Sunday, December 27, 2009

Staff effectiveness

I like check list and Don Cousins has generate four different list for measuring the effectiveness of a church. Following is his listing for evaluating staff, individual or multiple

"When seeking to measure the effectiveness of the “staff” ask the following:

- Are those in leadership positions functioning as equippers?
- Are additional leaders being raised up and developed within ministry?
- Is the ministry expanding because newly developed leaders are being deployed in additional leadership roles?
- Are more and more servers (those meeting needs) being identified, developed, and engaged in ministry service?
- Is the ministry increasing in its impact because more servers are actively involved in serving?"

(Cousins, Don, Experiencing LeaderShift, David Cook, 2008, pg 140-141)

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Measure the effectiveness of the elders.

Don Cousins in "Experiencing LeaderShift" gives four questions to be asked in regards to evaluating the effectiveness of the elders.

- "Throughout the ministries, services and programs of the church , is the teaching of the Word accurate, anointed, and applicable to life?

- Is the church covered and bathed in prayer?

- Can the Spirit move freely because we're untied and free from the consequences of sin?

- Is the church operating as a true body, fulfilling it biblically stated purpose to one another and the unsaved world?

An important note here: The board doesn't serve as representatives of the congregation. It is not their role or responsibility to represent the people's views or to guarantee that their desires are met. Elders are to serve as representatives of God to the people and to lead the people into obedience to what God says."

(Cousins, Don, Experiencing LeaderShift, David Cook, 2008, pg 136)

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Twitter Bible

Yes, now you can have a "Twitter Bible". Todd Rhodades from MMI talks about this new Bible. It seems to change the mean of whole Bible.

new so-called “Twitter Bible,” which summarizes the over 31,000-verse Bible into nearly 4,000 short-form tweets, is being released at the Frankfurt Book Fair this week.

According to The Christian Post, this project was formerly named And God Decided to Chill. The German language book is the compilation of tweets by more than 3,000 German Christians who participated in the church project earlier this year.

In honor of the Pentecost holiday, German Christians used the micro-blogging service Twitter to summarize 3,906 Bible sections into 140 character messages, according to Berlin-based newspaper “The Local.” Though the project was scheduled for May 20-30, it was completed 37 hours ahead of schedule and achieved a world record.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Do Denomations Have a Future

Discussion abounds regard the need for or against denominations. Ed Stetzer piped in on the subjected and said,

Two Faulty Assumptions about Denominations

  1. Denominations are a necessary or even integral part of the mission of God.
  2. Attempting to interpret the role of denominations in the life of the local church apart from the Missio Dei (the mission of God)

Denominations might not be necessary, but they are valuable. They are good tools to be used in the mission of the church.

Why Denominations Do Have a Future

  1. Denominations are inevitable. (Whether positively – for missional cooperation, or negatively – for tribal self-preservation)
  2. Younger evangelicals are looking for a sense of rootedness in a fragmented society. (Young, Restless, Reformed / Emerging Church / Deep Church / Ancient-Future / Worship)
  3. Churches that belong to denominations have confessional systems and accountability that ground them in orthodoxy.

What Kind of Denominationalism is Desirable?

  1. We want to see denominations that are missional as opposed to tribal.
  2. We want to see denominations based on confessional consensus.
  3. We want to see denominations that value methodological diversity.
  4. We want to see denominations that assist local churches, not vice versa.

Why I am staying in our denomination:

  • I believe what we believe.
  • Churches that belong to denominations are the primary agents of global evangelization.
  • Diverse leadership environments stretch me.
  • Because God led me to.
  • Denominational affiliation is not just about me.
Read the complete blog here

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Seminary education

Bob Thune, in Omaha, has a great post about seminary education. Some may not like it but it is worth pondering. Here are some bullet statements that he made. You can read the entire article article here.


So I’m not denying the importance of sound, rigorous theological training. I’m simply questioning whether seminary is the place to get it. Here are some of my concerns:

  • Seminary pulls pastors “off the streets” for 3 or 4 years to isolate them in a sterile academic environment. While this might be great for paper-writing, it’s really bad for missional living.
  • The nature of the business means that seminaries are always juggling the best interests of students, faculty, donors, and accrediting agencies. These players are never in agreement, which means that no one is ever happy.
  • Seminaries seek to accomplish theological training apart from immersion in a local church. Though most require their students to be active in a church, seminaries tend to be a breeding ground for Monday-morning-theologians who want to critique the church rather than serve it.
  • Because professors are pressured to publish and gain tenure, the classes they teach are often little more than laboratories for their latest projects. One seminary student in our church told me that every one of his classes this semester uses a book written by the professor.
  • Seminaries have to pay the bills, which means it’s in their best interests to keep students around as long as possible. Seminaries continue to promote the M.Div. as the “flagship” degree – even though a 2-year M.A. with well-chosen electives is often just as good, and about $15,000 cheaper.
  • Seminary graduates tend to exit with heads full of theology, but without worshipful hearts or authentic relationships with non-Christians. I am aware this is an over-generalization. But unfortunately it’s an accurate one.
  • Because of a seminary’s need to cater to a diverse student body, most seminaries can’t offer a truly systematic theological education. Students end up having to piece together the fragmented bits of data they’ve accumulated in so many haphazard, out-of-sequence courses. The idea of a cohesive “body of learning” is all but lost in the modern academy.

Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Results oriented thinking

I enjoy this story by Elisabeth Elliot, "One day Jesus said to his disciples: "I'd like you to carry a stone for me." He didn't give any explanation. So the disciple looked around for a stone to carry, and Peter, being the practical sort, sought out the smallest stone he could possibly find. After all, Jesus didn't give any regulations for weight and size! So he put it in his pocket. Jesus then said: "Follow Me." He led them on a journey. About noontime Jesus had everyone sit down. He waved his hands an all the stones turned to bread. He said, "now it's time for lunch." In a few seconds, Peter's lunch was over. When lunch was done Jesus told them to stand up. He said again, "I'd like you to carry a stone for Me." This time Peter said, "Aha! Now I get it!" So he looked around and saw a small boulder. He hoisted it on his back and it was painful, it made his stagger. But he said, "I can't wait for supper." Jesus then said "Follow Me." He led them on a journey, with Peter barely being able to keep up. Around supper time Jesus led them to the side of a river. He said, "Now everyone throw your stones into the water." They did. Then he said, "Follow Me." and began to walk. Peter and the others looked at him dumbfounded. Jesus sighed and said, "Don't you remember what I asked you to do?" Who were you carrying the stone for?"

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Wesley's Small Group questions

John Wesley's Small Group Questions:

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?

2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?

3. Do I confidentially pass onto another what was told me in confidence?

4. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work , or habits?

5. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?

