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Starting Mission-Shaped
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Stuart P. Robinson
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Robinson Stuart P.
Starting Mission-Shaped Churches
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Starting Mission-Shaped Churcheswith discussion questions
Stuart P. Robinson (far right) with family1
About the author.
Stuart P. Robinson, an ordained Anglican minister, has served as a pastor
and church planter in Australia and North-West Europe for more than 20
years. Stuart is the National Mission Facilitator for the Anglican Church in
Australia and the Chairman of Church Army, Australia.
In 1989, Stuart led the team that founded Quakers Hill Anglican Church
(in North-Western Sydney), the student ministries on the Nirimba campus
of the University of Western Sydney, and Parklea Anglican Community
Church. After a decade or so, Stuart accepted a new assignment in
Brussels, Belgium as the senior minister of St. Paul’s Tervuren and the
English Church, Liege.
In 2002 Stuart returned to Australia to work as a consultant with
Evangelism Ministries and as the founding minister, Peninsula Anglican
Community Church, Pyrmont.
Stuart now serves as the rector of St. Paul’s Chatswood – a church in its
106th year.
Stuart is married to Jane, a Special Education consultant. They have
four children – Jonathan, Nicola, William and Edward. All six Robinsons
currently live together in Sydney.
1Photo courtesy of Miriam Ollis
Acknowledgements
2 http://www.stpauls.org.au/
I am most grateful to my church family, St. Paul’s Chatswood2 for their
encouragement and support in the production of this manual and with my
involvement in the wider Anglican Communion.
Special thanks also to the staff team at St. Paul’s. They share the load
and continue to amaze me with their creativity, their commitment to Jesus
and their willingness to ‘have a go’. My P.A. Faith is no exception. She has
served with me at St. Paul’s and Evangelism Ministries. Faith has a ‘can-
do-anything-anytime’ attitude and the skill to make it happen.
I am indebted to the editorial prowess of Lesley Hicks. Lesley is an
accomplished writer and investigative journalist in her own right. More
importantly, she loves the Lord Jesus and is committed to the growth of
the Kingdom.
Thanks to my colleagues Wayne Brighton and Greg Middleton who have
urged me to complete this project. Their input and encouragement has
been much appreciated.
I do also want to acknowledge the work and thinking of my friends Mike
Wilson and Cheryl Smith with whom I wrote Mission Action Planning.
Many of the ideas and concepts that we unearthed in that publication are
rehearsed and restated in the pages that follow.
Finally, I want to express my very deep appreciation to my family. They’ve
been a part of the church-planting journey. For more than 20 years – as a
family, we’ve experienced the highs and lows of starting mission-shaped
churches in Australia and abroad. They’ve quite literally given their lives
over to the ‘Great Cause’. Thanks be to God for their grace, love and very
necessary sense of the ridiculous!
For Jane Eliza
Table of Contents
About the author ..........................................................................................................5
Acknowledgements .....................................................................................................6
Foreword: Wayne Brighton ..........................................................................................7
Chapter 1: Starting Mission-Shaped Churches: An Introduction ...............................10
Chapter 2: Biblical Foundations: A Brief Survey ........................................................13
Reality Check: Lanyon Valley Anglican Church – Jonathan Holt ...................19
Chapter 3: Planters and Pioneers .............................................................................21
Chapter 4: Methods and Models ...............................................................................25
Reality Check: North Forbes – Lyn Bullard ......................................................30
Chapter 5: Five Big Questions: Target, Task, Team, Timing, Tools. ...........................32
Chapter 6: Writing a New Ministry Profile ..................................................................38
Chapter 7: Recruiting a Core Team ...........................................................................41
Reality Check: Maroubra Surfers Church – Steve Bligh .................................46
Chapter 8: The Mission Action Plan - MAP ...............................................................48
Chapter 9: Biblical Values - MAP I .............................................................................51
Chapter 10: The Mission Statement - MAP II ............................................................54
Reality Check: Berkeley Life Centre – Wayne Pickford ...................................58
Chapter 11: The Vision Statement - MAP III ..............................................................60
Chapter 12: Key Ministry Areas - MAP IV ..................................................................65
Chapter 13: Prayer and Faith Goals - MAP V ...........................................................68
Reality Check: Church by the Bridge – Paul Dale ...........................................73
Chapter 14: Going ‘Public’ ........................................................................................75
Chapter 15: The Last Word .......................................................................................80
Appendix I: Mission Shaped or Mission Flavored? ....................................................82
Appendix II: Resource List .........................................................................................87
Jesus knew the challenges of ministry very well. “The harvest is plentiful,
but the labourers are few,” he observed to his disciples after travelling
through the towns and villages of northern Judea3.
Today, many might wonder at Jesus’ words. As we cast an eye around
our congregations the story we might see is one of diminishing returns.
While the work of preaching, caring and challenging the powers never
seems to end, the harvest of church membership and leadership looks
thinner and smaller than ever before.
This story of diminishing returns has two inadvertent consequences for us
as a church.
First, we become preoccupied with managing our own viability. We want
to grow but we like our barns. We want them filled, so long as we don’t
change their architecture.
Second, we grow cautious and conservative. As it is inconceivable that
God’s work can be accomplished without us, we find ways to keep the
same ministry going in the same way, even if it means making do with
less.
Stuart’s book cuts through this story of diminishing returns to show us
Jesus’ perspective once more. For a start, he challenges us to get out
into the fields where the people are living. Spend time amongst those
outside the church and you’ll see that the harvest is larger than we can
handle – people need the hope, healing and wholeness that comes from a
life lived in Jesus Christ, even if they don’t express it that way.
Many Christians acknowledge the fact that God’s mission should shape
the life of the Christian community.
Many would agree that our sense of purpose, our values, our ambitions,
our work, and our priorities should be shaped by God’s work of
redemption in the world. However, too few of us find ways of turning
these lofty ambitions into fruitful labour.
This book is the fruit of a lifetime working in God’s field. It provides
a wealth of grounded, practical advice born of much experience and
reflection. Stuart is a good teacher because he’s made mistakes too.
