Planting healthy churches is at thevery heart of God. It is clear howthe church in the New Testamentgrew—by multiplication. The bookof Acts is the historical record of a

Holy Spirit-inspired church planting movement.It is exactly that which the world needs today.

Jesus took great joy in dispelling and challeng-ing popular myths. Frequently in the gospelsJesus said, “You have heard it said…but I sayunto you...” This was His way of taking a shotat the conventional wisdom of that day.

One of the problems in the church today isthat many myths about churchplanting have taken seed in theminds of our leaders. Inaccurateassumptions and invalid conclusions are made,sometimes out of fear and sometimes due toignorance. If we are serious about completingthe great commission and we want to be suc-

ENVOYSix Myths AboutChurch Planting

the

continued on page 2

ENVOY

the

vo l .1 / no.3Fall 2000

vanguard ministries1101 volvo parkwaychesapeake, va 23320757-547-7777 voice757-547-5096 faxjlg604@aol.com

bobby hillfounder & internationaldirector

jerry grahamexecutive director

apostolic team

bobby hill

joseph umidi

doug fike

bonnie kylecommunications director

for membership informationcontact us at the aboveaddress or visit us at:www.vanguardministries.org

by Bobby Hill, Founder andInternational Director

t h e E n v o y 1

multiplying thechurch2 t h e E n v o y

Six Myths About Church Planting continued from page 1

cessful church planters, we must take afresh and honest look at church plantingand dispel our wrong thinking.

Myth #1—We don’t needany more churches.The reality of a growing population requiresthe multiplication of new churches. In theUS, 70% of the population has no meaning-ful church connection. The truth is that themajority of churches are not reaching out tothe unreached segments of their communi-ties. There are untouched demographics inour cities and rural areas without a life-giv-ing church for miles. The growth and repro-duction of new churches is not keepingpace with increases in population or themortality rate among churches.

The truth is that churchplanting is still the mosteffective means of evangel-ism available on earth, according to C.Peter Wagner. New churches possess anew kind of life and vitality that is attrac-tive to the unchurched. New church plantshave a much greater potential of impact-ing the oikos of their members than anestablished church.

In the1990’s the AD2000 and BeyondMovement devised the Joshua Project 2000to help reach the least evangelized groups.To help, researchers such as OperationWorld author Patrick Johnstone compileda list of 1,739 distinct peoples defined asless than two percent evangelical or fivepercent Christian adherents, and with apopulation of more than 10,000. Of these1,739 groups, 579 are without a church-planting effort. Missiologists have agreedthat what we most need to reach theunevangelized peoples of the world is across-cultural church planting movement.

Myth #2—Church plantingviolates the unity of thechurch.This viewpoint can be held only by thosewho have the wrong worldview. AsChristians we are not on earth to competewith one another, but instead we shouldhave a “kingdom” perspective. We must seethe world from God’s eyes and realize thatthe body of Christ must cooperate to reachthe lost, and our assignment is an incredi-bly urgent one. Jesus said, “I will build mychurch, and the gates of hell will not pre-vail against it” (Matthew 16:18). How could

a work that Jesus is doing on earth, plant-ing new churches, violate the unity of Hisown body? The real problem is our small-mindedness and our competitive and jeal-ous spirits. Church planting can only helpbuild the church—not destroy it.

Myth #3—The startup costsare too high.This is simply not true! Planting newchurches is by far the most cost-effectiveway to reach the lost. It has been proventhat the “per convert cost” is much lowerthrough new churches than through estab-lished congregations. New churches tendto operate on leaner and more efficientbudgets than larger multi-layered organiza-tions. New churches depend more heavilyon mobilized laity than establishedchurches. All things considered, newchurches are the most effective at reachingthe unchurched pre-Christian.

