here.

C. 1 Corinthians 14:24-25.

V. What Characterises “Inspiring Worship”?

D. A sense of God’s working and presence above all as just stated.

E. For a means of testing to what degree worship is inspiring see questions 15, 26, 36, 39, 45, 61, 70, 79, 87, 90 of the Natural Church Development Survey.

VI. How Does This Apply to Each One of Us?

A. To what degree is your worship service truly “inspiring”? B. We need to think through how our church can have truly inspiring worship

with the emphasis on the adjective. 1. What needs to be done in our worship service? 2. What needs to be eliminated from our worship service?

C. See the section on “Inspiring Worship Service” in the Implementation Guide

to Natural Church Development on pages 86 to 93 for practical help. D. Work through the “Checklist” on pages 94 to 95 of the Implementation Guide

to Natural Church Development.

SIXTH ESSENTIAL QUALITY –“HOLISTIC SMALL GROUPS”

Note what is stated in Natural Church Development about this quality on p. 33 “After we had processed all 4.2 million survey answers, we calculated which of the 170 variables had the most significant relationship to church growth. It is probably no coincidence that our computer survey selected this variable in the area of ‘holistic small groups’: ‘Our church consciously promotes the multiplication of small groups through cell division.” See diagram on top right of p. 33.

Then NCD continues “If we were to identify any one principle as the ‘most important’—even though our research shows that the interplay of all basic elements is important—then without a doubt it would be the multiplication of small groups.” p. 33


A. The “small groups” of a church are a key to both quantitative and qualitative growth. That is why they are so very important to the life and growth of the local church.

B. But they must be “holistic” or “whole” small groups not cognitive Bible study

groups.


F. The Gospels – twelve chosen. Why? G. The Book of Acts.

1. Acts 2:46 2. Acts 20:20 – Get a “20-20” vision.

H. All the “one-anothers” of the New Testament. 1. John 13:34,35 2. Romans 12:10 3. Hebrews 10:25 4. James 5:16a 5. James 5:16b

III. What Characterises Effective “Holistic Small Groups”?

A. They encourage love and care for one another. B. They are “holistic” without being “holy clubs”

C. They are a powerful means for discipleship.

D. They are therapeutic without being therapy groups.

E. They provide needed pastoral care for the church.

F. They enable the multiplication of leaders.

G. They enable the discovery of spiritual gifts.

H. See Appendix A of these notes for a study on “Developing Holistic Small

Groups”


A. “Holistic Small Groups” are a key to both qualitative and quantitative growth—this fact cannot be underestimated.

B. When you understand the “Biotic Principles” you realize how effective small

groups can make a difference in each of the other “essential qualities.”

C. An effective church has a “fully-integrated” small group program.

D. However, this does not mean “church is small groups” but a growing church is a “church of small groups.”


NATURAL CHURCH DEVELOPMENT: THE EIGHT ESSENTIAL QUALITIES IV

SEVENTH AND EIGHTH ESSENTIAL QUALITIES

SEVENTH ESSENTIAL QUALITY -- “NEED-ORIENTED EVANGELISM”

IV. Why Two Words Here?

E. Many churches practice evangelism. 1. But in NCD, the emphasis is on the adjective. 2. This is called “effective evangelism” since it leads to church growth.

3. How do you do effective evangelism is the question.

F. Effective evangelism is “need-oriented evangelism.” 1. Effective evangelism says “what are the felt needs and how can we relate

our evangelism to them?” 2. Need-oriented evangelism does not compromise the message but seeks to

not only exegete Scripture but also the culture and above all the specific context in which the church is working.

3. Need-oriented evangelism moves from the felt needs to the real needs as Jesus did as seen in particular in John’s Gospel.

4. Need-oriented evangelism moves from the felt needs to the real needs as Paul did in Acts 13, 14, and 17.

V. What Does the Scripture Say?

D. Luke 16:1-9.

E. Paul’s contextualization in Acts 13, 14, & 17 mentioned above.

F. 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

VII. What Characterises “Need-Oriented Evangelism”?

F. Not just knowing the Bible but also the world in which people live.

G. Need-oriented evangelism seeks to move, as Bob Logan has stated, “from relevance to revelation.”

H. Effective churches know the needs in the community and help the church

realize how it can relate to those needs in an evangelistic way.

I. True biblical evangelism moves from the “felt need” to the real need.

J. A healthy church is regularly winning people to Christ.

1. By personal evangelism (10% of all believers have this gift). 2. By corporate evangelism (90% of the other gifts can be used to do “body

evangelism). 3. But it is evangelism that leads to incorporation into the body so that

believers grow, learn their spiritual gifts and minister in or for the body. VIII. How Does This Apply to Each One of Us?

A. Knowing your community’s needs and how the church with its spiritual gifting can relate to those needs in order to evangelise effectively is a key.

B. Surveying determines many of those needs.

EIGHTH ESSENTIAL QUALITY –“LOVING RELATIONSHIPS”

II. Why Two Words Here?

C. All churches, whether growing or not, have “relationships.” D. A growing church (in both quality and quantity) has “loving relationships.”

E. Again the emphasis must be on the “adjective.”


A. Jesus says that the sign of the believer par excellence is “love.” John 13:34,35.

Note the context of that love in 13:1-2 and then 13:2-17. 1. Churches that are full of love tend to be full of people who are drawn by

that love. 2. In a hurting post-modern world, love makes a powerful message.

B. Paul exhorts the church to

1. “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.” Rom 12:10 2. Put love as a spiritual filler in the midst of his discussion of spiritual gifts

in 1 Corinthians 12 to 14. (Note that love functions verbally since all of these characteristics in 1 Cor 13 are verbs).

C. Peter says to the church: “Above all, love each other deeply, because love

covers a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8 III. What Characterises Effective “Loving Relationships”?

I. You can relate this essential characteristic to the other essential characteristics.

B. Test Question: “Are the relationships of the members of this church characterized by a high degree of love and affection?” (p. 116 of Implementation Guide to Natural Church Development).


A. We discovered that “Operation Agape” made an impact on the love level in the church. This will be dealt with been deal with under “The Conception Phase: What Kind of a Church Will You be Planting?”

B. How much do you love others in the church?

C. For help in this area of the church’s health see The 3 Colors of Love by Christian A. Schwarz.

APPENDIX A AN AXIS FOR CHURCH REPRODUCTION FOURTEEN ISSUES STRONG TENDENCY TO STRONG TENDENCY REPRODUCE IN TO NOT REPRODUCE DAUGHTER CHURCHES IN DAUGHTER CHURCHES |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||

VISION.........................................LACK OF VISION RISK TAKING....................................FEAR OF CHANGE SELF-GIVING.......................................SELFISHNESS GROWTH.............................................NON-GROWTH KNOW-HOW............................................IGNORANCE SENSITIVITY TO THE HOLY SPIRIT.......LACK OF SUCH SENSITIVITY FINANCES NOT CENTRAL.........................FINANCES CENTRAL CHURCH-CENTERED TRAINING...............INSTITUTIONAL TRAINING LEADERSHIP OVERFLOW...........................LEADERSHIP LACK REGIONAL STRATEGY.........................ONE CHURCH STRATEGY RECEPTIVITY........................................RESISTANCE HOMOGENEITY.....................................HETEROGENEITY CREATIVITY.......................................SAME FOR ALL GENERAL PRINCIPLES........................................FOG


THE DNA OF REPRODUCING CHURCHES Notes to Accompany Article “Why Do Some Churches Reproduce?” in

the Evangelical Missions Quarterly, July 2005.

1. What is in the DNA of “reproducing churches” David Garrison states: “Rapid reproduction starts with the DNA of the first church.” (Garrison 2004, 195) See full quote on p. 195. “Christian Schwarz states: I believe that the concept of multiplication is by far the most important motive for planting new congregations, not antagonistic attitudes towards existing congregations as some erroneously believe.

Reproduction through multiplication is simply a life-principle of all God-created organisms, including the church of Jesus Christ.” (Schwarz 1992, 69)

2. How do churches reproduce as they ought? You understand that the basic qualities of a reproducing church must be a vital part (the DNA) of the church from its inception.

3. Quotes from Roland Allen about the reproductiveness of churches:

a. His definition of SE: “This then is what I mean by spontaneous expansion. I mean the expansion which follows the unexhorted and unorganized activity of individual members of the Church explaining to others the Gospel which they have found for themselves; I mean the expansion which follows the irresistible attraction of the Christian Church for men who see its ordered life, and are drawn to it be desire to discover the secret of a life which they instinctively desire to share; I mean also the expansion of the Church by the addition of new Churches.” [italics mine] (Allen 1956, 10)

b. Enlargement of this definition to include multiplication:

1) First quote on this: “I said in my second chapter that the

spontaneous expansion of the Church involved not merely the multiplication of Christians but the multiplication of churches.” [italics mine] (Allen 1956, 181)

2) Second quote on this: “But the moment that we think of

churches in the apostolic sense of the word, we see at once that the spontaneous activity of individual members might speedily result in the multiplication of such Churches all over the country.” [italics mine] (Allen 1956, 181)

c. This definition includes rapidity of growth and apostolic

understanding: “The spontaneous expansion of the Church is impossible or at rate is severely checked by our refusal to recognize that the apostles knew how to organize the church so that it could expand spontaneously and rapidly, and we are simply defeating our own ends and rejoicing the hearts of our enemies by refusing to recognize it.” (Allen 1956, 188)

FOURTEEN QUALITIES THAT PRODUCE REPRODUCTIVE CHURCHES.

1. VISION …. LACK OF VISION

a. What is “vision”? “The capacity to see beyond right now to what could be.”

i. Heb. 11:1 “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” NIV

ii. David Garrison says, “If you can’t see it before you see it, you’re never going to see it.” (Garrison 2004, 200)

iii. As Roland Allen says: “What is necessary is faith. What is needed is the kind of faith which, uniting a man to Christ, sets him on fire. Such a man can believe that others finding Christ will be set on fire also.” (Allen 1956, 208)

iv. Aubrey Malphurs says a vision is “a clear, challenging picture of the future of the ministry as it can and must be.” (Malphurs 1992, 237-8)

b. Quotes about vision.

i. Ralph Moore quotes: 1) “Are You Driven by a Vision? Do you possess an unavoidable

urge to start a new congregation? If you can live without this project, you probably should. The best church planters easily qualify for Peter Drucker’s descriptive ‘monomaniac with a mission.’ They are driven by a call similar to the ones given to the apostle Paul and the Old Testament prophets. These are the people who can run their blood pressure up 10 points just by poring over a map of potential meeting sites.” (Moore 2002, 35)

2) “Asking God what he wants for the community will get your eyes off yourself and on the people who need to hear the gospel and be touched by the ministry you start.” (Moore 2002, 69)

3) “Heavenly vision will include possibilities where humans see impossibilities.” (Moore 2002, 70)

ii. Hudson Taylor said, “How often do we attempt work for God to the limit of our incomptency rather than to the limit of God’s omnipotency.” (Hampton 1991, 106)

iii. One French pastor stated this about vision: “The desire to evangelize, a burden greater than just seeing our city reached.”

iv. Elder of one church (Nation) that planted 6 daughter churches and 2 grand-daughter churches said the same thing.

c. This means a vision for lost people coming to Christ. d. Why is there a lack of vision for this?

i. Pastors exported from a context where this was not the vision—this is

related to item no. 8 “church-centered training” where daughter churches were the vision.

ii. Business as usual. 1) Illustration of Ralph Moore in Hawaii

2) Churches said do not start a new church but help us grow 3) All denominations that plant new churches grow and all those

who do not, do not grow. iii. Training that does not include this but emphasizes pastors of

existing churches as the great need. iv. Looking at the “how many” instead of the “how few”

1) “Too many churches” in Adelaide often stated. 2) “x number of churches” rather than “x number of unchurched”

e. Who needs vision?

i. Church planter ii. Association of churches iii. Mother church iv. Mission v. Trainers of church planters. vi. Students – Ill. of students stating they never heard about this

before.

f. Is vision contagious? How can one encourage vision? i. Biblical teaching. ii. Statistics iii. Example of seminar in Switzerland –Robert Ferriti iv. Example of “planting reproducing churches’ in Taiwan and the

vision that was “caught” as it was “taught” v. Example of Thailand.

