The United States is not only one of the world’s largest countries (3rd), it also home to the third largest number of unreached people groups (a story few have heard). Over the past several years, I have noticed a very common church planting strategy that is on the minds of most churches, agencies, and networks:
“Wait for the Lord on high to send a pastor to you–one from among that people, be he Anglo/European-descendant, Chinese, Russian, etc–to reach those people with the gospel and plant a church among them.”
Granted, near culture evangelistic work is often more effective than cross-cultural work (but not always). However, the problem with this thinking is that we run into a problem if we want to reach the unreached, among whom few believers and no pastors exist.
When was the last time you had a conversation with a Somali pastor? Saudi pastor? Wolof pastor? Or, what about a pastor representing the other 540 unreached people groups living in the United States and Canada?
The Lord only told the early believers to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of His Spirit (Acts 1). Even when He told them to pray for laborers for the harvest, it was in the context of them going to make disciples (Luke 10:2). He has told us to go, to cross the cultural gaps, to make disciples of all nations.
He has not told us to wait.
He has not told us to look for pastors to go and plant churches among those people.
But where will the pastors for those people come from?
From the same location where He has provided all of the pastors in the world today–out of the harvest.
Cross-cultures in your neighborhood. Do evangelism. Make disciples from the harvest. Baptize them. Gather those new believers together in a small group. Teach them to obey. Lead them to covenant together as a local church. Raise up pastors from among them to shepherd that new congregation (see Acts 13-14).
Jesus said to go and make disciples, not wait for pastors to plant churches.
J.D., I really agree with this approach to church planting. It poses many problems for mission boards, agencies, and churches who tend to be pragmatic, driven by statistics, or results in their strategies. In my experience in Toronto, trying to make disciples as a bi-vocational missionary there were so many obstacles that needed to be bridged in order to connect, serve, and evangelize the Unreached (linguistic, religious, cultural, geographic, time restraints, the fact that these people do not necessarily live in the same place for long in the city, and many others). Since these UPGs are not living in homogenous groups in the North American cities, even if an individual or family is led to Christ, the chain of evangelism/disciplemaking may not continue quickly to a second generation of converts. In such contexts, starting small groups of believers from one background may look really small (2-3 believers). Unless an international missionary strategically focuses on one Unreached People Group, neglecting others that they may find more open, they will likely be gathering many small groups of 2-3 new believers. Most sending churches, mission boards, agencies in North America just do not consider these “local churches” and so “church planting” is not being done in their opinion. Its so sad that this is the mindset. However, if you can just get a catalytic leader, spend lots of money marketing your new church plant really well, gather a core group and focus on attracting people to your seeker sensitive worship service, then at least you will have something that looks attractive to sponsors. Meanwhile, the Unreached Peoples are still left unreached, and nobody is really being mobilized to the Unreached, not even the Church Planting Pastor really.
Pingback: NH Church Planting | Payne: Jesus Did not Say Wait for Pastors to Plant Churches
Pingback: Missiologically Thinking » Overcome the Ecclesiological Welfare System