Myth #4—Anybody canplant a church.Much research has been done in the areaof discovering the profile of a successfulchurch planter. Denominations have spentmillions of dollars investing in well mean-ing, sincere people who desire to plantchurches, but who do not have the quali-ties or experience necessary to be effec-tive. Psychologist Dr. Charles Ridley wascommissioned by Fuller Seminary to studyand develop a profile for effective churchplanters. Today, assessment centers andprofiling tools are being used to improveour selection processes for church planters.

The truth is that not everyone is wired forplanting a church. There are certain char-acteristics which are non-negotiable. Forexample, a successful church planter mustbe able to relate to and network with theunchurched. He must be a “gatherer.” Noteverybody possesses that quality. Toooften, a nurturing, pastoral-type leader willattempt to launch a new church and failbecause he lacks this characteristic.

We must be careful in selecting potentialchurch planters and do the due diligenceto insure every chance of success.

Myth #5—I can plant thischurch alone.This error in judgment has led manychurch plants into the graveyard. Onemust only look at scripture to be

reminded of the pattern of sending outministry teams. Raising up a team of com-mitted disciples who share the vision ofplanting a church in a community is not aluxury, but an essential key for the suc-cess of any planting effort. There aremany reasons why team ministry worksbetter in church planting, including:Utilizing the giftedness of othersSafety and a support systemImmediate financial baseModeling Christian communityMultiplying the networking capacityAnd many others…Forbes researched thousands of new busi-nesses. The article, Two for the Money(February 1997), reported their findings thatthose who started with partners were fourtimes more likely to succeed than thosewho started as solo entrepreneurs. No oneshould attempt to plant a church without thesupport of a team. Paul and Peter modeledteam ministry for us to follow, not to ignore.

Myth #6—Church plantingis easy work.Nothing worthwhile is ever accomplishedwithout diligence and hard work. This issurely the case with church plants. Only anovice church planter would believe thismyth. In reality, church planting may beone of the most difficult tasks of Christianministry.

The challenges and adversity that face anew church plant are numerous. The spiri-tual battles one faces when pioneeringnew territories are intense and relentless.Pioneers often labor for months withoutany noticeable fruit. It is sacrificial, hardwork. Only as a labor of love and faithfulobedience to a call from God does plant-ing a new church become a reality.

Christianity has always expanded throughthe multiplication of churches. Actsrecords how the boundaries of theChristian faith were pushed to the limitsthrough the establishing of new churches.To this day, in every generation, thegospel has extended to new lands andnew peoples through obedient Christianswho have taken the mandate of scriptureseriously. You and I are believers todaybecause those who preceded us repro-duced their churches through churchplanting. We should be thankful for theirfaithfulness, and be challenged to carrythe flame for the next generation! V

When my wife Violet andI planted Grace FamilyChurch in Port St.Lucie, Florida elevenyears ago, we didn’t

have the slightest idea what we weredoing. We were fully convinced that wewould assume the pastorate of an existingchurch. However, God had some differentplans for us. As we endeavored to followthose plans we made many mistakes. Butin a way I am glad, because some ofthose mistakes became the catalysts thatforced us to grow as leaders and pastors.When we started we had no experience in

church planting—not one book, no plan,no demographics, no clear vision, littlemoney, no place to meet, no team, andno idea of the cultural shock we wereabout to encounter. But here we areeleven years later pastoring a healthy, life-giving church. Despite our lack of churchplanting know-how, there were a fewintangibles that we did have. These intan-gibles were foundational to the successthat God has granted us over the years.

