Church Planting. Lighting the Way for the Good News

Transcription

1 Church Planting Lighting the Way for the Good News

2 SUMMARY SUMMARY Why Plant Churches? Alan Tumpkin Interim Director of Church Planting Go and make disciples of all nations baptizing and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. [ Matthew 28:19-20 ] 1. We reach people who are far from God. Research shows that new churches have a higher conversion rate than any other evangelistic activity 1. In addition, new churches have also proven to be the best method of reaching new generations, new residents, and new people groups. 2. We follow Jesus mandate to make disciples. Planting new churches helps us to obey Jesus command to make disciples of every person that we can. However, the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) is not just a call to make disciples but to baptize. In Acts and elsewhere, it is clear that baptism means incorporating somebody into a local worshipping community (Acts 2:41-47). A new church not only helps reach new people, it also helps to bring them into the family of God and grow them as disciples. 3. The planting church experiences increased health and benefit. Despite what some may think, the typical church that starts a new church tends to do better itself. One reason is because churches committed to starting new churches focus on developing and deploying leaders while engaging people with the Gospel. These efforts help the mother church grow in its own ministry muscle and impact while planting new churches. One study demonstrated that churches which started other churches experienced a 22% increase in their own worship attendance over the next 5 years, while financial giving increased 48% It allows us to have greater influence for Christ throughout our region. For any movement to thrive, it has to plant churches. According to Ed Stetzer, Statistically speaking, if a population just wants to break even, it has to plant at least at a three percent level a denomination of 100 churches has to plant 3 to stay even considering attrition. A five percent increase is needed to grow. Ten percent is needed to thrive. 3 If we honestly believe the Evangelical Covenant Church is a great place for people to find Christ, then we need to expand our Kingdom influence by planting churches. Healthy missional churches are God s plan for reaching lost people, making disciples, revitalizing his church, and expanding Kingdom influence in our world! This is why the GLC is committed to planting an increasing number of churches in an increasing number of communities. What Have We Done This Past Year? Our first goal was to support and strengthen our current church plants. In 2016, our goal was to increase the level of relational connection between church planters and the Conference. Not only did we achieve our goal, but we surpassed it. We conducted a thorough training for church planters at the 2016 GLC Annual Celebration. We covered topics from soul care to how to utilize media in your ministry contexts. This half-day training was very catalytic, as many immediately applied principles from the workshops to enhance their respective ministries. Relationships were also deepened during this time of training, as we ate, shared, and prayed together. An unexpected consequence of the fellowship during the Celebration was meeting Arthur Duren, who, because of our meeting, became a Covenant planter/pastor. We also provided culturally specific training for multi-ethnic and under-resourced churches. In May 2016, we sponsored several pastors to attend the NYC Urban Church Planting Conference. This training offered skills and resources to launch and strengthen ministries in urban, multi-ethnic contexts. Not only did this training strengthen our cohort of GLC pastors, we also met Joey Maldonado, who is now in the process of planting a Covenant church. Additionally, we sent a few of our urban under-resourced pastors to an extremely informative grant writing conference in Kansas City, MO. This two-day training provided resources and skills to assist under-resourced pastors in writing proposals for funding, as well as for starting community-based organizations to enhance their respective ministries and provide a funding stream for bi-vocational pastors. Other ways we have worked toward achieving this goal of supporting and strengthening our current church plants: n We made training more accessible through scholarships n We have increased our coaching team n We are providing coaching services for the specific needs of each church plant n We are providing context-specific training opportunities Our goal was to help our plants move toward a place of stability and health. Thankfully, most of our plants in years 0-5 are growing, and are becoming healthy. Most of our church plants self-report that they are in a healthier place this year than they were 1-2 years ago. As a result, our church plants in the first 5 years experienced about 20% growth in average attendance. Several plants, including those in under-resourced areas, are thriving and are self-sustaining. They are experiencing new conversions, and engaging in exciting missional work in their communities and in the world. 2 3

