TEMPLE BAPTIST SEMINARY
A PLAN FOR CHURCH PLANTING IN BARREIRAS, BRAZIL
A CHURCH PLANTING PLAN
SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF TEMPLE BAPTIST SEMINARY
IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE COURSE
INTRODUCTION TO CHURCH PLANTING AND GROWTH (ICST 6423)
BY
Barron Mason
JULY 27, 2011
INTRODUCTION Beginning a new church-planting project is a task that requires much responsibility and effort. It is not a light-hearted venture. Nor is it a task that has a one-size-fits-all model or method. Each church plant has unique elements because it reaches unique people in unique places throughout the world. It is a humbling yet exhilarating experience to be called by God to this task of planting a
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This, along with the other factors mentioned above will have an impact on the strategy to planting a church among the poor of this city.
FACTORS OF STRATEGY AND METHOD Before the work begins, a strategy must be put in place and methods must be decided. This section will outline and describe how the church plant will begin and unfold. The beginning stages and the factors most important to it will be described in this section as well. The plan will serve as a guideline to the work that will be done to see that the church is carefully given over to national leadership so that it may continue reproducing itself in the region and throughout the world.
The Prayer Factor The first factor that will be implemented in the church plant in Barreiras is prayer. As Jesus demonstrated in his earthly ministry, prayer is a vital part of a successful communion with God. In Matthew 14 Jesus had just finished performing the miracle of feeding 5,000 men plus women and children. In verse 23 he “went up into a mountain apart to pray.” Jesus also spent special time in prayer before his suffering and death. “And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed…” (Matthew 26:39). In The Book of Church Growth: History, Theology, and Principles, Thom S. Rainer confirms the importance of prayer in the life of the local church. He stated, “There is simply no more important principle on Church Growth than prayer.”[4] Reflecting on
God loves his Church and Jesus is the one who builds the Church. Then, it goes without saying that God loves the local church and Jesus builds the local church. Unfortunately, there are many factors that come into play, causing churches to become complacent or stagnate before entering into a season of decline. Yet this can be avoided through the process of revitalization.
The growth of the church is consistent with the original impetus for the church plant. God continues to pour His blessing through a vibrant ministry to
To be a successful church the author states that the church should function and relate to the people’s culture that the church is located within.
In the Introduction section of the book, The Hidden Lives of Congregations, Israel Galindo states that a congregation is a “corporate relationship organization” (3) and is not an organization. He points out that the hidden life of a congregation would depict the “nature” of a congregation. This further identifies the relationships and faith of the congregation. According to him, the universal principles are followed by the congregations so that “systemic relationships” can work. The leaders learn the roles that they have within the people who are the congregation. The journal will focus on Dr. Fowler’s question “what is the purpose of this gathering we call the church?”
Bob and Rusty Russell's book: When God Builds A Church, gives practical advice for growing a church in the modern world. Throughout the ten chapters, they give ten ideas for how to do this. Having had success with their Southeast Christian Church in Kentucky, these ten points are shown to work. The first point that is given in chapter one is to have a firm confidence in the truth. In Johns gospel he says: "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth."
This book seeks to encourage the declining and stagnate churches to take the example set by other churches that have had a period of decline yet have managed to pull up their socks and regained their lost growth. Stetzer and Dodson call this book the “comeback Churches’ to give the readers
The author discovered four major factors that church growth in the North American Division tremendously. First factor is empowering servant leadership. In this section, the leaders work hard and they are willing to make sacrifice in the purpose to see a growing church. The second one is passionate and authentic spirituality they believe that it is spirituality that is the source of passion of passion and power behind their effectiveness. The third point is about how their members are committed to get involved in different activity. Some churches they not growing because they expect their pastors to do all the duties of the church. The fourth factor about a growing church is God exalting worship. Worship is one of key factor for church growth.
Myth number six: “There Is One Secret key to Church Grow.” Myth number seven: All God Expects of Us Is Faithfulness. Myth number eight: You Can’t Learn from Large Churches. (48-66) Warren concludes this section by identifying lessons and principles which are transferable and what isn’t. What you can’t copy?
Willow Creek Community Church is an influential megachurch located in Barrington Illinois. The church founded by Bill Hybels serves as the senior pastor, was considered one of the most influential churches in the United States. The church was steadfast in seeking “unchurched people” in search of spiritual maturity. Greg Hawkins, the executive pastor, was asked by the pastor to help in building an infrastructure where the church could connect with the community. Hawkins trusted that the work he did had an effect and if the Church truly helped parishioners along their journey. He contemplated, of all the things that the Church did, what had the maximum impact? If a generous donor gave Willow $100,000 to invest in having the biggest impact on helping parishioners grow into disciples of Christ, would Hawkins and the leadership team truly know what to do with the money (Meehan & Drabkig, 2012).
The same could be said for our faith and community. Tending to the needs of the church building, and not ignoring the issues as they arise, paying attention to repairs and providing maintenance for increasing the health and life of the structure is critical. One cannot expect that a church, with its foundation and framework, would not necessitate continual and routine consideration to maintain its fortitude. Know well the condition of your flock, and give attention to your herds. (Proverbs 27:23, The New Oxford Annotated Bible).
The church model that I would use would be a hybrid between the, “Apostolic Harvest Church Planter Model” and the “Team Planting Model” mentioned in Planting Missional Churches by Ed Stetzer. It would first reflect the “Team Planting Model” by a team being developed out of the mother church. The team would be constructed of 4-6 people that
2 years ago, I planted a church alone in Banning, my motive for starting a church in Banning area was that there was no Korean church in spite of what some Korean immigrants stay in that area. I really wanted to help and serve Korean immigrants, who live in marginal circumstances and think that they are strangers in the US. However, as soon as I started a church, I realized that I did not know enough knowledge and being trained for church planting although I started with strong passion for that. Fortunately, some people came into the church as members, but I want to know what are the essential parts for planting a church scholarly and practically. In my opinion, church planting hugely relates to not only leadership but also mission, so researching
While there are multiple opportunities for worship, none of the churches are at seating capacity for their services each week. This observation creates a belief that I would be able to reach without difficulty new members for St. Luke’s, creating growth opportunities in the congregation.
Pray for Rev. Jerry Soung, district superintendent, as he minsters to pastors and churches in the United States. Pray that the district can develop four new church-planting projects.
Paramount to the data is the utilization of worship attendance as the foundation or principal variable. The component incorporates all United Methodist Churches that have reported at least one average weekly attendee. All other variables are tied and counted based on the weekly attendance metric. While the attendance variable is imperfect, it directly ties to other measurements of church vitality. The examination below includes three main lenses to analyze the data.