NON-METROPOLITAN CHURCH PLANTING: EMPOWERING GOD S PEOPLE TO BE THE CHURCH. A Paper. Presented to. Dr. J. D. Payne

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1 NON-METROPOLITAN CHURCH PLANTING: EMPOWERING GOD S PEOPLE TO BE THE CHURCH A Paper Presented to Dr. J. D. Payne The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for 88520A by Jeffrey D. Pennington May 1,

2 2 NON-METROPOLITAN CHURCH PLANTING: EMPOWERING GOD S PEOPLE TO BE THE CHURCH Introduction Imagine a mission field so large that it comprises one-sixth of the population of the United States. Yet this mission field is not bound to the United States, for it reaches across its northern borders to comprise over six million Canadians. Thus far, the gigantic size of this mission field is impressive already, but this is just the beginning. 1 For decades, many Southern Baptist International Mission Board missionaries have committed their entire careers to evangelize this mission field across the world. Some call this mission field Town and Country while others call it Rural. To encapsulate the millions of people in the world who live within this demographic, I prefer to call this highly unreached demographic the world s nonmetropolitan mission field. 2 The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief overview of non-metro church planting. 3 The future of non-metro church planting in both the North America and 1 The statistics concerning the United States were obtained from Steve Nerger, Rural Church Planting [CD-ROM] (Alpharetta: North American Mission Board, 2007). The statistics on Canada are available at Urban-rural population as a proportion of total population, Canada, provinces, territories, health regions and peer groups, 2001, [on-line]; accessed 1 May 2007; available from freepub/ xie/01103/tables/html/44_01.htm; Internet. 2 Curt Watke, The Missional Church in Town and Country North America: Issues and Perspectives for the Twenty-first Century [on-line]; accessed on 21 March 2007; available from village.net/atf/cf/%7b087ef6b4-d6e5-4bbf-bed1-7983d360f394%7d/missionalchurchissues Perspectives21stCentury.pdf; Internet. Watke s work is the basis from which I obtained the term non-metropolitan to refer to this demographic. He contends that the demographic that is typically referred to as Town and Country or Rural has undergone great change. For instance, Town and Country has recently experienced a great influx of immigrants and exurbanites. Also, rural is often defined as being the leftovers of urbanization. Furthermore, rural is no longer idyllic, homogeneous, and is much less dependent upon natural resources. In a personal interview with Bruce Carlton 16 March 2007, he mentions that rural communities on the international mission field are most commonly comprised of agrarian communities. In light of these findings, I think it wise for a church planter to change his terminology so that his efforts will be better able to address the issues of the non-metropolitan mission field of the twenty-first century. If this demographic has become this diverse in the North America context, its international diversity is likely to be even greater. Thus, non-metropolitan is the most fitting name for such a diverse demographic. 3 From this point of the paper and beyond, I will abbreviate the term non-metropolitan with nonmetro.

3 3 international contexts is indigenous church planting. 4 I write from the perspective that the most effective way to fulfill the Great Commission in the world s non-metro mission field is to plant churches within these non-metro communities. 5 Therefore, this overview will begin by answering the question, Why bother? It is my observation that much of church growth s literature advocates an urban approach; so much so that non-metro church planting is at best overshadowed and at worst overlooked. After answering Why bother, I will then offer five key factors that distinguish non-metro indigenous church planting in North America and beyond. Why Bother Planting Non-Metro Churches? In the 1970 edition of Understanding Church Growth, Donald McGavran opens chapter fifteen, Discipling Urban Populations, by rightly observing, St. Paul, evangelizing a receptive population the synagogue communities, which lived by commerce in the cities traveled from urban center to urban center. 6 Though McGavran never dissuades a church planter from ministering in a non-metro setting, he does highlight the need to follow Paul s example and focus upon the urban centers of the world. He observed that the world was becoming increasingly urban, thus concluding, Discipling urban populations is perhaps the most urgent task confronting the Church. 7 Thirty seven years later, McGavran remains correct. In most urban ministry contexts throughout the world, a continuum has been discovered that identifies urban communities as the focal points for societal change. After change occurs within the cities, that change then disseminates throughout connected non-metro areas. 8 While applying 4 An indigenous church is a contextualized church. It is able to grow within the culture where it finds itself, without outside interference or control. Indigenous church planting is sowing the Gospel seed in the native context of thought and things, allowing the Holy Spirit to do His work in His own time and way. Charles Brock, Indigenous Church Planting: A Practical Journey (Neosho, MO: Church Growth International, 1994), Steve Nerger and Eric W. Ramsey, Bivocational Church Planters (Alpharetta: North American Mission Board, SBC, 2007),viii. 6 Donald A. McGavran, Understanding Church Growth (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970), Ibid, Paul G. Hiebert and Eloise Hiebert Menesis, Incarnational Ministry (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995), 262.