3 Matthew 9:37 – NRSV.
Foreword - Wayne Brighton
Wayne Brighton
This material provided here gives grounding and direction for our life
together, as life in the field is far from easy.
This book will challenge you to think carefully about the way your church
lives. What’s clear is that the work requires a team effort. Having scoped
the harvest, Jesus commissioned the apostles and sent them out too
(Matthew 10.1-15). God will multiply labourers. Some will be sowers and
planters; others will see them through to maturity. Coaches, cheer squads
and the drinks trolley are all needed too.
Mission-shaped churches become communities shaped for the benefit of
outsiders only because the purpose, values, vision and tasks of mission
are part of their DNA no matter what they do.
The apostles founded communities of faith throughout the Mediterranean
world and the near east. For a generation or two they barely registered
in the vast Empire. Then, like seeds, they sprouted and the Empire that
once crucified Jesus came to worship him.
How far will our labourers be willing to go? Will their work register?
Stuart reminds us to look out, see the harvest and pray that willing, well-
equipped workers will go out once again.
If you’ve felt confined by the barn and just want to do some renovations
– this book is for you. If you are someone who yearns to see God change
your neighbourhood, scene, workplace or city but doesn’t know where to
start or what to do first - this book is for you. If you’ve been at the harvest
for a while and wonder if an old dog can learn new tricks – this book is for
you.
The story of diminishing returns can be overturned when we see God’s
mission afresh. As God sent Christ out into the harvest, he sends us too.
Wayne Brighton is a scholar and ministry practitioner.
Wayne is the National Research Officer for the Anglican
Church (General Synod), Australia, the convener of Converse
Network4 in Sydney and a Director of Church Army,
Australia.
4 http://www.spirited.net.au/converse
Chapter 1
Starting Mission-Shaped Churches:
An Introduction
Chapter 1 – An Introduction | 11
This manual is intended as a guide for starting (planting) mission-shaped churches that
will start mission-shaped churches. When I speak of starting or planting mission-shaped
churches I mean:
The formation of new communities of faith, or new fellowships, that (will)
exhibit the values of the Kingdom of God; principally making and growing
disciples of Christ.
I also want to emphasise the notion of ‘mission-shaped’. The ‘shape’ (style, look, feel,
character) of what we do is to be informed by the kinds of people we’re seeking to reach
and their situations; our ‘mission-field’, rather than that which works best for us, or with
which we are most comfortable.
I am not advocating novelty or innovation for innovation’s sake. Far from it. A new formal/
liturgical service in the Cathedral might well be as ‘mission-shaped’ as the 90 Chinese
people who gather every Friday morning for American-style line-dancing followed by
small group discussion on the person and work of Jesus5.
My aim in producing this manual is to offer a simple generic framework for starting
mission-shaped churches. It is based partly on my own experiences as a church planter
in Australia and Europe.
Starting mission-shaped churches is hard, exacting work. And I’ve mad a great many
mistakes. That said, I heartily endorse the oft quoted observations of the American
commentator and consultant, Dr. Lyle E. Schaller,6
New churches are more likely to reach more people and to grow in size
than long established parishes. Perhaps the simplest explanation of this
pattern is that new congregations are organised around evangelism and
reaching people not actively involved in the life of any worshipping
community. By contrast, powerful internal institutional pressures tend to
encourage long established churches to allocate most of their resources to
the care of their members. – Lyle E. Schaller.
To this end, this manual has the “outsider”7 in view. How might we, lovingly,
compassionately and prayerfully, establish new communities of faith that really will reach
and enfold people who do not know God in Christ; the women and men, boys and girls
who so often are “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”?8
It is my deeply held conviction that people who are living apart from the ‘shepherd’
are still dead in transgressions9. Mission-shaped churches are to be conduits of grace
through which these infinitely valuable but lost people might be ‘saved’10; that those who
are ‘without hope and without God’11– those who are ‘far away’, will be brought ‘near’ only
through the shed blood of the crucified, risen and ascended Christ12.
On the basis that “salvation is found in no-one else”,13 I want to address the question,
“how might we, lovingly, compassionately and prayerfully, establish new communities of
faith that really will reach and enfold people who do not know God in Christ?” In the next
chapter, before we move into methodology, I’d like to introduce some Biblical foundations
for starting mission-shaped churches.
5 This ministry was started (and continues) under the leadership of the Reverend Dr. Wilfred S. H. Chee. It began eight years ago in Chatswood, Sydney. Wilfred can be contacted at [email protected]
6 44 Questions for Church Planters, Nashville, Abingdon, 1991, 22ff
7 Colossians 4:5.
8 Matthew 9:36.
9 Ephesians 2:5.
10 Ephesians 2:5.
11 Ephesians 2:12.
12 Ephesians 2:13.
13 Acts 4:12.
12 | Chapter 1 – An Introduction
How to use this book.
Starting Mission-Shaped Churches is designed to be read by groups of people learning
in community, seeking to engage with the “not-yet-Christian” world in new, practical,
Christ-honouring ways.
At the end of each chapter is a ‘Think it through’ series of questions and reflections.
Please take the time to complete these exercises and discuss them with your group.
I’ve also included five stories of recently started mission-shaped churches each under
the head, “Reality Check”. About every three chapters you’ll encounter women and men
immersed in the reality of making disciples in different and challenging situations. Four
questions are asked of the reader at the end of each story, such as; ‘Is it clear who the
planter and his or her team is seeking to reach?’; ‘Is their approach to ministry bearing
fruit?’; ‘What are the greatest challenges that this planter faces?’; ‘A transferable principle
or idea that we might apply in our context is…’ .
May God bless you in the reading of this manual. May he grant you the desire and
the courage to move forward in the eternally significant work of starting dynamic new
communities of faith - communities making and growing disciples of Christ who in turn
will make and grow disciples of Christ.
Chapter 1 - think it through for groups or individuals...
Have you given serious consideration to starting a new mission-shaped church or
ministry? If so, what is your motivation and what is the context?