2. RISK-TAKING … FEAR OF CHANGE.

a. Being fearful that the converts and the new church will fail and fall, but as

Roland Allen’s powerful illustration points out, “Power to fall is power to rise.” (Allen 1956, 22)

b. Fear for the doctrine

i. This is a chapter 4 in Spontaneous Expansion. ii. This came up in church in Australia—what will you do? iii. This came up in seminar in a church in Michigan.

c. Fear for the mother church i. My own experienced seeing people leave. j. Fear of division ii. Fear that you will lose something.

d. Fear for the perpetuation of the way the church does things. i. Tradition. ii. We never did it that way before. This relates to the question of

“creativity” discussed under No. 13.

3. SELF-GIVING …. SELFISHNESS.

a. Willingness to give up for others. b. So wrapped up in what our church is doing that I cannot consider other

churches being created. Danger of larger churches. See study on the importance of various kinds of churches for a developing movement.

c. One pastor quoted in my research stated that an “egocentric” attitude was

an obstacle to daughter church planting.

d. This is often determined by the training one receives and the DNA of the association of churches with which the church fellowships.

e. But unhappily enough, this is not always the case. Charles Chaney says,

“I have not even touched upon one very fundamental problem involved in creating a climate for planting new congregations. I have assumed that the pastor is sympathetic with growth by the multiplication of churches. This is very often not the case. In fact, he is often the point of primary resistance. How to deal with the problem is a crucial matter. Nevertheless, if a pastor is committed to multiplying churches in every segment of society, an environment for church planting can usually be brought into existence in a local church.” (Chaney 1991, 177)

4. GROWTH … NON GROWTH

a. Reproducing churches are generally growing churches. A growing church is not always willing to plant daughter churches but my research showed that growing churches tended to plant new churches more willingly than static churches.

b. One missionary church planter stated that one obstacle to beginning a

daughter church was simply “discouragement that sets in because the church is so small.”

c. Example of Nation Church and its growth.

d. Growth often is a sign of health that reproduces. See Natural Church

Development by C. Schwarz who states: “Our study showed a clear positive correlation between the quality index of a church and the number

of churches it has planted within the last five years.” [italics mine] (Schwarz 1992, 69)

e. But there are exceptions to this principle. Illustrated by CBC in Australia willing to start a new church.

f. When should you start a new church? Aubrey Malphurs in Planting

Growth Churches for the 21st Century states three possibilities: i. When the church is growing ii. When the church is plateaued. iii. When the church is in decline – this may be the only answer.

(Malphurs 1992, 350-51)

g. Again, according to Christian Schwarz, some churches should die because of the cycle of life. “Where multiplication processes are functioning, straightforward talk about ‘death’ is also permitted. Why should groups or even whole churches not be allowed to die after they have run their course? . . . In God’s creation, the ‘genetic information’ remains and reproduces itself, though individual organisms may die.” (Schwarz 1992, 69)

5. KNOW-HOW … IGNORANCE

a. Allen’s understanding of this: “The spontaneous expansion of the Church is impossible or at rate is severely checked by our refusal to recognize that the apostles knew how to organize the church so that it could expand spontaneously and rapidly, and we are simply defeating our own ends and rejoicing the hearts of our enemies by refusing to recognize it.” [italics mine] (Allen 1956, 188)

b. Roland Allen’s concern for evangelism without starting new churches:

He states that a certain Church “boasts that it is self-extending whilst it cannot propagate itself; for though it can multiply Christians it cannot beget Churches…” (Allen 1956, 40)

c. Ralph Winter: Extension growth is where new churches are planted.

Few pastors have a vision for this and in certain spheres it is almost a lost art. It requires a very different set of skills from that of expansion growth; yet it involves, crucially, all the skills of internal growth and expansion growth as well. Studies have shown that a church movement that falls back on expansion growth alone -- and is not able and willing to plant new congregations -- is a movement whose growth rate will rapidly taper off. [Italics mine] (Winter

d. As you give “know-how” information, vision may develop.

1) Our experience in Switzerland 2) Additional experience in Taiwan.

3) More experience in Vanuatu.

6. SENSITIVITY TO THE HOLY SPIRIT …. LACK OF SENSITIVITY

a. He “yearns” to see new churches started – spontaneous expansion. b. H. Boer’s Pentecost and Missions view of Acts as showing that

spontaneous expansion came from the Holy Spirit and not legalistic obedience to the command to evangelize the nations.

c. The more we are sensitive to him, the more we will want to reach new

regions by the Holy Spirit.

d. This means spending time in prayer about vision. Acts 13:1-3 – a prayer meeting about the region?

e. Born out in the following texts:

Acts 8:29 Acts 9:31 Acts 10:19,20 Acts 13:1-4 Acts 15:28 Acts 16:7 – “Spirit of Jesus” (unusual)

7. FINANCES NOT CENTRAL ….. FINANCES CENTRAL

a. This was a Pauline principle that caused multiplication. b. This is the 2nd and 3rd of the three hindrances listed by Ralph Moore on p.

100 i. “Required seminary training for pastors.” ii. “A dedicated building for church services.” iii. “Full-time remuneration for pastors.”

c. Our experience at Orly with two of the daughter churches.

i. Jacques Lang at Morangis/Longjumeau ii. Claude Jarrin at Savigny-le-Temple.

d. Roland Allen says: “What is necessary is faith. What is needed is the kind of faith which, uniting a man to Christ, sets him on fire. Such a man can believe that others finding Christ will be set on fire also. Such a man will see that there is no need of money to fill a continent with the knowledge of Christ. Such a man can see that all that is required to consolidate and

establish that expansion is the simple organization of the Church.” (Allen 1956, 208)

e. CPM says the same thing—the devil’s candy. See also Glenn Schwartz

who speaks so strongly against dependency. He states” “The challenge is to figure out how to function as an insider without bringing into the situation the power, authority and resources of the outside which everyone knows we have as Westerners. Unless that is avoided, the seeds of the dependency syndrome are sown.” p. 23 in Glenn Schwartz “How Missionary Attitudes Can Create Dependency” Mission Frontiers Bulletin, May-June 1998, 20-24.

f. The beauty of bi-vocational pastors.

g. Donald McGavran’s - Five kinds of leaders needed for a dynamic

denomination

h. My question of a pastor in Grenoble when I asked him how much money had been given to start their 6 daughter churches, and he replied, “nothing.”

8. CHURCH-CENTERED TRAINING …. INSTITUTIONALIZED

TRAINING

a. Ralph Moore says, “Train Your Pastors Locally.” See p. 103 for this where he closes saying “Locally trained clergy comprise the first part of a formula for rapid multiplication of the church.” (Moore 2002, 104) “What impressed me most [about Paul’s missionary methods] –was his ability to release leadership among people he barely knew.” (Moore 2002, 55)

b. Roland Allen quotes: 1) “Christ trained His leaders by taking them with Him as He went

about teaching and healing, doing the work which they, as missionaries, would do; we train in institutions.” (Allen 1956, 26-7)

2) “College training constitutes a very serious danger. All professional training runs the risk of becoming too technical and abstract.” (Allen 1956, 184)

3) “We have despised and set at nought the natural training of experience and have put in its place an artificial and intellectual training…” (Allen 1956, 185)

c. Patterson & Scoggins say this also. “…Churches in pioneer fields grow

and reproduce more rapidly by training leaders on the job. Bible institutes

and seminaries have their place but not in most pioneer fields.” Church Multiplication Guide. Revised, 2002, p. 196.

d. A church in Grenoble, France, did this and started CIFEM ( a church-

centered training program) which helped develop leadership so there was a leadership overflow.

e. Two major growing groups – Brethren and Pentecostals and they train

their own people. i. Advantages to this ii. Disadvantages – ex. of school started in Bievres. iii. What do you think?

9. LEADERSHIP OVERFLOW --- LEADERSHIP LACKING.

a. The problem is not having enough leaders through a lack of vision to produce leaders. It is a passive rather than an pro-active approach to producing leaders.

b. Here we see the importance of Christian Schwarz’s “biotic” principle of

“multiplication” where he states that “the true fruit of a leader is not a follower, but a new leader…” (Schwarz 1992, 68)

c. Example of Bonne Nouvelle in Strasbourg and their 2 – 3 daughter

churches.

d. Example of Nation Church in Vincennes and their multiplied daughter churches.

e. Gehring cites how W.H. Ollrog attempts to shed further light on the

uniqueness of the Pauline missional approach. Paul is able to accomplish the objectives of such a massive missional enterprise by further developing a staff of co-workers, an idea with which he had become familiar in Antioch.” (Gehring 2004, 180)

10. REGIONAL STRATEGY – ONE CHURCH STRATEGY.

a. This was the Pauline vision. Roland Allen states: Both St. Luke and St. Paul speak constantly of the provinces rather than of the cities. Thus St. Paul was forbidden to preach the word in Asia, he was called from Troas not to Philippi, or to Thessalonica, but to Macedonia. [italics mine]. (Allen 1956a, 17)

b. This is the value of belonging to a group that encourages this such as

the following groups:

1) Denominations that encourage church multiplication 2) Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa, California, with Chuck Smith. 3) The Vineyard Church Movement 4) Hope Chapel with Ralph Moore. 5) The Assemblies of God. 6) Brethren Assemblies. 7) Neil Cole – Church Multiplication Associates.

c. This is one value that we discovered in relating to an association of

churches with the value of church reproduction such as the AEEI or France Mission.

d. Now a challenge in Thailand in Bangkok and rural areas.

