| Approaches we use for Church Birthing |
We will birth a church anywhere using any method that works and glorifies God.
There are, however, several approaches we are used to using in birthing a church.
Here is a brief description of these approaches.
Please contact us if you would like more information about any of these, or if you
would like to open a dialogue about your situation.
Development of Church Birthing through Lay Leaders seeks to
facilitate the dreams of lay people through leadership, and
other training, to birth bodies of believers, right where they live,
without having to have a fully funded church planter at the
start. See the Training page for more information on training
Lay leaders.
In this approach we begin with a church located
strategically that is at the bottom end of decline,
and about ready to close its doors. After three
successive affirmative congregational votes to give
us or their church association complete ownership of
their property, we dis-incorporate the old church for a
rebirth. This is never approached as a church failure, but rather as a new harvestcycle. We explain that for a great harvest, sometimes the old growth must be plowed
under and planted again.
In this approach we feel the need to move fast, so we will have an already fully funded
planter in place with very specific instructions on how to approach the future. This is
done so that he does not get bogged down in the past, but rather sets a strong
agenda for going forward.
On the articles page, there is a much fuller
description of this approach. Let me summarize
it in this way for now:
The end picture is church in every way, but yet it
looks different and is lean and efficient while getting there.
Weekly church services for all but a regular designated week happen in people's homes. Once a month all the neighborhood meetings come together for a truly
celebratory service using a public facility (usually another evangelical church's
building). All the regular functions of church life are developed with the entire group in
mind.
Further explanations can be found on the articles page under "Multiplication Church
Birthing for Regional Saturation” along with the "Village Model."
(Links to churches planted this way can also be found at Associated Churches.)
The Mother Church Approach can have any number of
styles that play out the churches dream, but we will not
address them here. Mothering is one of the most effective
approaches to the issue of birthing a church. It too however, can be done well or with disastrous results. It is a myth that a church must be thousands in number for
success in this approach. The truth is in timing and the good health of the mother
church of any size.
In this approach, conception occurs and gestation happens naturally and over time.
The mother church is the matrix which pulls together the building blocks of life for the
church to be birthed. There is also a healthy period of time for the mother church to
be involved in the early life of the new church and there is an appropriate time for the
mother church to let go.
The preferred approach to Latino church planting in our
mind is a modified Mother Church plan. We encourage a
church that identifies the need to call an associate pastor
for Latino ministries. In this model, the non-English
speaking family members can be ministered to in a variety
of ways, while the English speaking children and other
family members can become integrated into the mother
church life. The Latino church can easily do business under another name, but still be under the umbrella of the mother church.
The major difficulties are, of course, funding and finding a qualified Latino pastor.
Once again, it is a myth that only very large churches can afford to do this. In fact,
once the truth is known, many if not most churches must do something like this in
order to make it past the middle of this century.
(See Associated Churches for links to a couple of churches that are doing this well.)
When we are intentionally approaching an area for saturation
church planting, we birth the first church with the DNA of
intentionally being a matrix for further church birthing in the area.
The best model for this is the approach referred to above as the
Multiplication Approach. A similar approach is used elsewhere and
known as the "Cell Celebration Model".
In our estimation this is the least effective but most often
attempted approach. The overall failure rate for all
denominations and church planting groups with this style is
by far the highest of all approaches today. We will and do
use it only because there are some situations where the
neighborhood dynamics demand an approach like this.
In this approach a core is developed before a launch date. The planter trains his team for a church service. A great amount of advertising is done for a "Launch date"
about a year into preparation.
The band is ready, the preacher is ready, the greeting team is trained, as are the
children’s workers. A school or community center has been rented and the sandwich
boards and handouts are ready to tell the story about this new church in town. All that
is left is to see how many will come for the launch service. This number on the first
Sunday will in all likelihood drop to a third of that amount during the next few months,
and that will be the group you begin with.
A very small number of these sandwich board churches survive for one year. Even
less survive for five years and if they do survive, near most metropolitan areas in this
country, the church will have to grow to be over five hundred before it will be
anywhere near building it’s own facility.
This kind of church plant can make it, but there are many pressure points along the
way and dynamics that will need to come into play in the process.
(See Associated Churches for a link to churches that are succeeding having used
this approach.)
There are, however, several approaches we are used to using in birthing a church.
