denver strategic thoughts
If you follow my own blog you'll know I've been in Denver for the North American DAWN conference. You can read about how we have experienced a totaly different kind of conference over on my blog.

But while I have a few minutes waiting for the shuttle to the airport here's some strategic reflections.

In NA DAWN have adopted the values, dna and shape of simple church believing that this may be a powerful wineskin for reaching and discipling their whole nation.

So all who gathered (80+) are people involved with planting and leading networks of simple home churches.

It was affirming to find that the relational, organic shape of the evolving networks around the country is very similar to our own situation.

Also I found a common sense that we are in a season of foundation building or soil preparation (depending on which metaphor connects with you) - focused mainly on the slow building of relationships and trust rather than raising a banner and calling people to sign up to some organisation.

If we are going to see in the future an out of control church planting movement in our nations then this foundation has to be painstakingly built, strong and deep with the right dna at all levels.

We have to adjust our mindset in preparation for this long term work.

TSK has some good obsevations here.

Another useful part of the 4 days was being exposed to the whole coaching thing. Coaching fits remarkably well with the organic simple church values & ethos. Rather than thrusting our stuff down people's throats we are empowering them and getting them to think for themselves and take responsibility for the conclusions.

Connected with some key people already equipping organic cp teams with coaching skills.

posted by alexander @ 9:25 PM    0 comments

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18 month review of simple church in the uk
Fancy a bit of bed time reading? Interested in what has been happening amongst those doing organic, simple church stuff over the last 18 months in the UK?

Then download this review report by clicking here.

For those with too much to read already, here's a quick summary:

• Against a background of continued decline in the existing churches, there are steadily growing numbers engaging in organically shaped church life.


• To date most of this growth is from the dechurched rather than from new believers.


• The vast majority of those involved in OC are still submerged in the process of apostolic migration – transitioning in their thinking and practice from institutional to organic church.


• Although there are some encouraging signs from a few who are further down the road, on the whole these new churches are not miraculously unlocking the non-churched population.


• Starting and sustaining these new churches is not a walk in the park.


• In order to survive, organic churches need a clear vision and some strategic input. The likelihood of survival might be greatly increased with outside ‘apostolic’ help, particularly from the outset.


• This could also be provided by generous, non-controlling sending churches. Although input from individuals who themselves have been immersed in small, relational church life seems vital.


• We are not staring into the face of an imminent church planting movement here in the UK – yet.

Labels: Organic church, Research

posted by alexander @ 10:21 AM    1 comments

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3 believers murdered in turkey
The martyrdom last Wednesday of 3 believers in Turkey (members of the only 2 home churches in that city) put the struggles we face in planting home churches in our own context into real perspective. What follows is an account of someone closely involved. It is copied from a friends blog from San Diego; It is not easy reading.

"Early on Wednesday afternoon the 18th of April we received a phone call from fellow believers in the capital asking if we had heard anything unusual regarding our fellow-brothers in Malatya a city 250 kilometers north west from us. Soon afterwards news regarding some sort of violent incident involving several believers who worked at the Christian publishing house in Malatya began to spread like wild-fire over the internet."

The full story is here. I was in Switzerland with other missionaries, some of whom knew these guys, when the news came through.

posted by alexander @ 7:16 PM    0 comments

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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

posted by alexander @ 3:48 PM    2 comments

2 Comments:

Thanks for the info, where can one read or find more info on what these guys ae doing?
www.everyhomeachurch.blog.co.uk

By  Philip, at 3:21 AM  

Well if you can read german:
http://www.dneurope.org/

By  alexander, at 1:11 PM  

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big & little - together
For reasons of survival and sustainability the relationship between 'big' churches and small organic ones could be incredibly important. So are there examples that are modelling a good relationship along these lines? Certainly, I have come across Baptist, Methodist and C of E examples where to one degree or another smaller organic churches are being helped by larger 'sending' type churches. Although there's not always complete agreement or mutual understanding of what is being done, there is a willingness to trust and support those involved.