First, we had a specific call. We did notplant Grace Family Church in response tothe general call to plant churches as the

by Jeff SteffelVanguard Associate Minister

God’s Goodnessto a Church Planter

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God’s Goodness to a Church Planter continued from page 3

means of spreading Christianity. Nor didwe demographically decide where to start

the church. We didn’t even know whatdemographics were! We just knew

that this was the time and theplace to do it. The “specific

call” was firmly implantedinto our spirits. With$200-worth of genericwindshield flyers, wecanvassed local park-ing lots for about twoweeks. To my sur-prise, thirty peopleshowed up that first

Sunday morning. Violetled us in praise and wor-

ship with an old, worn outHosanna tape. (Every time I

hear Marty Nystrom sing GiveThanks, I still have flashbacks!) We had

no sound system, so we used our ten-year-old boom box that had been permanentlyinfected with Florida beach sand. Afterpraise and worship and announcements, Inervously continued the service forgettingto receive the offering. Finally a elderlygentleman on the back row interrupted mejust as I was finishing my sermon and said,“Preacher, are you ever going to take upthe offering?” Unfortunately, as we foundout in latter weeks, not everybody was aseager to give as he was. When Ithink back on that poorlyproduced flyer, the boombox, and my bumbling, Iwonder why anybody wouldwant to come to our church.I think the answer lies in thespecific call we had to PortSt. Lucie. Regardless of what wea

bubble ofgrace

lacked, the people who attended that firstmorning really didn’t have a chance. Justas we were called by God to Port St.Lucie, those folks, whether they realized itor not, were called by God to help usplant Grace Family Church!

Secondly, we were in a bubble of grace.When people ask us how we started GFC,our story always includes the metaphor ofa bubble. We felt like we werein a bubble of special gracethat was not only sufficient,but extraordinary. God supernatu-rally enabled us to make progress andmove the ball down the field. We hadmany third and longs, which I attribute towhat we lacked in knowledge and wis-dom, but the Lord always came throughwith first downs. Furthermore, this samebubble of grace protected our hearts fromthe many disappointments we experiencedwhile trying to raise up a church from the“discontented and indebted” of the bodyof Christ. After two years, the bubble ofextra grace seemed to pop, but it wasgreat while it lasted!

Lastly, we had extra faith. Maybe we wereblissfully ignorant, but I rarely thoughtabout failure. (I do my fair share of itnow!) And when we did fail, itseemed as if God supernatu-rally lifted us. God put us out onthe end of the tree limb where we had nooption but to trust Him. Yet that tree limbwas not a place where we struggled tobelieve. During that period of time it wassecond nature for us to trust. I felt likeDavid must have when he was picking upthe stones to slay Goliath. It doesn’tappear that David was convincing himselfto believe; he simply believed. I wish itwas that easy all the time! As with theextra grace, this “extra faith” was tempo-rary but timely.

I must confess that it’s been a long timesince I have thought about those earlydays. But as I have reminisced, I havefound myself intermittently pausing andworshipping the Lord for His goodness. Ineed to do this more often. I have alsobeen reminded of the psalmist’s words“Surely goodness and mercy shall followme all the days of my life…” Certainlygoodness and mercy have followed thischurch planter. V

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churchplantingmove-ments

As Vanguard Apostolic Teammembers interact withother networks and keyleaders around the world,we are discerning the

emergence of what could be described asChurch Planting Movements (CPMs).David Garrison (Southern BaptistInternational Mission Board) and otherstrategists define this phenomenon as “arapid and multiplicative increase of indige-nous churches planting churches within agiven people group or population seg-ment.”

The key words in thisdescription are rapid,meaning a rapid increase innew church starts, multi-plicative, meaning thecompounded exponentialincrease of new churchesbeing started by churchplants themselves, andindigenous, meaningthe movement momentumcomes from within the peo-ple group itself, rather thanfrom only the outside“expert” input. It is this awakeningof the church’s explosive multiplicationfunction today that seems to hold thegreatest potential for making the largestnumber of disciples in history.

As Vanguard Ministries continuallylaunches new initiatives to rapidly developand mobilize emerging leaders (coaching,music, healing houses, youth discipleshiphouses, business, arts…), we are askingourselves what principles and practices wecan glean from this global CPM for ourown church planting strategies.