11. RECEPTIVITY … RESISTANCE.

a. Example of Morangis moving to Longjumeau as a church plant. b. Negative example in Grenoble out of the 6 church plants.

c. Example of Val-de-Yerres as a new area and the Local Collectif

Residential. d. Example of St. Quentin-en-Yvelines. So this principle applies to the first

church plant as well as to the multiplication of churches out from that first plant.

e. This does not mean neglecting more resistant areas but:

1) Starting from the receptive to reach the resistant. 2) Looking for receptive pockets or peoples in resistant population

areas. This is described by: i. McGavran as “bridges of God” as he states: “cold sparks

with good contacts have, as a matter of historical fact, produced more growth than hot sparks with poor contacts.” (McGavran 1955, 94)

ii. Garrison as the “man of peace” (Garrison 2004, 211-213)

12. HOMOGENEITY… HETEROGENEITY.

a. Example of the number of churches with Antillian majorities churches planted out of the church in Orly, France.

b. But homogeneity can be partial and mixed with heterogeneity as seen in

our experience of the Parafield Gardens, Australia, church plant with Greeks.

13. CREATIVITY …. SAME FOR ALL

a. Example of Jacque Lang’s creativity in Morangis/Longjumeau and copying of mother church at Orly.

b. You need both continuity of relationship and discontinuity for creativity.

c. Example of NCC born out of CBC but left to be creative.

i. In name ii. In the way things were done iii. In the music style “drums”

d. Ralph Moore: “Partnership among churches fosters creativity and frees congregations from imitating one another.” (Moore 2002, 146)

e. Ralph Moore again in a section on, “Set boundaries and Grant

Permission for Creative Ministry” “Creative people will instigate ideas far beyond your dreams—if you grant them permission within bounds.” (Moore 2002, 222-3)

14. GENERAL PRINCIPLES … FOG

a. There should be clarity in starting daughter churches as follows:

i. Realize that daughter churches don’t just “happen” but need planning and thinking.

ii. Be sure of the faithfulness of the person starting the daughter church.

iii. Keep clarity between mother and daughter and spell out issues as much as possible. Draw up a agreement.

iv. Have a basic guide plan from birth to autonomy/ v. Put multiplication into the mother church from the beginning. vi. Put multiplication into the daughter church from the beginning. vii. Multiplication takes best in a cluster normally.

b. This is a part of “know-how” but it is also a part of their raison d’etre. c. Value of belonging to a fellowship that encourages new church planting

and the dynamic and principles involved. d. Quote from Seeing the Church in the Philippines by Toliver and Tuggy:

“Horizontal mission structures—unless they, like the Bible Societies, remain strictly service oriented—find that their evangelistic and church-planting goals are reached better if they plant clusters of congregations which have close fellowship with each other, i.e. denominations.” (Toliver and Tuggy 1972, 115)

e. Garrison, “In Church Planting Movements, both leadership development and every-member discipleship are built into the ongoing structures of church life—along with a passion for starting new churches . . . Rapid reproduction starts with the DNA of the first church.” (Garrison 2004, 195)

In summary, then, daughter churches are planted when: 1. Churches and leaders have a vision for daughter church planting and any lack of

vision is overcome in some way. 2. Churches and leaders become risk-takers and overcome their fear of change. 3. Churches and leaders give of themselves unselfishly and overcome self-centeredness

in their work. 4. Churches break through their growth ceilings and non-growth situations. 5. Churches and leaders learn how to plant daughter churches and thus overcome their lack of know-how. 6. Churches and leaders are sensitive to the Holy Spirit and any insensitivity to the Spirit's call is overcome. 7. Churches and leaders recognize that finances are not central but rather peripheral in determining whether daughter churches are planted or not. 8. Training of leaders in done in a church-centered context rather than in an institutional setting which lacks the necessary relationship with churches. 9. There is an overflow of leadership instead of a lack of leadership. 10. Churches and leaders develop regional strategies rather than center in one church alone. 11. Daughter churches are planted in receptive areas as over against resistant areas. 12. Churches and leaders understand and use effectively a strategy for homogeneous units as over against an ineffective heterogeneity.

13. Churches and leaders are creative in their approach to daughter church planting rather than wanting all new churches to be the same. 14. Churches and leaders work with clear general principles for daughter church planting and overcome the fog of vague generalities.

Reference Bibliography

Allen, Roland. 1956. The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church and the Causes which Hinder it. London: World Dominion Press. ________. 1956a. Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours? London: World Dominion Press. ________. 1960. The Ministry of the Spirit: Selected Writings of Roland Allen. Grand Rapids; Eerdmans, 1960. Boer, Harry R. 1961. Pentecost and Missions. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans. Chaney, Charles, 1991. Church Planting At the End of the Twentieth Century 2nd ed., Wheaton: Tyndale House. Garrison, David. 2004. Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World. Midlothian, VA: WIGTake Resources. Gehring, Roger W. 2004. House Church and Mission: The Importance of Household Structures in Early Christianity. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers. Hampton, Vinita and Carol Pluedemann. 1991. World Shapers: A Treasury of Quotes from Great Missionaries. Wheaton, IL: Harold Shaw. Hattaway, Paul, Brother Yun, Peter Xu Yongze, and Enoch Wan. 2003. Back to Jerusalem: Three Chinese House Church Leaders Share Their Vision to Complete the Great Commission. Waynesboro: GA: Gabriel Publishing. Keller, Timothy J. and J. Allen Thompson. 2002. Church Planter Manual. New York, NY: Redeemer Church Planting Center. Logan, Robert E. and Steven L. Ogne. 1995. Churches Planting Churches: A Comprehensive

Guide for Multiplying New Congregations. St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart. McGavran, Donald A. 1955. The Bridges of God: A Study in the Strategy of Missions. New York: Friendship Press. Moore, Ralph. 2002. Starting a New Church: The Church Planter’s Guide to Success Ventura, CA: Regal Books. Patterson, George, and Richard Scoggins. 2002. Church Multiplication Guide Revised: The Miracle of Church Reproduction. Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library. Schwartz, Glenn. 1998. “How Missionary Attitudes Can Create Dependency.” Mission Frontiers Bulletin. May-June: 20-24. Schwarz, Christian A. 1996. Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches. St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart. Stark, Rodney. 1997. The Rise of Christianity: How the Obscure, Marginal Jesus Movement Became the Dominant Religious Force in the Western World in a Few Centuries. HarperCollins Publishers. Stotts, George R. 1973. “The History of the Modern Pentecostal Movement in France.” Ph. D. Texas Tech University Toliver, Ralph and Leonard A. Tuggy. 1972. Seeing the Church in the Philippines. Manila, Philippines: OMF Publishers. Vajko, Robert J. Sr. 1966. “Principles for the Design and Implementation of a Working Strategy for the Multiplication of the TEAM-Related Churches in France by the Daughter Church Method.” D. Miss Project, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Ralph Winter. 1974. “Seeing the Task Graphically,” Evangelical Missions Quarterly 10 (January): 11-24.


CHURCH PLANTING THAT LEADS TO MULTIPLYING CONGREGATIONS


THE CONCEPTION PHASE: WHAT KIND OF A CHURCH WILL YOU BE PLANTING?

One of the most important issues that is important to deal with in the area of church planting is the simple question: "What kind of a church will you be planting?" This

includes such areas as its ecclesiology, its characteristics, its emphases, its purposes and its philosophy of ministry. With some forty years of ministry in evangelism, teaching, and training leading to church planting I am coming to see that this is a key question. You need to answer this before you and a team launch into the actual steps of church planting. I. The Importance of Having a Clear Conception of the Church that is to be Planted. A. If you need a blueprint for a building, how much more for a church? Charles Davis (Executive Director of TEAM, an experienced church planter, states, "The way you start is probably the way you will keep going." B. Planting a church is similar to raising a child. You build into a child's life as he is growing up qualities that will be part and parcel of his life as an adult. II. How Does One Determine What Kind of a Church Should be Planted? A. One approach is to think through the main purposes of the church from a theological point of view (putting all the biblical data together in a systematic way) and develop a church faithful to these purposes. What are these three main purposes? 1. In terms of God: ADORATION. 2. In terms of the world: EVANGELIZATION. 3. In terms of other believers in the body: EDIFICATION. B. One church puts the biblical data together and breaks it down into five main purposes. See The Purpose Driven Church by Rick Warren (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995), p. 125. 1. Evangelism

2. Worship 3. Fellowship 4. Edification 5. Ministry Saddleback Valley Community Church has the following purpose statement: "To bring people to Jesus and membership in his family, develop them to Christlike maturity, and equip them for their ministry in the church and life mission in the world, in order to magnify God's name." (p 107 of Purpose Driven Church). Three things that characterize this purpose statement make it effective: 1. “It is stated in terms of results rather than in terms of activity.” 2. It “is stated in a way that encourages participation by every member.” 3. They have “arranged the five purposes into a sequential process.” (See Purpose Driven, pp. 107-8). C. Another approach would be to take the church at its inception as the model using Acts 2:37-47. 1. Composed of saved only. vs. 41, 47. 2. All believers baptized. v. 41. 3. Regular teaching of doctrine. v. 41a. 4. True fellowship. v. 42b, 46 5. Regular celebration of the Lord's Supper. v. 42c 6. Prayer a vital part of the church. v. 42d. 7. The supernatural hand of God. v. 43. 8. Sacrificial caring and giving. vs. 44-45. 9. Praise. v. 47. 10. Cultural adaptation. v. 47. 11. Continual regular growth by conversions. v. 47. D. Another approach would be to make a longer list based on as much biblical data as possible and using these themes to develop clear purposes for the church.

1. A church that exists for God's glory and really worships God. Eph. 3:20 2. A church that is alive with love, zeal, and true fellowship. Jn 13:34,35, Rev 2:4,5 & Acts 2:42. 3. A church that evangelizes spontaneously and in ever increasing circles (local, regional, national, and world-wide. Acts 1:8 4. A church that is teaching all of God's Word. Acts 2:42 & 20:27. 5. A church that is applying God's Word to the relevant issues of life (Rom 12:1,2) and where believers are competently instructing one another (Rom 15:14, Heb 10:24,25). 6. A church that knows how to pray and sees God answer prayer Acts 12. 7. A Church that is morally and doctrinally pure. II Thess 4:3 II Tim 4:1-5. 8. A church that practices biblical discipline. Matt. 18:15-20 9. A church that gives joyfully. II Cor 9:1-6. 10. A church that is united. Phil. 1:27 11. A church where all members know and use their spiritual gifts. Rom 12:1-8. 12. A church that practices good works. Titus 3:8 13. A church with qualified, godly leaders. I Tim 3 and Titus 1. 14. Any other? __________________________ 15. ___________________________________

What does Paul long to see in a church? Think about this! What does the church planter have to do to develop these characteristics in a church that is planted? What will happen if there is a lack of balance in the church that is planted?

E. The “8 quality characteristics” of a “high quality” and “high quantity” church according to the study done by Christian A. Schwarz as seen in Natural Church Development (St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 2003).