Does the definition, “The formation of new communities of faith…that make and grow
disciples of Christ” resonate with what you are seeking to accomplish?
Explain.
Do you concur with Schaller’s observation that “powerful internal institutional
pressures tend to encourage long established churches to allocate most of their
resources to the care of their members”? If accurate, why might this be so?
As a result of reading this chapter I/we intend to
Chapter 2
Biblical Foundations:
A brief survey.
14 | Chapter 2 – Biblical Foundations: A brief survey.
The Mission of God.
At the turn of this century, the Baptist Union of Great Britain produced a short and helpful
resource, Planting Questions14.
The document rightly noted that,
Church is not just an idea in the eternal mind of God; it reflects the inner
life of the Godhead between Father, Son and Spirit. A Trinitarian God
exists in eternal relationship and community. With the Son becoming a
human being we have a conclusive demonstration that God is committed to
drawing human beings into relationship with himself.
The Trinity points us towards a God who exists in a community of love that
is dynamic, creative and active. Church planting offers the opportunity
to experience something of the inner community life of God and the
opportunity for a community of believers, existing to invite others into
relationship with God, to witness more effectively in a new locality or
situation. – Baptist Union, Great Britain.
The initiative for mission therefore rests with God.
That has always been the case. A simple illustration of this is seen in the story of
Abraham, beginning in Genesis 12.
God’s clear intent is to bring blessing to the nations: “all the families of the earth will be
blessed through you”15.
Paul understands this promise as ‘the gospel in advance’16. What is more, in the
Revelation to St. John, that Abrahamic promise is fulfilled through Christ as the elect from
every nation, tribe, language and people are gathered as the new creation, before the
throne and in front of the slain, risen and ruling Lamb17.
Dr Chris Wright18 from the Henry Martyn Centre, UK makes the point,
The gospel and mission both begin in Genesis, then, and both are located
in the redemptive intention of the Creator to bless the nations. Mission is
God’s address to the problem of fractured humanity. – Chris Wright.
God is a God of mission.
Commenting on the ‘mission of God’ (or Missio Dei), Stuart Murray states, 19
Missiologists have increasingly been drawn to this [Latin] phrase
Missio Dei to express the conviction that mission is not the invention,
responsibility or programme of human beings [per se], but flows from the
character and purpose of God. – Stuart Murray
14 http://www.baptist.org.uk/resources/downloads/plantingquestions.pdf
15 Genesis 12:3.
16 Galatians 3:8.
17 Revelation 7:9; 13:8.
18 Short paper, Christian Mission and the Old Testament: Matrix or Mismatch? Henry Martyn Centre 2006.
19 Church Planting – Laying Foundations 2001, 31.
Chapter 2 – Biblical Foundations: A brief survey. | 15
The Mission of God and Starting New Churches.
In the first chapter of Mark’s gospel we read,
16. As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother
Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 17. “Come,
follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.” 18. At once
they left their nets and followed him.
19. When he had gone a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his
brother John in a boat, preparing their nets. 20. Without delay he called
them, and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men and
followed him.
From the outset, Jesus called individual people to follow him and to “fish” with him. Jesus
ministered to and with a group of disciples. In community they learnt and experienced the
values of the kingdom.20
In addition, Jesus’ mission, his reason for coming into the world - searching for and
rescuing ‘lost’ people 21, was to be continued by the community of faith.
Jesus was quite clear about this. In John 20:21 we read,
21. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am
sending you.”
And that is exactly what happened, even prior to Jesus’ resurrection.
Matthew notes Jesus’ compassion for the harassed, helpless and shepherd-less
crowds22. In response to this desperate situation Jesus enjoins his disciples to pray
that the Lord would send workers out into the harvest field. Jesus then calls his twelve
disciples together and sends them out 23 as workers for the ‘Lord of the harvest’24.
That is, Jesus gives his friends authority to heal every disease, to cast out evil spirits,
to perform miracles (such as raising the dead) and to preach about the kingdom of
heaven25.
As the Father sent him, he indeed sent them. The mission of God will continue through
the Son and those whom the Son appoints.
This is made especially clear in the risen Jesus’ mandate to “go and make disciples of all
the nations” 26. That directive was not given to individuals per se, but to the community of
faith.
And the rite of (Trinitarian) baptism, a key element in this ‘Great Commission’ of Matthew
28, implies among other things, incorporation into the church of God and the local
community of faith.
Luke illustrates this for us in the second chapter of Acts. Following the outpouring of the
20 Matthew 5:1-7:29.
21 Luke 19:10.
22 Matthew 9:35.
23 Matthew 10:1.
24 Matthew 9:38.
25 See Matthew 9:35-10:42.
26 Matthew 28:19.
16 | Chapter 2 – Biblical Foundations: A brief survey.
Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, Peter urges the crowds to repent and be baptised.
Their sins will be forgiven through the Lord Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross and they
too will receive the gift of the Spirit. 27
A miracle ensued - Acts 2:41-42.
2:41 Those who accepted his message were baptized and about three
thousand were added to their number that day. 42. They devoted
themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking
of bread and to prayer.
Those who responded to the news of Christ’s death and resurrection28 were immediately
baptised. The three thousand 29 continued to meet together and in community ministered
God’s grace to all in need. 30
That pattern, with local variations, continued throughout the first century. Here are six
quick snapshots from the early chapters of Acts:
• Philip began a new work in Samaria – Acts 8:1b-14.
• A group of unnamed disciples established a church in Damascus. In Acts 9
prior to his conversion, Saul sought to imprison all who belonged to the ‘Way’
in Damascus. Following his encounter with the risen Jesus, Saul then spent
several days “with the disciples in Damascus” - Acts 9:18.
• Churches had also sprung up in Judea and Galilee. Luke notes they “were
strengthened and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, [they] grew in numbers, living
in the fear of the Lord” - Acts 9:31.
• A church had been established in Lydda - Acts 9:32.