CHURCH PLANTING MOVEMENT PRINCIPLES

Prayer is vitalWithout a doubt, the key element to CPMsis the vitality of the prayer life of the lead-ers that is imparted and imitated by thosewho become contagious carriers of God’spresence and God’s proclamation.Vanguard members are also expected torecover the historic practices of both

Sabbath rest and sabbatical retreat to revi-talize their intimacy of communion withFather. Vanguard members are being askedto participate in the birthing and nurturingof city-wide prayer movements in theirareas to bring a corporate vitality to the“joy of the partnership of the gospel” toour regions. No other principle of CPMswill make up for ignoring this one.

Abundant gospel sowingproduces abundant reaping “If you sow abundantly you will also reapabundantly” is the harvest law evident inevery CPM. With every means possible,we are encouraging both personal lifestyleefforts and corporate, culturally relevantharvest events linked to those efforts asthe foundation for church plants that arenot dependent on transfer growth fromexisting churches. Americans need to hearthe gospel in various forms at least seventimes before they clearly hear it becauseof the mixture of religion and culture inour society. Too many individuals andchurches are giving in and giving up toosoon before they are reaping.

Facilitate intentional church plantingUnless someone who is not already multi-tasked is given the responsibility to facili-tate a strategy of deliberate church plant-ing, it just won’t happen. The “tyranny ofthe urgent” must be overcome by some-one steering the boat so that occasionalevangelistic initiatives can be transformedinto CPMs. Intentions that lack effectivewatchmen and gatekeepers will quicklybecome “aspirational values” instead of“actualized values.” Too many good thingswill cancel out the best when it comes tochanging moments of blessing to move-ments of harvesting.

Develop lay leadershipalready in placeA typical distinction between a churchplant and a CPM is that the single plant isdone by or through a “professional” (full-time, fully paid, fully trained) while a“multiplicative” planting is done through“lay leaders” (part-time, partly paid, partlytrained). Most often these bivocationalleaders come from the general profile ofthe target group being reached. Vanguard

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Toward a MultiplicationMovement of New Churches

by Joseph UmidiApostolic Team Member

value of salvation and the absolute neces-sity of conversion as the only hope for thefuture. The increasing call to spiritual rev-olution by the “14-24” people group oftoday’s radical Christian youth is now hap-pening in America. It must be heard andserved by churches willing to providestrategic outlets to express this passion tomaximize the harvest. Vanguard wants tobe where the action is and the “action isin the passion!”

Worship in the heart lan-guage allows us to connectThe greatest barriers to reaching peoplemore rapidly are those issues which put acurtain between those needing to bereached and those needing to reach.Missionaries to our contemporary cultureface the same challenges as missionariesto ancient cultures— identifying andembracing the heart language of the peo-ple they are trying to reach. If we are notspeaking, praying, preaching, singing,dancing, writing, painting, illustrating,applying, and ministering heart to heart,we are part of the problem rather thanpart of the solution. Worship is the litmus

6 t h e E n v o y

Toward a Multiplication Movement of New Churches continued from page 5

members are called this year to bring intotheir “coaching influence” those youngerleaders who are headed not for seminary,but for the harvest field. It is time for ourfive-fold ministers to expand their influ-ence through the lives of people who arealready in place, to touch the lives of non-church friends and associates.

Cells or house churches aretypical CPM models

The majority of churches in explodingCPMs are in these categories, many timesboth appearing in the same movement.The boomer culture of control and pro-grammed organization in our churches willhave to awaken to and serve an emergingculture of community, authentic lifestyle,and holistic evangelism in a younger gen-eration. Expectations of penetratingtoday’s pagan culture through profession-ally developed celebration services thatleave little time for intentional mentoringand meeting people on “their turf” will notlead to multiplication. The battle cry of thespiritual revolution at our doorsteps is,“Give me relationships or give me death!”CPMs will be based on people movements

that are relationally vibrant and personallycontagious.