6. Did the Bible live in me today?

7. Do I give it time to speak to me everyday?

8. Am I enjoying prayer?

9. When did I last speak to someone about my faith?

10. Do I pray about the money I spend?

11. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?

12. Do I disobey God in anything?

13. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?

14. Am I defeated in any part of my life?

15. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?

16. How do I spend my spare time?

17. Am I proud?

18. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisee who despised the publican?

19. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I going to do about it?

20. Do I grumble and complain constantly?

21. Is Christ real to me?

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Invation reception

The percentage of American adults who are somewhat or very willing to receive information about a local congregation from:

Personal conversation with a family member ... 63%

Personal conversation with a

friend or neighbor from church ...................... 56%

Newspaper ads ............................................... 46%

Letters mailed to the home ............................. 45%

Television ads ................................................. 40%

A visit to their door .......................................... 24%

LifeWay Research North American Mission Board.

Monday, July 13, 2009

Kansas City Kansas


Today, July 13 Curtis Young pulled his car filled with his belongings into Kansas City to begin the great work of planting a gospel centered, missional focused, kingdom minded church that reproduces. The Kansas City area has 11 communities that are growing at a rate greater than 10%. While there are some wonderful churches in Kansas City, KS only 10% of the people attend an Evangelical church. Please join me in praying for God to draw people to Himself using Curtis to proclaim a clear gospel message.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

Sunday School Study

Kent Schaffer has an interesting article about the benefit or lack of benefit of children going to Sunday School. While I have some questions about the study, it does cause me to evaluate and ponder how we are currently doing Sunday School in most of our churches. Take a minute or two and read the article.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Church and community

"This church across the street has been here sixteen years. In the whole time it has been here, I a have never seen this church do anything to improve the community. The church hasn't tried to improve the poverty situation, hasn't tried to feed the hungry, and hasn't tried to make anything better in the world right next door to it. Why would I want to be a par of that church?"

These are comments record in face-to-face interviews in "Lost and Found" by Ed Stetzer. As I read those words I wonder what I am I doing for my next door neighbours? What would people say about the church I belong to?

I grew up in a church with the attitude that you knock on the door and try to share Christ with them. If they don't listen, to bad for them and go to the next person. In college my evangelism class required that we pass 100 tracts out a week to the same homes. I did what was asked, but was in such a rush to get the job done that there was no results. I was only interested in getting the class requirements finished. The other method that was used was invited them though mass media and they will come.

What is your church doing for the next door neighbour?

Monday, June 8, 2009

Spiritual sitcom or depth?

Are churches a spiritual sitcom? A sitcom presents a problem, some humour and ends in thirty minutes with a solution. Sermons can go the same way, A great illustration that brings a smile, a problem addressed, and a simple solution is given all in thirty minutes. Walk away and have no more questions because I just gave you the answer. While I agree the Bible gives all we need for "life and godliness" there are time we wrestle with understanding what it means and how it applies. We can't explain eschatology in 30 minutes leaving no questions. We can't resolve election and freewill by a few wonderful verses that support our view. We can't explain why a nine year old boys life was ended when a toolbox fell crushing his head in a few simple lines. Do we allow people to wrestle with scripture? Do we let people know we garble with scripture because we don't have all the answers?

Some great thoughts taken from Lost and Found, by Ed Stetzer

"Here are a few practical 'take-aways' that will help cultivate depth in your ministry.
- Teach the entire Bible, even the difficult sections.
- Foster discussion in Bible Study and teaching.
- Address tough topics and answer difficult questions.
- Do no be afraid to say, 'I don't know'
- Empower everyone to look for answers.
- Place a priority on Scripture memorization.
- Distribute the responsibility of spiritual growth to both leaders and learners.
- Provide opportunities to learn about worldview and other regions.
- Make apologetics a priority.
- Provide exegetical Bible teaching.
- Sing theologically sound music.
- Promote life application to Scripture.
- Establish climates of honesty and openness.
- Provide multiple bible study options per week.
- Encourage examination.
- Pray

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Thoughs about the unchurched

I am currently reading “Lost and Found” by Ed Stetzer, Richie Stanley and Jason Hayes. This morning as I read in it I was challenged by some of the data.


Here is one chart that was listed in the book. (pg 38)

“What Can Churches do?

“If a church presented truth to me in an understandable way that relates to my life now, I would attend. 63% agreed.

“If people at church cared about me as a person, I would be more likely to attend. 58% agreed.

“I would be willing to join a small group of people to learn more about the Bible and Jesus. 46% agreed.

“If music at church sounded similar to my favorite type of music, I would be more likely to attend. 31% agreed.”

Just from these questions and responses it is clear that keeping a focus on a clear gospel message has a great impact. The great “show” is not the answer. We seem to put a high priority on music yet, while important, it is not the answer.


Another statement on page 43 said that 77% of those surveyed “think Christianity today is more about organized religion than about loving God and loving people.”


One last comment about the Christians reputation. When asked, do Christians get on your nerves, 46% agreed that Christians do get on their nerves.


How does the unchurched person see my life?

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Are the unchurched willing to hear about Christ?

I am currently reading the book, "Lost and Found" by Ed Stetzer, Richie Stanley and Jason Hayes. In their study they made a statement that is very encouraging. Here is what he said on page 37, "Almost 90 percent of the unchurched twenty to twenty nine year olds said they would be willing to listen if someone wanted to tell them about Christianity.
"The stakes are raised when a friend talks to an unchurched person. Three our of five younger unchurched respondents agreed they would be willing to study the Bible if a friend asked them to do so.
"The Christian conversion of a friend may directly impact an unchurched person. Just under half of the unchurched in their twenties agreed that a friend becoming a Christian would have a positive effect on their relationship."

Keep sharing the gospel message.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Changing times

Take a look at this video. My question is how are we impacting this changing world with the unchanging gospel message.


Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Question evanglism results?

Gary Rohrmayer has a great post regarding evangelism. It is worth reading.

Church Planting Books

Ed Stetzer published a great list of books about church planting. Here is Ed Stetzer's list

The books:

Allen, Roland. Missionary Methods, St. Paul's or Ours? Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1962.

Though not directly related to North American church planting, this is a seminal book in missiology. Allen posits that the key to evangelizing the world is the adoption of "Paul's strategy." Paul relied on trained lay leadership as pastors and elders. Allen's prescriptions can be applied to the North American scene with the development of lay church planting strategies. His focus on the Holy Spirit's role is also key to fostering church planting movements today.


Amstutz, Harold E. Church Planter's Manual. Cherry Hill, NJ: Association of Baptists for World Evangelism, Inc., 1985.

This book starts as a standard manual with forms, procedures, policies, and the like. The second part of the book then provides five examples of planting situations. Each of these examples is taken from international fields but have application to North American contexts.


Becker, Paul. Dynamic Church Planting.
Vista, CA: Multiplication Ministries, 1992.

