Apparently only 3% of Australian children are in church each week. The figure for all ages is just under 9%. But the age of the Australian church is heavily weighted towards the elderly. Then the penny dropped. I’ve been collecting data on church participation in Australia. Nobody’s counting the children anymore. Or if they are, [...]
Category Archives: 4. Rapid mobilization
Growing leaders by the Book
12 September, 2008 – 10:43 AM
I sat down with a church planter yesterday. He’s done an outstanding job. Now he’s ready to really make a difference by growing leaders who plant churches. So Steve, you’re the “expert” how do I put a curriculum together for training church planters? Who says you need one? Forget about the classroom and make the [...]
Good to great church planting
7 August, 2008 – 12:14 AM
In a recent article Dietrich Schindler contrasts “Good” church planting from “Great” church planting. His thoughts on “Generational Distance” got my attention. My wife’s grandparents were married for more than seventy-five years when they died. Grandpa was 105 and Grandma was 97. They left behind over 150 progeny. In their lifetime, they saw themselves forwarded [...]
A few more lessons from Africa
11 July, 2008 – 12:32 AM
A few more lessons from Oscar Muriu on growing leaders for a church planting movement. . . Take bold steps. Breaking up a vibrant, healthy church into five separate churches could be a recipe for disaster. Not if you’ve intentionally growing leaders and team members for every ministry of the church who are ready for [...]
Learning from Africa
10 July, 2008 – 1:58 AM
I was talking to a group of church leaders about what Oscar Muriu has taught me about growing leaders for a church planting movement. One of them challenged me with, “How do we know this works in Australia?†He’s right. There are some things that don’t translate across cultures. Or even within cultures. That’s why [...]
Oscar’s sons and daughters
8 July, 2008 – 6:05 AM
One reason for Oscar Muriu’s success in growing leaders for a church planting movement is that he didn’t know what he was doing. He was young enough not to know it couldn’t be done and smart enough to copy from the best. This what he told me. . . All I do is I copy. [...]
More on how Oscar Muriu grows leaders
6 July, 2008 – 5:37 AM
How challenging does an internship it need to be? They need to have enough responsibility on their shoulders that they are having sleepless nights. That they are on their knees pleading with the Lord to give them wisdom and strength. Because if they don’t have that then they are not challenged… Somebody once told me [...]
How many interns do you have?
4 July, 2008 – 1:22 PM
While Albert barbecued the goat, I chatted to David Githugu about his experience as an intern and church planter with Nairobi Chapel under Oscar Muriu’s leadership. David first came into contact with Nairobi Chapel as a university student. In 2002 he left a lucrative legal career and took a big paycut to become a pastor. [...]
How growing leaders became a reality
4 July, 2008 – 4:48 AM
Here’s a photo I took of a just a handful of the church planters, pastors and interns who have been trained by Oscar and Beatrice Muriu. Many church leaders say they want to grow leaders. Few actually do. I asked Oscar Muriu how he turns good intentions into reality. This is his reply. . . [...]
How Oscar grows leaders
2 July, 2008 – 3:38 AM
The next installment on how Oscar Muriu grows leaders for a church planting movement. How did it all begin? In 1989 Nairobi Chapel was a dwindling, discouraged group of whites praying that God would show them what to do. They sought new leadership to help them reach the African students around them. I was finishing [...]
