Chapter One: Life in the Desert
In the summer of 2008, our family drove through the hot, dry desert of California and Arizona on our way to Colorado. I witnessed mile after mile of dry wasteland. At times I spotted an old sign that marked the failed attempt of a restaurant, gas station, or motel.
The desert has special meaning to me because I live in one. Moreno Valley, where I live, would be one of those run-down ghost towns if it weren’t for the constant fight of humans to push back the desert realities.
In Moreno Valley, it’s common for the temperature to soar to 105+ degrees. The hot, dry air not only affects people negatively, it does weird things to plant life. I’ve noticed every imaginable type of weed coming out of nowhere. Trying to keep real grass on my lawn takes persistent effort. Many homeowners have decided to just water the weeds, giving up trying to maintain real grass. Each fall, I’ve come to accept the fact that I’ll have to replant entire swaths of grass. I’ve often compared my weed problem in Moreno Valley to Christ’s church.
Churches also live in a hostile environment. The world, the flesh, and the devil pound against Christ’s church, seeking to annihilate it. Without fresh leadership and evangelistic outreach, the natural tendency is stagnation, decline, and eventual death.
Church planting also keeps churches healthy and strong. Birthing new churches pushes back the encroaching desert and forms an oasis in the dryness. To stay healthy and fresh, churches need to plant churches that plant churches.
Plant or perish
God has blessed America with the gospel since the English Puritans emigrated in the early seventeenth century. Since those initial seeds, churches have blossomed, and many call America a Christian nation. The tendency of many is to think, “The church is already established in America. Why would we need to plant more churches?”
The fact is that Christianity is rapidly declining in America.
David Olson, a cutting edge researcher, wrote the book The Crisis of the American Church (2008). He used data of actual church attendance to show that 17.7% of the American population attended church on any given weekend in 2004 and that established churches showed zero percent growth. The one bright spot was church planting. Church plants added an increase of 7.8%. Olson explains that at no time in American history has the need for new churches been more critical. New church planters are needed now to scale back the decline and death of existing churches (note 1). In order to survive, Christ’s church must be replanted in every generation.
Whenever I minister in Europe, I see where America is headed: secularism gone astray and church buildings without the pulsating life of vibrant congregations. The story of the church in Europe over many centuries can best be understood as successive waves of ecclesiastical renewal, followed by periods of stagnation. Church planting movements were frequently the catalysts of renewal, but church planting was generally resisted by existing churches or regarded as extraordinary (note 2).
When will a church be ready to plant a daughter? Most likely the church will never feel ready. The perception among most churches is that they’re not big enough at their present size, no matter what it is. This same mindset affects the church in other areas as well. A church doesn’t have quite enough finances to start a new church this year, so it decides to wait until next year or the year after. Decades later church planting becomes the great idea back then. The reality is that the ideal number of people and finances will always be perceived as being larger than what the church presently has.
Instead of waiting for that perfect day to arrive, churches need to change their priorities now! Multiplication is high on God’s desire list—the multiplication of leaders, groups, and churches. The bursting forth of God’s Spirit can’t be contained. The Spirit often hovers over churches that convert intention into reality. One such example is Dove Christian Fellowship.
Larry Kreider never intended to start Dove Christian Fellowship. Back in the late 70s, Kreider figured he’d fill up the existing churches with the vanloads of young people he and others had won to Christ. Yet the young people never felt integrated in those existing churches. Kreider yielded to God’s call on his life and in 1980 started DOVE (acronym for “Declaring Our Victory Emmanuel”).
From a small, humble beginning the church grew to 2000 people in ten years. The congregation spread itself over a seven-county area of Pennsylvania.
Leading a megachurch would be a dream come true for most pastors. Kreider, however, realized that his megachurch was too complicated and cumbersome. It needed an injection of simplicity and reproducibility. It wasn’t nimble enough to adjust quickly and raise up new generations of leaders. Kreider writes:
If we wanted to build the church . . . we would have to give the church away. . . therefore, that is exactly what we did with our church. Giving our church away better suited our vision of a cell-based church planting movement intent on training a new generation of church planters and leaders. Our church in south central Pennsylvania became eight individual churches, each with its own eldership team. We formed an Apostolic Council to give oversight to all the churches of DCFI. Then we gave each of the eight celebrations the freedom to become autonomous—they had the option of joining with the DCFI family of churches or connecting to another part of the body of Christ (note 3).