3 SUMMARY SUMMARY Where Do We Hope to Go This Year? n Plant 2-3 churches n Develop new church plant networks (will elaborate below) n Help every church plant move toward becoming healthy and missional n Help every church plant move toward a place where they give birth to other churches Beyond 2017, we are also planning to plant 2-3 healthy missional churches per year but, we can t do that without you! How Will We Do This? Church planting in the GLC is a three-way partnership consisting of a parenting church (or a group of partnering churches), the GLC, and the Evangelical Covenant Church. Parenting or partnering churches provide the seed to begin a new church. These churches provide prayer, people, a portion of the financial support, and short-term handson ministry support (hospitality, worship help, children s ministry, etc.). The ideal funding is 1/3 of the support comes from parents/partners, 1/3 from the ECC, and 1/3 from the GLC. Additionally, the GLC provides for the new church through assessment services, coaching, training, and supporting each new church and church planter. The Church Planter and the new developing church then face the challenge of reaching out, making disciples, and transforming their community. This is the most critical time for them, and they are in need of support, on many levels, from all of the other GLC churches. CHURCH PLANTS The list below is for active church plants from 2001 to Please keep them in prayer. If you ever happen to be in their neighborhood on a Sunday, stop by, and spend some time in worship Nathan Pawl Christ Cov. Church Wixom, MI digitalc3.com 2002 Rice/Allen LifeChurch Canton Canton, MI lifechurchcanton.org 2003 Harvey Carey Citadel of Faith Cov. Church Detroit, MI citadeloffaith.org 2004 Scott Austin Artisan Church Rochester, NY artisanchurch.com 2006 Dale Dalman Esperanza Cov. Church Grand Rapids, MI firstcovgr.org/ministries 2009 Janine Davis The Bridge Cov. Church Detroit, MI thebridgecovenant.org 2009 Eddie Poole Life Church of Mt. Juliet Mt. Juliet, TN mjlifechurch.tv 2009 Semmeal Thomas City Cov. Church Detroit, MI citycovenantchurch.org 2010 Mike Dexter Love of Christ Christian Ctr Detroit, MI loveofchrist.us 2010 Leeann Younger Cityview Cov. Church Pittsburgh, PA cityviewpgh.com 2010 Rich Johnson Sanctuary Columbus Columbus, OH sanctuarycolumbus.com 2011 Alan Tumpkin LifeChurch Southfield Southfield, MI lifechurchsouthfield.org 2012 Justin Bowers New Community Church Buckhannon, WV newcommunitywv.com 2013 William Mack Grace Comm. Cov. Church Louisville, KY gc3.us 2014 Brian Nanninga LifeChurch Livonia Livonia, MI lifechurchlivonia.org 2015 Armstrong/Ness One Church Louisville, KY becomingone.church 2016 Arthur Duren Kingdom Embassy Muskegon, MI kingdomembassy.church As I say thank you, I also want to ask you to consider being a parent or partner church in our church planting efforts this coming year. There are so many more who need to find real life as disciples of Christ. However, if there are no healthy missional churches, how can they? So, let s strive to be those churches, and plant those churches! Your Brother in Christ, Alan 1 Stafford, Tim (2007, September). Go and Plant Churches of All Peoples, Christianity Today. Article discusses why crusades and personal witnessing are no longer the cutting edge of evangelism. 2 Data from Dr. Jeffrey Farmer s PhD dissertation, Church Planting Sponsorship, New Orleans Seminary, Stetzer, Ed (2014, June) 5 Reasons Established Churches Should Plant Churches, Christianity Today 4 5

