Church Plants versus Established Churches

I received an e-mail from a friend today who asked me what my thoughts were on people who take part in a church plant versus an established church. Both have their positives and negatives, but here were my thoughts. These may not be accurate all the time, but they seem to fit my experience.

In this article, I am not implying that a church plant is better than an established church or vice versa. However it is good to know the pros and cons of both and see if we can implement the best of each in whatever type of church we are actively serving in as members.

Pros for Church Plants; Cons for Established Churches

Church plant members have a pioneering attitude.
Established church members have a maintaining attitude.
Church plant members are more willing to take risks.
Established church members are afraid of risks, preferring what is comfortable or 'established'.
Church plant members are willing to think in a way that is new and different.
Established church members prefer traditions and being able to anticipate the future.
Church plant members constantly look ahead to what is going to happen.
Established church members often look back at what has happened.

Pros for Established Churches; Cons for Church Plants

Church plant members are sometimes those who think they can make the church the way they want it.
Established church members are already content with the church structure.
Church plants often lack resources including qualified workers.
Established churches are often well funded and have more qualified workers.
Church plant members sometimes think they can showcase their talent because the church is usually small.
Established churches can discriminate more on who can fill roles because they are usually bigger.

Mix of Pros and Cons

Church plants tend to be more missional focused in outreach (going to where unbelievers are).
Established churches tend to be more attractional focused in outreach (bring unbelievers to where they are).
Church plants tend to have a stronger emphasis on evangelism.
Established churches tend to have a stronger structure for discipleship.
Church plant members expect something more grassroots.
Established church members expect something more professional.

Prayer in the Church

This past Sunday we were studying 1 Timothy 2:1-7 looking at a praying church as critical for the mission of God. In our study we did a brief overview of the book of Acts on the issue of prayer. Acts chronicles the birth and early history of the church of Jesus Christ. If we were to ask whether prayer was an important aspect of the early church, we should be able to look at the church's practice in Acts to see this.

Here is a blitz look at prayer in the book of Acts:

Acts 1, gathered together in prayer in the upper room.
Acts 2, church birthed at a prayer meeting; Continued in prayer together daily.
Acts 3, Peter and John heal the lame man as they were going to pray.
Acts 4, brethren in trouble so church prays.
Acts 6, devoted themselves to prayer.
Acts 7, Stephen prays for his persecutors.
Acts 8, Apostles pray for new believers to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Acts 9, Ananias comforted because Saul is praying.
Acts 10, Peter prays and is called to Cornelius.¹
Acts 12, Church gathered praying for Peter.
Acts 13, The Church is praying and sending out missionaries.
Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas prayed for the new church plants.
Acts 16, Paul and Silas pray from prison.
Acts 17, Paul’s spirit is stirred for Athens resulting in prayer.²
Acts 18, Paul prays in Corinth.³
Acts 19, Disciples in Ephesus are prayed for.
Acts 20, Paul prays with the Ephesian elders.
Acts 21, the Church in Tyre, Syria prays.
Acts 22, Paul speaks about his praying in the Temple.
Acts 23, Paul was in prayer in the night.³
Acts 27, Paul prays for all those on the storm tossed ship.⁴
Acts 28, Paul prays for Publius to be healed on Malta.

As the Church, we pray. A prayerless church isn't a church dependent on Christ. Let us learn from the God-given pattern in Scripture. It is in God that our life is found, and therefore it is in communication (prayer) with God that our dependence on God is demonstrated. Let us be a praying people.

1 - 10:9-16, prayer seen in Peter’s dialogue with Jesus.
2 - Paul’s spirit being stirred suggests that Paul began to pray.
3 - 18:9-10; 23:11, The Lord speaking to Paul implies prayer.
4 - 27:23-25, an angel being dispatched to strengthen Paul strongly suggests Paul was in prayer.

Mission in the Workplace

We, as Christians, are called to live out the truth of the Gospel of Jesus. That means using all areas of our lives as opportunities for God's mission to the world to show the glory of Jesus.

Josh Reeves, on his blog, gives 30 helpful tips for approaching your job missionally.

Here are the first few to whet your appetite. Pray through these and see which of these would be helpful tools in your workplace.

1. Instead of eating lunch alone, intentionally eat with other co-workers and learn their story.

2. Get to work early so you can spend some time praying for your co-workers and the day ahead.

3. Make it a daily priority to speak or write encouragement when someone does good work.

4. Bring extra snacks when you make your lunch to give away to others.

5. Bring breakfast (donuts, burritos, cereal, etc.) once a month for everyone in your department.

Click here to read more.

Update from Annie

Update from Annie from Calvary Leatherhead on Vimeo.
Annie is coming to Leatherhead. Here is an update from her taken at the Calvary Chapel Missions Conference.

I have many people in this city

Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.” And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

 Acts 18:9–11

In our midweek meetings we have been going through the book of Acts.  This past week while looking at Paul's ministry in Corinth, Paul is preaching the gospel, people are becoming followers of Jesus and many others are upset by this.  Usually this proclamation of the Good News meant bad news for Paul personally as he would usually be beaten up or run out of the city at this point.  

