Why We Do What We Do the Way We Do It 2

In this second post of this series, I want to share with you the foundational issues for our church’s planting and revitalization efforts.  Listed below are matters we regularly preach, teach, and talk about among our leaders and our members.  Without understanding these foundational issues, it is difficult to understand the practical components (to be addressed in the next posts). 

• Our vision, mission, and goal: We glorify God by making disciples of all nations.
• We desire for our members to be world-impacting disciple makers.
• Our four primary facets of disciple making are: 1) Sharing the Word; 2) Showing the Word; 3) Teaching the Word; and 4) Serving the World.
• We equip our people to be involved in multiplying disciples and multiplying churches: 1) in Birmingham; 2) across North America; and 3) throughout the world.
• Our values are: 1) biblical proclamation; 2) sacrificial care; 3) wholehearted worship; 4) desperate prayer; and 5) exponential multiplication.
• Our strategy for equipping world-impacting disciple makers to make disciples of all nations (in Birmingham, across North America, throughout the world) is to be: 1) biblical; 2) simple; 3) intentional; 4) reproducible; 5) cross-cultural; and 6) radical.

We want all of our church planting efforts and church revitalization efforts (two completely different ministries) to be aligned with the plans that God has already promised to bless.  We don’t develop plans and methods and then ask God to bless them.

We want all of our planting and revitalization efforts to be as simple as possible so those efforts are more likely to be reproduced by others (both long-term Kingdom citizens as well as recent Kingdom citizens).  With 4 billion lost people in the world–including over 2 billion who have never heard of Jesus–we must keep biblical simplicity in mind to be best poised for multiplication.  We continue to work to be organized for rapid multiplication and not routine addition.

As pastors, we work to equip our members for the work of the ministry (Eph 4:11-12), and do not serve as event planners.  We work to serve people, not provide services. We are people-driven, not program-driven.

With over 6,000 unreached people groups in the world (including 3000 unengaged-unreached people groups), and approximately 560 unreached people groups (many unengaged) in North America, we are intentional about crossing cultural barriers in Birmingham, across North America, and throughout the world.  We believe that the highest priority in the world today–including in North America–is for cross-cultural disciple making that results in gospel-centered churches.

Part of being radical involves the willingness to risk everything to make disciples of all nations.  We do this for the sake of the lost, the poor, the church, and ultimately for the sake of Christ.

Are we perfect? Of course not! Do we have everything worked out in all of these areas? No.  We are always evaluating, refocusing, and making adjustments as we look forward to the Day!

Lord willing, in my next posts, I plan to share some of the practical details.  Stay tuned.

(image credit: Microsoft Office)