• Peter, preaching in Caesarea, under God ‘births’ a Gentile church. Upon
receiving the Holy Spirit (as evidenced by speaking in tongues) Peter directs his
colleagues to immediately baptise the new believers - Acts 10:9-48.
• Those “scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen [in Jerusalem]31,
began new churches in Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch. Barnabas was
dispatched from Jerusalem to verify the soundness of these faith communities.
Luke writes that “when he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God,
he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their
hearts.” – Acts 11:23.
We then come to the ‘missionary journeys’ of Paul and his colleagues. New churches are
begun and the more established ones are encouraged and strengthened 32.
Acts 14:21-28 is a case in point.
21. They preached the good news in that city and won a large number
of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22.
strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the
faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of
God,” they said. 23. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each
church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in
27 Acts 2:38.
28 Acts 2:32.
29 Acts 2:41.
30 Acts 2:44-45.
31 Acts 11:19.
32 Acts13:1-14:28; 15:36-18:23; 19:1-21:26.
Chapter 2 – Biblical Foundations: A brief survey. | 17
whom they had put their trust. 24. After going through Pisidia, they came
into Pamphylia, 25. and when they had preached the word in Perga, they
went down to Attalia. 26. From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where
they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now
completed. 27. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and
reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the
door of faith to the Gentiles. 28. And they stayed there a long time with the
disciples.
Note the pattern:
• The gospel is preached and people are invited to follow Christ - v.21.
• Disciples are strengthened and encouraged - v.22.
• Leaders for each church are appointed - v.23.
• Celebration and fellowship ensue - vv.27, 28.
The founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York, Tim Keller cogently argues33
that Paul had a simple two-fold strategy to plant (urban) churches: Firstly, Paul went into
key regional centres34 and secondly he planted churches in each city . Once he had done
that, he could say that he had ‘fully preached’ the gospel in a region and he had ‘no more
work’ to do there. 36
Keller concludes,
This means Paul had two controlling assumptions: a) the way to most
permanently influence a country was through its chief cities and b) the way
to most permanently influence a city was to plant churches in it. Once he
had accomplished this in a city, he moved on. He knew that the rest that
needed to happen would follow. – Tim Keller.
A final word to draw the threads together from church planter and scholar Dr Brad
Boydston 37,
Church planting is one of the means through which disciples are gathered
into viable Christian communities. In many ways, the new congregation
is more like the initial community of disciples that Jesus gathered than
it is like more established churches. This is not to say that established
congregations are any less the church; rather that the ministry of the whole
church is most clearly evident in the new congregation which has a fresh
sense of mission. – Brad Boydston.33 In the paper, Why Plant Churches? February 2002 http://www.redeemer2.com/resources/papers/why%20plant%202%2011%20TLeaders.pdf
34 Acts 16:9, 12.
35 Note Titus 1:5, “appoint elders in every town.”
36 Romans 15:19, 23.
37 Brad Boydston, Getting Started: A Church Planting Handbook for Laypeople, Turlock 2002, http://www.bradboydston.com/handbook/
18 | Chapter 2 – Biblical Foundations: A brief survey.
Chapter 2 - think it through for groups or individuals...
In your experience, is the statement from the Baptist Union, Great Britain, “Church
planting offers the opportunity to experience something of the inner community life
of God and the opportunity for a community of believers, existing to invite others
into relationship with God, to witness more effectively in a new locality or situation”
accurate and valid? Comment:
Do you believe that the pattern of ministry recorded in Acts 14:21-28 is instructive for
starting mission-shaped churches in the 21st century?
Can you think of (and list) situations where Brad Boydston’s analyses, “In many
ways, the new congregation is more like the initial community of disciples that Jesus
gathered than it is like more established churches. This is not to say that established
congregations are any less the church; rather that the ministry of the whole church
is most clearly evident in the new congregation which has a fresh sense of mission”,
have proven to be correct?
As a result of reading this chapter I/we intend to
Reality Check: Lanyon Valley Anglican Church38 Jonathan Holt
Jonathan Holt is the ‘pioneer’ minister at Lanyon Valley Anglican Church. The church
began is 2006 and meets in rented premises – a local Catholic Primary School in
Canberra’s outlying southern suburbs. Jonathan (35) is married to Ruth. They have three
young daughters.
Jonathan grew up in a Christian home and reports, “there is no time I did not know Jesus
as saviour”. His father was a Church of Christ minister and following his baptism (by his
dad) at 14, Jonathan recognised “the growing need to adopt for myself the faith I had
received and to find how I might please God in my life and work.”
That quest eventually took Jonathan to St. Matthew’s Anglican Church in Wanniassa with
a brief to begin a new work in the Tuggeranong Valley area.
Q. Who are you seeking to reach?
A. Young families, second generation Canberrans, who are onto their next home. That
said there is a significant socio-economic mix; large privately owned residences and
Government supplied housing.
I initially set about gaining a ‘picture’ of the community by working through the maps,
driving around, speaking to school principals and meeting with community leaders.
Q. Did you have a Core Team when you began?
A. We had two teams. The first began to meet and pray and plan nine months before we
went public. This team comprises ten mature, ministry minded followers of Jesus; four
married couples along with me and my wife. Most of the leadership and coordination
came from this group of people.
In the nine months before we ‘went public’ we recruited a further thirty people – from St.
Matthew’s Wanniassa39 (to whom we are still linked).
Q. How did you make contact with people in the valley?
A. Our plan was simple enough. We intended to be a faith community and allow
people to see Christ’s love in and through us. We started a fortnightly bread run in the
community centre; a holiday kids’ club; coffee and dessert nights; a parenting course; a
winter collection for Anglicare40 and weekly music program called ‘Mini-Music’.
Q. Do you have a stated Mission or Vision?
A. Our mission is, “to know Christ and make him known”. By Vision we mean the
measurable outcomes used to determine progress over one year. The Vision was “to
double the number of adults attending; to start another congregation; and to acquire the
lease on some community land and build on it”.
