Relational Model Of Church Planting

Many churches suffer from too few families controlling the life of the church. One of my members once said, "It's hard to get in here, but once you're in you're in." To which I replied, "And the Spirit of God weeps."

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?”

A church whose pastor and others in leadership have failed to put in place a proactive plan for discipleship for Believers is usually a “growing” church — growing stagnant, growing cold, growing spiritually immature Christians, and eventually, many growing closed. Patte said, “There is much at stake in accepting or rejecting the challenge of discipleship…” When a pastor or a church makes a conscious decision to make discipleship of Believers a primary focus in their

In the past couple of decades the rise in non-denominational churches has been increasing greatly and are said to be the second largest group of Protestants (Moore, 2011). It is said that most that break off and become apart of this fast growing belief come from a protestant upbringing. The study shows that more people are determining on where to worship by how they like the nursery, if the worship music is good, is it close to home, rather than I am a Catholic I need to go to a Catholic Church. As of 2010, four percent of Americans fall into this non-denominational group (Thumma, 2010).

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.

In trying to get a solution to this trend in the churches, the high profile authors, Ed Stetzer and Mike Dodson did a survey of 300 churches from different denominations (10) that had been witnessed to have a significant growth after a tremendous decline. This review looks at their book - “Come Back churches”- the strengths and weaknesses as well as its applicability.

Often, pastors think within the four walls of the church, and rightfully so, when they look at their ministry. However, getting involved in community events, i.e., city commission meetings, business leaders, local stores, and business, etc., are important to change the culture around the church. Trull and Carter

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."

Over the last forty or fifty years, the church in the United States has gone through a rather large transformation. In many ways, it probably reflects the cultural changes that have taken place and the church’s ability to effectively reach it, and in Who Stole My Church? Gordon MacDonald writes a fictional biography where, as a local pastor of a conservative, evangelical, and Anglo church in New England, he seeks to help the congregation cope and flourish with this change.

The goal of producing a healthy church environment will include elements such as a vibrant discipleship ministry, involving those that have become true Christ-followers bearing fruit for

According to the authors, Rainer and Geiger, “simple churches” or dynamic churches, experience a steady increase in the number of members that join their church each year. Churches that experience this annual growth in membership are more likely to have established programs and events that effectively share the gospel with the unsaved and aid in the progression of the church’s congregants’ spiritual development. Paradoxically, churches who do not experience this growth are likely to be “complex churches,” which have ineffective ministries that fail to evangelize and aid in the progressive of congregants’ spiritual development. Rainer and Geiger offer the church leader a

Within the context of American society, we have strayed from the true purpose and identity of what the church was originally created to be. When we hear the word, “church,” we think of a building, a mere location where believers gather together every Sunday. The church of America might believe the essential elements of the church are an air-conditioned sanctuary, ten different ministry opportunities, and a full band to lead worship. While none of these things are necessarily bad, they do not comprise the biblical model of what the church was created to be. The church can be divided into two components: the Universal Church and the local church. Once a person becomes a believer, they are part of the Universal Church, the body of believers

The Church Refused to Look Like the Community. Dying churches are concerned with self-preservation. The way of doing church is fare more important to these churches, than adapting to reach the demographics of where God has divinely placed them.

Our church does not like to keep a mega church with over a couple of thousand members. We would rather let other leaders to plant a new church as one of branch or sister churches. We encourage our other associate leaders to plant a new church before reaching to

The broken ideas of race within the church are a great threat to Christians accomplishing God’s mission for His children. The segregation and institutional racialized thinking of the church throughout history has blinded us to seeing God’s mission in reconciling his children. For this reason, I am applying my model to the church I attend in Perham Minnesota. Crosspoint Alliance Church is a small church in northern Minnesota with little ethnic diversity, and little exposer to the issues of race in the church throughout the country. I would apply my model in teaching sessions held for the elder board, and leaders in my church. My model is set up to give a brief overview of the history of race in the church, as well as the background of race