DCP is a three-ring binder/workbook (not a paperback or hardback). It is intended as a guide for a church planter to move through the planting process sequentially. It includes a large section of checklists for the plant. It is a helpful resource for church planters looking for a step-by-step guide.


Becker, Paul. Dynamic Daughter Church Planting. Vista, CA: Multiplication Ministries, 1996.

This is the only book of its kind and is much needed. It provides church planting churches with the step-by-step guide that they need to reproduce themselves. If you are planting a daughter church, you need this resource.


Brock, Charles. Indigenous Church Planting. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1981.

Brock's resources are time-tested and valuable. However, they do reflect a paradigm used more frequently in decades past. His ideas often come from his years of church planting in the Philippines among tribal people. As such, they will often relate well in a lower socio-economic bracket in North America, but not to all contexts. The greatest value will be for indigenous lay persons seeking to plant churches in center cities or rural North America.


Bunch, David, Jarvey Kneisel and Barbara Oden. Multihousing Congregations: How to Start and Grow Christian Congregations in Multihousing Communities. Atlanta, GA: Smith Publishing, 1991.

This resource is the only widely published resource available on planting churches in multi-housing congregations (in apartment buildings, trailer parks, etc). Since the vast majority of residents will only be reached by a ministry based inside the multi-housing facility, this is an essential resource. Although multi-housing ministry has declined in visibility in the last decade, the ministry remains essential since 60% of unchurched North America lives in multi-housing settings.


Chaney, Charles L. Church Planting at the End of the Twentieth Century. Wheaton, Il: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1993.

In the early nineties, Chaney's book was the best available resource on the topic of North American church planting. Since it is out of print, it has been largely replaced by Malphur's church planting book. The most recent revision adds contemporary methods like the "big start." This is one of the five best books specifically related to planting.


Cheyney, Tom, J. David Putman and Van Sanders, eds. Seven Steps for Planting Churches. Alpharetta, GA: North American Mission Board, SBC, 2003.

This resource is a small book that contains a seven-step process for planting a church. The steps are principle driven ("enlist a team" rather than "start a cell group," etc.) It answers, in a simple and practical way, "how" to get started. Since I am constantly asked by prospective planters, "If I want to start a church, how would I do it?," this book is a good starter resource for them. The authors are clear that it is only intended as an introductory piece and they offer suggestions of where to go deeper. This book can be downloaded free from www.churchplantingvillage.net.


Comiskey, Joel. Planting Churches that Reproduce. Moreno Valley, CA: CCS Publishing Company, 2009.

Planting a "church planting church" is often promised and rarely implemented for many in the world of church planting. In the search for a model that is culturally effective and highly reproducible, Comiskey has offered a level-headed approach to house and cell church planting. His book offers a guide to the "root system" of a new church and how simplicity leads to high reproducibility. (Full disclosure: I wrote the foreword.)


Conn, Harvie, M. ed. Planting and Growing Urban Churches: From Dream to Reality. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1996.

Conn's book is not a "how-to" resource for urban planting. It is an advocacy book, not a practitioner's book. If taken as advocacy, it does well. Conn points out the importance of having an urban strategy to reach the burgeoning inner cities of the world.


Dale, Felicity. Getting Started: A Practical Guide to House Church Planting. Karis Publishing, Inc., 2003.

There are many house church books out there. (I list many of them in the house church section of www.newchurches.com.) This one is unique in that is provides a clear and reproducible (dare I say "simple") method for planting churches that meet in homes. As Felicity describes it, anyone can do it, which, is sort of her point!


Faircloth, Samuel D. Church Planting for Reproduction. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1991.

Faircloth's book starts as a survey oriented textbook, but quickly becomes a systematic church planting strategy. It is not geared toward North American planting, but this is not a shortcoming. This is one of the few principle-oriented books available that relate to North American planting. In this case, Faircloth calls his system PERT (a system of Program Evaluation and Review Technique). Regardless of the terminology, this is an important missiological resource for discerning North American planters.


Francis, Hozell C. Church Planting in the African American Context. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000.

Hozell's book is one of the most recent texts published in church planting. It is a valuable resource in a field with limited literature. Unlike the other texts dealing with African-American church planting, Hozell actually focuses less on the mechanics of planting and more on the sociology of the African-American church (preaching, ministry, leadership, etc.). These are helpful materials, but further study of "how to" plant in the African-American context would add to the strength of the book.


Galloway, Dale and Warren Bird. Starting a New Church: How to Plant a High-Impact Church.
Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press, 2003.

Galloway and Bird are veterans to church growth. Their new resource is about planting "large" churches using contemporary methodologies. It comes as a manual with a CD, but it is a little pricey (about $100). If I was planning on using contemporary outreach methods like direct mail, seeker-sensitive worship, and contemporary worship, I would invest in the resource before I invested thousands more in an outreach campaign.


Griffith, Jim and Bill Easum. Ten Most Common Mistakes Made by Church Starts. Chalice Press, 2008.

Griffith and Easum are professional advice givers though their writing and coaching. But, more importantly, their advice is good. This book points out the most common mistakes--but also proposes good solutions to avoid (or work through) them.


Harris, Richard H., compiler. Reaching a Nation through Church Planting. Alpharetta, GA: North American Mission Board, SBC, 2002.

Richard Harris is the Vice President of Church Planting for the North American Mission Board (Southern Baptist). For this book, he assembled several high profile leaders and several church planting experts and asked them to "write what they know." Thus, the book covers a broad landscape from town and country planting, to postmodern, to being a mother church, to mentoring planters. Since the authors are so diverse, they bring a great spread of knowledge and experience. This was not intended as a "how-to book," but rather is a "why we should" book that does a good job answering that question in a multitude of contexts. The book is also available for download from www.churchplantingvillage.net.


Herron, Fred. Expanding God's Kingdom through Church Planting. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse, 2003.

Herron is from a Vineyard background and that is reflected in his writing. The Vineyard folks have done a great job in church planting and Herron demonstrates why with this effective book. He lays out a thorough church planting strategy with lots of detail and helpful suggestions.


Hesselgrave, David J. Planting Churches Cross-Culturally: North America and Beyond, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 2000.

Hesselgrave's book is a step-by-step guide to planting a church in a culture different from one's own. Though systematic, it avoids being simplistic. Instead, each step is explained in practice and in theory. This is the most valuable resource available for cross-cultural planting.


Hiebert, Paul G. and Eloise Hiebert Meneses. Incarnational Ministry: Planting Churches in Band, Tribal, Peasant, and Urban Societies. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing House, 1995.

On the surface, this book would have little to do with North American church planting. Understandably, its primary focus is planting in the developing world. However, it is a not a book about methods or biblical underpinnings. It is about the sociological structures that make up a society. Since the book's primary focus is urban societies, it provides great discernment for inner-city planters seeking to understand the urban context.