Jonathan Holt
38 http://www.lvac.org.au/
39 http://www stmattswanniassa.org.au/
40 http://www.anglicarecg.org.au/
Reality Check: Lanyon Valley Anglican Church | 19
Q. Did you begin with ‘public worship’?
A. No. As indicated, whilst public worship was one of the planks in our structure, we knew
that it would take an enormous amount of effort and planning to go public. So we met to
prepare and pray for almost a year. We began our first public meeting in term 1 2006 and
small groups started in term 2.
Q. How many people are you currently reaching and will you plant again?
A. We have about eighty to one hundred adults on a Sunday with another forty to sixty
children and teenagers. Our desire is to create a multiplying community. We expect that
both the morning community and the newly formed evening community will again look to
reproduce themselves … we’ll wait on the Lord to see where and when he would want us
to begin further communities.
Reality Check: Lanyon Valley Anglican ChurchJonathan Holt
1. Is it clear who Jonathan and his team are seeking to reach?
2. From the information to hand, does this ministry appear to bearing fruit?
If so, why?
3. In your opinion, what are the greatest challenges that Jonathan and his team face?
4. A transferable principle or idea that we might apply in our context is……
20 | Reality Check: Lanyon Valley Anglican Church
Chapter 3
Planters and Pioneers
22 | Chapter 3 – Planters and Pioneers
In 1989 with my wife Jane and a gaggle of toddlers in tow, I began a new work in
North-Western Sydney. At that time church planting literature was thin on the ground. So
without ‘church planter inventories’ and ‘gift assessment analyses’, we simply plunged in
and intuitively drew a core group together.
Had coaching and training been available we would have readily availed ourselves of
such support. Many avoidable mistakes, heartache and misunderstandings would have
been averted.
Experience has also taught us that any person called by God, lay or ordained, can be
equipped and deployed as a church planter. Age, gender and health should not present
as barriers.
Those whom God calls and equips seem to exhibit certain skill-sets, gifts and character
traits. That they have already exhibited certain ministry skills is all-important.
People who start mission-shaped ministries will be women and men who’ve been actively
involved in evangelism and disciple-making ministries in local churches. They’ll be people
with an excellent track record in leading small groups, in articulating the gospel with
conviction and clarity, and in Christian character.
Paul’s instructions to Timothy - in I Timothy 3:1-10 - concerning the selection of
‘overseers’ and deacons are, in my opinion, an excellent starting point for identifying
potential pioneer ministers and church planters.
Those who are not recent converts and who have a good reputation with outsiders must
also be:
• Above reproach.
• Faithful to their spouse.
• Even tempered and self-controlled.
• Respectable and hospitable.
• Able to teach.
• Responsible and temperate with alcohol.
• Neither violent nor quarrelsome but gentle.
• Someone who is not a ‘lover’ of money.
• A person who has nurtured and managed well their own family.
• Clear about the ‘deep truths of the faith’.
A recent (2005) Church of England report41, helpfully lists a schedule of ‘Core Elements’
that church planters should (and generally do) exhibit. The latter informs sections of the
following table.
I have added a simple self ranking scale to help potential planters identify strengths
and/or areas in their life and ministry that will require attention. Note: I use terms ‘pioneer’
and ‘planter’ interchangeably from this point.
I would strongly urge potential planters to ask three other people who know them well to
rank their skills, experiences and giftedness against the ‘Core Elements’ schema.
41 Guidelines for the identification, training and deployment of Ordained Pioneer ministers 2005, 13-14.
Chapter 3 – Planters and Pioneers | 23
‘Core Elements’ in pioneering ministry(with self assessment ranking)
A Vision for planting churches within contemporary culture and an ability to clearly
articulate such a vision in an engaging, winsome, Christ-honouring manner.
Low 1 2 3 4 5 High
An authentic, integrated understanding of the particular ministry (and target group)
envisaged.
Low 1 2 3 4 5 High
A passion for connecting with those outside the church.
Low 1 2 3 4 5 High
Capacity to innovate and initiate and to recover well from setbacks and failure.
Low 1 2 3 4 5 High
Mature and well developed devotional life for the pioneer/planter and his/her spouse.
Low 1 2 3 4 5 High
Well developed abilities to initiate change in a balanced and creative way (as
evidenced in other evangelistic/disciple-making contexts).
Low 1 2 3 4 5 High
Demonstrable maturity, robustness and resilience to face the demands of pioneering
mission and ministry (for the planter and his/her family).
Low 1 2 3 4 5 High
Highly motivated, faith-filled and prayerful.
Low 1 2 3 4 5 High
Well-developed understanding of the interaction between gospel and culture.
Low 1 2 3 4 5 High
A clear (and Biblical) theology of mission; a confidence in the efficacy of the gospel.
Low 1 2 3 4 5 High
A willingness to work with and/or partner other groups engaging in similar ministries.
Low 1 2 3 4 5 High
The ability and desire to work in a team, to create cohesion and to develop the gifts
of others.
Low 1 2 3 4 5 High
24 | Chapter 3 – Planters and Pioneers
Chapter 3 - think it through for groups and individuals...
Do you agree with the statement, “People who start mission-shaped churches will be
women and men who’ve been actively involved in evangelism and disciple-making in
local churches…with an excellent track record in leading small groups, in articulating
the gospel with conviction and clarity, and in Christian character”? How might this
statement apply in your context?
Set aside 20 minutes or so to individually work through the ‘Core Elements in
pioneering ministry’ schedule. In the course of the next week invite three other people
to rank you (and you have permission to photocopy the page). Do the ‘external’
rankings match your own assessments? How do you interpret the results?
Do you believe you are ‘called’ of God and suitably equipped to start a mission-
shaped church? List reasons for your response (and share with the group if
appropriate).
As a result of reading this chapter I/we intend to
Note: The above schema is indicative only. It is not predictive (re suitability or outcomes).
As I stated earlier, God can and does use all kinds of people to build the Kingdom.
That said, ‘low scorers’ would need to have a ‘call’ very clearly confirmed by elders and
denominational leaders prior to moving ahead in pioneering ministry.