F. The “10 Leading Indicators of a Healthy Church” Evangelical Free Churches

of America. The EFCA Church Health Survey by Jim Fann. Minneapolis, MN: Free Church Press, 2004.

G. Other elements that have to be considered:

1. Certain legal requirements are necessary and will have to be developed in relation to the above biblical requirements. 2. The church must also "fit" its context. a. If it is a part of a fellowship of churches it will have certain aspects that relate it to that fellowship. b. It must also "fit" the culture in which it is found for it to be an authentic church. (Yet it must differ from the culture in those areas that would lead to compromise). c. There may be certain special ministries developing if it is found in that kind of a context (e.g. near a University, in a holiday area, etc.). d. There is the question of facilities to be thought through.

III. Will This Church be a Pioneer or Daughter Church Plant?

A. If it is a pioneer church plant. 1. Will it be a completely independent church? 2. Will it be part of a network or fellowship of churches.

B. If it is a daughter church planted out from another church.

1. All relations need to be clearly spelled out. 2. Steps need to be established from birth to independence from the

sponsoring church.

IV. How do the Above Considerations Affect the Church Plant I Will be Involved In?

A. You must constantly work and minister using goals related to the purposes that

you have discovered and that will characterize the church that is to be planted. B. You need to set intermediate goals to meet goals and purposes.

1. Qualified leaders? You will need to plan how you will find and develop these.

2. Teaching for all ages. You will need to break this down into workable elements.

3. Even what could be considered to be a difficult to work at and measurable goal can be obtained. For example, how do you develop love in a new church? Here is an acrostic that is part of a study I was taught by Bryan Gilbert, an English pastor who saw true growth in his church as he developed these five means of showing biblical love.

It is called “Operation Agape” and is based on an acrostic:

Abstain from Criticism Go Visit Others. Acquire New Friends Pray for One Another Encourage One Another.

C. Watch out for activities and meetings that do not fulfill the purposes of the church.

Keep in mind Christian Schwarz’s quality of “functional structures.”


THE PREPARATION PHASE: ALL THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE BEFORE BIRTHING A CHURCH

Introduction: It is important when planting a new church to be sure that the following are all a part of preparation.

I. The Preparation of the Church Planter.

A. You need to prepare for church planting by knowing who you are

1. What are your spiritual gifts? a. Take a spiritual gifts inventory. b. Ask others. c. What has been working in your ministry?

2. What are your strengths? a. You need to know these in order to major in them. b. Read the book Now, Discover Your Strengths by Marcus

Buckingham & Donald O. Clifton (New York: The Free Press, 2001) and take the test over the internet by using the code you receive when you buy the book.

3. Where will you need the most help? 4. You need to know who you are not. 5. What region for church planting will fit who you are?

B. You will need to have a vision. 1. The best church planters have a vision of what God wants to do. 2. This will be a vision of:

a. What kind of a church you will be planting. i. A pioneer church? ii. A daughter church sponsored by another church? iii. A new church sponsored by a number of churches?

b. Where you will be planting this new church. c. The timing of God in planting a new church. d. The type of core group you will be working with.

C. You will need to pray. 1. One of the most important needs is to spend personal time in prayer in

preparation for a church plant to seek God and his will. 2. You will want to pray with others about this. 3. You will want to pray with a possible core group.

D. You will need to plan financially. 1. Will you be supporting fully or partially and for how long? 2. Will you be a bi-vocational pastor? What will this mean? 3. Where will you obtain funds for the church plant needs?

E. You will need to be prepared for the “ups and downs” of church planting. 1. You will have joys. 2. You will have difficulties.

If you would like to receive a copy of a study I have prepared on this, just e-mail me at [email protected] and I will send you a copy.

F. You will need a mentor. 1. One of the major mistakes of a new church planters is not having

someone to help them through the beginning and growth of a new church. Research done by Ed Stetzer in his book Planting New churches in a Postmodern Age (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman 2003) shows that church planters do a much more effective work when they have a mentor.

2. You should meet regularly with an effective and experienced church planter to help you through the first steps and later growth of a new church plant.

G. You will need a network.

1. Church planters are more effective when they plant a church that is a part of a network of churches.

2. Two reasons for a network: a. It gives you solidity. b. It encourages church multiplication—particularly if you are a part

of a network of churches that has a vision for multiplication.

II. The Preparation of the Core Group.

A. You need to build a solid core group. 1. A solid core group that will follow you. 2. A group that has the same philosophy of ministry as you do otherwise

you are headed for a catastrophe. 3. You will want a core group that is concerned for evangelism.

a. You will need to discover how to evangelize in your context. b. This means learning how to clearly relate to people. c. It also means communicating clearly to them d. It means see people truly converted, baptized, and integrated into

the church plant. 4. Work on discovering the spiritual gifts of your core group and line up

their gifting with ministry in the church.

B. You need to be careful to develop a unified philosophy of ministry for your group. 1. Lovingly and prayerfully establish a ministry together with your core

group. 2. Spend time in prayer in the Word and in preparation with them.

mailto:[email protected]

3. The key is “unity in philosophy of ministry at the leadership level” for without this there will be major difficulties.

4. A great deal of this will depend on your leadership vision to share with them and to dream with them.

5. A leader is one who takes people where they would not go themselves so you need to share a vision that they will follow.

C. You need to realize that some in the core group may not stay with you

through the church plant. 1. Some may commit themselves for a specified time 2. Some may find church planting too difficult for them—accept this and

allow them to move into another church with your blessing.

III. The Preparation of the Strategy.

A. Where will you be planting a church? 1. What to look for.

a. New areas b. Receptive areas or receptive pockets in resistant areas. c. Our experiences

i. In France in three areas 1) Orly 2) St. Quentin 3) Savigny-le-Temple 4) In other areas of the world

ii. In Australia – Parafield Gardens iii. In other parts of the world – new areas e.g. north of

Taichung where there was new housing. 2. What to avoid.

a. Older areas where people have lived for a long time. b. Resistant areas unless you have a special call and are ready to

suffer. c. Ghettos d. Cul de Sacs.

B. When will you be planting a church? 1. The importance of timing. 2. The importance of sensing God’s will 3. The importance of doing this with others.

4. Possible steps in church planting especially if you are planting a daughter church. a. A trial service in an area to see what happens. b. A monthly service to continue to build. c. Moving to twice a month d. Then going to every Sunday.

C. How will you be planting a church?

1. Core group? 2. Team of people?

D. Are you balancing the supernatural and the strategic?

IV. Preparation for Birth in Other Key Areas.

A. Preparation for children’s ministry. B. Preparation for child care

C. Preparation for small groups.

D. Preparation for discipleship.

1. Phases of discipleship. 2. A flow chart

E. Preparation for the development of the qualities of a healthy church.


THE BIRTH PHASE: HAVING A HEALTHY BABY

Introduction: Just as in the physical realm a problem during the birth process can hinder the development of a child so not properly birthing a church can create many problems later on. When we speak of the birth phase we are not just speaking of the first service but also of the birth period as the church takes its first steps.

I. Birth in Prayer.

A. We cannot insist enough on immersing the church to be born in prayer.

B. Be sure of prayer support from: 1. Your prayer support team. 2. The core group. 3. Your launch team. 4. Other churches both with your network or outside.

II. Birth with Major Areas Covered.

A. The first service adequately cared for. 1. The flow of the service worked out. 2. An order of service with everyone’s responsibilities marked out. 3. An excellent bulletin without ecclesiastical language (prayer not

invocation, worship time, the Word of God not Scripture reading, our gifts not offertory, closing prayer not benediction.

4. Make people at ease and walk them through the service. B. Music arranged and rehearsed together.

1. Choice of songs that flow with message. 2. Avoid complicated songs. 3. Be sure people understand or explain “the sweetest frame” “in vain

the first born seraph tries to sound the depths of love divine” “thine eye diffused a quickening ray.”

4. See Worship Evangelism (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995) by Sally Morgenthaler chapter 9 “Singing Bob’s Song: Worship Music for Saints and Seekers.”

5. Work through what will be said in between.

C. What you will do to make further contact.

1. An insert in the bulletin. 2. An explanation of what it means to trust Christ.

D. Children and babies cared for.

E. Use the check list “Twenty-five Pre-launch Questions for the Church Planter” done by Tom Cheyney found online at http://www.churchplantingvillage.net

III. Birth with the following elements at your first service.

A. Who you are.


1. Who you and the church are related to. 2. Representatives for your network at the birth time.

a. Fellowship of churches. b. Other fellowship of churches. c. School relationships.

B. What the church is all about 1. Doctrinally – but keep it basic and simple 2. Its vision for ministry. 3. Its vision for reproduction.

C. What the core group is D. Where you are going.

1. What will happen next? 2. What will develop in the future?

IV. Birth as Excellently as Possible.

A. You will want excellence. Example of Ralph Moore in Hawaii. B. You will not want, however, to promise more than you can deliver.

C. So you will want honesty and authenticity.

D. You will want to use this occasion for evangelism but go carefully.

V. Possibilities for birth.

A. Low key birth 1. Our experiences in France

a. Birth of the church in Val-d’Yerres on Nov 11, 1973. b. January 11, 1976 in the birth of the Evangelical Church of St.

Quentin-en-Yvelines. 2. Reasons for low-key birth.

a. No core group or small core group. b. Desire to see if this might be a possibility.

3. Advantages of low key birth. a. Less complicated. b. More organic c. Easier to model

4. Disadvantages a. The smallness of the group could cause discouragement if it does

not grow well. b. You make less of an impact.

B. Big bang birth

1. Our experience in Parafield Gardens, South Australia. 2. Advantages

a. More clearly known as a church immediately b. Started with large group.

3. Disadvantages a. The possible loss of impetus after the first large service can be

problematic. b. Once launched you have to have a certain quality of service that

follows the initial launch.

VI. Building After Birth.

A. This will be dealt with as we talk about growth. B. Nevertheless, it needs to be said here that the birth should be a key to

continued growth and not an end in itself.

VII. Key Things to Avoid in Birthing.

A. Promising more than you can provide. “What you draw them with is what you draw them to. If they come expecting to be entertained, we had better entertain them if we want to keep them coming back every week.” – Neil Cole in Organic Church, p. 95

B. A big birth that is still-born.

C. Starting too soon.

1. You have a “premature baby” 2. All the problems of not growing well and quickly. 3. Discouragement 4. God has a timing and you need to discern this in prayer.

D. Waiting too long. 1. You could discourage those wanting to see a new church plant. 2. You could lose energy (Ill. of church in Australia).

Conclusion: What Neil Cole states in Organic Church (San Francisco: Jossey-Basset, 2005) says he would do if he started again. See pages 204 to 206.


