church planting in wales
Just read a report on the state of church planting in Wales prepared for a conference last Novemeber (wish I'd been there!).

Not surprised but very encouraged to recognise some similar findings and conclusions to my own Mission 21 report:

Many felt that there were already enough scattered Christians in most areas to pull together to make a start. The chapels of the heydays of Welsh Nonconformity grew out of seiadau : small meetings in homes for prayer, Bible study, pastoral care, and outreach. [Some wish they had not ‘developed’ into chapels!] Howell Harris, as did others, started hundreds of such small groups and with others travelled continuously to support, order and teach them. The same model would seem to be ideally suited for today, and would dispense with a dependence on buildings and traditional forms...

There was a strong feeling that new church plants need to be led by God, not splits, pride or personal ambition. However the Lord Jesus will build His church, and we need to be ready to respond to His lead...

Church plants / renewals must work sensitively with what is already there. A lack of relationship and respect for what already exists will cause problems later. It was thought that too many groups coming into Wales see it as ‘virgin territory’ or as a ‘little annex’. They need a ‘local connection’, a ‘Man of Peace’ [Luke 10:6] who will open their home and be a bridge to others in the community. Church must be ‘incarnational – living and doing in the community’...

Perhaps the greatest need in other areas is to gather into small groups the genuine believers scattered over an area, and then establish the new foundations of doctrine, order, values and vision without confusion or compromise. This will take us back to New Testament patterns, patterns that worked so well across Wales in the Eighteenth Century when the church in Wales was established into every village and hamlet - a network of small group seiadau, meeting in homes, and supported by travelling ministries. These may develop into churches in their own right, be a ‘satellite’ of another church, or remain in embryo for a long period until the spiritual climate of the land changes for the better...

We need a ‘new expression of Church’ that expresses New Testament Truth from an inerrant Bible [all of it!] in the contemporary context. We will need to dump a lot of tradition, preference, and security along the way.

To get a copy of the report email Cynthia Williams at cymru@eauk.org .

posted by alexander @ 3:46 PM    0 comments

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