Month: February 2011

by Steve Cordle

There are over 350,000 churches in the United States – that’s enough right? Wrong.

It’s not enough to reach our nation. Church attendance in the U.S. over the last decade dropped more than 15%. Over 180 million Americans do not have a vital church connection. Less than 5% of churches are growing through reaching the unchurched.

Peter Wagner is famous for saying “The single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven is planting new churches. (“Church Planting For a Greater Harvest,” Page 7.) Simply put, new churches reach more new people than existing churches do.

The cell-based church sees multiplication of cells as a natural result of fulfilling our mission to evangelize and disciple people. Just as a healthy cell will grow and multiply, a healthy church should multiply too. If we are developing leaders who know how to reach others, then we can challenge them to multiply cells that can become a new church.

Is it easy? Surely not. Is it vital? Absolutely.

How have you been casting the vision to your leaders to consider getting equipped to plant a church?

Steve

by Michael Sove

I have experienced the whole spectrum of planting churches.  I planted a community church with cells.  I planted a house church, which also formed a network of house churches.  I also planted a cell church and am now involved in helping a church transition to be a cell church.

To answer the question why church planting?  I would respond, “That all may hear.”  Every time I planted a church regardless of the context, people came to Jesus Christ and they connected to the believers who were the church.  Church planting is a penetration strategy and a powerful one at that.

God uses all types of strategies to gather in the harvest, mega churches, community churches, cell churches and house church networks.  I have been part of all of these and my preference is cell church, the church that gathers in celebration and cell.  I have grown to appreciate the church as a many faceted diamond.

I think we can plant more churches if we keep the working definition simple.  My favorite working definition of what church is:  “The presence of Jesus among His people called out as a spiritual family to pursue His mission on this planet.”  (Neil Cole – Greenhouse)

There are so many people yet to be reached, but it will take someone just like you, with your gifts, your strategy, your vision and your passion.  It will take someone who sees the fields ready to harvest.  A heart for the lost is where all church planting begins.

Will you be part of the solution?

Michael

by Mario Vega

Paul’s work was based largely on opening house meetings, which would multiply into Christian communities that transformed cities. By looking at a map of the New Testament world, it becomes evident that Paul passed over several major cities. The ones he did choose were especially strategic. These cities were selected for their commercial, political, and geographical importance.

Paul knew that he could not preach in every town and city, so he choose the most influential ones. In this way, the gospel would spread throughout the region on which those cities were exercising their influence. An example of that is the city of Ephesus. Paul spent a large part of his ministry to strengthen the work in that city. The result was that from Ephesus the Gospel spread throughout the whole province of Asia. The same happened in other regions such as Achaia and Macedonia.

Sometimes, the cities that he chose were not the largest and most populated ones, but those that had the greatest influence. In the work of church planting it is important to have an elaborated strategy. In that way, resources are optimized and the time we have available is better used.

Comments?

Mario

Translation into Spanish

La estrategia de plantación de iglesias de Pablo.

El trabajo de Pablo se basó en buena medida en abrir reuniones en las casas. Estas reuniones se multiplicaban hasta llegar a convertirse en comunidades cristianas que influenciaban las ciudades.

Pero, basta con tomar un mapa del mundo del Nuevo Testamento para darse cuenta que Pablo dejó de lado varias ciudades importantes en donde no existe evidencia que haya plantado ninguna iglesia. Su meta evidente era plantar iglesias en ciudades estratégicas. Las ciudades las seleccionaba por su importancia comercial, poltica y ubicación geográfica. Pablo saba que su expectativa de vida no le permitira predicar en cada ciudad como él pudiera desear.

Eso le impulsó a adoptar la estrategia de plantar iglesias en las ciudades de influencia para que, luego, el evangelio se esparciera por toda la región sobre la cual esas ciudades ejercan su influencia. Un ejemplo de ello es la ciudad de Éfeso. Pablo dedicó una buena parte de su ministerio para fortalecer la obra en esa ciudad. El resultado fue que a partir de Éfeso el evangelio se extendió por toda la provincia de Asia. Lo mismo sucedió en otras regiones como Acaya y Macedonia.