THE GROWTH PHASE I: GROWING AS A HEALTHY REPRODUCING CHURCH

I. Three Major Areas of Growth.

A. Quantitative growth B. Qualitative growth

C. Organic growth

1. Need to consider this as we see in Acts 6:1-7 2. Grow organically as you grow in quantity and quality.

II. A Growth Plan

A. For discipleship.

1. A “sequential and segmented system that views life as a process”38. Bill Hull’s adaptation of A.B. Bruce’s understanding39 of discipleship phases.40

a. “Come and see”

38 Bill Hull & Bob Gillam, “Biblical Foundations of Disciple-Making.” Course notes of D. Min Module at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, July 1995, p. 10. 39 A. B. Bruce, The Training of the Twelve (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1971) sees three stages. See pages 11-12. 40 Bill Hull, Jesus Christ Disciple Maker (Old Tappan, NJ: Revell, 1984), 225.

QUANTITATIVE GROWTH

QUALITATIVE GROWTH

ORGANIC GROWTH

b. “Come & follow me” c. “Come & be with me”

d. “Remain in me and go make disciples”

2. Being a “disciple-making church.41

B. For small groups –eight characteristics of healthy small groups.

1. Obedience-oriented approach to the Word of God. a. Study together aimed at application. b. Mutual growth.

2. True sharing at a deeper level. a. Because there is trust b. Being sensitive to what Bill Donahue calls “holy moments”

3. True caring for the whole group. a. When people are going through a joyful time b. When people are going through a difficult time. c. Always “encouraging” one another

4. Small groups that know how to pray. 5. Small groups that serve together. 6. Small groups that help people discover their spiritual gifts. 7. Small groups that evangelize together. 8. Small groups that have a goal of reproducing.

C. For training.

1. Leadership training a. Proactive training for elders. b. BILD training for potential leaders.

2. Spiritual gifts training a. Need to teach spiritual gifts b. Need to discover spiritual gifts c. Need to implement the use of spiritual gifts in the church.

3. Training in evangelism and follow-up. 4. Training for other ministries in the church.

III. Growth in God’s Blueprint for a Healthy Reproducing Church. (Go back to look at the Conception Phase). Acts 2:37-47

A. The Word of God Acts 2:37 B. True conversions Acts 2:37-41 C. Biblical baptisms. Acts 2:41

41 Bill Hull, The Disciple Making Church (Grand Rapids: Revell, 1990).

D. Effective discipleship. Acts 2:42 1. The apostle’s teaching. Acts 2:42a 2. Fellowship. Acts 2:42b 3. Breaking of bread Acts 2:42c 4. Prayers Acts 2:42d

E. The awesome hand of God. Acts 2:43 F. Sacrificial giving. Acts 2:44-45 G. Celebrative worship and cells. Acts 2:46 H. Praise leading to conversions. Acts 2:47

Diagrammed it looks like this42


THE GROWTH PHASE II: GROWING IN THE WORD AND IN GREATER HEALTH

I. The Primacy of the Word of God in Growth.

42 Thanks to Dr. Vergil Gerber’s process diagram on p. 15 of God’s Way to Keep a Church Going and Growing (South Pasadena, CA: William Carey, 1973) which I have adapted for use here.

Cells & Cele- bration

Living Praise

The Word of God

True Conver-sions

Many Baptisms

True Disciple-ship

Awe of God

SacrificialGiving

The Living Church

The Living God

Father

A. A healthy church is characterized by complete submission to the Word of

God in all things. 1. This is a definition of a true church. 2. This was the vision of the Reformation—

B. Then it will be an important factor in the life of the church to do careful

exposition of the Word of God. C. Think through a plan for expositional preaching of the Word.

1. Think through the need for correct worldview –Genesis.

a. What is “worldview”? b. How will this help Christians? c. What answers are found in Genesis?

2. Think through the need for understanding discipleship – Matthew. a. What is “discipleship? b. How will Matthew help us to develop disciples?

3. Think through the need for understanding what the church is to be –Acts. a. What is the church? b. How will Acts help us build a dynamic growing healthy

church/ 4. Think through the need for unity in Joy. Philippians.

a. What does it mean to live for Christ in joy? b. How does Philippians help us?

5. Think through the need for clarity in doctrine. Romans. a. What does it mean to understand salvation? b. How will Romans help us?

6. Why does expositional preaching make for a strong church?

II. The Eight Essential Qualities of a Healthy Church.

These have already been discussed but it will be important to see how each of these can be developed in the growth phase of the church.

A. Empowering Leadership – what will you do as the church grows to

empower leaders?

B. Gift-oriented Ministry—what will you do as the church grows to match gifts and ministry. Will you have regular teaching on spiritual gifts?

C. Passionate Spirituality –what will you be doing to keep prayer, the Word, giving, witnessing as a joyful center of the church as it grows?

D. Functional Structures—keep a watch on everything that begins to develop

and then ask yourself—is this working? If it does not, then either abandon it or change it.

E. Inspiring Worship—is corporate and personal worship developing and

growing?

F. Effective Small Groups – are your small groups growing and also multiplying?

G. Relevant Evangelism—are you evangelizing in such a way that people are

becoming responsible reproducing disciples integrated into the church?

H. Loving Relationships—are the people in the church really caring for one another and is it seen.

III. The Growth Phase always keeps in mind the Goal of Reproduction.

A. Again, remember that a church is born of God and should have a vision for reproduction as a living church.

B. Begin to see what possible areas might be target areas for new church

plants.

C. Seek to develop a daughter church planting vision in the new church.


THE MATURITY PHASE I: ADORATON, EVANGELIZATION, AND EDIFICATION

Introduction: What are the signs of true maturity in a newly-planted church?

I. Maturity in the Church’s Relationship to God.

A. Worship will be maturing as the church matures.

1. Personal worship – devotional life of the members a. Train people in the importance of the devotional life. b. Train them in the spiritual disciplines related to worship.

2. Corporate worship together.

a. Teach what worship is regularly. 1) Messages on what worship involves. 2) Quotes put before them regularly in the bulletin, in power-

point or in other messages. 3) Have others share what worship means. 4) Avoid too traditional language in worship such as

“invocation” “benediction” “offertory” etc. b. Be an authentic worshipper yourself. c. Check up on the worship times.

B. Spiritual life and discipleship will be maturing.

1. Remember the importance of the phases of discipleship. 2. See where people are in these phases.

3. Teach the spiritual disciplines related to the personal spiritual life.

II. Maturity in Outreach and Evangelism.

A. Watch out for the possibility of evangelism being lost in the maturing process. In other words don’t let edification overtake evangelization.

B. If anything you would want to see more and more people won to Christ.

C. Keep personal and corporate evangelism before the church. 1. In your own life. 2. In messages. 3. In small groups. 4. In the church bulletin. 5. By testimonies 6. By sharing how a person came to Christ through someone when they

are baptized. III. Maturity in Building the Church as a Body.

A. Small groups will be effective and multiplying. 1. You will want small groups that are wholistic. 2. You will want small groups that multiply. 3. You will want at least 80-90% of the church in small groups. 4. You will want to use your small groups to help discover spiritual gifts

as we see in the next section. B. Spiritual gifts will be discovered, rejoiced in and developed by

implementing them into ministries in the new church plant. 1. The importance of a basic training in spiritual gifting. 2. The importance of training new people who arrive in spiritual gifting.

What about taping messages or studies and letting people listen to them.

3. The importance of implementing the training so that people “try out” various ministries in relation to what their spiritual gifts might be.

IV. Developing Leadership.

A. Use other people in all ways in ministry in the church.

1. When you first start everyone should have some ministry in the church based on their spiritual gifting.

2. But you will need to keep this up. 3. Use people in:

a. Prayer. b. Reading Scripture. c. Sharing d. Giving testimonies. e. Ushering. f. Helping with the Lord’s Supper. g. Visits…etc.

B. Be pro-active in leadership discovery and development

1. Develop potential leaders by the Biblical Institute for Leadership Development (BILD) training. a. This training can develop elders. b. It can also become a training system for new pastors and church

planters.

2. Develop potential elders by the use of a course such as Biblical Eldership by Alexander Strauch (Littleton, CO: Lewis and Roth Publichers, 1995) which also has an excellent study guide Study Guide to Biblical Eldership: Twelve Lessons for Mentoring Men for Eldership (Littleton, CO: Lewis and Roth Publichers, 1996).


THE MATURITY PHASE II: LEARNING FROM OTHERS ABOUT MATURITY

I. Maturity as Measured by Three Key Dimensions.

A. Gene Getz asks “What Is a Mature Church?” 43 B. The three dimensions he hones in on.

1. Love 2. Hope 3. Faith.

II. Maturity as Measured by a Strong Commitment to Biblical Leadership Principles.

A. John McCarthur Jr’s emphasis upon the Word of God. B. Three parts of his view of maturity.

1. “The Anatomy of a Church” 2. “The Dynamic Church” 3. “Qualities of an Excellent Servant”

III. Maturity as Measured by Jesus’ View of the Church as Seen in Revelation.

A. Seven Churches.

B. Seven concerns for our Lord’s church that should be our concerns. So here is a check list for us:

§ Ephesus – concern for the church’s “first love.”

§ Smyrna – concern for the church’s faithfulness in persecution.

§ Pergamum – concern for the church’s doctrinal purity.

§ Thyatira – concern for the church’s moral and doctrinal purity.

§ Sardis – concern for the church’s being revived.

§ Philadelphia – concern for the church’s seizing its opportunities. § Laodicea –concern for the church’s lukewarmness.

IV. Maturity as Moving Toward Reproduction.

43 Gene A. Getz, The Measure of a Church (Ventura, CA: Regal, 1975).

A. One of the goals of the church being planted. Remember, what is the fruit of a church?

B. The qualities of a reproducing church have been taught and now will be

applied.

C. This will be the acid test of the viability of the church plant—its growth by reproduction.


THE REPRODUCTION PHASE I:

GOD’S WONDERFUL PLAN FOR “SPONTANEOUS EXPANSION”

I. This is One of Your Goals.

A. Remember that this course is not just planting a church or planting a healthy church but “planting a healthy church that reproduces.”

B. This is a key to the “spontaneous expansion” of the church that is so

thrilling and you can be a part of it.

C. Just imagine the possibility of the church God uses you to plant multiplying itself over and over.

II. You Should Have Taught the Fourteen Qualities of a Reproducing

Church Already.

A. These fourteen qualities should have been a part of the DNA of the church plant.

B. Fourteen qualities reviewed.

1. A vision for multiplication. 2. Willingness to take a risk. 3. Unselfishness 4. Growth 5. Know-how 6. Sensitivity to the Holy Spirit 7. Finances not central 8. Church-based training 9. Leadership overflow 10. Regional strategy and not one church alone 11. Receptive areas sought out. 12. Planting homogenous congregations. 13. Creativity encouraged in new church plant. 14. Clear general principles in a network.

See my EMQ article, “Why Do Some Churches Reproduce?” Robert J Vajko Evangelical Missions Quarterly July 2005.

III. What About the Possibility of Being Part of a Church Planting or Church Multiplication Movement?

A. A Church Planting Movement as seen by David Garrison and others. He

sees 10 characteristics: 1. “Extraordinary prayer. 2. Abundant evangelism. 3. Intentional planting of reproducing churches.