The church has been giving itself away ever since. DOVE’s commitment to simple, reproducible church planting is evident in its new openness to planting house church networks. Kreider’s new book, Starting a House Church, reflects his innovative, forward-looking thinking. DOVE continues to plant cell-based churches and has now planted approximately 100 churches.
Growing to survive
Cactus is a staple of the desert. It flourishes in a dry, hot environment. Cactus, unlike other plant life, can absorb up to 800 gallons of water in just a few days. Only two hours after rain the formation of new roots help absorb large quantities of water. Because of this innate ability, cactus can survive and flourish in the suffocating desert heat.
Church plants, like cactus, learn to survive in desolate environments. They learn to adjust their strategies to overcome harsh realities. Many larger churches don’t have this same earnestness. Bob Roberts Jr., senior pastor of Northwood Church in Texas, has planted 100 some churches. In his book The Multiplying Church, he writes:
On more than one occasion, I’ve found myself in a group of mega-church pastors who make a statement like this: ‘We need to partner to start some significant churches—we don’t need to waste our time on these little churches of a hundred or two hundred.’ They don’t get it! I try to educate them, but, more often then not, to no avail. When they make a statement like that, they miss two things. First, they don’t know their history. Where faith has exploded, it has never been because of the multiplication of mega-churches, but of smaller churches from 50 to 200. . . Second, they don’t understand the nature of movements. Movements are personal and viral. Where movements have emerged, it hasn’t been because of the large, but because of the small (note 4).
Church plants need new people, new ideas, and new vision if they are going to emerge out of the darkness into the sunlight. Established churches tend to be more concerned about building upkeep, the personality of the new preacher, who’s on the board, and the program schedule for the upcoming year. Established agendas and traditions shield long-established churches from realizing they too live in the desert. Often when desert realities sink in, it’s too late.
Church plants are completely stripped of all illusions. Do or die. Reach out or close the doors. Invite or implode. Church planters are desperate for growth. Without growth, the church folds. This reality keeps church planters on their knees, crying out to God.
Unless church plants organize around evangelism, no one will show up. After all, most Christians would rather worship in a full-service church where their needs are met. Few modern-day Christians with families are willing to join a new church where programmed ministries don’t exist.
In survival mode, church plants must exercise their muscles, and as a result, they become healthy and vibrant. Christian Schwarz in Natural Church Development reveals that church plants are more effective in every area (leading people to become Christ-followers, baptizing members, and ministering to needs). He writes:
If instead of a single church with 2,856 in worship we had 56 churches, each with 51 worshippers, these churches would, statistically win 1,792 new people within five years—16 times the number the megachurch would win. Thus we can conclude that the evangelistic effectiveness of minichurches is statistically 1,600 percent greater than that of megachurches!(note 5)
Struggling to start a church does wonders for church planters. They are developed and honed in the crucible of church planting. Church planting has helped me to grow in my relationship with Jesus more than any other ministry I’ve been involved in.
I look back at my first church plant in 1983. I was a single pastor, fresh out of seminary and looking for my first senior pastorate. My ultimate goal was to be a career missionary with the Christian and Missionary Alliance. I had something to prove.
The CMA asks potential career missionaries to test themselves at home before ministering overseas. As a general rule, they know from experience that those who aren’t fruitful “here” won’t make it “over there.” Crossing an ocean doesn’t change ministry effectiveness.
At that time I was tired from learning about ministry in school. I had also spent several years as an “intern” and “associate pastor.” The CMA probably would have approved an associate position but deep down inside I would have been bored. I needed a new challenge. I had to get out of the classroom and the church building. What did I believe?
What was my ministry philosophy? I could repeat the philosophies of other great ministers and get an A on the exam, but I had not created my own ministry from scratch.
I took the leap and decided to plant a church.
At that time the CMA was reclaiming the inner cities of America for Jesus. They even offered some money for church planting in the inner city. I volunteered to plant a church that I called Hope Alliance in the heart of downtown Long Beach.