Here is a brief description of these approaches.
Please contact us if you would like more information about any of these, or if you
would like to open a dialogue about your situation.
 | Lay Leadership |
Development of Church Birthing through Lay Leaders seeks to
facilitate the dreams of lay people through leadership, and
other training, to birth bodies of believers, right where they live,
without having to have a fully funded church planter at the
start. See the Training page for more information on training
Lay leaders.
| Church Rebirth |
In this approach we begin with a church located
strategically that is at the bottom end of decline,
and about ready to close its doors. After three
successive affirmative congregational votes to give
us or their church association complete ownership of
their property, we dis-incorporate the old church for a
rebirth. This is never approached as a church failure, but rather as a new harvest
under and planted again.
In this approach we feel the need to move fast, so we will have an already fully funded
planter in place with very specific instructions on how to approach the future. This is
done so that he does not get bogged down in the past, but rather sets a strong
agenda for going forward.
| Single Culture Approach- more details coming |
| Single Community Approach- more details coming |
| Church With Attitude Approach- more details coming |
| Families in Recovery/ Community Development- see Community | |
| Development page for more information. |
| Multiplication Approach |
On the articles page, there is a much fuller
description of this approach. Let me summarize
it in this way for now:
The end picture is church in every way, but yet it
looks different and is lean and efficient while getting there.
Weekly church services for all but a regular designated week happen in people's
celebratory service using a public facility (usually another evangelical church's
building). All the regular functions of church life are developed with the entire group in
mind.
Further explanations can be found on the articles page under "Multiplication Church
Birthing for Regional Saturation” along with the "Village Model."
(Links to churches planted this way can also be found at Associated Churches.)
| The Mother Church |
The Mother Church Approach can have any number of
styles that play out the churches dream, but we will not
address them here. Mothering is one of the most effective
approaches to the issue of birthing a church. It too however, can be done well or with
success in this approach. The truth is in timing and the good health of the mother
church of any size.
In this approach, conception occurs and gestation happens naturally and over time.
The mother church is the matrix which pulls together the building blocks of life for the
church to be birthed. There is also a healthy period of time for the mother church to
be involved in the early life of the new church and there is an appropriate time for the
mother church to let go.
| Anglo/Latino Integrated Congregations Development |
The preferred approach to Latino church planting in our
mind is a modified Mother Church plan. We encourage a
church that identifies the need to call an associate pastor
for Latino ministries. In this model, the non-English
speaking family members can be ministered to in a variety
of ways, while the English speaking children and other
family members can become integrated into the mother
church life. The Latino church can easily do business under another name, but still
The major difficulties are, of course, funding and finding a qualified Latino pastor.
Once again, it is a myth that only very large churches can afford to do this. In fact,
once the truth is known, many if not most churches must do something like this in
order to make it past the middle of this century.
(See Associated Churches for links to a couple of churches that are doing this well.)
| Strategic Mother Church Approach |
When we are intentionally approaching an area for saturation
church planting, we birth the first church with the DNA of
intentionally being a matrix for further church birthing in the area.
The best model for this is the approach referred to above as the
Multiplication Approach. A similar approach is used elsewhere and
known as the "Cell Celebration Model".
| “If You Start It They Will Come" Approach |
In our estimation this is the least effective but most often
attempted approach. The overall failure rate for all
denominations and church planting groups with this style is
by far the highest of all approaches today. We will and do
use it only because there are some situations where the
neighborhood dynamics demand an approach like this.
In this approach a core is developed before a launch date. The planter trains his
about a year into preparation.
The band is ready, the preacher is ready, the greeting team is trained, as are the
children’s workers. A school or community center has been rented and the sandwich
boards and handouts are ready to tell the story about this new church in town. All that
is left is to see how many will come for the launch service. This number on the first
Sunday will in all likelihood drop to a third of that amount during the next few months,
and that will be the group you begin with.
A very small number of these sandwich board churches survive for one year. Even
less survive for five years and if they do survive, near most metropolitan areas in this
country, the church will have to grow to be over five hundred before it will be
anywhere near building it’s own facility.
This kind of church plant can make it, but there are many pressure points along the
way and dynamics that will need to come into play in the process.
(See Associated Churches for a link to churches that are succeeding having used
this approach.)
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Church Birthing Matrix