Why?
Why do we need ANOTHER church? Aren't we in the "Bible belt", the land of thousands of churches? Herein lies an answer that must be unpacked in a series of articles in which I will try to explain what this new church plant will look like. The short answer is that this church will be unlike most churches today. Here's a peek at some of the foundational values that are driving this church plant.
A Church on a Mission
The church must know why it exists. An organization ought to know why it exists - It's true for a family, a business and for a church. A church plant affords the opportunity for a group of believers to start with the end in mind. So, what is the "end" for the church? I believe it is summed up by Jesus in the "greatest commandment" and the "great commission". The greatest commandment demands that we live in right relationship with God, ourselves and others by basing those relationships on love. The great commission states that we to be about seeing others live in right relationships as well. The mission of the church plant will be disciple-making - setting out not to build a big church, but big people who can change the world for Christ. Being focused on disciple-making means this church will not offer all the programs that we may be accustom to, but will stay true the calling of disciple-making first and foremost.
This church plant must also be willing to ask the question, "how are we doing?" in seeing this objective accomplished. I envision a church that is willing to evaluate everything, to not cling to outdated methods, but continually ask how they are doing in making disciples. I envision a church where every member knows their mission in life, the mission of the church and their place in the church's mission.
A Church that Connects
Why is it that so many people today can dismiss Christianity? Is its message not true? Of course it is! Is the message not life-changing? Absolutely! The problem is that too many people are not hearing the message in a way that connects with them. The majority of adults do not have a church background, so our church culture is foreign to them. Tragically, the church has wrapped God's amazing gift of Jesus in packaging that either turns them off or bores them. A church that is connecting with people must develop É
- Connecting Environments:
People should feel at home at Christian gatherings regardless of their
background, race or appearance. This church plant will be careful to
design its time schedule, meeting place & services in such a way
that guests & seekers feel comfortable to come as they are.
- Connecting Relationships:
People don't need a friendly church, but friends. Loneliness is
epidemic in our society for people in all walks of life. Very few
people have what God intended in relationships & the church should
be the place to facilitate a safe environment for people to let down
their guards and be themselves.
- Connecting Mediums: This relates to a variety of issues - messages, music, multimedia & more. To maximize effectiveness, messages and Bible study should be applicable to life and presented with modern verbiage. The music should sound like music that people listen to every day on the radio. The technology used by the church should be comparable to what is used in one's home or professional life. The mediums should not prohibit belief (see Mark 2:18-22).
Jesus started the church with just twelve men & a handful of followers. He didn't leave behind one single program, just people. He had spent the three years of his ministry leading these key people through a process that would prepare them to lead the new church. This church plant will seek to emulate that process. The process can be broken down into four key steps.
Step One - Check it out! The church is designed to be a group inviting others to check out the claims of Christ and the dynamics of His church.
Step Two - Check in! Once someone has understood the claims of Christ, they should be challenged to commit to Him, his church & His plan for their life.
Step Three - Fruit check! Growing in faith requires that one allows God to change them from the inside out. By yielding to Christ, the fruit of His life becomes evident in ours.
Step Four - Check out! Instead of hording people's talents, the church is to be the place where people are equipped for their mission and then released into the culture to fulfill it.
If the church will be intentional about seeing people take these steps of faith, the power of God is able to transform seekers into servants for Christ.
A Church Doing Life Together
This fall Gabrian & I will be attending a couple of reunions - one with the Zwemke's and one with a former Sunday school class that we were involved with, Higher Vision. Both occasions are special to us, because both of these groups are family to us. The more I am around churches, the more I realize that most people don't experience the kind of real relationships that would cause people to reunite with their group or class after 10 years. What made that group different? We did life together. We were each other's family. We belonged to each other. We knew who to turn to if we needed something, anything. How many of us have that in our churches today? It is God's intention for the church to be just such a place of connection, belonging and giving.
In his book, The Connecting Church, Randy Frazee points out that Americas are among the loneliest people in the world. In addition, they are not looking to the church to correct this issue. He goes on to report that: "in the busyness of the American lifestyle, people who profess faith in Jesus Christ and yet do not attend church make up the largest religious category in America."
And yet the church has everything to offer in terms of authentic community. The church plant's mother church, Crossroads of Newnan has been utilizing Community Groups in an effort to facilitate the church doing life together. These groups allow the deeper level of relationships to form, for people to grow spiritually and for the church to stay true to its mission of making more disciples of Christ. It is our desire to see this new church utilize the same approach for fostering relationships that people are desperately looking for and can only find through the healing power of Christ and His church.
The early church experienced explosive, exponential growth, but what if it happened today? The following is a list of the growth of the early church & the corresponding verse from the book of Acts: 120 (1:15); 3,000 (2:41); 5,000 -men only (4:4); filled Jerusalem (5:28); increasing rapidly (6:1); many thousands of Jews (21:20). It is estimated that in the first 25 years, the church grew from 120 to over 100,000 in a city of about 200,000 people! I would love to see that building campaign in full swing! No church could build buildings fast enough to keep up with such growth. By centering the life of the church around the small group experience in the home, the limiting factor for growth no longer becomes space, but the number of qualified leaders.
So then the issue becomes how to develop more leaders, how to make disciples. To answer that question, let me introduce you to what has been affectionately been called, "The Funnel".
Culture
Seeing
God transform people begins with a "check it out" invitation from the
surrounding culture to be a part of the church crowd. This first step
requires very little commitment to simply "come and see", while
exposing them to the life of Christ and his church.
Crowd
Next, those in the church crowd are challenged to experience authentic Christian community, to "check in" to God's church. The commitment grows as people are asked to "come and follow" Christ.
Community
Becoming a disciple requires that one be diligent in their growth and to be open to the accountability of others, or a "fruit check". Learning to live our daily lives like Christ means we live out his invitation to "come and remain in me".
Core
The final step in disciple-making occurs when those who are living in vital relationship "check out" of the four walls of the church. It is a lifestyle of reaching out and discipling others that Jesus intended when he told his disciples to "come and go out from me".
Called Ministers
Following
Christ's example, this church intends to be intentional about making
disciples by following this method of developing disciples of Christ.Next, those in the church crowd are challenged to experience authentic Christian community, to "check in" to God's church. The commitment grows as people are asked to "come and follow" Christ.
Community
Becoming a disciple requires that one be diligent in their growth and to be open to the accountability of others, or a "fruit check". Learning to live our daily lives like Christ means we live out his invitation to "come and remain in me".
Core
The final step in disciple-making occurs when those who are living in vital relationship "check out" of the four walls of the church. It is a lifestyle of reaching out and discipling others that Jesus intended when he told his disciples to "come and go out from me".
Called Ministers
