Over at his site Who Told You That, Dell Kimberly has asked for reader input for what I think is a critically important question: How can an established church act like a church plant?
This is the most unusual post I have ever written. It is also perhaps the most important I have ever written. At this point I am not presenting information. Instead I am asking for information. I would appreciate your help. I hope that you will post your answers on this blog. If you are more comfortable you can email them directly to me at [email protected]. It is important for me to hear from each of you. None of the answers you give will be unimportant or without value to me.
I will put together a list of your responses. Thanks in advance for your time and participation. Dell Kimberly
Let me set the stage. You are placed in a city and given a mission. It is your responsibility to begin a church. Your mission is to build a church of 200 in two years. This will be a church plant. There are no churches currently in the city that hold the views you believe God values as important.
This is what I need from you. I need you to answer any or all of the following questions. If you can add other areas of importance please add them. I NEED YOU TO PARTICIPATE, PLEASE!
- Describe to me the preparations you would make before arriving.
- How would you begin your task?
- What would be your point of emphasis during the first week, month, etc.?
- What atmosphere and attitudes would you work to establish?
- What would be the most important things to get done in the first two months?
- How would this church be different than an established church in our fellowship?
Please participate. As I suggested in this post, one likely solution to our evangelistic weakness is to have our established churches emulate the attitudes and methods of church plants. After all, church plants often work quite well starting with only 15 or so Christians. Why, then, can’t any church of 15 enjoy the same success? And if 15 people can do it, why not 200?
