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Part Two
The Apostolic Planting of Organic Churches
As I work more than anything else in the area of Church planting and development, I have often been asked by others working in the field to spell out how one could plant a new organic church.
This type of Church Planting should always start with your family, where you are. Whilst it is possible to use this method in new areas, it works best in a place where you are to some extent known. For example, anybody trying to apply the following method as a newcomer to a town in Spain, where I work, would find that they either had poor results or weak commitments. I will give some suggestions for people starting in totally new situations at the end on this article.
Your family is the beginning of the first cell, perhaps with one or two others who have joined you to start the new church. From the very beginning you should stress informality and your commitment to the others in the group (thus mirroring a commitment that you want to see in them, although you may never demand it). It is vital that you bring no preconceived ideas with you into the group, only the Bible may be your guide. If you don't like dancing in church you must learn to love it, because God thinks it's neat. If you don't like people falling over, then you're going to have to argue with God if it starts to happen in your group. You must do nothing to stop any Biblical move that comes into your Church. If you can't live with that idea, then please don't even try to plant an organic church, because you will probably fail and will almost certainly damage any who enter the poor misshapen thing that you may produce. The Holy Spirit is life, and He will certainly not be constrained to your ideas, or mine.
Add 1 or 2 new people at a time (not necessarily believers, but open seekers). Your
main thrust at the beginning should be making new contacts and friends, whilst at
the same time maintaining those that you have for evangelisation within the group.
Remember, new folk always bring others with them. Where you make new contacts will
depend very much on the culture within which you minister. For example, the Apostles
went to the market places. Whilst we lived in Eastbourne we made many useful contacts
and friends in the local launderette. Later, when I had a part-
At the beginning, don't have "meetings", just informal get-
Your meetings should be natural, not organised. Not just once a week, but everyday as need arises (Acts 2:46). As the group grows encourage members to open their homes, and move from house to house. Some have thought this a weakness, because the reason for the group (to be a church) may become diverted by a new couple, but in my experience this can easily be corrected when they next meet in your home (which should be the most regular meeting place anyway). There is a small risk of losing some, but this risk is worth it for the saints to be able to live in the liberty of God. You can find further information about this in Gene Edwards excellent book, "Preventing a Church Split".
When the group size reaches 10 to 12 you should consider starting a regular teaching plan. This should be foundational teaching for the new church and should include: "what is a Christian?" ("Alpha Course" for example), living and growing in the faith, the local church (Organic church principles as explained in the first part of this book) etc. other subjects you should tackle as they come up, not what you think people need but their real, voiced needs. These studies will be the first step towards organization and should be handled sensitively to find a time and place suitable for all. These studies should not be a straight teach. It is obvious that the folk will look to you as leader, but each person should be encouraged to contribute what they have found in the Bible, or even their own personal point of view, but always balanced by the Word of God.
There should be a continual influx of people as a result of active outreaches (Alpha
courses, open-
By this time your teaching programme should be tackling the local church and the sacraments (See a possible teaching plan later). As far as the local church is concerned, one must stress that a small group without a grand building is a valid expression of the local church and that all true believers are priests apt to minister to God (whatever their cultural backgrounds may say). They need to be taught that authority normally resides with the elders, who will inform and consult with the members about important issues. Those who exercise ministries of the Holy Spirit should be seen as the gifts to the church that they are, and not as some sort of pope or bishop.
As far as the sacraments are concerned, I believe that many "cell-
Baptism can best be performed within the family atmosphere of the "cell", with other leaders and friends to participate too. If several cells have people to baptise at the same time, then the leaders can agree to have a congregational activity. For example all of the cells could meet in a local park for a baptismal service. The candidates would be baptised by a recognised local ministry (Apostle, Prophet or Evangelist) and one of their cell leaders. Later all could share a communal meeting (Agape) with other members of their cell, whilst having social interaction with other cells.
Holy Communion should almost always be celebrated within the cell, as it has its roots in the Passover meal, which was always celebrated in the family and never communally. It is hard to justify H.C. in large gatherings. Perhaps the only thing I can think of is when there is a need for a corporate demonstration of unity (e.g. when new cells or churches come into the congregation/celebration, when new leaders or ministers are recognised in the wider group, etc.)
Another significant move at about this time will be the possible separation of the original cell into two or more new cells. This is a vital time in the new group. Stress should be placed on our congregational unity and not on "splitting into smaller groups". I often use the illustration of a gardener planting seeds. As the seeds grow in the seed tray the gardener carefully transfers the tender seedlings to another situation where they can grow on with more room, sometimes having to transplant them again before they are put into their final position. I have written in part 1 that friends should wherever possible be kept together at this time. In stressing our congregational unity we will obviously have to start a congregational meeting. Look for a suitable meeting place in the community that can be hired on a weekly basis (a community centre, school, library, lounge of a pub or hotel or a restaurant) and then start your meeting with some sort of special celebration, to which you can invite the press and local authorities, thus announcing your presence to the wider community.
By now the growth of the church should follow the lines I put forward in part one, eventually leading to celebration meetings and wider growth.