I’d also strongly urge interested planters to seek ‘coaching’ and ongoing supervision from
a consulting organisation like Church Army Australia, for example.42
Readers might also consider the very fine tool, The Church Planter Assessment Guide
prepared by North American church planting doyens Bob Logan and Dr. Charles Ridley,
Psychology Professor and organizations consultant at Indiana University, Bloomington,
Indiana.43
42 http://www.churcharmy.com.au
43 http://www.churchplanting4me.org/ridleyfactors.htm
Chapter 4
Methods and Models
26 | Chapter 4 – Methods and Models
The ‘team’ at Quakers Hill Anglican church44, N.S.W. (in the late 80’s) comprised me, my
wife and a wonderfully enthusiastic and energetic woman, Lorelle Farmer, who ran a kids’
ministry in town on alternate Sundays.
Through some local contacts a small weekly bible study began. Four other adults and an
11 year old boy (who is now actively serving the Lord in a schools’ ministry) attended. Not
all were believers at that stage.
We met for six months and decided to have a ‘go’ at a Sunday service.
From our own funds, our little group renovated a lice filled building (there were pigeons in
the roof!), ‘letterboxed’ the area twice over (only 3,000 people in town in those days) and
announced the launch date, March 4, 1990.
On the first Sunday, 174 turned up. On week two it was 39 and on the third week 27
people attended our morning service. It was revival – in reverse!
We didn’t really have a ‘Mission Plan’ (a topic to which I’ll return momentarily) nor did we
have a trained core of envisioned leaders. For the next six months we stumbled forward
and as Christians moved into the new sub-divisions, leaders emerged.
I now refer to what we did as the ‘Ministry Family going it alone’ model.
The Ministry Family Going it Alone Model
This model that Jane and I stumbled into is all about ‘travelling light’ and (in
theory) becoming immersed in the culture prior to any public worship.
It is similar to a ‘Local Start-Up’ (see below) and can work well if the
pioneer ministers:
• Have prayer support (and accountability) from a sending body.
• Have been trained in disciple making, recruiting/deploying leaders and the
formulation of a mission plan.
• Receive ongoing ‘coaching’ from a senior ‘planter’ or an external consultant.
• Have themselves experienced a church plant in action and have some sense of
what to expect (though every situation is of course quite different).
• Have initialfinancial support from the sending body or from a support base such
as friends and relatives.
• Have demonstrated resilience and creativity in ministry.
44 http://www.qhac.org.au/
Chapter 4 – Methods and Models | 27
Other models (and there are as many models as there are pioneers) could include:
• Multi-congregational church plants.
• Local Start-Ups.
• Re-potting.
Multi-congregational (‘Mixed Economy’) church plants
This common model recognises the inadequacy of the ‘one size fits all’
approach to ministry.
In many cases the church will ‘target’ age, interest or ethno-specific groups.
Services (if in fact a ‘worship’ style service is what the leadership team have
determined is the best way to reach their target group) are conducted at
different times (on Sundays, midweek, evenings) and oftentimes off-site.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams helpfully refers to this
approach as the ‘Mixed Economy’ model45.
St. Basil’s, Lakeview Heights (a real urban church – name changed) is a
good example of a multi-congregational, ‘mixed-economy’ model.
St. Basil’s weekly service schedule is as follows:
• An early Sunday morning service, traditional and geared towards
people who’ve been worshipping in a particular style for many
years.
• A midmorning ‘family service’. Children’s ministry takes place at
the same time.
• A midmorning service (in one of the halls) for the Korean
congregations.
• A Friday evening service for teens and young adults.
• A midweek afternoon service in the local retirement village.
• A midweek lunch hour ministry (in a CBD auditorium) for the
business community.
• An evening midweek ‘on-site’ prayer for healing service.
Each congregation has a designated leader (or leaders) and the program is
oriented towards the kinds of people they are seeking to reach.
45 http://www.freshexpressions.org.uk/section.asp?id=1378
28 | Chapter 4 – Methods and Models
The ‘Local Start-Up’ model
Some years ago I was invited to lead what would become a new church
plant in a revitalised docklands area in Sydney’s inner-west46.
Four local families (from different churches) had been meeting together
for three years for prayer and fellowship. They were keen to see a new
community of faith come to life in area that would eventually house around
20,000 people in just one square kilometre.
Because the people lived locally they had a growing sense of what was
needed to effectively and creatively reach their friends and neighbours.
They were motivated to start a new work not because they had fallen
out with another local church but because of their common desire to see
people reached and ‘discipled’ for Christ. This is a good example of a ‘local
start-up’.
Oftentimes, planting teams from without (comprising two or three
families) will prayerfully select a community (a new subdivision, a
regional centre, a city or suburb with a specific ethnic concentration)
and intentionally immerse themselves in that community. They’ll buy or
lease homes, send their children to school locally, join sporting teams and
do volunteer work. On view is a longer term ‘missionary’ commitment.
Having moved into the community, the team is able to take a ‘read’ on the
culture and discern how best they might serve them.
‘Local Start-Ups’ often begin with ‘easy-entry’ activities like the running of
English classes, playgroups, homework clubs, neighbourhood barbeques,
cleaning-up neglected or ‘no go’ areas. These activities meet genuine
community needs, create community credibility and prepare the ground
for things like small group forums on ‘spirituality’ or parenting or process
evangelism courses (like Alpha47, Christianity Explored48, Introducing
God49, Simply Christianity50, Christianity Explained51, Jesus All About
Life52, Credo53) and perhaps a public worship service (if that’s what the
planting team believe is appropriate).
Re-potting and Transplanting
Re-potting describes a process where new leaders (usually with teams)
assist an ailing fellowship in starting afresh.
This may mean beginning a new work in a different time slot to existing
services or it may mean handing over the reins of every activity to the new
team.