Hurn, Raymond W. The Rising Tide: New Churches for the New Millennium. Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press, 1997.

Hurn is former superintendent of the Nazarene denomination and this text is geared toward Nazarenes. One strength of the book is the historical overview of Nazarene church planting. The book is primarily an advocacy work.


Jackson, John. High Impact Church Planting: You Can Lead a Harvest Directed Ministry. Visionquest Ministries, 2000.

I had mixed feelings about High Impact Church Planting. The book was self-published and has too many errors in it (for example, Gallup never said there were 195 million unchurched, etc) and lacks the proper footnotes (no reference on many stats), and I disagree with several parts (you don't need $100-200K to start a high impact church). However, it is a good primer to help church planters who want to plant churches that start with over 200 (Jackson's idea of a high impact church plant). It is short (95 pages) and includes a large number of appendices (examples from the author's church).


Jones, Ezra E. Strategies for New Churches. New York: Harper and Row, 1976.

Jones writes about church planting from a mainline denominational perspective. The book was ahead of its time, particularly in its attempts to quantify personality characteristics in effective planters (as Ridley has done today). Unfortunately, it is not up to date with today's technologies and strategies.


Jones, Tom, ed. Church Planting from the Ground Up. Joplin, MO: College Press, 2004.

Here is a brief excerpt from my foreword to Tom's book: I have always found learning practical skills from theorists to be an odd thing. Hearing experts on church planting and growth who have never planted and grown a church always seemed strange. I prefer to learn about carpentry from carpenters. Church Planting from the Ground Up is just that--a wealth of wisdom from a diversity of practitioners.


Keller, Tim and J. Allen Thompson. Church Planting Manual. Redeemer Church Planting Center, New York, 2002.

Keller and Thompson. What more can you say? Thompson was writing on church planting movements when I was in grade school. Keller is helping lead a movement of church planting and city transformation. This is an excellent resource. It is a workbook, not the typical book, so it has projects and assignments to work though. It also has an urban focus that is appropriate for their passion.


King, Fred G. The Church Planter's Training Manual. Camp Hill, PA: Christian Publications, 1992.

This is a manual / book primarily geared at church planters in the Christian and Missionary Alliance Church with a small amount of universally applicable material. It consists of articles, forms and examples. It will not be of great value to the non-CMA planter.


Lewis, Larry L. The Church Planter's Handbook. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1993.

Lewis is former president of the SBC Home Mission Board and now involved in the Mission America project. He is an experienced planter. Though the book is out of date technologically and methodologically, it provides excellent resources related to time management and the priority of evangelism in church planting.


Logan, Robert E., Be Fruitful and Multiply. ChurchSmart Resources, 2006.

Here is a brief excerpt from my foreword to Bob's book: There is little that is done in North American church planting leadership that was not developed or influenced by Bob Logan. Few realize that before his keen insights and organizational acumen, church planters did not go through assessment, boot camps, and coaching networks. Why did Bob do these things? Because he cares about church planting and church planters... For thirty years we have taken baby steps toward true biblical church planting--but books like these will help us break through to movements.


Logan, Robert E. Beyond Church Growth. Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1989.

Though the title can be misleading, the book is a great resource for church planting. It provides resources for all churches, but is a great supplement for Logan's "Church Planter's Toolkit" available from www.churchsmart.com (the best widely-available resource). Bob Logan is the most significant church planting leader in the last 50 years and every church planter needs to be aware of his writings and his toolkit (see below).


Logan, Robert E. and Steven L. Ogne. Church Planter's Toolkit. Pasadena, CA: ChurchSmart Resources (www.churchsmart.com), 1995.

The Toolkit is the most widely known resource in North American church planting today. It is a twelve-tape series that provides guidance through each step of planting a high impact North American church. It is widely known because there is no other resource as effective for practical preparation. Its two disadvantages are that it is only available in tape format and Logan is a bit dry in his presentation (though the content makes up for that).


MacNair, Donald J. The Birth, Care and Feeding of a Local Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1976.

As can be guessed from the publishing date, this book is out of date. Redford's book is equally dated, but it provides the same resource information with more clarity. The section on "Locating Seed Families" is probably the only part of the book that would be helpful for planting today.


Mannoia, Kevin. Church Planting: The Next Generation. Indianapolis, IN: Light and Life Communication, 1994.

Mannoia provides a "systems" book. He describes the system of his denomination (Free Methodist) which mirrors that used by many others (and created by Bob Logan, see above). Mannoia divides the system into the following categories: Parent Church Network, Profile Assessment System, New Church Incubator, Recruitment Network, Pastor Factory, Church Planter's Summit, Maturing Church Cluster, Strategic Planning Network, Harvest 1000, and the Meta-Church Network. This will be a particularly helpful resource for groups and denominations that do not have a church planting system.


McNamara, Roger N. A Practical Guide to Church Planting. Cleveland, OH: Baptist Mid-Missions. 1985.

McNamara is writing from the perspective of starting an independent Baptist church in the fundamentalist tradition. The book is very detailed and provides example constitutions, services, etc. It will be of limited use to others.


Malphurs, Aubrey. Planting Growing Churches for the 21 Century: A Comprehensive Guide for New Churches and Those Desiring Renewal, 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1998.

Malphur's book is the most commonly used church planting text in academia. The book is often accused of being too focused on large church planting with large mother churches. However, this is the best resource available. (I am a little biased since I wrote a study guide on the book, available at www.seminaryextension.org.) Aubrey tells me that he is working on a third edition that will incorporate more strategic planning information. This will make the book even stronger.


Moore, Ralph. Starting a New Church: The Church Planter's Guide to Success. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2002.

Ralph is the founder of the Hope Chapel movement and currently pastors a Hope Chapel in Hawaii. The book is packed filled with good ideas and practical advice. He writes as a seasoned church planter dispensing advice to new church planters. I particularly like the chapters on relationships. Also, the section on teaching and preaching is a necessary corrective to some trends in church planting today. This is a great book.


Moorhouse, Carl W. Growing New Churches: Step-by-Step Procedures in New Church Planting. Chicago: Standard Publishing Company, 1975.

Moorhouse provides a workbook-like text that is primarily made up of example forms, publications, and brochures. It is out of date.


Murray, Stuart. Church Planting: Laying Foundations.
Scottsdale, PA: Herald Press, 2001.

The author explains, "This book is not a training manual. It does not engage with all the practicalities of church planting. But it is written for practitioners rather than hearers." This is an excellent work that, I hope, will help prompt others to think missiologically and theologically about church planting. The book was originally (1998) available only in Great Britain but now has a North American version. The book is one of the few books that analyzes the criticisms of church planting and gives solid answers (not just refutations). There are some excellent references to postmodern church planting without the typical obsession with "nifty" ideas and methods. I have some theological differences (see Timmons below) but it is a helpful resource.