A veces, las ciudades que escogió no fueron las más grandes y pobladas sino aquellas que mayor influencia tenan. En el trabajo de plantar iglesias es importante contar con una estrategia elaborada. De esa forma, se optimizan los recursos y se saca mayor provecho del tiempo que disponemos.

by Jeff Tunnell

Here on the JCG Blog I feel like we are always among friends and most of us are in agreement with cell church principles.  We read with a desire to affirm what is being written rather than foment disagreement.  Approaching the topic of church planting should stir at least a little friction among us, so let your thoughts be known!  Give us a comment or two, foster dialogue, let’s have some iron sharpening iron this week!

Rapid expansion of the Kingdom of God is mandatory in this century!  We have choked, strangled and managed the advance of the Gospel by requiring too much preparation that is essentially UNNESESSARY.  Yes, those are capital letters, because we need to acknowledge that the Kingdom of God is not a business to be managed, or a profession that requires every leader to obtain a doctorate before getting started.  Western methods for church planting have simply exported to other nations what we could not make work here.

Now the majority nations are instructing us on the effective multiplication of cells, leaders, and churches, as they act with abandon to raise up new leaders of small groups that embrace the newly converted.  They rapidly equip these new cell members to reach their own circle of influence while being readied to lead their own group.  Some of these leaders will acquire advanced education and training to take their place among Jesus’ gift ministries to the church in Ephesians 4 and for that we are grateful.  But the broader reach of the body of Christ will be made by the simply equipped who are anointed with the Holy Spirit to do the work of ministry.  Let’s acknowledge that God is able to oversee His church and manage its growth if we will simply get our hands on the plow and not look back.

I wonder how much more quickly I could raise up leaders if I didn’t have any charts or graphs or projection tables?  Maybe even take away my internet access and laptop so I had more time to invest directly in the next leader, instead of just planning to!  I could come along side them with a good equipping track and disciple them to maturity while enjoying their friendship, instead of supposing I have relationship via some social network.

Today may not have been blogging as much as venting.  Thanks for your friendship here on the blog, let us hear from you.

by Joel Comiskey

People ask me, Joel, why are you so interested in cell groups. I’m excited about their potential for making disciples that make other disciples. Cells are leader breeders as Eddie Gibbs used to say. They are the perfect environment to produce new leaders. Yet, it must move to the realm of church planting and beyond if cell ministry is going to see it’s full potential. Reproduction is at the heart of the cell church movement. This reproduction comes at the level of cell leader but it must also move into the realm of church planting.

A person who has led a cell, multiplied it, and coached the daughter-cell leader(s) has completed the core basics of cell church planting. Such a person is a prime candidate for future church planting—anywhere in the world.

Undoubtedly, this same person will seek out biblical education and grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Fruitfulness on the cell level builds confidence for future church planting and allows the candidate to then make it happen.

Cell churches don’t require a huge budget, a large plot of land, modern buildings, or super-talented pastors. The cell strategy uses the houses of people all over the city as the primary meeting locations. Instead of laboring to get people out of their houses once a week for an hour-long service, it seeks to utilize those same houses to penetrate an entire city and nation.

Last week I ministered at Bethel International Church in Newark New Jersey. This church started as a single cell in 2001 and has now planted approximately fifteen churches worldwide. As I spoke to the 800 cell leaders present at the conference, I challenged each one of them to consider the possibility of planting a church in North America or another country. I told them that if they could multiply their current cell group and then supervize the new leader, they could eventually become church planters in another context. “After all,” I told them, “church planters often begin with a single cell, multiply it, care for the leaders, and eventually start celebration services when enough cells exist.”

I believe that the Lord of the harvest is looking to raise up more church planting pastors and missionaries today. Cell church ministry not only offers an exciting platform to raise up cell leaders but also church planting pastors and missionaries.

Comments?

Joel