Rapid reproduction shouldbe the natural orderUnless there is urgency about multiplica-tive church planting, communicated fromthe beginning of a new church start, wecan predict the inevitable drifting ofchurches to become encumbered withmany nonessentials. The dream for

Vanguard and other networks with theirears to the “global ground” is thatchurches will reproduce churches as thenatural order of “the way we do thingsaround here.”

CHURCH PLANTING MOVEMENTPRACTICES

Passion and fearlessnessfuel the movementCPMs around the world are noted for thesense of urgency expressed in the passionand boldness of those who are leading theway. Though this might draw persecution,it fuels the movement by prioritizing the

test of whether we will maintain a monu-ment to a fading era or sustain a move-ment to an emerging “ethnos” (peoplegroup).

Worship in the heart language of the des-perate people we are desperately reachingout to will connect at a deeper level. Thatconnection will make the differencebetween a trickle of individual decisionsand a tributary of community disciples

beginning their ministry in an alreadyestablished relational network. Whenwhole blocks of students who alreadyhang out together are captured by authen-tic worship and evangelism strategies, theend result might well be exploding cellchurches throughout our cities’ school sys-tems. It really is a heart issue. Worshipgets to the core of it.

Rapid incorporation of newconverts into new churchplants feeds momentumIn most CPMs new disciples immediatelybecome disciplers of others, while someeven become church planters. There is aclearly communicated expectation that

every new believer is to express a leader-ship behavior by immediately taking on orpreparing for the privilege and responsibil-ity of influence over others. Individualmistakes are surely made because ofimmaturity, but not at the critical cost ofplauteued churches and unreaped harvestfields. Follow up and assimilation modelswhich ignore this practice will not createthe momentum to become a movement.

Train for church leadershipin real time and real lifeWherever new church leaders have toleave their churches for extended periodsof theological training, it is a guaranteethat the momentum of a movement willfade quickly. Whenever effectivetraining is brought as closeto the real action of evangel-ism and church planting aspossible you can guaranteethat the momentum willincrease. Leadership training is criti-cal, but only in the context of the leader-ship events and relationships in real timeand real life. Vanguard leaders are finaliz-

ing the ministry of “TransformativeLeadership Coaching” which will put lead-ership development where it can have thelargest leadership deployment.

When the prophet Habakkuk lost perspec-tive and saw only the limitations of whatwas happening in his own backyard, Godtold him, “…to look at the nations and beutterly amazed” (Habakkuk 1:5). Lookingat Church Planting Movements around the

world is amazing because God is norespecter of persons. He is the same yes-terday, today, and forever. It is HisChurch, His harvest, and His timetable.This may well be the most amazing day ofchurch expansion before us.

As the momentum heats up let’s encour-age one another in Vanguard to become“gold medallists” as we come down thehomestretch of history.

“Let us then throw off everything that hin-ders and the sin that so easily entanglesand let us run with perseverance the race marked out before us.”Hebrews 12:1 V

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Toward a Multiplication Movement of New Churches continued from page 6

Andrew Arroyo has been anevangelist for six years, andhe has already suffered oneministry burn-out. In 1995and 96, at the age of 23,

Andrew considered himself washed up.Newly married, he regularlypreached his heart out, led avariety of evangelistic out-reaches, spent long hours inintense intercession, was agraduate student at Regent,taught himself Hebrew…andhe crashed. “I didn’t know whetherGod would ever use me in ministryagain,” he says. So he washed and paintedcars, and waited for God to direct him.

During that time, Andrew learned that hispersonal relationship with God is the

key. “I learned that my job is not tominister, but to be intimate withHim.” He found that he neededto learn to rest in God, not toequate relationship to Godwith intense intercession. Itwas a critical turning point forhim.

