I found myself in the middle of a denominational meeting that left me quite surprised. It was one of those typical meetings that no one wants to attend, but you do for fear of what might happen. I remember that after reading an important document, they spent half an hour discussing what would be the best title for the document. The center of the debate was the difference between the word memory and the word review.
When my time came to speak and give the workshop that corresponded to me, I began with a very simple question: what is the mission of the church?
Nobody answered.
When it came to discussing the nuances between the word review and memory, everyone wanted to contribute. When it came to explaining the reason for its existence, no one would say anything. How sad!
Make disciples or good works?
It is tragic when the church comes to lose its mission. If we don’t know why we exist, we will fill our meetings and our buildings with activities that may be good, but do not fulfill our mission. The result will be that we will not see the importance of planting new churches.
I’ll give you this example: in Guatemala, the country where I live, there are supposedly more than 40,000 churches. It would be easy to conclude that there are already enough, and that we should start developing other initiatives that help fight poverty or violence. So, someone would say, we shouldn’t plant churches. In fact, people have told me just that: “There are enough churches already!” This idea sounds logical, but sometimes we don’t filter it through the Bible.
Do we understand the role of good works in the church?
In his book, centered church, Tim Keller says:
“One of Martin Luther’s sayings was that we are saved by faith alone, but not by faith that stands alone. His point is that true evangelical faith always and necessarily leads to good works, but salvation is by no means achieved through or because of good works.”
Therefore, if we believe that planting churches will prevent good works from being done, we are missing the role of good works in the life of the church. And if we think that doing more social works will eradicate poverty and violence, we do not understand the role of the gospel and the church in society.
Planting a new church is gathering a new community of Jesus’ disciples in a certain neighborhood, who are living the life Jesus would live, concerned about the things Jesus cares about.
If we apply a correct understanding to church planting, everything changes. I’ll put it simply: To plant a new church is to gather a new community of Jesus’ disciples in a certain neighborhood, who are living the life that Jesus would live, concerned about the things that Jesus cares about. In other words, it is a community that lives for the glory of God and the good of its city. Therefore, it is important to continue the task of planting churches.
I would like to encourage you to consider the following points in an effort to convince you that God’s plan has always been the multiplication of his Church.
1. It was the strategy of the apostles
In a world filled with injustice, want, corruption, and pain, the apostles dedicated themselves to bringing together local communities of believers. When they received the great commission, they could have created social initiatives. However, what they did was plant churches.
We see an example of this in Acts 13-14, when Paul is sent with Silas to take the gospel to other places. They proclaim the Word, and in Acts 14:21-23 we read:
“After announcing the gospel to that city and making many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, strengthening the hearts of the disciples, exhorting them to persevere in the faith, and saying: ‘It is necessary that through many tribulations let us enter the kingdom of God’. After they appointed elders in each church, having prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
The method by which the apostles carried out the mission God gave them was through church planting.
2. The churches are at the center of God’s plan.
The Church is central to God’s redemptive plan, and therefore the local church as well. Wherever there is an expression of the Church, we know that it pleases God.
Ephesians 5:25 says that Christ gave his life for the Church, and because he bought and cleansed it, He is named its head (Col. 1:18). In 1 Peter 2:9 we read that the Church is a holy nation, an acquired people that exists to announce the virtues of Christ.
This means that God is pleased when new local communities are established, since there are more people there who are part of this holy nation and acquired people who are proclaiming the excellencies of Christ.
3. Church planting keeps our focus on mission.
There is an element that threatens every church: losing focus on the mission of the church. When there is a correct vision of multiplication, it becomes difficult to lose the mission. In fact, our mission is the multiplication of disciples, and as a result the multiplication of communities of disciples.
When we consider that church planting is an essential part of how we fulfill the mission of making disciples, the same mother church (ie, the church that is planting) will be challenged to pursue that mission.
This also exposes the tremendous need to develop more leaders who can serve. We see that Paul gives Timothy the following task: “And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who are able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2).