4 4 this truth, David J. Hesselgrave concludes, Though the need of peoples in rural areas is not to be overlooked, it does seem that the increased attention being given to urban centers and especially to large cities is warranted if for no other reason than their sociological significance. 9 If the world is becoming increasingly urbanized, and if urban communities are the focal points of society, then why bother planting churches in non-metro contexts? Voices from both the international and North American mission fields conclude that non-metro settings are often more receptive to the gospel than urban settings. But though this conclusion is the same in both settings, international and North American church planters draw this conclusion differently. Bruce Carlton, Associate Professor of Missions at Boyce College and former church planter for the International Mission Board, has observed that many of the non-metro areas in which he ministered were stricken with poverty. Though cities around his ministry often suffered this same dilemma, more government relief was provided for city-dwellers than those living in villages. This impoverished condition allowed humanitarian aid to be an effective bridge to the gospel and a helpful platform for church planting. 10 Steve Nerger, Manager, Strategic Places with the Church Planting Group of the North American Mission Board, deems rural settings to be more receptive than cities due to the sociological challenges North American cities present. He observes that cities generate humanistic, self-destructive secularism that hardens the hearts of city dwellers to the message of the gospel. 11 This stronghold is harder to overcome in cities than it is in rural communities; therefore the receptivity of rural communities is greater than the receptivity within the city. Second, churches should be planted in non-metro contexts because of the size of this mission field. Nerger concludes that rural America is comprised of over fifty-three million 9 David J. Hesselgrave, Planting Churches Cross-Culturally 2 nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2000), Bruce Carlton, personal interview with the author 15 March Steve Nerger, personal interview with the author 16 March 2007.

5 5 people. 12 Canada s population comprises over six million rural citizens, so more than a fifth of Canada s population is non-metro. 13 Though my research does not offer an exact statistic regarding the size of the global, non-metro mission field, Jim Montgomery, in his DAWN strategy (disciple a whole nation) helps to understand the immensity of its size. His research shows a need for at least seven million new churches across the globe. Non-metro settings make up a significant part of these seven million churches, for one of his criteria for this figure is a viable church within geographical and socio-cultural reach of everyone. 14 These figures confirm that non-metro church planting must be a part of our strategy to reach the world, because the Lord does not want any to perish, but all to come to repentance (2 Pet 3:9). Third, and most importantly, non-metro churches should be planted because reaching non-metro dwelling people fulfills the mission exemplified by Jesus. Consider how Jesus explains His earthly mission in Mark 1:38, for after spending time communing with His Father in prayer, He commanded His disciples, Let s go on to the neighboring villages so that I may preach there too. This is why I have come. Jesus knew that every villager needed a preaching point in close proximity in which to hear the gospel. Today, this need has not changed. Even within the highly Christianized United States of America, Nerger reports that there are rural communities without an evangelical presence. 15 To follow in the example of Jesus, church planters must go to these unreached communities and plant churches. In so doing, church planters will grant nonbelievers the opportunity to hear and receive the gospel. In conclusion, the receptivity, size, and exemplary mission of Jesus should motivate church planters to spread the gospel to non-metro places through church planting. But if these 12 Steve Nerger, Rural Church Planting. 13 Urban-rural population as a proportion of total population, Canada, provinces, territories, health regions and peer groups, 2001, [on-line]; accessed 1 May 2007; available from freepub/ xie/01103/tables/html/44_01.htm; Internet. 14 Ted Nebel, Big Dreams in Small Places (St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart, 2002), Steve Nerger, Rural Church Planting.