In January ’99, God releasedAndrew to begin his own min-istry, but he had no vision forwhat that was to be. He incor-porated Jesus is LordEvangelistic Ministries (JLEM),

still lacking clear direction. Duringthis time his wife, Katie, was a

teacher at Norview High School, in aneedy area of Norfolk, and they found

that God was burdening them for thatpart of the city. Katie, a Spanish teacher

who stands just five feet tall, had quicklygained favor with the school system. She

was named “Rookie Teacher of theYear” during her first year, and

“Teacher of the Year” thenext. Before long, vet-

eran teacherswere

being assigned to observe her teachingstyle, and she was asked to conduct aseminar on classroom discipline. Andrewand Katie teamed up to teach leadershipworkshops for students at the school, andled a leadership camp for all of Norfolk’spublic schools on the Virginia Wesleyancampus.

As they continued to pray for Norview,their burden increased; and God showedthem exactly what they were to dothere—they were to minister to the needsof real people. That ministry has taken onmany faces.

COMMUNITY CENTERA center available to meet a wide varietyof needs opened in June of 2000 andallows JLEM to have a 24-hour footprint inthis urban community. A family of six hasstayed there while transitioning through ajob loss and eviction. A full range of tutor-ing is offered for kids of all ages, as wellas specialized one-on-one literacy trainingand GED preparation assistance. Variousprograms address abstinence, anger abate-ment, family counseling, and crisis preg-nancies. People can find a personal rela-tionship with God through small groupBible study, practical seminars on topicsranging from parenting to financial man-agement to job preparation, or just a sim-ple conversation with a volunteer. Practicalneeds are being met. And people aremeeting God.

BUSINESSAndrew is building relationships to facili-tate improvements in housing in the area.One target is a 155-unit apartment com-plex currently run like a slum. Conditionshave deteriorated to the point wherepolice officers won’t respond to calls.While others might choose to come intoan area like this to minister with drama ortent meetings, Andrew’s plan is to enablea whole new paradigm in the lives of thepeople. His goal is to create a for-profitcompany to buy out this complex andothers so that they can be cleaned it upand people’s lives will be turned around.While many churches avoid social out-reach, Andrew’s heart is to embrace it— incombination with the uncompromisinggospel and the power of God.

CHURCH WITHOUT WALLSLaunched September 1, 2000, the church

Member Spotlight:Andrew Arroyo

8 t h e E n v o y8 t h e E n v o y

“just materialized” out of follow-up activi-ties during the summer. Definitely not atraditional church, Andrew will tell youthat Sunday’s service is not the main meet-ing of the week. That would be theBrothers of Adullam, which meets onMonday nights, formed out a determina-tion to build the church with a base ofstrong men. Named for the distressed,indebted, discontented bunch who gath-ered with David in the cave of Adullam(see I Samuel 22), this is a group wherereal ministry happens. Currently comprisedof about fifteen men,at least one is oncrack. There areAfrican-Americansand Hispanics, andrecently a Filipinoman came whoknew absolutelynothing aboutJesus—but he cameface to face withHim. A short timeago a similarwomen’s group wasbegun onWednesdayevenings.

The church staffincludes three menbesides Andrew,who serves as seniorpastor. One, a blackevangelist, spendshis days walking thestreets ministering topeople. Andrewhopes to help otherchurches see theimportance ofincluding such anevangelist on thechurch ministryteam, instead of rele-gating the “evangel-ist” to an administra-tive position or send-ing him to minister in another area or theforeign field rather than evangelizing inthe church’s neighborhood. A great addi-tion to the cultural blend is the worshipleader, who is from Trinidad. Andrew’sbrother, who ministers as a prophet, isalso part of the mix. “Between all of us,we have the five-fold ministry in opera-tion, which I think is vital,” Andrew says.

