The following is from an entry from me in Christian Associates Connections e-newsletter. If you would like to get these monthly updates, you can type your email in at the bottom of the CA site.
This last March I delivered one of the plenary session messages at CA’s Summit in Spain. I made a couple of statements that may have come off as a bit confusing. One thing I said with a bit of bravado is that I don’t want to plant churches. Now, that comes off a bit peculiar, since I lead a church planting organization. That is what CA does – we plant churches. What I mean when I say that I don’t want to plant churches must, however, be qualified. What I really mean is that I don’t want to plant churches that just do “church.” I see many churches being planted at this time, but many of them are really simply starting worship services. The reality is, we don’t need more worship services. Most churches in most cities have plenty of seats available – right? Read what veteran missionary and theologian Howard Snyder says about this dilemma:
“The church gets in trouble whenever it thinks it is in the church business rather than the kingdom business. In the church business, people are concerned with church activities, religious behavior in spiritual things. In the kingdom business, people are concerned with kingdom activities, all human behavior and everything God has made, visible and invisible. Kingdom people see human affairs as saturated with scriptural meaning and kingdom significance. Kingdom people seek first the kingdom of God and its justice; church people often put church work above concerns of justice, mercy and truth. Church people think about how to get people into the church; Kingdom people think about how to get the church into the world. Church people worry that the world might change the church; Kingdom people work to see the church change the world… If the church has one great need, it is this: to be set free for the kingdom of God, to be liberated from itself as it has become in order to be itself as God intends.”
What we need are churches that represent the reign and rule of Christ in the world. We need churches that follow the “missionary God” into the world declaring his reign and demonstrating his Kingdom. So, in all actuality, I do want to plant churches! The churches that we need (and we need 1000’s of these kind) are a unique type and breed.
To illustrate this let me share with you a story. I was recently talking with one of our project leaders, and the topic of church planting came up. As we talked, it became clear to me that this person was ardent in his desire to address the many needs in his community. I asked him straight out, “What needs do you see around you?” His response was quick and clear: “In my city the major problems are racism, unbelief in God and profound poverty.” With even more energy he said, “That’s why I don’t want to plant a church, I want to do ministry to change those areas!” My response was, “That is precisely why you need to plant a church…a church that is motivated and oriented around God’s power and kingdom.” See, the problem with many people is that their orientation of the church is so contoured by a faulty view that they can’t connect the dots. In many people’s minds, it is this equation: Church = a gathering of Christians vs. authentic incarnational ministry = something besides the church.
What I am suggesting is an overhaul, a rebooting of our idea of church. Most of what you think about the church has been formulated from how church has been done in the “Christianized West.” I don’t have room here to explain that concept, but suffice it to say that many churches have been built around the idea of taking care of socialized Christians rather than being a missionary community declaring the Gospel to the world.
What we are involved with at Christian Associates is starting a whole new generation of churches that see themselves (identity) as missionaries to their particular city. In fact, the new iteration of our mission statement says, “Christian Associates creates (establishes) (multiplying or reproducing) churches who follow Jesus in transforming their world.” To think otherwise is not only an inadequate biblical view of the church; it simply doesn’t seize a person’s heart enough to want to die (or live) for their faith in Christ!!!
Do you dream of challenging the injustices in your city, do you long to end poverty, and do you aspire to see scores of new believers raised up to follow Christ? That is what these new churches do. If that is what ignites your heart like it does mine, let me invite you to partner with us. That can happen two ways:
- You can join us in multiplying missional church plants in the cities of Western and Eastern Europe, and Latin and North America! You can become a missionary with us. We are earnestly praying for courageous new women and men to join us on the ground to help set in motion this vision of starting 100’s of Kingdom communities worldwide. Click here if that’s you!
- You can help resource those efforts! I will just say it; it costs money to do this work. We faithfully seek God’s supernatural help, but to pretend that we don’t need resources for these God-sized projects to succeed would be untrue. We need you to help us. With your monthly gift of $50…you can partner with us in taking the Gospel to some of the least Christian and hardest to reach areas of the world – the cities of the west! Will you ask God if you are to join us, to partner with us in this quest? Click here if you would like to begin donating!
We are excited about the future of church planting throughout the world and what God is doing. We at Christian Associates look forward to partnering with you and many others who are like-minded about bringing the joy of Jesus to a waiting world.
Rob