46 Peninsula Community Church, Pyrmont http://www.peninsulachurch.com.au/
47 http://www.alphaaustralia.org.au/
48 http://www.christianityexplored.com/
49 http://www.introducinggod.org/
50 http://www.matthiasmedia.com.au/Samples/sc.html
51 http://www.christianityexplained.com/
52 http://www.jesusallaboutlife.com.au/jaalResources/JAAL-Products.aspx#b4
53 http://www.trinity.unimelb.edu.au/theological_school/academic_program/credo
Chapter 4 – Methods and Models | 29
Both groups (old and new) need to prayerfully structure the hand-over as
loss of ‘control’ will be an issue for some. A mission plan (with input from
both groups) needs to be in place prior to any public activity.
I include this model as a church plant because the process results in “the
formation of [a] new community of faith that exhibits the values of the
Kingdom of God; principally the making and growing disciples of Christ”
– the definition of church planting that I am offering.
Transplanting is a less common option but it can be an effective way of
breaking into new contexts. In this model, a whole community of faith
relocate.
The example that comes to mind is of three urban churches – each
struggling to survive, selling their properties, and together moving to a
new location. As one new congregation (with a bold and clear vision and
with excellent ministry resources) they have accomplished their principal
objectives; restructure, relocation and a more strategic approach (as they
have a plan) to making disciples.
As with re-potting, a clear mission plan is to be in place prior to any
attempts to move forward.
Chapter 4 - think it through for groups and individuals...
Have you had any personal exposure to a new community of faith? For whom was
this faith community started and were people from that group genuinely reached and
enfolded?
Which (or what combination of) model(s) canvassed in this chapter could be right for
the people group you are seeking to reach?
Can you identify and list common ‘themes’ found in the models presented in this
chapter?
As a result of reading this chapter I/we intend to
Reality Check – North ForbesLyn Bullard
Lyn Bullard (51) has been in full-time Christian ministry for 30 years. Lyn, a former elite
sportswoman, gave up an athletic career to serve the Lord as an evangelist with Church
Army, Australia.
Lyn has returned to her roots. In the early 70’s Lyn worked as a parish youth worker in
Forbes. She is an ordained Anglican minister and Team Convener at St. John’s Forbes
and the Resource Officer for the Diocese of Bathurst.
In 1998 Lyn founded Brisbane City Athletes Church. She has recently overseen the
planting of a café style church and has just begun a pioneering work in North Forbes.
Q. Lyn, who are you seeking to reach in North Forbes?
A. The victims of domestic violence, those with serious addictions to drugs and alcohol;
people who have a limited understanding of a healthy functional family. I didn’t have to
‘select’ this target group, as it happens – it is screaming at us for help.
Q. How did you make initial contact?
A. People are very receptive to visitation. We’ve literally been going from house to
house, door to door. And we’ve had great contacts through the local school. The Principal
and the School Counsellor have been very helpful in helping us discern local needs.
Q. How would you describe your Mission?
A. Our Mission is “to reach the least, the last and the lost”. Isaiah 61:1-355 pretty well
sums it up!
Q. You have a trans-denominational Core Team, I believe.
A. Yes. We have a team that comprises Anglicans in the main though the Lutherans,
Uniting Church and Baptists have come on board and have sent people to serve with us.
Q. Did you begin with ‘public worship’?
A. We did begin with ‘public worship’. Unlike my experience in Brisbane where a public
meeting began at the very end of my ministry56 we started in North Forbes with ‘public
worship’. It’s a context thing. I’d heard that if a teacher came to the local school to do
something innocuous like picking up a book from her office, kids would flock around the
car to find out why she was there and if there something on for them!
After loads of publicity, we just ‘turned up’. I stood under the COLA57 and turned in a
circle; mothers, prams, the occasional dad and kids flocked into the school from five
different points. I was overwhelmed. We had a church…though they didn’t know it yet!
We’ve been up and running for 5 months now. We continue to meet under the COLA. At
4.00pm there are games, at 4.30pm the service, and at 5.00pm there is a barbeque. We
had 140 people at our last service – only 20 of whom were Christians (from our team).
Lyn Bullard54
54 Photo courtesy of Lew Hitchick.
55 1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favour and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, 3 and to provide for those who grieve in Zion - to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendour.
56 Lyn worked with Brisbane City Athletes Church from 1998-2003.
57 COLA – Covered Outdoor Learning Area.
30 | Reality Check: North Forbes
Q. How will you enfold people and begin the disciple-making journey?
A. The plan is to conduct groups and workshops on grief and loss, depression, divorce
recovery and self esteem in youth. Our children’s ministry is really thriving with a
breakfast program, Kids’ Club and school scripture. We’ve also run a couple of camps for
kids in the schoolyard on the weekends as well.
Q. Highs and lows?
A. The greatest joy to date was having a person from this section of town give his life to
Christ in gaol. At our first service this man gave his testimony. Everyone knew him (and
had probably been harassed by him). The biggest ‘low’ is that too few people have a
heart for the lost.
Q. Will you ‘plant’ again?
A. Our dream is to create a ‘multiplying community’. We’ll have both morning and
evening meetings that will reproduce themselves many times over. That said we’re also
waiting on the Lord for his direction. It’s all still very new!
Reality Check: North ForbesLyn Bullard
1. Is it clear who Lyn and her team are seeking to reach?
2. From the information to hand, does this ministry appear to bearing fruit?
If so, why?
3. In your opinion, what are the greatest challenges that Lyn and her team face?
4. A transferable principle or idea that we might apply in or context is……
Reality Check: North Forbes | 31
Chapter 5
Five Big Questions
Chapter 5 – Five Big Questions | 33
At this point I want to encourage potential planters and pioneer ministers to pause and
think carefully about five questions that shape ministry from this point forward.
The five questions pertain to:
1. Target
2. Task
3. Team
4. Timing
5. Tools
Target. An obvious question but not always carefully and prayerfully
thought through is the notion of ‘target’. It is the, “who are we in fact
seeking to reach?” question. This vital question must be considered if a
church is to be truly a mission-shaped church.
Let me illustrate this.
Myrtle and Tony Tan have been living in Yarmouth Cove (‘Y.C.’ to locals) for just over 4
years. ‘Y.C’ is a burgeoning ‘commuter’ community of 34,000 people, 65 minutes by train
from the city centre.