6 6 reasons are not enough, consider the words of yet another church planter, the Apostle Paul, But how can they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe without hearing about Him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How welcome are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things (Rom 10:14-15)! Five Keys to Indigenous, Non-Metro Church Planting After accepting that the non-metro community is a receptive and massive mission field that God has commissioned church planters to reach, the next question that must be asked is, How must we reach them? The answer in both the international and North American settings is indigenous church planting. This answer will not surprise the non-metro international church planter. A missionary who has successfully planted non-metro churches in Asia and Latin America stated, Whether the setting is rural or urban, I suppose it all comes down to two principles. First, you must discover the cultural barriers that prevent the people from accepting the gospel story, then (you must) apply the most appropriate biblical message to address those barriers. The next principle is to teach them to follow all that Jesus has commanded of His followers. By addressing the specific barriers from that culture, the work should be indigenous. 16 Indigenous church planting has become so integrated into the International Mission Board s strategy to fulfill the Great Commission that fifth on its list of basic principles is the statement: Our basic task is evangelism through proclamation, discipling, equipping and ministry that results in indigenous Baptist churches. 17 Indigenous church planting is nothing new to international missions, yet the most significant finding of my research is the need for indigenous principles to be contextualized for the non-metro mission field of North America. Nerger reports that present North American paradigms for starting new churches are unable to meet the non-metro need. For instance, he suggests that it will require 265,000 church plants to reach the estimated 26.5 million people living in rural North America who are lost. In addition to these findings, Nerger s research shows 16 An interview by 15 March 2007 with an international church planter whose identity must remain anonymous for security reasons. 17 International Mission Board Core Values [on-line]; accessed on 21 March 2007; available from Internet.

7 7 that the rural community of North America is adding 3 million people to its totals each year, therefore 30,000 church plants are annually needed to keep pace. Though the Southern Baptist Convention is responsible for more church plants than any other North American denomination, its rate of adding 1,600 new North American church plants per year is far from adequate. 18 A different, more biblical, and highly effective paradigm must be embraced for the Great Commission to be fulfilled in North America. That new paradigm for non-metro church planting is contextualized indigenous church planting. 19 What does contextualized indigenous church planting look like in non-metro North America? J. D. Payne, Assistant Professor of Church Planting and Evangelism and Director of the Church Planting Center at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary asserts that North American church planters can learn a great deal from the church planting findings of missionaries and missiologists. 20 Recent evidence suggests that North American planters are beginning to stumble upon missiologist s indigenous principles. Thus, the remaining pages of this paper will suggest five key factors that mark non-metro indigenous church planting in both the North America and international contexts. These factors are the role of the church planter, the reproducibility factor, the money factor, the relationship factor, and the role of house churches. A First Key: The Church Planter is a Missionary While commenting on the type of pastor that was most effective in the international non-metro church plants with which he worked, Carlton observed, A pastor must be someone 18 Steve Nerger, Rural Church Planting. Though Nerger s statistics are accurate, it must be mentioned that this particular statistic does not reflect the recent promising figures regarding Southern Baptist church planting. J. D. Payne cites that in 2005 Southern Baptists were involved in more than 1700 new church plants. 19 Ibid. 20 J. D. Payne, Suggested Shifts in Preparation for the Spontaneous Expansion of the North American Church, [on-line]; accessed on 21 March 2007; available from files/suggested-shifts-in-north-america.pdf; Internet.

8 8 from within the group of believers it fits. 21 This statement contains an essential to international non-metro church planting: Pastors must be indigenous. Cultural barriers to the gospel are minimized when the pastor of a church plant is a member of the culture in which he ministers. Non-metro, North American Church planters similarly conclude that the pastor of a church plant is highly effective when he is indigenous. George Garner explains: Another concern is a lack of indigenous planters and pastor-leaders. In this case, I define indigenous as a planter who understands the cultural environment in which he is working and has gifts and skills that relate to that context, and is satisfied to remain there for a lifetime if necessary. One way to ensure this kind of pastor-leader is to grow them within the congregations of that culture. 22 Garner s observation confirms a principle that international missiologists discovered years ago: The most effective pastors of church plants are the persons of peace that Sovereign God has implanted into each community that He naturally raises up as the leaders of His church. Indigenous pastors are an essential in a non-metro context, therefore a first key for successful, non-metro church planting is for the planter to view his ministry, not as a pastorate, but as a mission field. His role requires him to think beyond the needs of a single local church, for as a missionary to an entire community, he can prayerfully become a catalyst to numerous church plants. He maintains a biblically based presupposition that God is already at work within the people group he has been called to evangelize, preparing the way for God s elected indigenous people to be led to Christ. An international church planter who will remain unnamed for security purposes describes the non-metro church planter s expectation as he seeks out indigenous leaders: The first new believers are naturally the initial leaders. I still apply the principle I learned from Waylon Moore years ago based on 2 Tim 2:2: Look for faithful FAT men Men who 21 A personal interview with Bruce Carlton, 16 March George Garner, Starting Churches in Rural North America. in Reaching a Nation Through Church Planting, ed. Richard H.Harris (Alpharetta: North American Mission Board of the SBC, 2005), 189.