The two words that best describe my five-year church planting experience in downtown Long Beach are “total engagement.” Another phrase might be “stretched beyond measure.” As a single pastor, I had to marry, bury, and everything else. Hope Alliance Church didn’t exist. I had to discover those who would be part of it. The meeting place didn’t exist. I had to find it. My ministry method was unknown. I had to determine it.
My relationship with God grew to new heights because I was so totally dependent on God’s guidance for every step of the journey. My seminary knowledge faded quickly in the dark realities of inner-city life. I felt like the token white person among an ethnic sea. Most of my parishioners had drug backgrounds, which tempted them to fall away when government checks were issued at the end of the month.
I met my wife, Celyce, four years into the plant, and we were married on February 13, 1988. We returned from honeymooning in Hawaii and settled into our rented house, which was grand central station for the church plant. That same night we received a 3 a.m. phone call from one of the members, demanding urgent counseling. Welcome back.
As I struggled to plant Hope Alliance Church in downtown Long Beach, God molded and shaped me more than I had the church. He showed me that He truly was faithful. Out of the doubt and discouragement, He was able to grow something lovely. He also prepared me for the cultural rigors of missionary life in Ecuador.
Making room for leadership
Dave Coopersmith was “associated” with a huge church near Moreno Valley but was never involved. None of the pastors knew him. If he drifted spiritually, no one would recognize it. Dave longed for more. Our paths crossed, and we became friends. I asked Dave if he’d like to join me in planting Wellspring, and he jumped at the opportunity.
When we launched the church in my home in September 2003, Dave was there. And in eight months, Dave had launched his own life group. Leading a group motivated Dave to get to know his neighbors, pastor people, and prepare a lesson. He eventually multiplied the group and learned additional skills. Church planting thrust Dave into a leadership position—far different than attending a large, even exciting church. Dave has said repeatedly, “This church plant has forced me to get involved. I’ve grown spiritually as I’ve participated in ministry, and this is what I like best.”
Leadership is always needed, desired, and welcomed in church plants. Jamey Miller, founder and senior pastor of Christ Fellowship, is a great example of how to raise up new leadership through church planting. CF started with the goal of church planting. Jamey Miller led the first group in his home in 1993. Jamey multiplied the group, which became a network of cells and eventually turned into CF, located in Fort Worth, Texas. CF has now multiplied into twelve church plants. There’s always a need for new leadership—both at the cell level and for church planting. The mother church is large at 300 in worship attendance and twenty-five cell groups.
Miller’s strategy is simple. Start small groups and then look for potential church planters from among those who can both lead a group and multiply it. Miller’s church-planting emphasis flows from his understanding of Scripture that God’s plan for glory on earth is connected to reproduction. “Living things multiply,” Jamey told me. This kingdom principle is central to Miller’s church planting strategy. He believes we should expect to see reproduction in all facets of church life—from disciples reproducing, to cell groups, to churches, and even movements of churches.
Christ’s living presence is the key. Groups multiply through Christ’s living presence, and then Christ continues to reach out through church planting. Miller said, “There’s nothing like group life to raise up future leaders and cultivate a readiness for church planting.” Future church planters need to start at the small group level to understand the church planting process—since the small group is a microcosm of the future church plant. Not all small group leaders will become church planters, but those who show potential in effectively leading a group, multiplying it, and then coaching the new multiplications have the basic ingredients for church planting effectiveness.
Jamey models what he believes. Fifteen years after launching the movement, he said to me, “I’m once again leading a group in my own neighborhood because I think it’s essential to stay in the battle.”
During the first five years at Christ Fellowship, all the church plants succeeded. Then, like all church planting movements, they started having false starts and failures—mainly because of leadership and character issues. The failures gave them insight into the nuances of leadership effectiveness—why some succeed and others fail. Jamey admitted, “I’m still trying to figure out what makes an effective church planter. I have come to realize that some people are only called to be leaders of tens while others will lead hundreds. Some probably aren’t called to the demanding task of planting a new church.”
I asked Jamey about the core requirements for future church planters. He said,
Our basic expectations are that potential church planters are in a small group (leading and multiplying it) and are working out the core values of loving God and one another, as well as reaching those who don’t know Christ. And yes, they must have a burning call to go and start a community of believers. Those basic things provide the grid for seeing how someone is progressing and helps the rest of the church give the “amen” when it’s time to send the person on a church planting assignment (note 6).