Nebel, Tom. Big Dreams in Small Places: Church Planting in Smaller Communities. St Charles, IL: ChurchSmart Resources, 2002.

Most church planting books tell the story of church planting in suburban areas. A few address urban contexts. This is the first that address rural areas and it does it well. The book points out some of the unique challenges and opportunities in rural church planting and provides several helpful principles for successful ministry.


Nebel, Tom and Gary Rohrmayer. Church Planting Landmines. ChurchSmart Resources, 2005.

Here is a brief excerpt from my foreword to Church Planting Landmines: Tom Nebel and Gary Rohrmayer have provided a service to the church and her planters. As I read the book, I repeatedly thought, "He is right about that one." In most cases, a former planter came to mind that fit each example... and I was grieved as I thought about each loss. But these losses can serve as the foundation for future church planting success if the courage exists to examine those failures. This book can spare many church planters and teams from stepping on the landmines of ministry--or at least prepare them to respond well when they hit one.


Nevius, John L. Planting and Development of Missionary Churches.
Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1958.

Nevius is not well known in North American church planting for good reason. His influence is primarily found in Korea. However, his ideas influence North American planting. His emphasis on indigenous ministry (three-selfs) helped spark the remarkable growth of the Korean church.


Payne, J.D. Missional House Churches: Reaching Our Communities with the Gospel. Colorado Springs, CO: Paternoster, 2007.

In the North American context on the new millennium, house churches are becoming a more standard model of religious expression than in the previous generations of those on our continent. Payne's book is both a result of careful research and biblical ecclesiology to help us understand the role of the house church within the current church planting environment. Through solid methodological survey work and a keen understanding of the culture, this book will aid us in understanding how this simple model of church planting can influence both the church universal and the world in need of the gospel.

Rainey, Joel. Planting Churches in the Real World. Missional Press, 2008.

Current research shows that church planting is not for those easily discouraged. In Rainey's book, he draws his experience of planting churches and training others to plant. The lessons gleaned from real life experience will aid any planter in assessing themselves, their plan for planting, and how to thrive in the midst of the church planting experience. This is a book about church planting where most of us live. (Full disclosure: I wrote the foreword.)


Ratliff, Joe S. and Michael J. Cox. Church Planting in the African-American Community. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1993.

Church planting is always difficult, but (according to Ratliff and Cox) it is even more so in the African-American community. In the African-American context, church planting is often perceived as an insult to the established church and its pastor. This work is intended for Southern Baptists, but is widely applicable in other situations. It provides advocacy, examples, and practical suggestions.


Reddin, Opal. Planting Churches that Grow. Springfield, MO: Central Bible College Press, 1990.

One of few women (or Pentecostals) writing on the topic of church planting, Redding provides an excellent resource. First, she provides insight into some of the growth in the Pentecostal movement by emphasizing spiritual gifts and the power of the Spirit. Second, she provides some interesting insights into planting churches targeted at cults and new-agers.


Redford, Jack. Planting New Churches. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1978.

Redford's book was, at one time, the most influential book on Southern Baptist Church planting. His "Nine Steps" were the paradigm adopted by the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Though dated, the book is still a valuable resource today for the mother church seeking to start a daughter congregation. Its "steps" should not be followed by the pioneer pastor. Instead, they are intended to be followed by the involved mother church starting a daughter congregation.


Ridley, Charles R. How To Select Church Planters. Pasadena: Fuller Evangelistic Association, 1988.

Ridley's writing and training have become the standard used in North America to evaluate potential church planters. This book, though difficult to find, is the standard writing and should be required reading for everyone who selects church planters.


Roberts, Jr, Bob. The Multiplying Church: The New Math for Starting New Churches. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008.

Bob Roberts asks the question of the Western world: why are we not seeing the rapid expansion of church planting here as is evident in other parts of the world? With his normal wit and excitement about God's kingdom, Roberts unearths the principles of church planting from the early church. Presenting the principles in clear fashion, both the novice and experienced church planter will benefit from these lessons and exhortations from a seasoned veteran. (Full disclosure: I wrote the foreword.)


Romo, Oscar I. American Mosaic Church Planting in Ethnic America. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1993.

Romo describes the current ethnic church planting system in place among Southern Baptists. This system includes ethnic fellowships and intentional ethnic planting and training. He does advocate the need for planting by describing an increasingly pluralistic society. He then provides suggestions and worksheets to develop an ethnic planting strategy.


Sanchez, Daniel R., Ebbie C. Smith, and Curtis E. Watke. Reproducing Congregations: A Guidebook for Contextual New Church Development.
Cumming, GA: Church Starting Network. 2001.

This book is a textbook and has great value for academic use. The authors show a strong grasp of the available literature and it is heavily footnoted. I am a big fan of Dr. Sanchez and his thorough approach comes through. Because it is geared toward an academic setting, it may be too detailed for the average North American church planter. The book covers all of church planting, not just the North American side, so it moves from starting one church, to catalytic roles, to other topics. Honestly, I wish it were two books with more information in each. Dr. Sanchez tells me that they also have PowerPoints and accompanying notebook.


Schaller, Lyle E. Forty-Four Questions for Church Planters. Nashville, TN: Abingdon, 1991.

In Schaller's typical 44 question format, he addresses many surprisingly contemporary issues related to church planting. (The book was published in 1991.) Unlike many how-to books, Schaller uses his question format to explore in-depth the background of many issues.


Scoggins, Dick. Handbook for House Churches.
[on-line], accessed 1 December 1999, http://genesis.acu.edu/cplant/archive/contr036; Internet.

Dick Scoggins and the Rhode Island house churches are the best known home-based church planting movement in North America. The book describes the indigenous church planting methods of Fellowship of Church Planters, a network of house churches in Rhode Island and southern New England. It is the only resource this reviewer knows of that deals with indigenous house churches from a North American perspective.


Searcy, Nelson and Kerick Thomas. Launch: Starting a New Church from Scratch. Regal Books, 2007.

Nelson and Kerrick provide a blueprint for planting contemporary churches using a large launch methodology. The book is highly practical and will be helpful for those planning churches that intend to launch large and grow rapidly.


Shenk, David W. and Ervin R. Stutzman. Creating Communities of the Kingdom: New Testament Models of Church Planting. Scottdale, PA: Herald Press, 1988.

Shenk and Stutzman consistently look to the same place as they explain their model: the Scriptures. This resource is the best in dealing with scriptural issues and application in church planting. The model is thoroughly biblical while remaining practical. It is among the best five books available on church planting.


Sjogren, Steve and Rob Lewin. Community of Kindness: A Relational Approach to Planting and Growing a Church. Ventura, CA: Regal Books, 2003.

