Posts Tagged ‘Church Planting’

Let me introduce you to Tim and Tammy Aho. They are both church planters in the UK. Originally from the USA (as the name suggests), they have worked for more than 10 years in the West Midlands helping to plant a church that meets in an expanded and growing “village” on the edge of Birmingham. They are both thinking about the future in terms of serving a broader movement of churches that will “plant churches that plant churches”. In the meantime, Tammy is a student on the MA in Missional Leadership and Tim tutors on the church planting topic at a number of local tutor groups. They are great colleagues who help us to wrestle with some tough issues, not the least of which is the question, “what’s the DNA of churches that plant churches?”

A few days ago, Reinhold Scharnowski, the leader of DAWN Europe, e mailed a number of folk to share news of a meeting with 22 key church leaders from denominations and networks in Germany to talk about new ways ahead for church planting initiatives. I sensed a new seriousness, determination and creativity around this agenda and wanted to talk to Reinhold about all of that. We met for lunch and an afternoon of creative conversation in various restaurants and cafes in Geneva. What I sensed from Reinhold was something that I am also sensing from others in various parts of Northern Europe – we seem to have moved to a new day. That does not mean that crowds are beginning to line up outside our existing churches but it does mean that there is a change of mood in society such that when Christians take mission seriously, there is a response.

It was fantastic to spend a day with a group of Christian workers who have taken a decision to plant 10 new churches from a network of around 30 churches. They are calling that initiative – First Wave. (The suggestion in such a name is that they envisage a second, third and more waves). A signal of their seriousness flows from the hard work that is going into the process. They are determined to plant churches that will plant churches and they have asked the tough question – what do such churches actually look like? To give you a flavour of their work, here are 3 insights from amongst many insights:
1. They want to ensure that the churches they plant have identified the person or persons who will plant the next church before they begin each church plant. That suggests a strong intentionality.
2. They intend to support church planters once they have begun with a system of mentors and coaches that will try to ensure that accountability is in place and burnout does not occur.
3. They are creating a central resource to help with the process of research such that new locations (or types of church) are well thought through. That central resource is not limited to research but also includes prayer/ regular envisioning meeting/ identification of future resources/ and recruitment of church planters.
When I first got involved in church planting activity (now 30 years ago) I rarely if ever encountered this level of determination, seriousness and thoughtful engagement. Its exciting to see that the people of God are convinced that good things can happen and are matching that enthusiasm with creative action.