| Church Development Churches Starting Churches: Effective
Evangelism — Part II
By Dr. Montfort C. Duncan Jr.,
Executive Director, Church Development
 Recently,
someone asked me the question, “Why aren’t more churches involved
in planting churches in Florida?” That’s a great question to ask.
A number of pioneers are now leading the way in this crucial area of
reaching the unchurched. Too often we hear churches giving many
excuses for not being involved in church planting: “We are too
small; we’ve never done it before; there are already too many
churches in our area; we don’t need any more churches around us.”
Commitment to church planting is not a matter of
size, but rather a matter of vision and mission. This is larger than
our conference; it is a Kingdom issue. Churches with a passion to
reach the lost ask the question, “What can we do to strengthen the
Kingdom?” Churches that are inward-focused, without a vision, ask
the question, “What can we do to have a bigger church?” Scripture
teaches us that God honors our commitment to grow the Kingdom.
New movements are springing up all the time with
a vision to start new churches. Here is a list of things churches can
do to be part of this disciple-making, Kingdom-building effort
(Source: “Outreach Magazine”).
Parenting – “This process involves providing resources and
personnel for the core team of a new church.”
Facility usage – “No matter how active your church is, there is
probably some down time when your facility is not being used. Allowing
a [new] church to meet in your facility until it is able to afford its
own building can go a long way toward helping it grow…”
Loaning
personnel – “As new churches are in the process of getting off the
ground, they may be in temporary need of a worship team, child care
workers or help with other ministries. Allowing this new church to
utilize the talents of some of your team members during this
transition period could make or break the new church.”
Mentoring – “A member of your church’s pastoral staff can spend
time in a discipling relationship with an aspiring pastor who wishes
to start a new church.”
Alternative service – “If there is a segment of the population of
your church that is either not attending or not benefiting from your
worship services, consider starting an alternative service for that
group.”
Partnering – “By joining forces with other area congregations [in
your district], your church can combine resources to target unchurched
people.”
Prayer
– “Often overlooked, intercessory prayer can offer a huge support
system for church planters.” (If you would like to join the growing
conference prayer network for new churches, contact me at Mduncan@flumc.org
and asked to be placed on the list.)
Your church can be part of a growing movement to
start new churches in the Florida Conference. If you have questions
about what your church can do, call me at 800-282-8011, extension 147.
I look forward to hearing from you. |