This is a critical moment for the ministry in Corinth as Paul is experiencing fear.  Jesus tells Paul in a vision not to fear, in fact the New American Standard Bible reads "Do not be afraid any longer."  So often we can experience fear when telling people the good news of Jesus.  Often people do not see it as good news but are rather insulted and begin to retaliate, which can easily have a cooling effect on our zeal and desire to proclaim such a glorious gospel.

Last week in preparation for our home group, I was meditating on these words of Jesus here in Acts 18.  Paul is afraid; Jesus speaks; then Paul stays longer at Corinth proclaiming the good news of Jesus longer than anywhere else to date (18 months).  What was the encouragement that Jesus gave Paul to embolden him?  Part of it was the personal promise to Paul that he wasn't going to get his teeth kicked in while at Corinth, and Jesus was faithful to that promise.  But I believe there is much more than that.

Jesus says, "for I have many people in this city".  That word used for people is laos in the Greek which is usually the word used for God's chosen people.  Jesus is telling Paul that many people in Corinth have been appointed to salvation.  

Jesus is imparting to Paul his vision for the city of Corinth.  Because of fear, it would be easy to forget that Jesus has a vision and a purpose for the city.  The Father tells Jesus in Psalm 2:8, "Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession."  Jesus wants the city of Corinth and he has a vision for that city because all the cities and all the nations are his inheritance.

What about your context?  What about your city? your workplace? your neighbourhood? your social network?  If you are from our church, what about Leatherhead?  Do you know what Jesus' vision is for your church, neighbourhood, marketplace, and city?  I'm convinced that he does have a vision.  What is his vision?  We do not know to whom salvation is appointed, but we do know that there are those out there waiting to hear the Good News. 

Let us commit to seeking the Lord, and asking him to impart his vision and desire for the places he has strategically placed us.  Let us receive our perspective from our Master as Paul did.  The result for Paul was the opposite of a cooling effect on his witness and mission; it was fuel for his fire. The disciple knew what his Master/Friend was doing (John 15:15) and joined Jesus on his mission for Corinth.  

Jesus said, "for I am with you".  This would have been a great comfort to know that Jesus was with Paul.  Paul wasn't 'going it alone'.  Jesus is with Paul in the proclaiming of the Good News.  Notice what Jesus tells Paul, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; FOR I am with you...".  We see a very similar phrasing in Matthew 28:18-20 as Jesus calls his disciples to make disciples, promising to be with them.  There is a strong connection between the presence of Jesus and the proclaiming of the Good News.  Jesus' mission was the gospel (good news).  Our mission should be joining him on his mission.  In other words, there is a sense that he is with us because we are with him in what he is already doing.

May the Lord encourage you in this.  To be on Jesus' mission is to be with Jesus as he promised in the "Great comission" (Matt 28:20), "Lo, I am with you always." As he promised to Paul in Acts 18, "I am with you."  It's Jesus' vision, it's Jesus' mission, it's our joy to join Jesus in what he is doing.

India Update from JP Dao

JP Dao's India Update from Calvary Leatherhead on Vimeo.

Jesus Well

Jesus Well from Calvary Leatherhead on Vimeo.

Taking a look at one of the Jesus wells that provides a basic staple of physical life to people in the name of Jesus: Water!

Learning to Read

Learning to Read from Calvary Leatherhead on Vimeo.
Learning to read for the first time, these women who are prodominately Hindus are being shown the love of Jesus as they learn how to read.

Bible College in Mumbai

Mumbai Bible College from Calvary Leatherhead on Vimeo.
Three months ago, this Bible college was attacked by a local village. They were attacked because the men were being trained to be sent out as missionaries for Jesus. Here I am at the Bible college where all of these 'to-be' missionaries will be persecuted violently for their faith at some point and time and yet they still go eagerly!

Bringing Hope to the Slums

Bridge of Hope in the slums from Calvary Leatherhead on Vimeo.
Amongst hopelessness in the slums where a family may make about £400 per annum, sit schools such as this one offering the hope Jesus gives to children by both showing and speaking the Gospel.

Overlooking the slum in Mumbai

Mumbai Slum from Calvary Leatherhead on Vimeo.
This is one of the slums we visited. If you saw the film "Slum Dog", this is where the beginning was filmed. I was personally humbled seeing the Bridge of Hope school here. Seeing young children that love Jesus and are content with what little they have brought my eyes to tears.

You Have Stayed At This Mountain Long Enough (Deu 1:6)

You Have Stayed At This Mountain Long Enough (Deu 1:6) from Calvary Leatherhead on Vimeo.

Often times we like to stay in a place of retreat and refreshing. This is how we felt while on holiday in the mountains of Austria. While times of retreat are good, we are not called to live in retreat but on the frontier.

Interview with JP Dao

At Calvary we strongly believe in the Gospel mission of the Word of God spreading forth in the world. As a church we support JP Dao who is a home missionary for Gospel for Asia UK.

Here is a brief video interview I did with JP this past week at the GFA UK office in York. To see more about JP's ministry check out his blog: http://japesdao.blogspot.com/

Why do so many "churched" people become "de-churched"?

