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cpm's in europe?

In switzerland near Interlaken with 60 church planters from across Europe. High on the agenda is the issue of how we can see a church planting movement, made up of churches planting churches, released here in our western, post modern, post christian culture.

It happens, with apparent ease and speed in places like India and China, but can it happen here in Europe?

Florian Bartsch based near Zurich was with us last night to tell us, yes it is possible, it is do-able. They have pioneered a network of about 25 churches and church planting teams that are able to plant more church planting churches. They work in a specific region of Switzerland and have seen particular fruit amongst the 'new age' and esoteric sectors.

With outside help (coaching and some training from experienced home church planters) they have learnt by making loads of mistakes at every stage! It has been very hard work and costly and has included some very public and direct persecution. It has taken over 6 years to reach this stage.

Here are some of the key lessons they have learnt, usually the hard way, in building the foundation for a church planting movement:

1. Hearing God at every stage is vital; particularly concerning the members of the initial CP team. Jesus spent all night praying before he called out the 12 disciples. Make sure you have the people that God has chosen and called.

2. It is very challenging to find willing workers with a call the plant church. It is a difficult, costly and often painful experience.

3. They have found that 'power evangelism' using signs and wonders - praying for the sick etc has been one of the only effective methods of evangelism in their context. They tried everything!

4. To build new churches it made an enormous difference to evangelise the whole of an existing family or relational network in one go rather than one individual at a time. Why? Because working with a group that already were a 'family' was so much easier than trying to create 'family' amongst a group of individuals. They have found it takes 3 years to form comunity from a group of individuals, but is much quicker with an existing family or network.

5. Don't stop praying once things are underway!

6. You can't make disciples with a program. It is not feeding them head knowledge it is equipping them with the tools and the hunger to feed themselves that is vital. Disciple making involves sharing our lives.

7. Getting new churches to enter into a covenant type commitment to one another was very hard and many baulked at it and left, but those who did were strengthened significantly by doing so.

8. Leaders need to be trainers not just leaders. They have to be able to pass on what they do and then let others do it for themselves. Leaders must step back and let the churches do the work of the ministry otherwise there will never be multiplication.

Florian's longing is to see CPM's all over Europe. How is this going to happen? By apostolically calling out of the churches those God has set apart to plant churches in new places.

Labels: church planting stories