Do a google search for “church planting movements” and David Garrison dominates.
I read his e-booklet a couple of years ago. I’ve just finished his book.
Some quotes that got my attention:
On evangelism
Essential to every movement is the principle of over-sowing. Just as nature requires a tree to drop thousands of seeds to produce a single sapling, or a human body to generate hundreds of eggs to yield a single baby, so it is with evangelism. In church planting movements we find hundreds and thousands of people hearing the gospel every day. . . . page 177
On intentionality
If you want to see churches planted you must set out to plant churches. page 181
On who’s in control
These two governing forces of biblical authority and Christ’s lordship reinforce one another like parallel railroad tracks guiding the movement as it rolls far beyond the direct control of the missionary or initial church planters. page 182
On local leadership
In a church planting movement you begin with the torch in their hand. page 188
On rapid reproduction
When you teach your first churches to labor for many years under a missionary pastor while waiting to receive their own seminary trained leader; then require the church to purchase their own property and building; fill it with enough tithing members to support all of the above, you can’t expect them to generate rapidly reproducing daughter churches. Rapid reproduction starts with the DNA of the first church. page 195
On my mind — Why is it that there is so little evidence of dynamic church planting movements in the developed world and so much evidence in the developing world?
“Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World” (David Garrison)
2 Comments
Hi Steve, thanks for the quotes. I’ve long pondered your question, In my context, I see some of the main hinderances as;
1. Complacency: It’s the sub conscious belief that there are already enough churches and that the lost are already being reached. It’s a form of unbelief that lacks urgency and turns a blind eye to the mission field on our door step.
2. Expectations. There is the growing expectation that really good churches provide all kinds of ministries and services; wonderful worship, children’s, youth, men’s, women’s etc etc. The goal then is to get big and the focus shifts from mission to maintaining the increasing complexity of the organisation. Planting is simply squeezed off the agenda. Add to this the inability to envision church without a church building and full time pastor and things do not go well for a movement multiplying churches.
3. Cultural. In our setting we have not inherited a history of mission and therefore have no missional past on which to build a missional future.
So much for the problem. That’s the easy bit. How to change it, now that’s not so easy.
The idea about the DNA of the first church speaks volumes to me, and it seems to me the future is in a few new ‘first churches’ to initiate a new direction.
However, the general evangelical trend toward big and complex is becoming a difficult tide to resist in our consumer driven world. Why go small, when you can have it all?
There you go. Now I’ll just ‘Say it!’
steve,
thanks for the post about Church Planting Movements. I just read that book as well, and there are just some amazing stories of God’s unfettered work around the world. I especially appreciated the story of John Chen, the church planter in China.
I’ve been keeping up with the question you posed and the answers that have been rolling in. Thanks for keeping me posted…
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