4. The authority of God’s Word. 5. Local leadership. 6. Lay leadership. 7. House churches. 8. Churches planting churches. 9. Rapid reproduction. 10. Healthy churches.”

See Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World. VA:

WIGTake Resources, 2004), pp. 171-198.

B. A Church Multiplication Movement (C2M2) as seen by Bob Logan.

1. “Spiritual dynamics for church multiplication movements.” 2. “Shared vision for church multiplication movements” 3. “Planning for church multiplication.” 4. “Mobilizing church planters.” 5. “Developing church planters” 6. “Assessing church planters” 7. “Coaching church planters” 8. “Planting new churches” 9. “Developing multiplying networks” 10. “Funding a church planting movement.”

See Bob Logan’s Book. Be Fruitful and Multiply: Embracing God’s Heart for Multiplication. St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart 2006. This book should be a part of solidly developing a true church multiplication movement.

IV. Ask These Questions.

A. How can we birth a new healthy reproducing church?

B. Where can we birth a new healthy reproducing church?

C. When can we birth a new healthy reproducing church?


THE REPRODUCTION PHASE II: A GUIDE PLAN FOR THE PLANTING OF DAUGHTER CHURCHES

Fourteen Steps to a Daughter Church

The purpose of the following guide plan is to help a pastor, a church planter and a church council understand the concrete steps needed to plant a daughter church. This plan could be used to teach daughter church planting in a regional seminar. Each of the fourteen issues that compose the full strategy is found in this outline. It thus effectively builds upon what has been discovered in this project. These steps will not always follow each other chronologically. Some will need to be developed at the same time, but they are laid out as steps in order to better understand the needed progression toward daughter church planting.

This guide would apply to the two major cases for daughter church planting. The first would be the planting of a daughter church by an already existing church. The second would be would be the planting of a church that will be reproductive because it develops these characteristics from the moment of its birth. The second case will be much easier than the first for a church that has not had this thinking built-in from birth will have to shift its approach to see the importance of daughter church planting.

It will certainly not be possible to plant a daughter church simply by following a guide plan like this. But if there is a vision for daughter church planting that comes from the Spirit of God, this plan can be of help in addressing the major steps and the major issues. 1. STEP ONE: BE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THE THREE BASES THAT DAUGHTER CHURCH PLANTING MUST BE BUILT SOLIDLY UPON. STUDY AND PRAY OVER THEM. a. The biblical and theological base b. The spiritual base c. The missiological base 2. STEP TWO: MAKE IT A DEFINITE MATTER OF PRAYER THAT THIS VISION WILL BE A VERY PART OF YOUR LIFE AND STRATEGY NO MATTER WHAT IT COSTS YOU.

a. Doing this will imply the risk-taking that is a part of daughter church planting.

b. Doing this will also imply an unselfishness in helping new churches develop in new areas other than where you have a leadership role.

3. STEP THREE: BE SURE TO HAVE THE BACKING OF THE FOLLOWING GROUPS AS YOU TRAIN THE WHOLE CHURCH BODY. a. The church council (unanimity very important here) b. The pastoral team (if there is one) c. The leadership of the fellowship of churches with which your church is associated 4. STEP FOUR: USE THE FOURTEEN CHARACTERISTICS OF A REPRODUCING CHURCH AS A GUIDE TO BUILDING THE CHURCH INTO A TRULY REPRODUCING CHURCH. IF YOU ARE PLANTING A NEW CHURCH, USE THESE AS A GUIDE AS YOU PLANT AND

SEE THE CHURCH GROW. THE AXIS FOR CHURCH REPRODUCTION

COULD BE USED AS AN OVERHEAD TRANSPARENCY FOR TEACHING PURPOSES OR USED AS A HANDOUT.

a. Develop the vision of the church in such a way that it sees itself as a center for

Extension and not just expansion.

b. Build a balanced risk-taking within the body that comes from true faith. c. Preach and teach that the church body is to be willing to give of itself at great cost

to plant new churches. d. Pray, work, and trust God for growth that will make daughter church planting

powerful. e. Teach and preach regularly how to begin daughter churches.

f. Encourage a sensitivity to the Spirit of God within the church so that as God calls leaders out to begin daughter churches, his voice will be heard.

g. Do not put finances at the center of daughter church planting efforts. Do not bind

the planting of new churches to how much money is available.

h. Actively trust God for and train leaders within the congregation using a program such as the Biblical Institute for Leadership Development. If any go on to formal

education, keep them close to the church's vision of daughter church planting. When you train leaders, do not simply train them for church planting but train them to plant reproducing churches.

i. Pray and work for a leadership overflow. Do not be just concerned for leaders for

the one church where you are working but develop the needed leaders for the future daughter churches that are going to be born.

j. Build within the church a regional strategy. Talk often about new areas to begin

churches. Seek to develop a church mind-set that says: "Where can we plant a new church?" To this end, put maps of the area in a strategic place in the church building.

k. Be alert to receptive regions. These may be new developing areas where people

are more open. Or they may be growing Bible studies or cell groups.

l. Be aware of the possibility of developing a new church by means of a receptive homogeneous group that might be a means reaching a large number of people.

m. Avoid trying to make the daughter church a carbon copy of the mother church.

Leave room for creativity. Do not force the pastor of the daughter church into your mold. Seek to learn his gifting and how he can best use it to develop a new church.

n. Develop general guidelines for the beginning of new churches that make for

effective church planting.

5. STEP FIVE: PREACH AND TEACH DAUGHTER CHURCH PLANTING AS A PART OF NORMAL CHURCH DEVELOPMENT AND LIFE. a. Use the biblical and theological base. b. Use the missiological base. c. Lay great emphasis on the spiritual base.

d. Use the missiological base by the use of examples and case showing the multiplication of believers and churches that comes from daughter church planting.

6. STEP SIX: BE SURE THAT THE BASIC ISSUES BETWEEN THE MOTHER AND DAUGHTER CHURCH ARE CLEARLY LAID OUT.

a. See Appendix B for a sample working agreement between a mother and beginning daughter church.

b. Be sure that this is approved by the church council, the national church

association, and, if a missionary is involved, the mission.

7. STEP SEVEN: BUILD A TEAM THAT WILL HAVE AS ITS GOAL THE PLANTING OF THE FIRST DAUGHTER CHURCH. a. This team will have to have the above vision clear. b. The team will also agree to working with this guide.

c. The team will work in full and complete agreement for each major step under the council of the mother church in coordination with the pastor and church council.

d. Possible composition of a daughter church planting team. It will be very

important in this step not to tend to build exclusively on missionary help for that will discourage the importance of multiple church plants by lay leaders. Too much reliance on missionaries will not produce the needed “spontaneous expansion."

i. Two or more national couples and some singles ii. A missionary couple and one or more national couples and some singles

iii. Two missionary couples singles

iv. A student in a TEE program or Bible school along with other workers from

the mother Church

v. Any possible combination of the above 8. STEP EIGHT: DO AN ANALYSIS OF AREAS AROUND YOUR CHURCH, INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING:

a. Areas around the church where people from the church live including members, others who attend, and people who have some kind of relation to the

mother church b. Areas that are growing where new people are arriving c. Areas where the Lord seems to be opening doors

d. Areas that have already shown a certain receptivity e. Areas that are neither too close nor too far from the mother church

f. Areas where the church may have cell groups that could become daughter churches

g. Area studies put out by the bureau of statistics which will help in the

understanding of the composition of the population of the possible target areas. 9. STEP NINE: INCORPORATE THE ABOVE DATA INTO A WORKING DOCUMENT THAT DETAILS POSSIBLE DAUGHTER CHURCHES IN THE AREA IN A REASONABLE RADIUS AROUND THE CHURCH. a. Make this into a quality document. b. Keep praying for the Holy Spirit's direction as you develop this working document. c. Working with the team, share this with the church council and the national church association for their input and agreement. d. If other churches are concerned, coordinate this with them. i. Churches in your own association ii. Other evangelical churches with your distinctives iii. All other evangelical churches and, if possible, with other protestant churches. 10. STEP TEN: BEGIN TO BUILD THE DAUGHTER CHURCH BY THE METHOD MOST APPROPRIATE TO THE REGION.

a. If you have a cell group there that will form the core group for a daughter church, use this group to do spontaneous and structured evangelism.

i. Spontaneous evangelism will be mainly relational and will consist in seeking to

develop contact with neighbors, friends, and relations to win them to Christ.

ii. Structured evangelism should accompany the above and provide some regular opportunities for interested seekers to come and hear the Gospel in a

larger context. This may consist of any of the following possibilities: 1) A special worship service 2) A Bible study or cell group 3) A special church effort for unbelievers such as a concert, outing, evening

in restaurant, etc.

b. If there is no cell group, the goal will be to form some kind of beginning group that will form the core of the new daughter church. This core may come from

the following: i. Members of the church living in that area ii. Interested people who are "sympathetic” with the church.

iii. Other believers who are interested in starting a new church in the area. Here care needs to be exercised to neither proselytize or to accept people into the beginning church who do not agree with either the doctrine or the philosophy of ministry of the mother church which is responsible for the daughter church.

11. STEP ELEVEN: SEEK TO DEVELOP THE IDENTITY OF THE DAUGHTER CHURCH FROM ITS VERY BEGINNING.

This will mean receiving a certain identity from the mother church with all the advantages that this gives.

Nevertheless it will at the same time mean developing the particular identity of

the new church as it "fits" the new region and the type of people that the new area is composed of.

