Why Start A New Church?
Several years ago, Tim Keller shared his thoughts on why churches should invest their energies into starting new churches. In the article “Why Plant Churches” he explains that, “Virtually all the great evangelistic challenges of the New Testament are basically calls to plant churches, not simply to share the faith.”
We couldn’t agree more. Jesus called us to make disciples, and the most effective way to do that is by establishing new churches. That’s exactly what we see his first followers doing throughout the book of Acts as they sought to trust and obey.
Jesus’ disciples knew that local churches were a necessary component of fulfilling the Great Commission. They knew that discipleship only happens when people are in relationship with one another. They saw churches as disciple making factories – faith communities that trained people how to make Jesus the Lord of their lives and share his good news with others.
We help start reproducing churches as a strategy for making disciples. However, just because you start a church doesn’t guarantee disciples will be produced. That’s why we’ve filled this month’s newsletter full of content to help your church think strategically about how you’ll make disciple makers. Speaking of making disciples, the National Disciple Makers gathering is happening next month in Nashville Nov. 7-8th. We hope you find the content encouraging and helpful on your mission!
-Dale Spaulding, Director
October 2019 – Contents
- Free eBook – Gospel Intentionality
- Disciple Making Strategy Template
- Multiplying Disciples
- Church Planter Boot Camp
- National Disciple Making Forum
Gospel Intentionality
Do you have a vision of equipping your church to be everyday missionaries? Do you desire to see your people saturating the places they live, work and play with the good news of Jesus? If so, take advantage of Gospel Intentionality, a new free eBook brought to you by Exponential.
In the book, authors Larry McCrary and Caleb Crider describe their journey in helping everyday believers become everyday evangelists. Reading this book will challenge the way you think about leading a church. It offers practical advice on how you can help your people take next steps as ambassadors for Christ wherever God places them. Download your free copy today.
Disciple Making Strategy Template
How your church will make disciples is not a question you can take lightly. Don’t just get busy doing church things and hope disciples are produced. Your church can be intentional about making disciples that make disciples. With the help of our Disciple Making Strategy Template you can begin to develop your church’s disciple making strategy.
Don’t leave disciple making up to chance. Craft a strategy so every leader at your church can support it and execute it together.
Multiplying Disciples
When you study scripture, you see how God prefers multiplication over addition. From the very beginning we see God’s heart for multiplication as he commands mankind to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth (Gen. 1:27). He gives this same command to Noah and his family after the flood (Gen. 9:1). Human multiplication was God’s strategy for filling the earth with people who reflected his image.
God’s multiplication strategy is still in effect today. But instead of just procreation multiplication, God’s mission for his people is to multiply disciples of Jesus. In other words, he calls his people to have spiritual children, grandchildren and great grandchildren (Matthew 28:19-20; 2 Timothy 2:2).
God has called you to produce spiritual children who will continue to reproduce. How are you doing at this? If you’re not sure, take the disciple making assessment developed by Exponential to see. If you’re disappointed by your score, don’t lose hope. With intentional effort and training, you can refine your disciple making skills. Learn more about how you can improve your disciple making with the help of Global Discipleship Initiative and with Discipleship.org.
Church Planter Boot Camp
At Passion for Planting, we want to see disciples making disciple-makers starting churches that start churches. To help us realize this vision, we come alongside churches to equip leaders to become church planters. One unique training opportunity we offer for this exact purpose is our church planter boot camp.
By participating in our boot camp, participants will receive practical ‘how-to’ training on disciple-making, community outreach, marketing, fundraising, leadership development, assimilation, legal requirements and more! You’ll also learn how to develop your own comprehensive Launch Strategy with the help of experienced church planters. Our next boot camp is November 11-15, 2019 in the Washington, DC area. Reserve your spot today!
National Disciple Making Forum
If all this talk about disciple making has got you fired up, consider taking part in the National Disciple Making Forum. It’s happening November 7th-8th in Nashville, TN. Learn from disciple making practitioners like Ronnie Goines, Shodankeh Johnson, Jim Putnam, and many more. You’ll leave the conference not only inspired, but also equipped with practical next steps on how to help more people share their faith and become disciples who make disciples.
For more information about the forum and to register visit National Disciple Making Forum.