9 9 are Faithful, Available, and Teachable. Then teach them to obey all that Jesus commands them in His Word. 23 Thus, the non-metro church planter works within his field, not as one church planter, seeking to plant one church, in one location; but rather as a missionary who works to raise up a multitude of leaders who will lead their churches to begin a church planting movement. A Second Key: The Reproducibility Factor A second key to non-metro indigenous church planting is best stated by Brock: One of the five major characteristics of an indigenous church is its ability, in Christ s strength, to reproduce itself. 24 As churches strive to become reproducible in both the international and North American non-metro settings, church planters work to insure that every methodology and resource that is used within a church plant is reproducible by the indigenous church. Nerger advises, Use what you have and do not try to copy what you know of large churches and their programs. 25 If a church planting movement is the aim, then everything an individual church plant practices must be easily reproducible. Carlton explains the principle of reproducibility by comparing the three mission fields with which he has worked. In the only urban context in which he ministered, ministry was professionalized, requiring seminary training before a person could be accepted as a church leader. In the other two non-metro contexts, ministers were lay leaders. In the urban context, pastors were called from outside of the city. In the non-metro areas, pastors were called from within the body. The urban setting was structure-based, identifying churches by the buildings that were erected for worship. In the non-metro settings, the churches were house based. The urban setting depended upon methodologies that were difficult to reproduce; therefore it did not surprise Carlton that these churches have only planted two new plants in the past thirty years. 23 An interview by 15 March 2007 with an international church planter whose identity must remain anonymous for security reasons. 24 Brock, Indigenous, Nerger, Rural Church Planting.

10 10 Yet, the non-metro church plants, whose methodologies were easily reproducible, found themselves in the midst of church planting movements. 26 So what features of a non-metro church should a church planter seek to reproduce? Within the North American context, Ron Klassen and John Koessler write about two characteristics unique to small churches that I believe non-metro church planters should always remember. First, non-metro, small churches possess a genuine sense of intimacy. Klassen and Koessler explain, While the large church scrambles to find ways to encourage warmth and personal relationships, the small church, if it is healthy, quite naturally has a family atmosphere. Second, smaller congregations promote a higher level of lay-involvement than larger churches. Again, consider Klassen and Koessler s observation: While many in the large church are spectators, in the small church, active participation is a given. 27 These intangible characteristics are reproducible, for although they are of immeasurable worth, they require no financial cost. If a non-metro church plant remains biblically grounded, these reproducible qualities will enable the church to be well equipped to impact its community with the gospel. A Third Key: The Money Factor A third key that non-metro indigenous church planters must always remember is the role of finances. On the international field, Carlton claims that the way a church planter utilizes money greatly affects his methodology on two fronts. First, the church planter s view of money will affect the number of churches he will set out to plant. By removing money from the criteria of what is needed to start a church, Carlton believes that the non-metro church planter will base his strategy upon the community s vast need for the gospel. He will not limit his strategy because of a lack of financial resources. This moneyless approach simplifies the planter s methodology, ensuring its reproducibility. Second, Carlton has witnessed that money creates a dependency issue within a church and its leaders that is not healthy. A church planter who never promises 26 Bruce Carlton, a personal interview with the author, 15 March Ron Klassen and John Koessler, No Little Places: The Untapped Potential of the Small-Town Church (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1996),