REGIONAL MINISTRYVirginia Beach’s SportsPlex stadium wasthe site of two area-wide all-night prayermeetings during 2000, which drew partici-pation from a wide variety of churches.Andrew found himself in the line of fire ashe served as the catalyst for these events,and it was a wild year for him, with emo-tions running the gamut from the highesthighs to the lowest lows. He neverintended to define a movement or insti-gate a chaotic polarization of pastors. Infact, he make a concerted effort to stay

out of the limelight and lead from thepack, drawing on leadership from severaldifferent churches. He envisioned thesestadium events as a vehicle for relation-ship-building to get pastors together rela-tionally for Tidewater. Some caught thevision; others were staunchly opposed. Itwas certainly a landmark event forAndrew when the man he considered his

t h e E n v o y 9

key opponent recently approached himhumbly and contritely, wanting to estab-lish a Jonathan and David-type ofcovenantal relationship.

Andrew resists the “networker” title thatmany people feel applies to him. He does-n’t maintain a database to spread his influ-ence throughout the area. Rather, he seeseach pastor as a gatekeeper of Tidewaterin his own right, and he encourages gath-erings without designated leaders wherepastors come together to pray and build

relationships.

There are many facets toAndrew Arroyo’s life, andanother new one this yearhas been his transition tofatherhood. He describeshis year-old daughter,Heidi, as “a firecrackerwho is helping me gettinga handle on reality.” Heand Katie treasure whatshe brings to their family.

Why does Andrew chooseto affiliate with Vanguard?“I’ve had experience indenominations,” he says,“where there is lots ofpolitics and little or norelationship. I wantedrelational accountability. Iwas looking for the essen-tial things a healthychurch reproduces: fel-lowship, accountability,and a ‘net.’ And I valuethe shared resources thatare available throughVanguard.”

As we were bringing ourinterview to a close,Andrew looked at me veryintently and made onevery specific request. “Nomatter what else you say

about me,” he said, “please say this. Fewministers have a real, personal relation-ship with God. We all need to take aminimum of one hour a day when wetake off all our hats and let the Spiritmove…and not in a way that excites us tojump to write a message. We need toexperience the Word for ourselves first.They are His sheep, not ours.” V

Member Spotlight: Andrew Arroyo continued from page 6

Ask a roomful of Christianswhat is involved in plant-ing, or “birthing,” a church,and you’ll probably get anarray of answers. “Leading

people to a saving knowledge of JesusChrist, and helping them grow as disci-ples.” “Developing a core team of peoplewith different gifts, who are committed toa common mission and vision.” “Gatheringtogether in small groups for Bible studyand fellowship.” “Identifying needs andserving our community, impacting our cityand our world with the Gospel.”“Developing effective, powerful worshipservices where people experience thepresence of God and are called toKingdom living.”

These are good answers, and more couldbe added to the list. But the essence ofchurch planting is truly greater than thesum of the parts. Each of the above out-comes can be accomplished withoutbirthing a new church. Evangelistic, para-church, and missions organizations, con-ferences and ministries all address theseneeds and many more. Church planting,however, involves more than just gather-ing a new group of people in a new loca-tion and embracing an ambitious to-do listentitled, “All of the above!”

Church planting begins with something onthe heart of God: a desire in the Father’sheart to lovingly express Himself in a par-ticular way, in a particular place and time,to a particular people. The Father invitesus to participate with Him today in theongoing miracle of incarnation, to see theWord “fleshed out” and coming to dwellamong humans in fresh ways that speakour language and transform our world(see John 1:14-18). Just as the Father firstsent Him (John 20:21), Jesus sends forthHis people, recipients of His fullness,embodying His grace and truth. A newchurch is a fresh corporate expression ofthe living Christ, designed to make knownthe “manifold wisdom of God” (Ephesians3:10) in every dimension of life.

Thus, starting a new church isfirst about “being,” andonly then about “doing.” Anew church must be “born” of the Spirit,

Birthing a Church

10 t h e E n v o y

by Doug FikeApostolic Team Member

on to fullmaturity

not simply “organized” into existence.Organization is certainly important, andanyone who has ever been involved inchurch planting knows that there is alwaysmuch to be done! Demographics, budgets,buildings, ministry models, and strategicplans play an important role in starting anew church, but we must not let themovershadow the heart of the matter. Anew church is first of all a new life. It isintended to be full of healthy KingdomDNA that reflects both the divine imprintof its Father and the unique identity ofthose whom God has called to partnerwith Him in bringing forth His newKingdom identity.