12. STEP TWELVE: BE SURE THAT THE MAJOR QUESTIONS THAT NEED

TO BE DEALT WITH ARE HANDLED IN EACH SECTION. A CHART MAY BE MADE OF THIS.

a. Who is responsible during any given phase? b. What decisions can be made by without approval from the mother church during

this phase?

c. What decisions need approval of the mother church council during this phase? d. What are its characteristics at this phase? e. How can it go on to the next phase?

f. Who decides whether it is ready to go on to the next next phase? 13. STEP THIRTEEN: WORK ALONG WITH THE LEADERS IN THE DAUGHTER CHURCH TO HELP IT THROUGH ITS FIVE MAJOR PHASES. AS YOU MOVE TOWARDS THE LATTER PHASES, YOUR HELP AND THE HELP OF THE MOTHER CHURCH SHOULD BE CAREFULLY WITHDRAWN SO AS TO ENCOURAGE THE FULL DEVELOPMENT OF THE DAUGHTER CHURCH. a. Phase one: Embryo daughter church i. The goal here is to encourage a good birth that will give the maximum chance to the new daughter church. ii. The "critical mass" will need to be worked out between the mother and daughter churches. iii. An adequate meeting place will need to be found. The mother church can help in this and, if possible, help with the finances. iv. There should be a confession of faith already in the hands of the leaders to protect the new church from infiltration of error or disturbing elements. v. It will also be clear that this is a daughter church of the mother church to help handle any problems that might come up during this birth phase. vi. A philosophy of ministry should be developed incorporating worship, discipleship, and outreach evangelism. It will be very important in this phase to teach what a church is and does. vii. It should also be made clear from the beginning that this church is to eventually affiliate with the fellowship of churches that the mother church is a part of.

viii. Even in this phase, and above all in this phase, it should be made clear to all that this is going to be a reproducing church.

ix. The goal of preaching and teaching should be to move the church to growth— both spiritual and numerical. x. It will also be made clear in this stage that the leaders of the daughter church are mandated by the mother church to begin this new work. This will solve the problem of authority and possible division by new elements who could trouble the church. xi. It will be good to encourage an exchange of pulpits to keep good communication between the two churches and to build confidence.

xii. Common meetings for teaching or for baptisms will also continue to foster harmony and will enable the developing daughter church to keep the needed fellowship with the mother church. xiii. The pastor of the mother church may want to attend council meetings to be of help and carefully give advice. b. Phase two: Functional, growing church in close relation to the mother church i. The goal here is to encourage continued growth that will enable the church to mature. ii. A balanced teaching on spiritual gifts using the example of the mother church will be of great help. iii. The three dimensions of church life should continue to be taught: adoration, edification, and evangelization. iv. Qualified leaders should be sought out in the daughter congregation and encouraged to begin a small leadership group. v. Joint meetings of this developing leadership group and the leadership of the mother church will be invaluable for training. vi. It should be made more and more clear that the daughter church will one day

develop its own life independent of the mother church but in an interdependent mode in a common fellowship of churches.

vii. This is a delicate time as the developing daughter church may want more independence at the cost of maturity. Wisdom will be needed. viii. This continues to be an important time to emphasize reproduction in planting daughter churches. ix. All potential leaders should understand that part of the requirement for leadership will be training in a program like the Biblical Institute for Leadership Development (BILD). c. Phase three: Organized church, semi-autonomous of mother church i. More and more the help and oversight of the mother church and its pastor should be withdrawn emphasizing the goal of maturity. ii. Liberty should be given to the daughter church to decide most issues now and to let it develop according to its own personality and life.

iii. But continued common meetings will promote good will and fellowship. It

would be well if these meetings were held now from time to time in the facilities of the daughter church and not just those of the mother church.

iv. The daughter church should relate more to the fellowship of churches that the mother church is affiliated with. This will be important for the daughter church's credibility as well as its accountability and protection. v. At this point the daughter church will be holding its own meetings for direction of the church. As these progress well, the pastor of the mother church should no longer attend. vi. The daughter church will now want to be sure to develop all aspects of normal church life in administration, membership roles, regular business meetings, etc. d. Phase four: Fully organized church independent but working regionally as a sister church under the common fellowship of churches i. This phase should be marked by some kind of a recognition that the church is now to function in complete independence but true fellowship with the mother church. ii. If in any way, the church tends to lean too much upon the founding congregation, it will need to be lovingly taught to take its own responsibilities. iii. This final transition time will be smoother if help is given by the national fellowship of churches by a regional director. iv. Some efforts done together will still be important, such as leadership training, area evangelism, area picnics, etc. But they will take on a new aspect since the two churches are now sisters rather than in a mother-daughter mode relationship. e. Phase five: A common encouragement to continue to develop daughter churches on the part of the mother church and the daughter church which is to now become a mother church. i. This encouragement may come in the form of modeling as the mother church plants more daughter churches. ii. It may come also from the fellowship of churches which keeps the vision of daughter churches before the various congregations affiliated with it. iii. Some kind of a basic manual on planting daughter churches will be invaluable in this phase.

iv. Since it was a daughter church itself, it should understand the phases of development in planting daughter churches. v. The goal will be for this daughter church to plant, not just a daughter church, but a daughter church that plants daughter churches. Somehow this continuing multiplication must become a part of every daughter church plant to the glory of God. 14. STEP FOURTEEN: A CELEBRATION OF FULL MATURITY a. This could be planned together by mother and now mature daughter church. b. Leaders of the fellowship of churches would join with these two churches in celebration c. Other churches in the fellowship would be encouraged to attend as well as other evangelical churches in the region. d. This would be an excellent opportunity to share with other churches the vision of

what God has done through the vision of daughter church planting. AN AXIS FOR CHURCH REPRODUCTION

FOURTEEN ISSUES44 STRONG TENDENCY TO STRONG TENDENCY REPRODUCE DAUGHTER NOT TO REPRODUCE CHURCHES CHURCHES VISION........…………………………………......…........LACK OF VISION RISK TAKING..............……...............FEAR OF CHANGE SELF-GIVING....……….…………………................SELFISHNESS GROWTH...........………………… ..................NON-GROWTH KNOW-HOW.......……............................IGNORANCE SENSITIVITY TO THE HOLY SPIRIT.….LACK OF SUCH SENSITIVITY FINANCES NOT CENTRAL.........………………….......FINANCES CENTRAL CHURCH-CENTERED TRAINING.....…….....INSTITUTIONAL TRAINING LEADERSHIP OVERFLOW............…………........LEADERSHIP LACK REGIONAL STRATEGY.............…………......ONE CHURCH STRATEGY RECEPTIVITY....................………………….........RESISTANCE HOMOGENEITY...................……….............HETEROGENEITY CREATIVITY....................…………............SAME FOR ALL GENERAL PRINCIPLES........……………………………….............FOG


44 See full article explaining these 14 principles in Evangelical Missions Quarterly Vol 41, No 3 (July 2005): 294-299. Reprints available through author at 5395 N. Darlene Court, Bloomington, IN 47404, USA.

A MASTER PLAN FOR THE EFFECTIVE PLANTING OF A HEALTHY REPRODUCING CHURCH.

I. Make a Plan for Conception.

A. Are you convinced of the biblical and theological bases for church planting?

B. Do you understand the missiological reasons for church planting? C. Do you have a clear vision of what kind of a church to be planted? D. Can you give me a picture vision? Is it written down? E. What are the key elements? List them. F. Bob Logan says, “Give me at least x reasons why I would want to be a

part of the church you are planting.” G. Do you see the possibility in your vision for the multiplication in all areas:

1. Believers. 2. Leaders. 3. Small groups. 4. Missionaries 5. Churches.

II. Make a Plan for Preparation

A. Do you know who you are? 1. Spiritual gifts. 2. Strengths and weaknesses. 3. Areas where others will need to help you?

B. Have you prepared in prayer? C. How will you handle the question of finances? D. Is your vision written out? E. Will you be a pioneer or daughter church? F. If a daughter church, what will be the relations? G. Are you aware that there will be “ups and downs” in church planting? H. How will you find help for the “down” times? I. Do you have a mentor? J. Do you have a network? K. Do you have a core group? L. Do they agree with your philosophy of ministry? M. Do you know their gifts? N. Are they committed to evangelism? O. Do you have a strategy for discipleship? P. Will your strategy be balanced with the supernatural? Q. Any other areas you need to prepare for?

III. Make a Plan for Birth

A. How will you prepare for birth in prayer? B. How will your first service be in terms of:

1. Message 2. Music 3. Style 4. Context 5. Child care

C. What will you tell people about what the new church plant is all about? D. What will you do to birth in excellence? E. What kind of birthing will you have:

1. Low key? 2. Big bang? 3. Pioneer or daughter?

F. How will you build after birth? G. Are you aware of the things to avoid at birth?

IV. Make a Plan for Growth

A. Do you see clearly the major areas of growth needed in a new church? B. Do you have a growth plan? C. Do you have a growth plan for small groups? D. Do you have a training plan for leaders? E. Will your church be like Acts 2:37-47? F. What will your preaching plan be? G. How will you incorporate the eight essential qualities of a healthy church? H. Are you committed to reproduction?

V. Make a Plan for Maturity

A. How will the church grow in: 1. Personal worship? 2. Corporate worship?

B. How will you avoid evangelism slow-down as the church grows? C. Do you have a plan for small groups to multiply? D. How will you develop leaders? E. How will you develop leadership overflow so that you have leaders for

daughter church plants? F. How will you judge the maturity of your church? G. Are you willing to be tested by the Natural Church Development survey?

VI. Make a Plan for Reproduction.

A. Are you keeping reproduction as a goal? B. Do you believe in the “spontaneous expansion” of the church? C. Are the fourteen qualities of a reproducing church a part of the DNA of

your church? D. When will you give birth to a new church?

Above all: Are you doing what you are doing for the glory of God?

Appendix A

Developing Holistic Small Groups

Introduction: The growth in quality and quantity of the local church is strongly dependent upon developing holistic (dealing with the whole and not just parts) small groups.

II. What are non-holistic small groups?

A. Highly cognitive small groups. 1. A lot of the “Word” 2. Little heart and application 3. Too much RAM (“repeat after me”) 4. Too much “fill in the blanks.” 5. Too much information.

B. Highly therapeutic small groups. 1. Warped Word 2. Not balanced biblically 3. Great emphasis upon healing.

C. Strongly fellowship-oriented small groups. 1. No one thinks this is not good. 2. it is just that it is not holistic.

D. Small groups with no clear goals. E. Small groups that do not give birth to new small groups.

1. They do not know how. 2. They are fearful to give birth. 3. What you want is a “horse” small group and not a “mule” horse group.

Summary: A non-holistic small group has some of the parts but not all.

III. What characterizes a truly functional holistic small group?

A. Clear goals from the Word of God. Let me quote from John Piper here:

“God has, you might say, at least 256 colors of grace and he mixes them into infinitely varied combinations of usefulness and blessing in the church. This Is Pie-in-the-Sky Theory without Smaller Groups One of the convictions that we have here at Bethlehem is that all this is pie-in-the-sky theory if the members in the church do not have a web of deepening, regularly-nurtured personal relationships. That is one of the reasons we believe so deeply in small groups. Once a church is more than 30 or 40 people, interpersonal ministry falls off dramatically if there is no effort to fold people into smaller groupings where Romans 12:5-8 can become a regular, personal, relational reality.” (Part of a message given at Bethlehem Baptist Church on September 23, 2001: “Rom 12:3-13, “No Condemnation in Christ, One Body in Christ.” [email protected] . B. At least eight key goals or elements.

1. Obedience-oriented approach to the Word of God.

Missing

Missing

Missing

1

2

3

4

5 6

7

8


a. Study together aimed at application. b. Mutual growth.

2. True sharing at a deeper level. a. Because there is trust b. Being sensitive to what Bill Donahue calls “holy moments”

3. True caring for the whole group. a. When people are going through a joyful time b. When people are going through a difficult time. c. Always “encouraging” one another

4. Small groups that know how to pray. 5. Small groups that serve together. 6. Small groups that help people discover their spiritual gifts. 7. Small groups that evangelise together. 8. Small groups that have a goal of reproducing.

