In the previous post, “Three Things to Keep in Mind when Equipping Planters for Movements,” I addressed beginning with the end in mind and planned role changes (see the two diagrams). In this post, I want you to see how we seek to involve training teams in view of the Church Multiplication Cycle. Please note: There are different variations of this cycle. Also, church planting is not as linear as the diagram below. Just as lines blur between the church planters’ roles (see previous post), lines blur between the different stages of the process. This is very important to keep in mind. For example, after disciples are made, short-term discipleship and baptism occur almost simultaneously. The diagram is simply a tool to provide a visual of the endvision.
The Church Multiplication diagram shows the overlap of the stages of church planting with the primary roles of the church planters (again, see previous post’s diagrams) and the primary actions of the church planters for each stage. Leadership (including pastoral) development happens throughout the process as the team seeks to model life and ministry (e.g., 1 Cor 11:1; 1 Thes 1:6). And everything happens with phase-out in mind.
Church planters often major on the minors. Sometimes this problem is due to a poor biblical ecclesiology for the church planting methods and strategies. Sometimes this problem is attributed to unhealthy expectations from a sending church, denomination, or mission agency. Of course, there are other reasons too.
The Church Multiplication Cycle helps planters to keep things simple and to focus on the primary task of the moment. It is more important for church planters to know how to go from 0 believers to 10 new believers in a year, than it is for them to know how to form a 501(c)(3) organization, develop a web site, or administrate a praise team for a reached people group. Planters frequently waste precious time developing complex church structures long before the Spirit births the church.
A familiarity with this cycle (ten parts when including Leadership Development and Phase-out) is necessary when it comes to understanding our 12 month process for equipping church planting teams. Stay tuned.
I really appreciate these last two posts. I’ve been doing CP work for the last 8 years among a UPG. Passing the Baton was a big influence early on. If you have time, I’d love to hear you weigh in on the idea of little “a” apostle as it pertains to CP work.”, if you are familiar with this debate. or if you could recommend resources on it?
Thanks, Ricky. Keep up the great work! I am working on a project related to the apostolic nature of the Church, which gets to your interest in matters related to little “a” apostles (Read it here first!). The best thing I have read to-date on this topic is Don Dent’s D.Miss. dissertation, “The Ongoing Role of Apostles in Missions,” through the Malaysia Baptist Theological Seminary. Dent is presently a professor at Gateway Seminary in California. I did an episode of Strike the Match with him on this topic: https://www.jdpayne.org/2016/08/08/don-dent-and-the-ongoing-role-of-apostles-in-missions/
Thanks! I’ve actually met Dr. Dent a couple of times. I appreciate the resources. That’ll be a good time.