The harvest is what stirs Jamey to look beyond the comforts of his own church towards the fields. Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field” (Matthew 9: 37-38). Church planting at Christ Fellowship has provided the means for new leaders to reap the harvest.
Sharing brings life
Moreno Valley was once a dusty ghost town. It’s now a thriving city because people came together to share water, energy, and services. Lone rangers rarely survive in the desert. Lone restaurants or hotels usually last a few months or might scrape by for a few years, but they soon become desert museums, curious spectacles of an entrepreneurial spirit that couldn’t make it alone.
New churches add spiritual strength and vitality to existing ones. They stimulate a spiritual atmosphere that benefits everyone. Abe Huber, founder and lead pastor of the Igreja de Paz movement, plants churches on the doorstep of the mother church in northern Brazil. The strength of additional churches benefits everyone in the city.
I stayed at Abe’s home in 2002 while doing a conference at his church. I found Abe to act more Brazilian in culture than American. After each evening service, for example, he preferred to hang out with fellow Brazilians into the wee hours of the morning. “That’s just Abe,” his coworkers told me.
Now Abe leads a church-planting movement that is winning and discipling thousands for Jesus in Manaus, a city of 1.6 million residents located on the north bank of the Rio Negro.
Abe has integrated one-on-one discipleship into the church’s training process. Each person who comes to a celebration service or a cell group is assigned a one-on-one mentor. The mentor and mentored meet weekly for encouragement and accountability. The mentor guides the new person to participate in additional training classes and to attend spiritual retreats that are part of the equipping process—called MDA (Micro Discipleship Strategy).
The goal is for each person in the church to plant an evangelistic cell group, to multiply it, and to eventually plant an Igreja da Paz church. This effort has resulted in planting hundreds of churches throughout Brazil. I was amazed to see many Igreja da Paz churches located just a few minutes from the 15,000-member mother church. Most of these local churches follow the MDA strategy, but it’s not a requirement. Each church is self-governing, has their own place to meet, and maintains a fraternal relationship with the Igreja da Paz movement.
Huber is a gifted leader, able to guide the large mother church, but he realizes that many leaders don’t have those same gifts. They will pastor much smaller churches. The key is reproduction—which starts one-on-one and continues out to the masses.
God might want your church to become a multiplication center—making disciples who eventually plant churches. You don’t have to worry that planting a new church will damage the mother church. Huber’s example shows that new churches do not hinder the mother church, but are a great help to its own growth and spirituality.
Satan promotes the fallacy that new churches will drive out the existing ones and hurt their attendance. Peter Wagner writes:
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. That which blesses the kingdom of God as a whole also blesses the churches that truly are a part of the Kingdom (note 7).
Springs in the desert
Palm Springs is about a one hour drive away from where I live. Palm Springs, like Moreno Valley, is a desert community. The difference is that Palm Springs has natural tree-lined canyons. Why? Bubbling hot springs are part of its geography. God is able to create springs in the desert. He said in Isaiah 43:19-21:
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.
The good news for the church planter is that the God who created the desert is also the God who created the oasis. He’s able to make springs abound in dry, difficult places. He’s the God of the impossible and delights in making something out of nothing. No matter how dry and desert-like the situation, He loves to provide living water that brings life instead of death.
Endnotes
- North American population explosion is far outstripping church growth. Olson shows how that attendance in all American churches is projected to grow from 50 million in 1990 to 60 million in 2050. However, the population is projected to grow from 248 million in 1990 to 522 million during that same period.
- Stuart Murray, Church Planting: Laying Foundations (Waterloo, Ontario: Herald Press, 2001), pp. 62-63.
- Larry Kreider, House Church Networks (Ephrata, PA: House to House, 2001), p. 24.
- Bob Roberts, Jr., The Multiplying Church: The New Math for Starting New Churches (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008), p. 65.
- For more on this topic, read pp. 46–48 of Natural Church Development (Carol Stream, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 1996).
- Personal correspondence with Jamey Miller, pastor and founder of Christ Fellowship, a church planting movement-- www.ChristFellowship.org
- As quoted in James Allen, “Why Plant a New Church?”Article accessed on Monday, January 03, 2005 from http://www.plantingministries.org/whyplant.htm.