IV. How do you create truly holistic small groups?

A. Regularly emphasize the importance of small groups. B. Teach the elements of small groups.

1. In larger meetings. 2. In the small groups. 3. To the leaders or facilitators of small groups.

C. Have regular meetings of small group leaders. 1. To build in accountability 2. As continuing education. 3. To solve problems. 4. To avoid division. 5. To evaluate the elements of a healthy small group. 6. To feed information on small groups. 7. Suggestion: Make up a binder and keep feeding leaders info.

D. Build multiplication as a DNA of small groups. 1. By always having two facilitators (DNA of leadership overflow) 2. By teaching that healthy small groups give birth to other healthy small

groups.

E. Other possibilities. 1. Turbo groups. 2. Someone to visit small groups to see how things are doing. 3. Shorter worship service and breaking into small groups. 4. Use small groups to build the other seven elements of a healthy

church. a. Empowering Leadership

b. Gift Oriented Ministry c. Passionate Spirituality d. Functional Structures e. Inspiring Worship f. Relevant Evangelism g. Loving Relationships

F. Two types of small groups. ( according to Bill Hull) 1. Open groups – level 1. “Come and see” 2. Closed groups – level 2 “Come and follow”

G. You need to have someone overseeing the small groups. 1. Seven groups maximum.; 2. After that you need to develop two people overseeing small groups.

H. What about a small group forming a new church?

PLANTING HEALTHY REPRODUCING CHURCHES Course Description:

This course examines biblical principles and working methodologies for planting a healthy reproducing church. First, we will deal with the biblical, theological, and missiological bases for church planting, then discuss church health and reproduction and finally move through a step-by-step approach from first contacts to church maturity and reproduction. Course Objectives: 1. Affective - to create a motivation for pioneer church planting and to see a greater love and vision for the local church developed in the life of the student. 2. Cognitive - to enable the student to set up a model for church planting in a chosen community that will enable him to think through a biblical and workable methodology. 3. Spiritual - to help the student understand the relationship between the strategy of church planting and the supernatural resources that are available in beginning a new church. 4. Practical – to give the student tools for competent functioning in a church-planting context. Required Texts: Hesselgrave, David J. Planting Churches Cross-Culturally: A Guide for Home and Foreign Missions. 2nd Edition. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000. Logan, Robert E. Be Fruitful and Multiply:Embracing God’s Heart for Church Multiplication. St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart, 2006. Schwarz, Christian. Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches. St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 2003. Recommended Text: Moore, Ralph. Starting a New Church: The Church Planter’s Guide to Success. Ventura, CA: Regal, 2002. CONTENT OF CLASS LECTURES:

19. The Biblical and Theological Bases for Church Planting. 20. The Missiological Basis for Church Planting.

21. Planting a Healthy Church Introduction to Natural Church Development and Planting a Healthy Church I 22. Planting a Healthy Church II 23. Planting a Healthy Church III 24. Planting a Healthy Church IV 25. Building Reproduction into a Church Plant. I Reprint of article and notes 26. Building Reproduction into a Church Plant. II 27. Conception Phase 28. The Preparation Phase 29. The Birth phase. 30. The Growth phase I 31. The Growth phase II 32. The Maturity phase I 33. The Maturity phase II 34. The Reproduction Phase I 35. The Reproduction Phase II 36. Developing a Master Plan

Bibliography: Allen, Roland. Missionary Methods: St. Paul's or Ours? London: Dominion Press, 1956. ________. The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962. Amstutz, Harold E. Church Planter's Manual. Cherry Hill, NJ: Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, 1985. Boer, Harry. Pentecost and Missions. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1961. Bosley, Harold A. Men Who Build Churches: Interpretations of the Life of Paul. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1972. Brock, Charles. The Principles and Practice of Indigenous Church Planting. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1981. Cheney, Tom. “Twenty-five Pre-launch Questions for the Church Planter.” http://www.churchplantingvillage.net ________. “Common Mistakes made by Church Planters.” http://www.churchplantingvillage.net. Chilton, Charles A. Planting the House Church. Published by the author.



Cole, Neil. Organic Church: Growing Faith where Life Happens. San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass, 2005. Conn, Harvie M. ed. Planting and Growing Urban Churches: From Dream to Reality. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1997. Dever, Mark. Nine Marks of a Healthy Church. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2004. Driscoll, Mark. Radical Reformission. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004. Faircloth, Samuel. Church Planting for Reproduction. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1991. Fee, Gordon D. land Douglas Stuart. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1981. Garrison, David. Church Planting Movements. Richmond, VA: Office of Overseas Operations, International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1999. ________. Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World. Midlothian, VA: WIGTake Resources, 2004. Greenway, Roger S. Editor. Guidelines for Urban Church Planting. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1976. Harrison, Everett F. Interpreting Acts. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1986. Hodges, Melvin L. A Guide to Church Planting. Chicago: Moody Press, 1973. Hull, Bill. The Disciple Making Church. Grand Rapids: Revell, 1990. ________. Can We Save the Evangelical Church? Grand Rapids: Revell, 1993. Jones, Ezra Early. Strategies for New Churches. New York: Harper and Row, 1976. King, Fred G. The Church Planter's Training Manual. Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 1992. Logan, Robert E. and Thomas T. Clegg with Jeanette Buller. Releasing Your Church’s Potential: A Natural Church Development Resource Kit for Pastors and Church Leaders. Brighton, Qld.: Direction Ministry Resources, 1998.

Logan, Robert E. and Neil Cole. Beyond Church Planting: Pathways for Emerging Churches. St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 2005. Logan, Robert E. and Steven L. Ogne. The Church Planter’s Toolkit, Australian Edition. Brighton, Qld. Direction Ministry Resources, 1991. Lukasse, Johan. Church with Roots: Planting Churches in Post-Christian Europe. Bromely, Kent, England: STL Books, 1990. Malphurs, Aubrey. Planting Growing Churches for the 21st Century. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1992. Murphy, Edward. "The Missionary Society as an Apostolic Team." Missiology 4, no. 1 (January 1976): 103-18. Nebel, Tom and Gary Rohrmayer. Church Planting Landmines: Mistakes to Avoid in Years 2 through 10. St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 2005. Nicklas, Norman A. "Adding to Multiply." The Church Planter: A Growing Manual for Church Development. Study no. 1.3 Palm Beach Gardens: Discovering Life Ministries, 1992. Patterson, George and Richard Scoggins. Church Multiplication Guide: Helping Churches to Reproduce Locally and Abroad. Pasadena: William Carey, 1993. Ratliff, Joe S. and Micheael J. Cox. Church Planting in the African-American Community. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1993. Redford, Jack. Planting New Churches. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1978. Schwarz, Christian A. Natural Church Development: A Guide to Eight Essential Qualities of Healthy Churches. 6th Edition. St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 2003. _________. The 3 Colors of Love. St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 2004. _________. Color Your World with Natural Church Development. St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 2006. Schwarz, Christian A. and Christophe Schalk. Implementation Guide to Natural Church Development. St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 1998.

Shenk, David W. and Ervin R. Stutzman. Creating Communities of the Kingdom: New Testament Models of Church Planting. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1988. Snyder, Howard A. "The Free Methodist Church in Sao Paulo, Brazil." in Guidelines for Church Planting. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1976. Steffen, Tom A. Passing the Baton: Church Planting That Empowers. La Habra, CA: Center for Organizational and Ministry Development, 1993. Stetzer, Ed. Planting New Churches in a Postmodern Age. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2003. ________. Planting Missional Churches: Planting a Church That’s Biblically Sound and Reaching People in Culture. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2006. Stetzer, Ed & David Putnam. Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2006. Stimulating and Nurturing Church Planting Movements. International Centre for Excellence I in Leadership. International Mission Board SBC, 2001. Strauch, Alexander. Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership. Revised and expanded. Littleton, CO: Lewis & Roth, 1995. ________. Study Guide to Biblical Eldership: Twelve Lessons for Mentoring Men for Eldership. Littleton, CO: Lewis & Roth, 1996. ________. The Mentor’s Guide to Biblical Eldership: Twelve Lessons for Mentoring Men for Eldership. Littleton, CO: Lewis & Roth, 1996. Towns, Elmer & Ed Stetzer. Perimeters of Light: Biblical Boundaries for the Emerging Church. Chicago: Moody Publishers, 2004. Vajko, Robert J. "A History and Analysis of the Church-Planting Ministry of the Evangelical Alliance Mission in France from 1952 to 1974." MA Thesis, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1975. ________. "Principles for the Design and Implementation of a Working Strategy for the

Multiplication of the TEAM-related Churches in France by the Daughter Church Method." D. Miss. project, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1996. ________. “The Biblical, Theological, and Missiological Bases for Planting New Churches” in Proclaiming Truth, Pastoring Hearts: Essays in Honour of Deane J. Wood edited by R. Todd Stanton & Leslie Crawford. Adelaide, Australia: ACM Press, 2003. ________. “Why Do Some Churches Reproduce?” Evangelical Missions Quarterly 41, no. 3 (July 2005): 294-299. Van Engen, Charles. The Growth of the True Church. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1981. Wagner, C. Peter. Church Planting for a Greater Harvest: A Comprehensive Guide. Ventura, CA: Regal, 1990. Warren, Rick. The Purpose Drive Church: Growth Without Compromising Your Message & Mission. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995. Waterman, Leonard. A Manual for Starting New Churches. Published by the author, Enfield, Connecticut, June 1979.

Final Exam

Pastors Seminary

Course “Planting Healthy Reproducing Churches” R. Vajko

The final exam is a take home exam.

Subject: Develop a “Master Plan” for the planting of a healthy reproducing church in a chosen area. Using the material given during the module from the week of May 13 to 19 (eight lectures on Saturday May 13 and the following week’s material found on the seminary website).

Here are some guidelines;

1. This should be at least ten typed pages, doubled-spaced. 2. Chose an actual area that will be your target area. 3. Gather as much material about this area as you can so that as you develop your

master plan it will be both concrete and contextualized. 4. Mention possible meeting places in that area for the planting of a church. 5. Explain what kind of a team you will use to plant this new church. 6. Explain what you will do for finances for this church plant. 7. Explain your own spiritual gifts and those of the core group who may be helping

you.

Note: You will obviously be using the material I have given you but I want to see how you personalize it and develop it in the light of your own gifting and ministry. This assignment should be sent to me at the latest by Tuesday, June 13, 2006 at midnight. Either mail it to me at my address or send it as an attached document: Robert Vajko 5395 N. Darlene Court Bloomington, IN 47404 If you need to call me, feel free. My phone is 812 876 4143 [email protected] The grade will be determined using the following criteria:

1. The basic understanding of what is need to plant a healthy reproducing church. 25%

2. The incorporation of material from the Natural Church Development book. 25% 3. The way the plan is personalized for your gifting. 25% 4. The way the plan fits into a concrete context. 25%

May the Lord encourage you as you develop this plan and may he use it to see a new healthy reproducing church planted. Bob Vajko


planting healthy reproducing churches - … · "a history and analysis of the church-planting...

Documents