Like Mary, we may wonder, “How can thisbe?” How can a new incarnation of thebody of Christ be “born” through us, lim-ited and flawed as we are? The angel’sanswer to Mary reveals the genius ofGod’s plan, echoing through the centuriesas the Word continues to become fleshand dwell among us: “The Holy Spirit willcome upon you, and the power of theMost High will overshadow you; and sothe holy Thing which shall be born of youwill be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35Amplified).

Thus, a new church begins with concep-tion by the Holy Spirit, at God’s initiative,and grows into a new corporate expres-sion of Jesus among men. A specific groupof persons who were “not a people”become “the people of God,” a localexpression of the biblical “people forGod’s own possession” that comprise theuniversal Church of Jesus Christ (I Peter2:9-10). The Spirit of God conceives andbrings forth an ekklesia, a “community ofcalled out ones,” then works in and

among the believers to enable us to “growup in all aspects into Him, who is theHead, even Christ” (Ephesians 4:15).

Whatever the church planting model,methodology, or philosophy chosen in agiven setting, these fundamental dynamicsmust be central if the outcome is indeedto be a living, healthy expression of theBody of Christ. As in the birth ofa human baby, a new churchprogresses through stages—conception, gestation, birth,infancy, childhood, and soon to full maturity. Each of thesestages is critical, and must be understoodand stewarded in its own right.

Just as we have come to value factorsaffecting the healthy prenatal developmentof a child, so we must learn to invest inand care for an emerging church while itis still in the prenatal stages.Unfortunately, the conception and gesta-tion stages of a new church are often themost neglected, precisely because theyinvolve a good bit of “being” work,whereas we tend to be more comfortablewith the “doing” orientation of the birthand early childhood stages.

During the pre-conception (“Shall we havea child?”) and conception stages, the DNAis being formed. Motives, core values, andphilosophy of ministry questions are para-mount. God’s direction must be sought,and the spiritual foundations for the futurechurch laid in health and obedience. “Arewe ready to carry the responsibility ofbringing a new life into the world? Havewe wrestled with what kind of family weare called to be?” Moreover, a church bornout of rebellion, reaction, fear, or pride

will carry a flawed DNA which will mostassuredly continue to show up in futuresplits and conflicts.

Once pregnancy has been confirmed andthe mother has begun to “show,” thebehind-the-scenes work of prayer, rela-tional transformation, addressing leadershipand authority issues, refining team motives,team-building, working on shared philoso-phy of ministry and core values, andpreparing a spiritual “home” for the com-ing child (prayer walking, spiritual warfare,worship) are easily pushed aside in therush to “go public.” Unlike natural preg-nancy, the gestation stage of church plant-ing can indeed be accelerated. However,rushing the process during which duringthe new church’s substance must be“formed in secret” usually results in dys-functions that later become quite painfullypublic. Such offspring eventually spawn ahost of dysfunctional children unless God’srefining and redemption are allowed tocleanse and heal to the very core.

As tempting as it may be to just “get onwith it” (induced labor? C-section?), carry-ing the child until the “fullness of time”(full-term in God’s economy) will have adirect bearing on the baby’s health. And,although a child can be delivered in a sta-ble with no outside assistance, it is usuallywise to have the assistance of an experi-enced obstetrician or midwife each step ofthe way.

As is the case in real childbirth, sometimescircumstances prevent this ideal scenariofrom unfolding, but the challenge remainsto do everything we can to ensure thebirth of a healthy child and give it everypossibility for a rich and fruitful life. V

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Birthing a Church continued from page 8

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