11 11 financial support to his indigenous leaders is likely to trust the purity of the indigenous leaders motives. 28 Similarly, in non-metro North American church plants, money seems to cause more trouble than it is worth. Garner addresses the money issue from two angles. First, he addresses the limitations of a fully funded pastor. He writes, If one limits himself to being a fully funded pastor, he most likely will not be willing to be a church planting pastor or an existing church pastor in slow-growth rural areas. 29 If Garner is correct, misguided church planters turn away from their place of calling, leaving a community without a gospel presence because of a lack of money. Second, Garner warns that when outside financial funding persists for extended periods of time, the result is a weakened church plant. He admits that a good pattern in growing population areas may be to fully fund a church planter pastor from outside the congregation in the beginning stages. Yet, he continues, There is the expectation that the new congregation will assume its own financial responsibility within a given period. However, our experience is that if this goes beyond three years, including a yearly phase down, outside funding becomes a detriment to the congregation. 30 In the world s non-metro mission fields, a minimization of the reliance upon outside money will strengthen a church planter s strategy. Yet, though this principle holds true in both international and North American non-metro church planting arenas, financial support of a church planter is a necessity of life. Thus, voices from both the international and North American fields endorse a bivocational approach to ministry to meet the needs of both the church planter and the indigenous pastor Bruce Carlton, a personal interview with the author, 15 March Garner, Starting Churches in Rural North America, Ibid, In personal interviews with both Carlton and Nerger, they both discussed the role of bivocational church leaders. In addition, Nerger sees great benefit in challenging retired boomers to commit their financial resources and the freedom in their schedule to plant non-metro churches.

12 12 A Fourth Key: The Relationship Factor A fourth key to non-metro indigenous church planting is the need for the church planter to build authentic relationships with the indigenous people on their terms. While ministering to the Zapotec people who had migrated from rural villages in the mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico to downtown Los Angeles, California, Rebecca Long observed, In reviewing the list of people open to us and to the gospel, I found that in every case the relationships with the person or with relatives were based upon purposeful contacts that were both natural and useful to the individual. Long further explains that interpersonal relationships with Zapotec people are often defined by a reciprocal relationship between two parties. 32 These findings were made possible through Long s commitment to build relationships in the way that the Zapotec people relate to one another indigenously. Her commitment to understand these relationship dynamics allowed her to overcome the cultural boundaries that hindered her effectiveness in sharing the gospel. By learning these relationship skills, Long created a bridge to the gospel. This same relationship factor was observed by Ron Klassen as he ministered in the rural community of Brewster, Nebraska. After experiencing little ministerial success, Klassen one day realized, I had been trying to impose my city culture on these ranchers, and it hadn t been working. It wasn t ever going to work. I needed to change my whole approach to pastoring. After changing this approach, he writes: The eloquent sermons, the highly polished worship services, the picture-perfect building that I thought would bring growth and renewal I had brought all these expectations with me from my city culture. None of them were important to the people of Brewster. What was important to them was personal relationships, a sense of family within the community and within the church. 33 In both the international and North American non-urban field, Nerger s comment finds 32 Rebecca Long, Rural Roots and Urban Evangelism, in Planting and Growing Urban Churches, ed. Harvie M. Conn (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997), Though Long writes of her ministry to the Zapotec people in Los Angeles, the people group to whom she ministers are first generation immigrants who she acknowledges to be of little difference to the people living within the rural villages of Mexico. Long ministered in both Oaxaca, Mexico and Los Angeles, California, so her perspective can be trusted. 33 Klassen and Koessler, No Little,

13 13 merit: You must be relational to do rural. 34 A Fifth Key: The Role of House Churches A fifth key to non-metro church planting in both the international and North American contexts is the role of house churches. Carlton recalls how important house churches were to a church planting movement in Southeast Asia. He describes the villages involved in this movement as being small, comprised of twenty to thirty homes. In this setting, house churches were vital for three reasons. First, they offered natural places for people to gather for worship. Second, house churches take into account the money factor, for house churches negate the need for lease or mortgage money. Third, house churches are highly reproducible, for all a church planter must do is find a family willing to offer their home for use. Though Carlton condones the house church method, he does not overstate their significance, for he said, Some say house churches are the New Testament model, but the New Testament defines a church by its characteristics, not by where they meet. 35 Though not much has been written on the use of house churches in North American non-metro church planting, the great expense of funding a building may be enough of a reason for the house church model to be considered. Garner suggests, There are some significant spiritual benefits to a debt free approach. This forces a congregation to cry out to God and to watch for His provision rather than the provision of a local banker. 36 Though the house church model may not be the church planter s long term desire, houses may be a suitable temporary place to meet while gathering resources to pay for a worship facility. Furthermore, as is demonstrated on the international non-metro field, house churches are more easily reproduced as 34 Steve Nerger, a personal interview with the author, 16 March Bruce Carlton, a personal interview with the author, 15 March Garner, Starting Churches in Rural North America, 186.