Steve Sjogren is probably better known for his Servant Evangelism strategies as described in Conspiracy of Kindness. However, Steve is an experienced church planter and church planting mentor. The approach is dialogical--with 106 thought provoking individual ideas (like small chapters). The authors say that the book might be subtitled, Church Planting Through Servant Evangelism.


Halter, Hugh and Matt Smay. The Tangible Kingdom: Creating Incarnational Community. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2008.

Halter and Smay are real-life church leaders who record their lessons learned regarding the establishment of small missional communities of faith. The emphasis of the book is the need for believers to leave the safe communal "bubble" we tend to establish for the real-world experience of God's kingdom arriving among the culture. With a strong focus toward ancient practices of faith regarding hospitality and friendship, this book can enhance a person's view of how the church interacts with their city on a pedestrian level.


Stevenson, Phil. The Ripple Church: Multiply Your Ministry by Parenting New Churches.
Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Publishing House, 2004.

There are few books that are focused on "churches planting churches." Phil has provided a tool to help churches get involved--it is an advocacy book with many helpful tools. It won't tell you how to plant, but it will help you gather some partner churches on the journey.


Steffen, Tom. Passing the Baton: Church Planting that Empowers.
La Habra, CA: Center for Organizational & Ministry Development, 1997.

This book can fool you. It is "about" international church planting, but it is very applicable to U.S. planting, particularly in the inner-city. (Steffan does training for World Impact, a pace setter in planting indigenous churches among the urban poor.) His emphasis on empowerment is an important addition to the training of every urban church planter.


Stetzer, Edward. How to Plant a Church, A Seminary Extension Study Course. Nashville, TN: Seminary Extension, 2001.

It would be a little odd to review my own book, but it might be helpful to be aware of it as a resource for church planters. This is a study course for church planters published by our denominational agency that provides external education. It can be taken as part of a certificate program or transferred to an accredited college for credit through their system. I used Malphurs' Planting Growing Churches as the textbook and that book would be necessary to take the course.


Stetzer, Edward J. Planting New Churches in a Postmodern Age. Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 2003.

Again, a little odd to review my own book... and, besides, this is the first edition. Planting Missional Churches is the second. See below.


Stetzer, Edward J. Planting Missional Churches. Nashville, TN: B&H Publishers, 2006.

Rather than reviewing my own book, let me tell you what it covers. The book basically addresses two issues: the nuts and bolts of how to plant a church in North America and what many new churches are doing to reach emerging contexts. The focus is to plant churches that are biblically faithful and culturally relevant. The companion web site is www.newchurches.com.


Sullivan, Bill M. Starting Strong New Churches. Kansas City, MO: New Start, 1997.

The book is a smaller text that provides some basic church planting information. It is intended primarily as an advocacy book geared toward Nazarenes. The strength of the book is the chapter that deals with objections to planting.


Suarez, Gustavo V. Connections: Linking People and Principles for Dynamic Church Multiplication. Friendswood, Texas: Baxter Press, 2004.

Gus' book is available in both Spanish and English and is a worthwhile read. The title is very descriptive--it is about making the right connections for church multiplication. As such, it has a lot of direction about how to involve partners in the work (the strength of the book). It is primarily geared toward Southern Baptists, but not exclusively so.


Sylvia, Ron. Starting New Churches on Purpose.
Purpose Driven Publishing, 2006.

Ron has written the definitive book on planting Purpose Driven churches. If there is an official "manual" for PD churches, this is it. It has a good amount of practical advice and step-by-step processes. If you want to plant a Purpose Driven church, this is the book to get. This book was previously published as Starting High Definition Churches.

Thomasson, George. The Church Blueprint: Practical Helps for Building the Body. Columbus, GA: Brentwood Christian Press, 2002.

This book is a compilation of resources that will assist the new church in the effective establishment of its ministry program. It takes a church from inception through the first three years of early development. The book includes contributions from 15 different authors, all who are Southern Baptist and relating to the SBC context. A strength of the book is the included practical worksheets for implementing the steps in the book. The book can be ordered by e-mailing blueprint@bellsouth.net.


Tidsworth, Floyd, Jr. Life Cycle of a New Congregation. Nashville, TN: Broadman, 1992.

Tidsworth, former director of the Home Mission Board's church planting department, has provided a planting handbook. The title is misleading since the text deals little with the actual life cycle. Instead, it primarily focuses on the birth of a new church and then its reproduction--with little about the life cycle in the middle.


Timmis, Stephen, editor. Multiplying Churches: Reaching Communities Through Church Planting. Hearn, Rossshire, England: Christian Focus Publications, 2000.

This book is an advocacy, rather than a "how-to," book. The authors are quite clear about their intent: "(T)his is not a 'how-to' book... What the book is trying to do is to move church plating up the church agenda, and focus upon the principles rather than the practice." I believe they accomplished the former but I am not sure about the latter. Their book is strong on encouraging people toward church planting but it is really too small (128 pages) to address the principles. The chapter on ecclesiology and is excellent as is Timmons closing chapter. It includes much review of Murray (see above) and correctly points out and corrects some of his theological issues.


Tinsley, William C. Upon This Rock: Dimensions of Church Planting. Atlanta, GA: Baptist Home Mission Board, 1985.

Tinsley's book is an advocacy book for Southern Baptists. Long before other denominations began to promote planting, Tinsley (and Redford) promoted planting among SBC churches. The book is out of date, but was a genuine forerunner that still contains some helpful principles.


Tinsley, William C. Breaking the Mold: Church Planting in the 21st Century. Dallas: Creative Church Consultations, Inc., 1996.

This book is more up to date than Upon This Rock (and a better book, I believe). Tinsley displays a strong grasp of church planting principles but also deals with some of the new issues that began to emerge in the late 90s. Tinsley is unique in that he has not just written church planting books, but has also ventured into some good devotional material as well (see his publishing house, http://www.veritaspublish.com/). Tinsley has planted churches and has spent his life in mission service. He is director of a new missions agency, WorldConnex.


Towns, Elmer L. Getting A Church Started: A Student Manual for the Theological Foundation and Practical Techniques of Planting a Church. Lynchburg, VA: Church Growth Institute, 1985.

Towns' book has been published in various forms. (The latest is a workbook that contains the full text of his book and tapes presented at a recent church growth conference.) The book remains the same. It is geared toward the independent Baptist. It is highly sequential and provides an effective list of tasks that will provide the planter direction.


Towns, Elmer L. and Douglas Porter. Churches that Multiply. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press. 2003.

This book is a little different than many others listed... and that may be its strength. It is a series of Bible studies written in the down-to-earth style of Elmer Towns. It is not a "how-to" book. Instead, it is a series of Bible studies geared toward lay people in the church. Dr. Towns showed me an early version that was entitled "Our Church Planting a Church." That describes the book well.


