The more (I begin to) understand the American mindset regarding church planting, the clearer it becomes that many (not all) of us? Cousins? They differ from us in the concept of success. How do we know when we reach it? How can we evaluate if we have planted successfully? Some think that the? Magic number? it is not less than 200. Some think more, few think less. Some believe that a plantation should not start with fewer than 70 people and, again, others differ on this point. Do most agree that giving birth to a new baby seems easier? what? revitalize? an existing church in difficulty. Almost 100% believe that the city will be won through “small groups”. Everyone is afraid of the word “failure”, even if they talk like it doesn’t really matter. Everyone wants to be successful. As one person told me, “I won’t feel like I’ve done anything until I’ve done it in the context of church planting. ” I’ve been told that if you haven’t done it while you’re 40 in New York City, you have to get out there and make way. It seems that it is also the way to plant churches. I vividly remember a young man who introduced himself to me as a “church leaders coach. ” I was 21 years old. I resisted the urge to laugh at him.
These are exciting times, but also dangerous times to plant a church. I have been doing this for over a decade and I still feel ignorant. However, children leave high school thinking they have understood all this. Others see the Mark Driscolls of the world and imagine that emulating the expressive growth of their church will make them “famous. ” The problem is not that big in the UK. If anything, it is the opposite, although there is a growing clamor for church planting. Here, young people no longer want to enter the pastorate and no one can blame them. Dying churches cling to dying traditions, waiting for young people to come in and maintain the status quo. This is why church planting seems like an exciting proposition for many. But I’m afraid that by letting successful young men go crazy on this stage, we could (a) harm them and others, and (b) lose a lot of experience from godly men who have worked for centuries. years in the ministry. Maybe these men don’t look? and “modern”, but they have fought at the altar of sacrifice and suffering and may have something to contribute to the church.
- Personally.
- I learned my craft for three years before establishing my first church in Brazil.
- Then I began to revitalize the work here in Niddrie.
- When people ask me to evaluate the success I have had.
- I give them this answer: The fact that during these 15 years I am still in love with Jesus and always in the ministry is in itself a miracle of power.
- And God’s grace of support in my life.
- I have never been pastor of churches with more than 80 members.
- But the two churches they have established/revitalized have grown dramatically in terms of growing teams.
- Leadership and community outreach.
- Above all.
- However.
- I have tried to be faithful to the gospel and pay attention to Jesus’ commandment: preach the word.
- Baptize.
- And empower the disciples of my care.
- For me.
- Fidelity to God in the face of my difficulties is much more important than people who wonder whether or not I achieve it (at least that’s what I like to tell me.
- That’s sometimes true.
- At my best).
- !).
I think Genesis 6: 9-22 is very instructive in this regard. Think of poor Noah when he finally entered the ark. Here’s a man who has had a difficult ministry. He preached the Word of God for more than 100 years and only his family joined him. How complicated must it have been? Can you imagine it at some of the church planting conferences today? I can tell you one thing: he wouldn’t be the keynote speaker, would he? “Come and listen to my seminar on how to preach without ceasing without any fruit. ” What advice do you think he would get from his fellow planters? They would laugh behind your back. They would call Noah an idiot, overwhelmed, fundamentalist, and reductionist. Perhaps he had benefited from a “stimulating group”? in the ark? It would attract young people in some way. Maybe more time should have passed? with culture, rather than warning against it? Perhaps I should have invited more people to dine on the ark? Did you even try to have a small missionary group? off the field? Maybe I should have spent more time listening and less preaching? Perhaps I should have given leadership to a younger man with new ideas and new perspectives? Sadly, the truth is that Noah would be a failure in many of our 21st century approaches to success and church planting. Could it be the man who would be in the section? of the Church Planting Manual. And yet we read these Words of God in Hebrews 11: 7:
By faith, Noah, divinely instructed of events that had not yet been seen and fearful of God, equipped an ark for the salvation of his house; so he condemned the world and became heir to the justice that comes from faith.
It is your faith that God has praised, not your supposed “success. ” He built the ark to “be afraid. ” His faith in God meant that he continued even in the face of indifference, hostility, doubt, and contempt. I know how I feel when I preach with my heart on Sundays and people despise me. Or when I share the gospel with someone and they are too blind and hard to see the truth. It hurts me. It makes me question myself and my vocation. And this man has been doing this for over 100 years! Year after year; sow, but not reap (at least not in terms of land). Our understanding of Old Testament characters is often very one-dimensional. Don’t you think this man could have wept in frustration? Don’t you think he could have cried with his wife for the people who died around him? I bet he didn’t keep working on the ark every day with a song in his heart while the people around him laughed at him and laughed at his post. Don’t you think that for a minute a question crossed your mind? Like I’m doing something wrong? Or that he misheard God? Or maybe you were tempted to soften the message a bit? And yet here he is, heir to justice, exalted as an example of what a true servant of Jesus is like. And I can’t help but think that this stands out as a red flag for much of our results-oriented Christianity. I truly believe that our God values our faithfulness to his commandments more than the results generated by his Holy Spirit. Read this sentence and think about it. Our loyalty is not even ours, so we can claim it. Likewise, our successes, when they occur, belong to God. It all depends on him.
Now, the problem we have in the UK is finding the balance between persevering in faith when a department is trying to get fruit and ending up with something we are too blind and too proud to realize is the time. The latter is the problem for many residents. We have many dying churches that certainly think they are faithful to God, but who simply depend on their own traditions and ways of doing things. They believe that if they continue to do what they’re already doing, then people will magically start showing up but they’re wrong. They have the idea that as long as we “preach the gospel, they will come. “But they’re wrong. They have forgotten that the Great Commission does not invite people to come, it tells us to leave. Fortunately, we have the old church centered on the gospel, although warriors fight there with overwhelming needs in very difficult areas. Pray that you will remain faithful like Noah.
Subdivisions in Scotland are generally not fertile ground for ‘mega-churches’, but they are ready for the growth of small committed churches that, when joined, can have a profound impact on our generation, but what we need are faithful men and women. We need planters who have a 20-year plan instead of the 3, we need people to come where no one else wants to, so that they get their hands dirty in slow and painful ministries with a lot of internal and external opposition. workers with a track record of loyalty and non-impressive resumes that list their many successes. We need young people with fresh heads and owls, wise and old. We need people who love Jesus and the gospel.
Noah built an ark in a desert and people thought it was crazy to do it. We need more Noah to build his ministries in Scottish developments. One of the most common questions I get is: How do I know if I’m going to Go to The Answer?I have no idea. I know people will think you’re crazy when you do that, they’ll smile at you, but inside they think it can’t be done, but if we just want to proclaim Christ with firmness, faith, holy fear, and perseverance, maybe we won’t make it?in the eyes of the world, but, like Noah, one day we can become heirs to Christ’s righteousness and hear these sweet words: “Well, good and faithful servant. “We have a chance, in life, so let’s take advantage of it and let the Lord take care of the rest.
By: Mez McConnell. © 20 diagrams. Website: 20schemes. com. Translated with permission. Source: How do I know if I can establish a church?
Original: How do I know if I am successful as a church planter? © Faithful to the department. Website: MinisterioFiel. com. br. All rights reserved. Translation: Camila Rebeca Teixeira. Review: André Alosio Oliveira da Silva.