DESIRED OUTCOME: Laypeople in Church Planting After you finish this unit, you will be able to develop a plan to: 1. Identify potential church planting team members and their roles, 2. Assist individuals in discovering their gifts, abilities, and talents that can support church planting activities. INTRODUCTION: Indentification, Discovery & Enlistment Connecting the Right People with the Right Place It is time to release God s people as the Holy Spirit directs them and encourage them to do what they did in the New Testament: First, proclaim God s Good News to all whom He will send them and in all places He will lead them. Second, believe and look for God to draw those being saved and add them together, forming them into new churches. The spiritual culture of our day does not lead God s people to expect this process to be happening to them, or among them. We must let God return us to His perfect plan to touch the entire nation and world with His Good News. If the lay people ever catch God s pattern for using them in church planting, the nation and world could come to hear God s Good News in our generation! Henry Blackaby 1 When you look at these 3 young bean plants, they all look very similar. In fact, if we could have seen each of them while they were still seeds, they might have looked almost identical. The amazing thing is that each of them will develop into a very different plant. They will be different sizes, have different characteristics, and produce different fruit. 27
To the untrained eye, we would have planted them as if they were all the same. To the trained eye, it would have been clear that these were 3 different plants. And as they grew, we would have discovered that they were really quite different. The same principle holds as we begin to think about identifying potential church planting people. Not every believer will grow into someone that should be involved in church planting. But God has put lay people that He has gifted, equipped, and called into churches all across North America. Identifying those people is the focus of this unit. Is there a Biblical basis for lay people being involved in church planting? Obviously, we believe that there is and a strong case at that!! Let s take a few minutes and think about this issue. It begins with Jesus. There were plenty of vocational clergy types around in Jesus day. And, although Jesus didn t plant a church like we normally use the term, it is important to look at those He selected to invest His ministry in. You will remember that we looked at these men back in the Introduction. It is interesting to note that Jesus selected ordinary men engaged in ordinary occupations in gathering this most important group. While we won t attempt to do an exhaustive study of the New Testament, it would be interesting to look at a few key people and passages. As you go through this section, keep the following question in mind: How important were lay people to the expansion of the first century church? Passage Person(s) Lay Church Planting Principle Acts 4:36 Barnabas Apparently a wealthy businessman (land owner) His occupation allowed him to travel on several missionary trips and his influence impacted several key persons Paul, John Mark Acts 10 Cornelius A Roman soldier His whole household was saved (which for a man of his position would have been a sizeable number of people). We can speculate that his life influenced many more. Acts 16:11-15 Lydia A wealthy business woman (seller of purple cloth) God saw fit for her to be the first convert on the continent of Europe. She, and her whole household were saved. Again, it is reasonable to assume that her influence was significant due to her occupation. A church was started in her house (Acts 16:40) Acts 18:24-28 Priscilla & Aquilla A husband and wife team In this passage, they are instrumental in deepening the understanding and growth of Apollos. This couple was part of Paul s missionary team. 28
Can you think of some other key people in the New Testament that in today s laguage we would call lay people? Use the boxes below to record your insights. Passage Person(s) Lay Church Planting Principle Mile Posts Any potential mile posts come out of this Biblical survey? Do you need to do some further study? Do you need to communicate any of this to key people in your ministry setting? Now might be a good time to pause for a moment of prayer. Express your feelings about this to the Lord. Thank him for the Biblical convictions He has given you about lay people and church planting. Ask him to help you with areas where you might still be struggling. Ask God to begin to bring to your mind the names of people He is inviting to be involved in church planting activities. IDENTIFYING POTENTIAL LAYPEOPLE IN CHURCH PLANTING DIALOGUE BOX Here are some typical types of leaders found in church planting: Apostolic church planter A person who engages in the early activity of planting a church and then moves on. This kind of person may be involved in more than one church plant at a time. The apostle Paul was this kind of church planter. He didn t become the pastor of any of the churches he helped launch and usually left very early in the life of the new church. Apostolic Church Planting Team A group that goes together to plant multiple churches. This team is typically involved in planting one church at a time but the team expects to move on to the next church planting project relatively soon. Volunteer Church Planting Team A group that goes out to help in the planting of a new church. Some of these teams help in the early stages of a new church by leading in the initial activities and ministries, help train local leaders, and then return to their home church. Other volunteer teams go out expecting to remain in the new church as part of the core group. Church Planting Pastor A person that leads in the planting of a new church and remains as it s pastor. This has been the most common church planting strategy in Southern Baptist life for the past several decades. 29