Wagner, C. Peter. Church Planting For a Greater Harvest. Ventura: Regal Books, 1990.

Wagner's book is an advocacy book. It is an excellent resource for the person seeking to convince a church or denominational leader why church planting is important. It has limited methodology, but contains a good amount of denominational research.

______________________________________________________________


The opinions expressed are mine alone and may not reflect the opinions of the schools where I teach or the agencies I serve. This annotated bibliography is copyrighted. It may be reproduced (without alteration) but only with this entire section included:

©Edward J. Stetzer, 2009, www.edstetzer.com

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Assimilation for Growth

How is assimilation in your church? Win Arn lists eight characteristic of what he calls an "incorporated member."
1. New members should be able to list at least seven new friends they have made in the church. (These friendships could be and often are with other new members.)
2. New members should be able to identify their spiritual gifts.
3. New members should be involved in at least one (preferably several) roles/tasks/ministries in the church, appropriate to their spiritual gifts.
4. New member should be actively involved in a small fellowship (face-to-face) group. Many churches keep their new member groups together indefinitely.
5. New members should demonstrate a regular financial commitment to the church.
6. New members should personally understand and identify with the goals of the church.
7. New members should attend worship services regularly.
8. New members should identify unchurched friends and relatives and take specific steps to help them toward responsible church membership.

Monday, March 23, 2009

Church Planter Assessment

This week I will be in Orlando, FL with two great couples that are prayerfully considering church planting. Tyler & Karmen and Curtis &Nancy both have been drawn by God to take this next step toward future ministry as church planters. Both have ministry experience and a passion to proclaim a clear gospel message. Curtis and Nancy are praying for God to open doors in Kansas City, KS and Tyler and Karmen are praying about Kearney, NE. Thank you for praying for them this week.

Friday, March 20, 2009

The Calling of the Planter

Mark Driscoll shares from the book of Acts the calling of a church planter. He list the following 12 items as evidence of church planting. All need the first one and you need at least one of the others.

Watch his sermon here
.

The opening session of the 2009 Acts 29 Boot Camp held in Seattle on March 9-10, 2009.
13 Questions to Determine God's Call of a Church Planter


The first one is mandatory. One other is needed as well (not every one).


1. Have I responded to the gospel call & received the Spirit?

2. Is the Holy Spirit out ahead of me planting the church?

3. Is my church planting call obvious to other godly leaders? (Acts 2:14)

4. Has God confirmed my church plant by showing up in miraculous power? (Acts 3 & 4)

5. Am I reaching lost people to start my plant? (Acts 8:5-9, 12)

6. Has Jesus showed up & told me to plant? (Acts 9:15-16)

7. Has God called me to plant through a vision? (Acts 10-11:18; 16:9-10)

8. Has God providentially relocated me to plant? (Acts 11:19-21)

9. Is God sending me to plant because my church does not much need me? (Acts 13:1-3)

10. Is God calling me to plant because I am wasting my time in a toxic place? (14:1-7)

11. Am I called to be a catalytic church planter or plant a church planting church center? (Acts 14:23-26)

12. Has God called me to plant by giving me a deep burden for a city/people? (Acts 17:16)

13. Has God called me to plant by giving me a core group? (Acts 18:7-8)

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Prayer video

Gary Rohrmayer has a great video talking about prayer. Take a look.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Will Evangelicals be gone in 10 years?

Michael Spencer writing in the Christian Science Monitor stated "We are on the verge – within 10 years – of a major collapse of evangelical Christianity." The so called "Evangelical Church" is not divinely inspired, but the church of Jesus Christ is describe in the Bible and was established by Christ. God always prevails. Mr. Spencer does make some claims that have merit. One is that many churches today are not providing solid biblical education for all ages. Many in the church have no idea why they believe what they believe, some are not even sure what they believe.

While I do not believe the evangelical church will be gone in 10 years, I would agree that it will look different than it does today. My pray is that it will look different. Solid doctrine and biblical teaching will have the highest priority over "looking good" Christianity. Tell me what you think about the article.

Monday, March 9, 2009

USA Today

I got a call today to make sure I read this article and I notice that Andy Wright has it listed on his blog. The need to proclaim a clear gospel message is great then ever before. Read, pray, talk about it and then do something.

Just a little humor for the day

The Perfect Pastor

The perfect pastor preaches exactly 10 minutes.
He condemns sin roundly but never hurts anyone’s feelings.
He works from 8am until midnight and is also the church janitor.
The perfect pastor makes $40 a week, wears good clothes, drives a good car, buys good books, and donates $30 a week to the church.
He is 29 years old and has 40 years experience. Above all, he is handsome.
The perfect pastor has a burning desire to work with teenagers, and he spends most of his time with the senior citizens.
He smiles all the time with a straight face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him seriously dedicated to his church.
He makes 15 home visits a day and is always in his office to be handy when needed.
The perfect pastor always has time for church council and all of its committees.
He never misses the meeting of any church organization and is always busy evangelizing the unchurched.
The perfect pastor is always in the next church over!
If your pastor does not measure up, simply send this notice to six other churches that are tired of their pastor, too.
Then bundle up your pastor and send him to the church at the top of the list.
If everyone cooperates, in one week you will receive 1,643 pastors. One of them should be perfect.
Have faith in this letter. One church broke the chain and got its old pastor back in less than three months.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Leadership Learning

Ed Stetzer has a great download of Leadership Nuggets from bloggers. We can all learn about leadership. Enjoy.

Saturday, February 21, 2009

Attractional or Missional

Jeff Gauss presents some great thoughts about attractional vs missional models for church plants and churches. It is worth reading.

Monday, February 16, 2009

Staffing

Fellow pastor Gavin Retzer sent a great link that talks about staff hiring. Take a quick read of this little article from Pastor James McDonald:

"How About If You Learn from My Mistakes As An Employer"

Orlando and Connect 09

I just spent 3 great days with five awesome couples in Orlando at Connect 09. Four of the couples are praying about planting gospel centered, missional focused and kingdom minded churches in the heartland. God used our time in Orlando to connect with over 200 church planters as well as being challenged by several great sermons. We were challenge to live and proclaim a robust gospel. Someone needs to do something with the robust gospel was the second challenge.

What we do is done for His glory.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Church planting news from Corsica, SD

Following is Jon and Julie Lane's newsletter about what God is doing in Corsica.

Hello and greetings in the name of the Lord who alone has immortality, dwelling in unaproachable light..." 1 Tim. 6:16

Once again praying that this letter finds you in the joy of the Lord and in the service of the King Jesus Christ. It seems to be that time again to attempt to give a brief update of what the Lord is doing in our lives and this part of the world. Let me just state a few things.