4 GRACE COMMUNITY CHURCH WILLIAM MACK III Pastor Louisville, Kentucky The Covenant Agreement for Grace Community Covenant Church began on April 1, Grace is one of two ECC plants in the city of Louisville. They presently have a weekly attendance of 57. Grace Community Describes Itself in This Way: We are a church plant in the West Louisville-Portland community that ministers to the spiritual and physical needs of those who are enmeshed, lost, and dying in this sin-sick world. We are a body of believers committed to being the hands, feet, and mouth of Christ on Earth, specifically in their communities. We are a Christ-centered, come-as-you-are, community church. On New Life in Christ: In August, we were blessed to see three men give their lives to Christ. Ronnie, his son Spencer, and his friend have been attending Grace for a couple of months. Ronnie said that he loves that everyone welcomes him and his son, and no one sees color. Ronnie is a mechanic in the neighborhood, and he fixes up old race cars. Last month, he brought one of his cars to the church for the kids to play in. Ronnie has a huge heart, and desires for his family to be saved and do well. Ronnie said he had been in and out of church all of his life, but said he d never given his life to Jesus. He knew that now was the time, and this was the place (Grace) that he wanted to let Him in and serve Jesus. Christy began attending Grace after being invited by her mother. Christy 6 GRACE COMMUNITY CHURCH attended for about a month before she finally dropped out of attendance and off of the community s radar. Her mother feared that she was using drugs, and often asked for prayer for her daughter. After a couple months, Christy resurfaced but she d lost at least lbs. from using drugs. Spice was her drug of choice, and she was losing her life quickly. CPS had removed her children from her home, and her relationship with her mother was strained. Through it all, Bonita (Christy s mother) did not stop worshipping and serving at Grace Church, and she NEVER stopped asking us to pray with her for Christy. By the grace of God, Christy hit rock bottom without losing her life. She knew she needed help, and she wanted Jesus. Christy shared her testimony and made her profession of faith in July. Christy is a reminder of the power of persistent prayer and unconditional love. I am/we are honored to walk life with her as God is transforming her into what she was created to be. On Outreach and Evangelism: We partner with other churches and agencies (Hosea s House, Youth for Christ, Salvation Army, Table of Plenty, Dare to Care, and Neighborhood House) in the area, to assist with the hunger and clothing needs in the community. We also host two weekly AA groups, and a Community Clothes Closet. Whitney Franklin began attending Grace looking for a place to heal. She d been hurt years ago by the Church. Over time she began to heal and connect with others at Grace. She had a strong desire to be plugged in and use her gifts to advance the Kingdom. Whitney s heart beats for youth ministry and education. She plugged in to Grace Kidz and assisted with bringing consistency to the ministry. Eventually she asked if we would create a space for our teen population and the teens in the community and Grace Village (GV) was born. Since the beginning of the year, Whitney and some key volunteers, have faithfully met with our teens. We have noticed growth to the ministry and pride amongst our teen population. The parent feedback about GV has been encouraging as well. We are constantly thinking of new ways we can be innovative in the area of discipleship. We offer at least three opportunities for Bible study throughout the week. We ve also prepared study guides to accompany sermon series, and created a couple short devotional videos for people to watch at their leisure. We have a weekly prayer call, and we use a Facebook Group page to share church family news and prayer requests. 7

5 KINGDOM EMBASSY KINGDOM EMBASSY ARTHUR DUREN Pastor Muskegon, MI The newest GLC church plant, Kingdom Embassy Covenant Church, began their Covenant Agreement on December 1, They are a church plant that has been lovingly fostered by the Forest Park Covenant Church community. In 2016, Forest Park gave Kingdom Embassy a place to meet, and helped to make this ministry a reality. Kingdom Embassy is predominantly an African American congregation with a weekly average attendance of 116. Kingdom Embassy Church Describes Itself in This Way: Seed Verse: Matthew 28:19-20 Motto: We are a little bit of heaven, a long ways from home Who we are: Kingdom Embassy ECC is a group of real people, from all walks of life, who are being transformed by Jesus Christ. We do this in three ways that we refer to as KNOW, GROW and GO. Our Vision - Who We Want to Be: KNOW JESUS: God created us to know Him through a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Whether you re someone exploring who Jesus is, or someone who has been following Him for years, you are invited to gather with us every weekend to get to know Him better and to worship Him. GROW TOGETHER: God created us for meaningful relationships with others. At Kingdom Embassy, we cultivate meaningful relationships in a variety of ways, but the main way is through Life Groups. These groups meet during the week for their members to grow deeper in their relationship with Christ. Kingdom Embassy s Core Values: n Integrity n Generosity n Hospitality n Restoration n Inclusiveness n Serving On New Life in Christ: When Ebony Davis was 15 years old, she lost her baby. She had a really tough childhood after that. Now in her thirties, she came to visit Kingdom Embassy s Bible study, and ended up giving her life to the Lord. She is now a bornagain Christian with a heart to give back to the community. She uses her gift of poetry to minister to God s people about the goodness of God. On Outreach and Evangelism: n We have passed out Easy Invite cards. Most of our growth comes from people spreading the word. We teach in a series, as a form of evangelism, giving people a reason to come back to hear the conclusion of the series. n We serve by feeding families in the community n We use our fellowship before and after church for spreading love. This is intentional to create a culture of evangelism. We are having a major cross-cultural impact. Barriers are starting to come down between the black and white communities, as we worship together at Forest Park. Kingdom Embassy members are having a major affect in their personal communities. The testimonies are evident that our teaching is having an impact. GO SERVE: God created you and me for a unique purpose that is not actualized outside of serving in the way He designed us. At Kingdom Embassy, we serve others to make a lasting impact on our families, our community, and the world! 8 9