TWO APPROACHES There are really 2 basic ways to begin identifying and enlisting potential lay church planting people: Individually In groups Individually these are the people that catch your eye and attention. You have a sense that God is doing something in their lives. You may be becoming aware of a pattern in their lives where they are initiating new things, have a track record of mission involvement, and seem ready for the challenge of church planting. These are the kind of people you enlist one-on-one. Groups this is where you gather a group of people together and issue a church planting challenge. This may be around a missions event, in a worship service, or in some other setting where people are spiritually sensitive to the Lord and ready to respond if they are invited. SEED PACKET WHAT TO LOOK FOR Soul winner already practices sharing his faith and brings people into the Kingdom Already a leader knows how to initiate and invite others to be involved Likes to start from scratch seems to make things happen - doesn t wait around to be asked. Gatherer of people people gather around this person. Has a track record of growing classes, ministries, etc. Sees possibilities even before they exist has a vision of how things could be and helps others see it Growing believer continues to grow in his relationship with the Lord. Do you see people like this in your ministry setting? REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Who do you recognize that might join one of these approaches? Is God making you aware of people who fit any of these approaches? What resources can you use to identify individuals whom God has gifted or is calling out as team members or church planting leaders. What people in your ministry setting have consistently helped to bring people around? In other words, who else has a track record and could help you in identifying potential church planting people? You will probably want to create several mile posts here. What tools will be used to help laypeople to discover the gifts and talents they have that could be used in church planting? 30
What events are happening in your ministry setting where people can respond? Do you need to think about scheduling an event or events like this? What would be your plan to connect with the church planting people at these events? How will you become aware of them? If someone out there was interested in church planting, how would they let you know about it? List the names of groups who have been or will be involved in mission activities. What steps would you need to take in order to help them consider church planting opportunities? Do you see any persons connected to these activities that you could involve in church planting activities? GARDENING TOOLS FINDING PEOPLE Calling Out the Called Discovery Day event Extend a special invitation during worship Use Discovery Tools Look for individuals Who & where are your most missions minded people? (WMU, Men s ministry, youth) What missions events or activities either are or will happen in your ministry setting? SEED PACKET Hold a special celebration service for all those that have been involved in mission activities in the past year Start a missions newsletter that highlights church planting needs and people that are involved Make the involvement of lay people the focus of a worship service or associational meeting Give groups that have been involved in mission trips an opportunity to report Create a Future Church Planters club where you can nurture, train and encourage WHO DO YOU LOOK FOR? Be careful that you don t limit yourself to just identifying the church planter. You also want to be looking for other people that could be part of a church planting team. Many people will not feel like they are the lead church planter but would be excited to be part of a church planting team. What kind of church planting teams could you use? What kind of people would you need for these teams? Mile Post NURTURING PEOPLE You will find that people are in various stages of readiness to respond to the message that God could use them in church planting. What are you going to do with those people that are eager and respond to an invitation but are not yet ready to be actively involved? For example, what do you do with a high school junior that steps forward during a missions event and indicates his desire to be involved. He is not going to go into vocational ministry 31
but wants to be involved in church planting as he prepares to be an investment banker. Or, what about the couple that are going to take early retirement in 12 months so they can be involved in planting new churches in the growth corridor of their city? Do you have some plan or process in place that will continue to nurture these people until they are in a position to go out and actually get started? Many times God will speak to people and they will respond in obedience, although they can not get fully involved for any number of reasons. Along comes the Evil One and he discourages, throws cold water on the fire that God was kindling in their hearts. If you are effective in creating a climate for involving lay people in church planting, you will have people respond that will need to be nurtured along the way. What process will you need to put in place that helps to fan the flames of church planting in the lives of these kinds of people? Mile Post PRAYER What do you need to pray about at this point? Take a few minutes to pray about the issues that have been raised in this unit. Thank the Lord for the sense of excitement He is giving you. Ask Him for peace and direction with those things that are concerning you. Ask the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers into His harvest field. That is a prayer you can be confident He will honor! SEED PACKET NURTURE SYSTEMS Monthly email just a note of encouragement Involve them in church planting activities with an existing church planter Invite them to church planting related events and activities Provide some training and equipping that will help them be more prepared. Connect them with others that are considering church planting Stay in touch find out how God is continuing to work in their lives. 32
MILEPOST QUESTIONS Now it s time to put some more of the puzzle together. You have been jotting down potential mile posts as you worked your way through this unit. Collect all of the Post-It notes you have generated. Take the large chart pack page you used in the last unit and begin adding the mile posts you have generated in this unit. Prayerfully put them in order. Arrange and rearrange as necessary. Some of the mile posts from this unit may overlap mileposts you generated in the previous unit. This is OK. As you begin to place your new mile posts on the sheet, use the following questions to guide you: Are there any mileposts missing? Do you need to add some additional mile posts? Are they in order and is there a natural flow from one to the next? Are they written with verbs, in the past tense? Are these mile posts appropriate and doable for your ministry setting? Will your mile posts result in lay people being identified and recruited for church planting? Will your strategy work in helping you identify the various kinds of church planters discussed in this unit? Will they help you identify and mobilize lead church planters and church planting team members? Is there anything else that God s Spirit has impressed on you that needs to become a mile post? 1 Multiplying the Message, 2001-2002 North American Missionary Speaker s Guide 2002, North American Mission Board; p. 10 33
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