Another post on the Future AG blog
A great conversation about Church Planting and Revitalization is taking place on the Future AG blog site. Here's my most recent contribution to the discussion...
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I am thrilled by this conversation...it's long overdue and incredibly important.
My role as Director of Church Planting and Development has given me the opportunity to get a big picture view of what's happening in the church in America. From that perspective, I'd like to throw a few thoughts into the mix.
First of all, church planting and revitalization are the same thing starting in a different place. The desired outcome of both activities is healthy multiplying communities of disciples. We do need to both/and not either/or.
Second, one of our problems may be a misunderstanding of what discipleship is. Discipleship is often thought of as a program to help Christians grow. The reality is that discipleship begins the minute a person encounters a follower of Christ. Evangelism happens inside of discipleship. True discipleship precedes and succeeds evangelism.
Third observation...churches that are started or revitalized with the "church service" as the focus either just move Christians around or are not successful at all. Churches that are started to connect with lost people are harder to get going, but ultimately actually build the kingdom.
Fourth, I've been thrilled to observe a new "breed" of church that is emerging throughout the US. These are churches that are started or revitalized with the harvest in mind. With their focus on the harvest, their priorities are properly aligned and their behaviors are more likely to be healthy.
I look forward to working together to plant and revitalize thousands of new communities of faith. It will take us working together and it will take us doing things differently than we've done in the past. We've got some great things already happening (check out www.churchmultiplicationnetwork.org) , but I'd love to hear your ideas for how we can leverage the resources of this fellowship to actually make a Kingdom difference in the future!
Please feel free to connect with me directly at spike@ag.org!
_____________________________________________________________________
I am thrilled by this conversation...it's long overdue and incredibly important.
My role as Director of Church Planting and Development has given me the opportunity to get a big picture view of what's happening in the church in America. From that perspective, I'd like to throw a few thoughts into the mix.
First of all, church planting and revitalization are the same thing starting in a different place. The desired outcome of both activities is healthy multiplying communities of disciples. We do need to both/and not either/or.
Second, one of our problems may be a misunderstanding of what discipleship is. Discipleship is often thought of as a program to help Christians grow. The reality is that discipleship begins the minute a person encounters a follower of Christ. Evangelism happens inside of discipleship. True discipleship precedes and succeeds evangelism.
Third observation...churches that are started or revitalized with the "church service" as the focus either just move Christians around or are not successful at all. Churches that are started to connect with lost people are harder to get going, but ultimately actually build the kingdom.
Fourth, I've been thrilled to observe a new "breed" of church that is emerging throughout the US. These are churches that are started or revitalized with the harvest in mind. With their focus on the harvest, their priorities are properly aligned and their behaviors are more likely to be healthy.
I look forward to working together to plant and revitalize thousands of new communities of faith. It will take us working together and it will take us doing things differently than we've done in the past. We've got some great things already happening (check out www.churchmultiplicationnetwork.org) , but I'd love to hear your ideas for how we can leverage the resources of this fellowship to actually make a Kingdom difference in the future!
Please feel free to connect with me directly at spike@ag.org!
posted by Steve Pike @ 6:03 PM
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