6 LIFECHURCH LIVONIA BRIAN NANNINGA Pastor Livonia, Michigan LifeChurch Livonia began its Covenant Agreement on January 1, 2014, and has a weekly attendance average of 250 people. LifeChurch Livonia is one of the GLC s newer church plants, and has been built on the model of LifeChurch Canton and LifeChurch Southfield. LifeChurch Livonia Describes Itself in This Way: The mission of LifeChurch can be broken down into three words: Know, Grow, and Go. It is our desire to see everyone come to KNOW Jesus as Lord, GROW in their relationship with God and with others, and then to GO serve others (whether that be in their families, the community, or throughout the world). The key focus of our weekly services is to offer experiences where people can come to know who Jesus is and how to begin a relationship with Him. On New Life in Christ: In November, we had a first time visitor come who was in the process of dealing with a very difficult divorce and feeling hopeless. In our follow up care for him, he indicated that the sermon from November 13th transformed his life. He found Jesus in a profound way and has been coming weekly to church. Earlier this year, a young mom named Andrea came to our church. She carried a lot of anger surrounding her family history. One of our mentors walked alongside her for a few months to help her find healing from her past. In August, Andrea gave her life to the Lord! 10 LIFECHURCH LIVONIA In April, Kendra was baptized. She came to us from a very broken past and a life that was defined by her participation in the LGBT community. Now her life is defined by Jesus. It has been a beautiful journey. During one of our February services, we preached about the acceptance that we get from Jesus. Not based on who we are, but based on who He is. Seven people committed their lives to Christ that day. It was awesome. On Outreach and Evangelism: We continue to reach out to our community. This year the church has really started to look beyond the four walls of the church and ask how we can serve the community. The individuals in the church are building good relationships and have been growing in their willingness to invite their friends. In October, we did an outreach to the local orphanage that was really well received. Also in October, we did a Cleats and Eats event a football and BBQ outreach for men which went very well. One of the men who came, had been invited to our church for over a year and never came to a single event until then. He showed up to church the next day. I met with one of our members whose life was radically changed during our February Freeway series. He experienced freedom from something in his past that has been haunting him for decades. God truly delivered him. On Making a Move: On May 15, we moved to a new location and we are thriving in the midst of change. What could have been a stressful move was made flawless by incredible people. Moving was a challenge, but it went really well. Our new facility is at Riley Upper Elementary school. 11