In order for us to see a true multiplication of disciples and churches, we will have to develop leaders. In that sense, the mission of making disciples goes hand in hand with developing leaders and planting churches.
4. Church planting is a local activity.
Church planting brings the gospel and the community of faith into a particular context. In Latin America we find huge differences between communities that are close to each other. There may even be differences from one street to the next.
To believe that churches do not impact society is to give Christians excuses for not doing what they are supposed to do.
There are communities with a lot of poverty, violence, and corruption. If there are churches there, the question is: what are they doing about it? Obviously, the community of disciples should grow in generosity, in protection of the vulnerable, and in their own honesty and integrity. As the church fulfills its mission and sees more people becoming disciples of Jesus, the result will be a transformation of the community.
Only by planting new churches are we able to fulfill our mission to make disciples, and also to see real change in our cities and communities. To believe that churches do not impact society is to give Christians excuses for not doing what they are supposed to do.
How do I do it?
That is a good question. Here some tips:
1. Pray and don’t stop praying.
Let me say outright: don’t rush into this process! In an effort to multiply or fulfill the mission, many young pastors push established churches to multiply faster than the church can, or even faster than the Spirit is moving.
It is imperative to recognize that the Holy Spirit is more concerned with the multiplication of the Church than we are, and therefore we can pray and trust that He will do it at the right time. In fact, throughout the book of Acts, it is the Spirit who works through the multiplication of the Word and the birth of new communities. Paul and the apostles are simply the tools that the Spirit uses.
We must pray for the Lord to raise up workers, for the Spirit to make the proclamation of the gospel effective, for the Spirit to regenerate, for the Spirit to empower new believers and give them unity. The Spirit really takes care of the whole process of planting new churches, and so we submit to Him and ask Him to guide and direct us.
Let’s spend time praying for our city, for people who don’t know the gospel, for the most needy sectors, and for the spread of the gospel. As we pray, let us make ourselves available to the Spirit to use us, in the way He wants, in his redemptive work.
2. Live the mission.
Many want the church they attend to resume mission. The easiest thing to do is to create structures and programs that encourage the church to be “more missional.” Actually, we have to understand that the mission starts with you, pastor.
This often happens: when we conclude that few brothers are involved in the mission of the church, we schedule a training or look for a program that can help the church share its faith. We plan an evangelistic event, or go door to door evangelizing.
Although these initiatives are not bad, they do not create the evangelistic culture that we seek as pastors. In his book EvangelizationMack Stiles says the following:
“A strict diet of evangelistic programs produces malnourished evangelism. In the same way that eating sugar can make us feel like we’ve eaten (when we haven’t), programs can make us feel like we’ve evangelized when we haven’t. Therefore, we should have a healthy concern with the programs. We should use them strategically, but sparingly, remembering that God did not send an event, but rather sent his Son.”
The truth is that you should first live missionally before you schedule or plan how to train the church. Mission in the church begins with leaders who model and continue to learn.
As pastors, we have to evaluate if we do the things that we teach. The way we live shows whether we believe what we say. A pastor who, for example, talks about making disciples without making disciples, implies that this task is not important or that he does not believe in its relevance. This type of leadership will result in much talk but little action.
3. Develop leaders.
In addition to making disciples, it is essential that as a pastor you spend time with people who are demonstrating maturity in the Christian life and eagerness to use their gifts.
This timing cannot be random, but should precisely follow Paul’s advice in 2 Timothy 2:2. it’s a time intentional to deliver to others what has been entrusted to us. We want to train others to handle the Word of God and apply it to life accurately and effectively.
I would encourage you to take one or two men from the congregation you pastor, and start meeting with them. Look for a book that can train them in basic issues of faith. I recommend The Gospel-Centered Life by Will Walker, or prodigal god by Tim Keller.
As you meet with them, you can expand the readings. They should read widely regarding the church, the mission of the church, the centrality of the gospel, and doctrine in general.
4. Ship well.
Sending well means supporting the…