Here is a thought provoking 2 minute video by Pastor Matt Chandler on why so many people who grew up in church end up becoming disillusioned with church and leaving church. This is thought provoking for both those who are "churched" and those who are "de-churched".

What Is A Missional Church

This is the kind of church that we desire to be here in Leatherhead. I like this explanation because it is put very simply:

I Have Other Sheep

And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd. - John 10:16 (NKJV)

The Jews in the time of Jesus were a very closed culture. They view all Gentiles (non-Jews) as unclean. Any contact with them would cause them to be defiled in their minds. It is reported in ancient sources that many Jews when passing Gentiles on the streets would pull their garments in close lest their garments should brush against the garments of a Gentile in passing. In all the Jews were introverted culturally. Salvation was not of the Jews rather for the Jews. Jesus confronts this perspective in John's Gospel. Jesus has been telling the Jews that not everyone who is a Jew is one of His sheep. "In fact," Jesus says, "I have sheep outside of your perspective." Jesus was referring to those Gentiles who would come to faith in Jesus and receive Him as their Messiah (Christ).

There is a great application for us as the Church of Jesus Christ today. We too can become so introverted in focus where we neglect the great commission by isolating ourselves from the very world into which we are sent as proclaimers of the Good News. Jesus says, "I have other sheep, and they will hear My voice." But as Paul says in Romans 10:14, "How shall they hear without a preacher?" There is to be no decommission, only the great commission. It is when we live as if we are decommissioned that we disengage with the mission of Jesus. Rather than being on the frontiers of the Kingdom of God aggressively furthering it (Matt 11:12) against which the gates of Hell cannot prevail (Matt 16:18), we retreat to a safe bunker and try to hide out until the Kingdom is fully come. We sit back in safety and pray, "Father, conform me more into the image of Your Son." Yet, we have forgotten that it was the image of the invisible God, Jesus (Colossians 1:15) that was sent, by the Father, into this hostile world. Jesus came in full obedience. The word "sent" is used some 57 times in John's Gospel, 42 of which refer to the Father sending Jesus. There is no Christ-likeness without His mission finding place in our hearts. We do not retreat, we advance.

However, this must happen with the eyes of faith. Jesus said the fields are white for harvest (John 4:35). If we are defeatist and do not believe people will repent of sin and believe in Jesus, it is hard to advance. We ask, "What is the point of this? There are no results; it would be easier if we withdrew. Nobody is going to believe through my testimony." I am reminded of the Apostle Paul who knew the wounds of war for preaching the Gospel. At one point, there was the temptation to say nothing and withdraw because life would be easier. The Lord then says to Paul in Acts 18:9-10, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city" (emphasis mine). What people is Jesus referring to? He is referring to those who would believe through their word (John 17:20). The temptation to keep silent, to isolate, to decommission was great. But Paul, hearing the voice of Jesus, who Himself came being sent by the Father, commissioned Paul to proclaim the Good News. To encourage Paul, Jesus reminded him that "other sheep I have".

As a church in Leatherhead, we can say confidently "God has sent us to Leatherhead". Lest we become weary and discouraged and introverted may we hear the voice of Jesus for this place, "I have many people in this city." Let us, with the eyes of faith, engage in a harvest in Leatherhead. As we, the missionaries of God, let us see the Kingdom of God advance as hearts are conquered by the Servant King. How shall they hear without a preacher? Go therefore, and preach (Mark 16:15) remembering that it is a commission or should I say co-mission as it's Jesus' mission we are joining in as He says "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matt 28:20).

Click here to listen to the audio teaching.

A Boundless Gospel

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” -Acts 1:8

Jesus’ words here are potent with depth and swelling with perspective on God’s gospel. Jesus tells us that the proclamation of the gospel by our lives requires the power of the indwelling Spirit of Jesus. This is an absolute essentiality in our witness of Christ. But here we also see something of the nature of a Spirit-empowered witness: Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. Our gospel witness begins at home, but it does not simply remain there. In science we learn that nature hates a vacuum. This is why air in a balloon is not content to stay bound up. As soon as the nozzle of the balloon is open and released, the air bursts forth.

In many respects, the gospel is similar. God’s message by nature demands the pushing of our boundaries. Our comfort zones are always put to the test by the ‘going’ nature of the gospel. Indeed, the first word of the Great Commission is “go” (Matt 28:19). Have you become content with your gospel witness being compartmentalized in areas of your life? Are there places/people where you are in Jerusalem or “at home” with the gospel (i.e. certain friends, home, some neighbours)? If so, the Lord would call you out of your comfort zones into the next sphere of your life. The Lord would say, “bear witness in Judea and Samaria” (i.e. work place, school, acquaintances). From there, the Lord would say “bear witness to the world” (i.e. strangers). The nature of a Spirit-empowered, gospel witness is ever expanding, and always moving outward until the whole world hears.

The Spirit-empowers our witness of Jesus to not simply remain where we are comfortable, but to ever expand and take ground causing us to live in ordinary life as missionaries empowered by the Spirit of God, to a world that needs to see a witness of Jesus.