I did say earlier that I would say something about folk who are starting in entirely new situations. If you find yourself in this position, perhaps you are a missionary or church planter, spend your first six to twelve months just getting to know the lie of the land. As much as possible involve yourself in community activities (My wife and I are on the local town twinning committee). Make friends, and contacts, do "normal" things. Let those around you see your faith as a natural part of your life. Only when you have the confidence of the people can you then move to the next step. In some cultures this can take a long time. In our present situation in northern Spain it has taken us about three years to become accepted as part of the town, In another place it took us six months, on a new estate in Eastbourne, Sussex, it took us only a month or two. Don't worry about the time periods that I am mentioning Paul often spent a long time in the places he visited. Looking back on our past work, I find that the Lord moves us on every 2 to 6 years. You must be sensitive to the Spirit. Once you are established, then continue as above.
Money Matters:
I don't intend writing a treatise on tithing and church finance, but I would like
to put forward some comments on finance in an Organic Cell-
Fairly early on, teaching should be given on Tithes and Offerings. From the very beginning you should have in your house a box where you, and if they want, your guests can put their offerings. You won't need to draw attention to it, just put the box in a visible area with a discreet notice, saying something like, "offerings towards God's work". Later, if asked, you can expand on what the money is used for; Alpha material, videos, a bag of shopping for old Mrs X, etc. When you later teach on giving, you will find it much easier if your folk can see that it has a practical end. It should be emphasised that THE TITHE IS TO PROVIDE MONEY FOR MINISTRY (NUM 18:21), "we gave money to "X" so that he doesn't have to work and can spend his time in prayer, Bible study and ministry to us and others." It is vital that your folk understand that when we support ministries financially, we are not employing someone to do a job, but quite the reverse. We are paying someone so that they don't have to do ordinary work, thus allowing them time to study, pray and then minister to us. You should stress that this doesn't mean that we are paying them to be lazy, or lead a frivolous life, and that the ministers are responsible both to God and His Church for how they use their time. When talking about offerings, stress should be placed on the responsibility of each member to cover the expenses of the local church. In Spain, where I work, one denomination I know takes up an offering at every meeting and then on Sunday, after taking up the offering, they leave a basket beside the pastor and each of the members comes out to put his tithe into the basket. No one sees what is put into the basket, only that tithes are put into the basket. This is good way of positively reinforcing the message of tithing.
Offerings should be used to pay the day-
In the Bible, tithes are clearly used to pay for the ministry. In an Organic Church
some ministers will work in secular employment, whilst others will be full-
Sometimes, I am asked how much a minister should be paid. Some say twice the average wage of the group (basing themselves in the scripture 1Tim.5: 17). Others say that they should earn at least the average wage of the group, whilst amazingly some still think that ministers should live in penury. I personally believe that leaders should be paid at a level equal to the upper third of the church in which they minister, plus expenses and an allowance towards their office, transport and hospitality expenses. But clearly each case is different and should be put before the Lord. Ministers should not be "in the ministry" for their benefits package. Equally no church should fail in their responsibilities towards those who minister to them.
Generally speaking I recommend that, within Organic Churches, finances be conducted at the level of the congregation or celebration, as managing finance at the level of the cell generates too many administrative costs and other complications. However each cell leader must have access to the finances needed by his cell. I would recommend that the church register as a charity at celebration level, and try to purchase centrally whenever possible, as both are signs of good stewardship.
The development of a financial plan for the church could look something like the following:
Period: Initial Period 1st to 6th month
Description of the Group:
One small cell with perhaps an associated "Alpha" or "Just looking" course.
Financial development stage:
Any tithes are set aside to pay for ministry from outside. Offerings pay necessary
costs, any shortfall being made up by apostolic leaders, who should preferably be
working in some sort of secular employment. Thus they would follow the lead of Paul,
who worked to provide for himself and his team until the work grew. (Acts 18:3&4;
2Thes. 3:7-
Period: Initiating the congregation, 6th to 12th month
Description of the Group:
2 or three cells meeting weekly in congregation plus 2 or 3 associated "Alpha" or "Just looking" courses.
Financial development stage:
Tithes to pay one full or part-
Period: Moving on to Celebrations, end of 1st year and 2nd year
Description of the Group:
2 or more congregations, each with associated "Alpha" or "Just looking" courses, with a monthly celebration meeting at which other churches (from outside the group) in the area are invited to participate.
Financial development stage:
Each congregation should have at least one full or part-
Period: 2nd and 3rd year and beyond……….
Description of the Group:
Multiple cells, congregations and monthly celebrations all working well together,
forming an on-
Financial development stage:
As above. If possible with a full-
Some have asked me about what proportion of full-
REMEMBER, CHRISTIANS ARE TO BE GENEROUS BECAUSE GOD GENEROUSLY SAVED THEM!
NEVER LET MONEY PROBLEMS STOP THE WORK OF THE CHURCH!
NEVER ARGUE ABOUT MONEY!
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Organic House Churches and Healing Communities