I recently met with a couple of church planters who are part of the Together network (formerly CMI). One had been sent to take on an existing fellowship and has subsequently been transitioning it to a home church model and the other, Nick Howes, went deliberately to Coventry to plant a network of home churches.

Here's some of their story in their own words:

The Neighbours and Nations adventure began in January 2003 with five of us meeting together in a small rented home in Potters Green, NE Coventry. We were all new to the city having been sent (yeah, we’ve had all the ‘sent to Coventry’ jokes!) to begin a new church adventure and also to provide a link into the city with a Bible college we are connected with on the outskirts of town.

We had come from large congregations which were absolutely great – really as good as anything that’s around - and yet felt deeply that these were not producing healthy, mature communities of disciples that were impacting the people around us. Our conviction was that the nuts and bolts of church life should be much more simple, relational and completely committed to revealing Jesus to the community in which it exists.

Coupled with a passion for community and discipleship, and being so aware that the large congregation could never alone produce this, we began to hear God speaking to us specifically about what we were meant to do as we began our new adventures in Coventry. We were instructed to build church ‘neighbourhood by neighbourhood’. This prospect excited us so much. We pictured church family enjoying life together, living on each others’ doorsteps (we have developed an intricate points deduction system for anyone who uses a car to get to anything!) and getting deeply involved in the life of that neighbourhood and becoming the ‘joy of the whole earth’ in that place.

This has been a fantastic experience, loads of fun, loads of ‘tweaking’ in terms of what we do and how we do it, and a steep learning curve – so much so that its only now, fours years on, that we really feel that we are beginning to effectively outwork the vision that we have sold out for.

To date we are active in two different neighbourhoods, with five or six households in each that are just a minute or two’s walk apart. This is great for ‘meeting together daily’ over breakfast, coffee, or walking the kids to playgroup (as well as for borrowing each other’s stuff)! There are also another six to eight households in other areas. A couple of these areas we are actively seeking to establish church communities in as a response to the Holy Spirit’s leading. The others are currently joining in with one of the existing neighbourhood churches until such time as they will either move closer in or else begin to meet where they live.

One of the interesting facets of our journey has been how to express our understanding of the Body of Christ. The church in the neighbourhood is great, but we are very aware that we are only ‘part of’ and not the whole. Hence we have sought to celebrate, fellowship and work with many other church groups and in the Potters Green neighbourhood, have fantastic relationships with all the congregations where we are really effectively working together and being a blessing to them rather than just getting our head down and doing our thing.

Unlike many on the simple/organic church journey, we are still (very happily) involved with the network with whom we have historical relationship, and enjoy fellowship with many other leaders who would not subscribe to how we are doing church. This is both challenging and sharpening but ultimately rewarding. Those that we specifically recognise as carrying an apostolic and prophetic ministry towards us have been wonderful at supporting, encouraging and inspiring us in the God-given vision we are seeking to outwork.

The adventure is still very much in its infancy but already we are ruined for anything else. Also our most fiercely-held doctrine is the need for great coffee and the inherent evil of the instant coffee granule!

We’d love to chat with you if you are interested in what’s going on or if you are doing something similar in the Midlands area.

Labels: church planting stories

posted by alexander @ 3:34 PM    2 comments

2 Comments:

Perhaps I am just negative, but I wonder how long the relationship lasts between 'big and little'. In N.Z I know of several attempts to do similar things, but within 2 years there has been difficulty and a severing of relationship between the two groups. Also I lack confidance on how succesful one would be in transitioning a 'normal church' into a simple church. My experiance tells me that everyone appears keen, but in the end the majority cant make the jump in mindset that is so needed when going into organic church.

By  Philip, at 1:23 AM  

Don't know about your first point. probably agree with the second. it is virtually impossible!

By  alexander, at 5:06 PM  

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