7 NEW COMMUNITY CHURCH JUSTIN BOWERS Pastor Buckhannon, West Virginia The Covenant Agreement for New Community Covenant Church began on July 1, The church is a multi-age community which trends toward young families. They also serve a number of college students from West Virginia Wesleyan. The church has a weekly attendance of 227 people. New Community Describes Itself in This Way: The mission of New Community Church is to be a people finding and following Jesus beyond Sundays. In a world where the best meaning of Christian has been simply someone who goes to a church, we want to be the church every day of the week. We believe that the transforming work of Christ continues today by calling people to revolutionary and meaningful lives. We want to be a place where people discover, discern, and determine to follow that calling. Our Vision - Who We Want to Be: New Community Church is a gathering of people seeking to become fully immersed in the lives God has called us to live. We believe that for us as a church, this happens in three specific ways: Loving GOD, Loving the COMMUNITY, and Strengthening FAMILIES. About New Life in Christ: In 2016, Michelle and Lora were baptized. They began coming to the church about the same time, both with a certain amount of baggage and life issues. They quickly found a safe place at New Community, and were the first to sign up to serve as we started a new Sunday evening service. Each Sunday, 12 NEW COMMUNITY CHURCH they would sit together in the second row to support each other. At our last baptism, they both responded and decided to be baptized. The week before the baptism, Michelle s father passed away and, I believe, had a death bed conversion. She had so much joy as she committed her life to Christ. On Evangelism and Outreach: We continue to see missional inroads into our local community. Every ComGroup (small group) is tasked with having an outward focus. The members intentionally serve through the group s ministry focus areas. Areas include mentoring of students, cooking meals for those who need them, and providing clothes, food, and backpacks for children in need. Our outreach programs include a local and global element. Appalachian Impact a ministry to at-risk students in our community now holds over 30 active mentors in schools throughout the county. It continues to host two camps each summer focused on literacy and creative arts. Globally, we have partnered with Children s Hope Chest in a sponsorship work with a community Care Point in Ethiopia. Through this, we are sponsoring approximately 60 children, and taking a yearly trip with our congregation. We are also working with Bobby Benavides, a potential church planter, in hopes of launching a second New Community network church in the next year. This will double the number of Covenant churches in West Virginia. We feel as though God has us in a season of intensifying discipleship raising the cost to follow for those who are committed to what God is doing. This past year, we have begun to implement an overall framework for discipleship that we have called 8 Winds. Built on the image of a compass, we are laying the groundwork for discipleship that grows people in eight areas of growth: Calling; Community; Scripture; Intimacy; Mission/Evangelism; Spiritual Giftings; Spiritual Disciplines; and Understanding our Past. Through intentional training with leaders, as well as teaching a sermon series focused on these areas, we are using this to build a culture of discipleship in the church. 13

8 ONE CHURCH ONE CHURCH 14 JA MEL ARMSTRONG and MATT NESS Pastors Louisville, Kentucky One Church began its Covenant Agreement in May The church is an intentional, multi-ethnic community located in the historic community of Old Louisville with an average weekly attendance of 106. One Church was birthed out of two church plants, uniting to reflect God s Kingdom on Earth. The Avenue and The Soul Center (a GLC church plant that began April 2013) began partnering together in ministry projects. After a number of combined outreach projects, the churches began to question whether or not they could serve the city of Louisville and the surrounding community as one church. Therefore, One Church launched January 31, One Church Describes Itself in This Way: Prayer: My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me [John 17:20-21]. Vision: As One Church we will transform our community as we become more like Jesus. Mission: We will: Explore who Jesus is. Experience God through worship and life in community. Engage the community around us. On New Life in Christ: We had a 16 year old young lady attend our worship service who was battling depression and had considered suicide. After the service, she told her mom that it was the first time she had felt the presence of God in her life. This was the reason she wanted to remain connected to our church. On Renewed Vision for the Church: One of our newest members, a recent college graduate who is fairly new to the area, shared her church experience before coming to One Church. She felt as though maybe her old church wasn t really committed to the things of God and was more concerned with self-preservation rather than mission. While searching for a church in the area, she happened upon One Church. At One Church she has a renewed passion for God, and His mission. She has decided to further pursue her goal of serving in and through the local church. On Evangelism and Outreach: We spend the 12th of every month at our future location connecting with our new neighbors and loving on the people. We have provided food, bus tickets, and have shared the Gospel with the people who gather on that corner. As an example, in August, 30 of our people gathered outside our future location and we gave out sack lunches. We served about 100 people in about an hour, and met some great new friends and neighbors. In July, eight of our youth went and served in Chicago for a week and shared Christ with drivers at rush hour. As an outcome of the trip, they were inspired to save money for socks so they can reach out to the homeless population. Our church has courageously begun having monthly conversations about racial reconciliation and righteousness, and race and culture. We are challenging our people to do the work of the church together, especially when it makes them uncomfortable. Not only are our members engaging in this with us, but people from our city are beginning to come out to listen and explore. Some were even inspired enough to go back and start conversations at their churches and/or in their communities. 15

9 CONTACT INFO: Great Lakes Conference 6900 North Haggerty Suite 90 Canton, Michigan The Evangelical Covenant Church