14 14 a church planting movement is birthed. 37 Conclusion In this paper, I hoped to accomplish three objectives. First, if you as the reader approached this topic skeptical of the need to plant non-metro churches, I aimed to overcome your skepticism by presenting the overwhelming need for non-metro churches to be planted throughout the world. Second, I intended to convince my readers that the best strategy for planting non-metro churches, in both the international and North American non-metro contexts, is indigenous church planting. Third, I wanted to give my readers five principles in indigenous, non-metro church planting that I discover transcend cultural differences. I firmly believe that the model described above is the cutting edge of non-metro church planting for the future. But as church planters forge their ways ahead, may we always remember Nerger s advice: We have learned in the past twenty-five years how to start churches in the North American context. We use one seminary-trained person to do one church start, using volunteers and assistance. We do not want to throw out this model, but now is the time to go the next level of church planting, using indigenous people who start churches where they live. 38 Nerger s sentiments have become my own. The future is bright for non-metro indigenous church planting. 37 Brent Thompson, In the Middle of Nowhere USA, Southwestern News 63 (2004), In this article, there is an exception to this principle, for In the mid-1970 s, a HMB [Home Mission Board] church planter advocated building church buildings. He fought against the perception that buildings should only be erected once the church plant could afford to build them. The two churches who accepted this church planter s methodology still exist today, where the two that refused to follow his leadership have long since disappeared. I find this to most likely be an exception, and not the rule. 38 Nerger and Ramsey, Bivocational, 84.

15 15 BIBLIOGRAPHY Books Brock, Charles. Indigenous Church Planting: A Practical Journey. Neosho, MO: Church Growth International, Hesselgrave, David J. Planting Churches Cross-Culturally: North America and Beyond. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker, Heibert, Paul G. and Eloise Hiebert Meneses. Incarnational Ministry: Planting Churches in Band, Tribal, Peasant, and Urban Societies. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, Klassen, Ron and John Koessler. No Little Places: The Untapped Potential of the Small-Town Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, McGavran, Donald A. Understanding Church Growth. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, Nebel, Ted. Big Dreams in Small Places. St. Charles, IL: ChurchSmart, Nerger, Steve and Eric W. Ramsey. Bivocational Church Planters. Alpharetta, GA: North American Mission Board, SBC, Articles Garner, George. Starting Churches in Rural North America. In Reaching a Nation Through Church Planting, ed. Richard H.Harris, Alpharetta, GA: North American Mission Board of the SBC, Long, Rebecca. Rural Roots and Urban Evangelism. In Planting and Growing Urban Churches, ed. Harvie M. Conn, Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, Payne, J.D. Suggested Shifts in Preparation for the Spontaneous Expansion of the North American Church [on-line]. Accessed on 21 March Available from files/suggested-shifts-in-north-america.pdf; Internet. Thompson, Brent. In the Middle of Nowhere USA. Southwestern News 63 (2004): Other Resources Carlton, Bruce. Personal interview with the author 15 March 2007.

16 16 International Mission Board Core Values [on-line]. Accessed on 21 March Available from Internet. Nerger, Steve. Personal interview with the author 16 March Rural Church Planting [CD-ROM]. Alpharetta, GA: North American Mission Board, Urban-rural population as a proportion of total population, Canada, provinces, territories, health regions and peer groups, 2001 [on-line]. Accessed on 1 May Available from Internet. Watke, Curt. The Missional Church in Town and Country North America: Issues and Perspectives for the Twenty-first Century [on-line]. Accessed on 21 March Available from village.net/atf/cf/%7b087ef6b4-d6e5-4bbf- BED1-7983D360F394%7D/missionalChurchIssuesPerspectives21stCentury.pdf; Internet.. An interview by with an international church planter whose identity must remain anonymous for security reasons 15 March 2007.