1. As of December 7th, we moved into our new building for fellowship. At the present we are working (all volunteer labor) to finish the basement. The classrooms have been sheetrocked, painted and cleaned and we are presently having Sunday school in them. Also, our Wednesday night "kids club" has officially been moved over there. What needs to be done is the carpeting of the floor, completing the office and kitchen. Please pray for us in this matter as several of the men have given up most of their Saturdays and evenings to get this completed. In addition, please pray that the Lord would continue to lay it upon people's heart to give as we do not believe in debt. We have seen the Lord move in incredible ways to see this come about. He is so faithful and so confirming that all we can do is praise Him.

2. On January 14th, three of us from the church went on a mission trip to Romania and Muldova. It was my daughter, Allie, Shawn Jerke and myself. We met another friend from Iowa (Tony Allen) and then joined two other friends (Jesse and Jamie Boyd) over there. We worked with two churches in evangelism training and street evangelism. Numerous people heard the Gospel, including many Gypsie villages that seem to be forgotten or shunned, thousands of tracts went out and Bible believers were inspired and encouraged to continue to sow the seed of the Gospel. We worked with incredible translators who loved the Lord and their people. They will continue to do follow-up and minister to those who rsponded to the Gospel. One of the Pastor's openly admitted to starting to become somewhat lukewarm in their evangelistic efforts and was refreshed and empowered to reach out to the lost as the early church did.

It was neat to see my daughter adjust to the culture and see the world from God's perspective. I think we will have to send her off someday to the mission field, but praise God for that as there is no place better to be than in the will of God. Also, I saw Shawn come out of his shell. It was incredible how he boldly gave testimony of Christ, urged people to accept God's gracious offer. I have seen the Lord work in his life in such a powerful way lately which is such a blessing for a Pastor to see.

3. Several new families have come to the Lighthouse and we see so many hungry for the TRUTH of God's word and to live lifes worthy of the Gospel that the working of the Holy Spirit is evident. In a day when the church would rather court the world, than proclaim truth, we feel so blessed to be a part of this. The Lord has raised up men who feel the call of God on their lives for ministry and are growing in their gifts and being mentored. We are also praying and seeking the Lord with another church plant as he has raised up a family for that very purpose. We are seeing the children grasp the truth of God's word and really becoming His disciples.

4. Alomost last, we are wanting to see God move in a powerful way as far as souls for Christ. Please join in praying for this in the area. There are very few Bible believing actual preaching and teaching churches left, so these towns have grown cold and comfortable in their man-made religions, as Pastor's are more concerned about being politically correct than standing up and proclaiming "thus saith the Lord."

5. We are praying and looking into possible outreaches this summer for evangelism, including a mission trip to either Nepal or Ukraine. If this interestes you please let me know. We would love to have you. Also, coming up the weekend of May 17th we are having a PAstor, church planter from India coming and speaking on missions both in the morning and evening. Please join us as it will be encouraging, challenging and Christ centered.

Well, I hope that sums things up and keeps you posted on life in our family. We also take no credit in this, but give the glory to God and are just joyful that we can be used in some way to exalt Christ. May the Lord bless you and the peace of Christ surround you.

for the cause of Christ,

yours at the lighthouse

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Personal update

I am spending a few day in Orlando, FL with over 200 other church planters from ConvergeWorldWide. Beryl and I took a walk this morning at about 7 in shorts and t-shirt. We took a swim last night, OUTSIDE, at 9:30 and it felt great. Oh, yes this is about church planting in the Heartland.

This morning as we meet we talked about the vision for Kingdom work between 2010-2015. The question is being asked how can we get all of our churches involved in church planting? We all agreed that not all churches will plant a church, but all agreed that every church can have a part in planting. I am excited to join in what God is doing. I will have more to say later.

Know that I am suffering for the Lord in Orlando.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Church Planting opportunities in America

I have seen the data before listed in this video, but it they made a great presentation of the opportunity the church has today. The opportunity to proclaim the gospel message is great today then it has every been. See the video here.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Growing communites in the Heartland

In doing some planning for a group of guys providing great insight into church planting in the four states that I work with I located all the communities above 6000 people in the four states on GOOGLE MAPS. You can click on the pin and it will tell you the community, size and it growth or decline. Red means it is declining, green is growing between 0.1 and 9.9% purple is growing at a rate of 01% or greater.

Improving Church Plant Survivability

Leadership Network recently gave several reports on the state of church planting USA

From the reported titled “Improving the Health and Survivability of New Churches (if you have problems getting the full report let me know and I will attached it with an e-mail) the following observation were made.

“Certain factors, when present, correlate with higher baptisms (the report does not suggest baptism is a mean of salvation, but is using it as a mean of measuring a decision and some spiritual growth). Over 100 factors were tested and the following were found to be statistically significant:
- Engaging in ministry evangelism (i.e. food banks, shelter, drug/alcohol recover)
- Starting at least one daughter church within three years of the church plant
- Having a proactive stewardship development plan enabling the church to be financially self-sufficient
- Conducting a mid-week children’s program
- Sending out mailers for invitation to services and church events
- Conducting a block party as an outreach activity
- Conducting a new member class for new church members
- Conducting leadership training for church members
- Receiving church-planting training in terms of a boot camp or basic training by the church planter
- Working full-time over part-time as the church planter
- Being assed prior to the beginning of the church plan as the church planter
- Delegating leadership roles to church members.

“Interestingly, the chance of survivability increases by over 400% when the church planter has a ‘realistic’ understanding and expectation of the church-planting experience. On the other hand, conducting door-to-door or cold-calling evangelism in church planting decreases the odds of survivability by 59%.”

“The NAMB study also focused on the value of peer groups. Odds of survivability increase by 135% when the church planter meets with a group of church planting peers.”

Stephen Gray is a researcher who compared 60 fast-growing church plants with 52 struggling church plants. Here is some of what he found (his book is Planting Fast Growing Churches)
- 88% have church planting teams
- 63% have a core group of 26 to 75 people
- 75% use a contemporary style of worship
- 80% put ten percent or more of their budget toward outreach and evangelism
- 16% have a higher rate of full-time pastors than struggling church plants
- 63% of planters leading fast-growing plants raise additional funding, compared to 23% of those that are struggling.
- 74% of fast-growing church planters receive one or two weeks of training.
- Over 90% of struggling churches work with only one paid staff member. Only 17% of fast-growing plants started with only one paid staff member.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

What is God doing in the Heartland?

I was doing a little reviewing of the last several months. I was surprised to learn that I have averaged contact with one possible church planter ever week. Not all of them merited more than a reading of their resume, but people are finding Converge and asking questions. Currently there are 6 guys that I am at some level of discussion about planting in Converge Heartland. God is good. Praise God for his greatness.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

questions for the new year

Here are a few questions that are good to ask when you consider what God wants to do through you in 2009. Read them here.