missio

Bruce Chant, whose blog you can find at Hismethod.Com, is lead pastor of NORTHSHORE Church outside of Perth, Australia. NORTHSHORE Church was planted by the same denomination that will be planting harmony church, the Assemblies of God. He’s got some great advice for us as church planters from the pastor of a relatively new church plant.

• Confirm your call. If you aren’t sure that God’s calling you to this, don’t do it. Yes, it’s hard work, but spiritually it is work at the “pointy end” of God’s Kingdom and you will encounter difficulty, hardship, opposition. That stuff can either shape you and mold you into someone more fruitful or it will kill you. I would definitely recommend getting your call to plant confirm by more seasoned and wise men - via a network or denomination or the like - before you launch out.

• Don’t compromise your vision. If you believe you have a vision for a church from God, hold on to it and don’t compromise it for short term gain. What I mean is this, in the early days you will have some Christian folk come across your path who will want in, but they will want in on their terms or with their agenda. The issues might not be huge, but I can’t tell you how important it is to ensure you are absolutely clear and upfront with everyone on where you stand. If it means a smaller core, or you wait longer before commencing a ministry or filling a position - WAIT.  We all want things done yesterday, but unless they are fully on board with the vision it is a false economy.

• Make your plans, but let God direct your steps. One verse has been huge for me - Proverbs 16:9 - In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps. You need to make your plans and set out your strategies, but ultimately God will open doors or orchestrate things that we could never dream of. You need to know God is in control but also that we is working ahead of you to bring about His purposes for His church - and when He does people’s faith grows and it is incredible!

Wow. Great stuff from below the equator. Thanks, Bruce! Who’s next? Well, it’s funny. We’ve got two more planters, but they are sending some great stuff. We’ve been put on hold for a little while. It’s ok, I’ll keep some great posts coming (hopefully).

In the meantime, check out the must-read posts in the sidebar to the right, and subscribe to the feed so you don’t miss anything! 

Kevin Cawley has a different background than many of our other contributors. He’s actually studying ecclesiology and missiology at Regent College in Vancouver. He’s got some great insights for us, however, and you can find more at his aptly named blog, ::cawleyblog:: . These short insights really come from a brief conversation he and I had by email, which started because of this series.

• Don’t get overly infatuated with technique

• Make your one ambition a radical pursuit of God Himself.

• Stay close to the Scriptures.

• You can’t lead where you’re not going.

• Pick some giants of the past that can instruct you in matters of Godliness– those who will constantly hold before you a magnificent portrait of the glory of God. (ie, the Puritans, Spurgeon, Packer, and Piper)

• Have some outside accountability (coaching, oversight, critique, encouragement)

• Your team should be able to tell you the absolute truth: good or bad.

• Find some older, wiser men that will invest in you.

Great stuff from the Minnesota scholar. On deck is Travis Johnson! Looking forward to it.

I know, I know, I said I would take a break. But it’s only fitting that we turn to Scripture to get some wisdom. I’m teaching tomorrow on the parables of Jesus in Matthew 13, so I thought it OK to see what things we can bring out of two of the parables that apply to church planting.

• It’s not your fault. (Matthew 13:3-9) All too often in evangelism, we blame ourselves when someone doesn’t accept the Gospel. We have to remember that it’s not up to us. In the parable of the sower, we see that the ground that is sowed on is predetermined. The simple fact of the matter is this: the sower sows. As church planters, we are called to plant seeds, no matter what the ground may look like. Of course, we try to find fruitful ground, but sometimes, you just can’t tell. During the day we preach like an Arminian, but at the end of the day we sleep like a Calvinist. The ground that the seed falls on is ultimately up to God.

• Pray for Fruitfulness. (Matthew 13:3-9) Also in the parable of the sower, we see that there are many kinds of fruitful grounds. Jesus says that what we ask, we receive (in the will of the Father), so the crux of the matter is this: pray for fruitfulness. Pray to produce a 100 crop, not 60 or 30.

• The Thing About Wheat. (Matthew 13:24-30) In the parable of the wheat and weeds, we find something interesting. We, the Church, are compared to wheat. So I looked up wheat, and behold: two things about wheat stand out.

1. It is the number one crop worldwide. From it comes bread, cereal, bran, flour, cakes, cookies, and of course, beer. So what does that mean? It’s fruitful. The Church is to be fruitful.
2. The second? It self-pollinates. The church is to self-pollinate, that is, we are to multiply. Wheat is a concrete of example of what the Church should be. Wheat guarantees it’s own survival, regardless of environment. The church should too.

What does this mean for the church? We are to be fruitful and multiply. Just as Adam and Eve were commanded, so are we.

Just a couple of things from God’s Word that we can take and apply in planting churches, and indeed, even reaching people on an individual basis.