For many years ‘Y.C’ was a haven for retirees. Not surprisingly St. Michael and All
Angels’ (known to all who attend as St. Micks) comprises people over the age of 60
– about 35 in all.
The Tan’s have two children under six years of age, and though they love the people and
the traditions of St. Micks, sitting through a formal 70 minute service is a struggle (for
everyone).
Myrtle approached the minister at St. Micks, Sheldon Grey and asked if they (St. Micks)
might consider starting a new ministry to families. Sheldon was very positive and
suggested they form a small team (an ad hoc task force) to clarify exactly who lives in
‘Y.C’ and how they might best meet their spiritual needs.
The task force gleaned and then collated data from:
• The website of their local authority (Yarmouth Cove City Council) – it was full of
helpful information.
• An hour’s interview with a representative from the town planning department of
their local authority.
• Demographic profiles from the Australian Bureau of Statistics website58.
• The local library (especially in its community information section).
• An hour’s interview with an officer from the regional Department of Social
Security and the Department of Housing.
• Their own denominational headquarters.
• The National Church Life Survey office and web-site59.
• The pastors of the eight other denominations in ‘Y.C’.
58 http://www.abs.gov.au/websitedbs/d3310114.nsf/home/Census+data
59 http://www.ncls.org.au/
34 | Chapter 5 – Five Big Questions
• The police officer in charge of the local area command.
• The local Chamber of Commerce.
• Three large development corporations.
• The managers of the two large shopping complexes in ‘Y.C’.
• Simple observation; the team visited malls, recreation facilities such as the local
pool, the indoor fitness centre, markets in the mall and observed the kinds of
people present.
They then had at their disposal a very helpful picture of ‘Y.C’. From all the data
collected (pertaining to population, gender, ethnicity, age ranges, income, education
and so on) they realized that families with younger children (below school age) with at
least one partner working full-time (and generally commuting) not only comprised the
fastest growing cohort, they were also poorly served by community facilities (such as
playgroups, parks, professional childcare).
This confirmed the Tan’s hunches. People just like them were underrepresented in
church (as most they discovered were ‘no religion’ families) and had needs that were not
being met by the community in general.
With Sheldon and the task force they met to pray through their findings (indeed they
sought God’s direction and leading in prayer each time they met). They decided that St.
Micks should begin to target families with pre-school children. The question they next had
to work through was ‘how’!
Task. Having identified a ‘target’, the leadership team need to consider the
‘how will we in fact reach them?” question. What is the task?
Sheldon invited the ad hoc task force to think through how they might best reach and
enfold their ‘target’ group. They all immediately dismissed the notion of a family style
service on a Sunday morning (given that the people they wanted to reach had little if any
church background – or if they did, they were no longer interested).
In line with their research, the group believed that some kind of a mid-week daytime
playgroup could be the way forward. The team hit the net and worked the ‘phones.
They discovered the ‘Mainly Music’ program and believed it could be a useful tool as it
functioned like a playgroup and featured singing (and dancing to) songs with Christian
themes.60
To test this idea, the group set aside two Saturday afternoons to ‘doorknock’ a section of
one of the new sub-divisions. Having briefly explained the new playgroup concept, they
asked people three simple questions:
• Does our community need a service like this?
• Would you be interested?
• Would your friends be interested?
Whilst the sample group was small, the results were so overwhelmingly positive, the task
force were certain they were on the right track. 60 http://www.mainlymusic.org.au/
Chapter 5 – Five Big Questions | 35
The task force also discussed the possibility of running ‘Messy Church’ once every
other month (in the same time slot as Mainly Music) if trust and interest levels were
high enough. This program uses music, food, craft, stories and games to illustrate and
explain the gospel.61
The ad hoc planning team were keen for the ministry to move at a pace that is right for
the new group. They were also fairly certain that should God prosper this new ministry, it
would probably not look like anything that St. Micks was currently doing.
Indeed the ad hoc group would like to see something that is shaped by mission rather
than by tradition. To this end, they recognised their need for an integrated plan (a matter
to which we’ll return shortly).
Note: Sheldon and the Tans are seeking to create what is increasingly being described
as a “Fresh Expression”62 of church.
A fresh expression is a form of church for our changing culture established
primarily for the benefit of people who are not yet members of any church.
It will come into being through principles of listening, service,
incarnational mission and making disciples.
It will have the potential to become a mature expression of church shaped
by the gospel and the enduring marks of the church and for its cultural
context.
Team. Who will take responsibility for the project and what kind of
assistance will she/he need? It is the crucial question, “who will in fact
oversee, organise and orchestrate this ministry?”
Having fulfilled their brief, Sheldon thanked the ad hoc task force for their work and asked
Myrtle and Tony if they’d be willing to head up a team to undertake this new ministry.
Myrtle, a local part-time GP is keen – as is Tony; the possibility of working a ‘nine day
fortnight’ to accommodate the program is very appealing. The opportunity to work
together is something that interests them very much.
Sheldon is convinced that Myrtle and Tony are godly, gifted, highly motivated, resourceful
self-starters. They reckon that at least ten other helpers are required (for set up and tear
down, supervision, refreshments, relationship building, and prayer support). They are of
a mind to approach the ‘Seniors Fellowship’, a group of older Christians - many of whom
are grandparents. This group have experience in child care and are keen to see the
community reached for Christ.
Note: Once Sheldon and the Tans have addressed the 5 Big Questions they will be able
to create a New Ministry Profile.
This simple document is a summary statement of the 5 Big Questions and will, among
other things, help potential ministry recruits for the Core Team understand something of
the nature and shape of the new ministry.
61 http://www.barnabasinchurches.org.uk/pages/data.asp?layout=page.htm&Type=&Id=2799
62 Fresh Expressions Prospectus: Phase 2”, Lambeth Palace 2006, 3.
36 | Chapter 5 – Five Big Questions
Timing. Lead times and scheduling are on view here. We’re asking the
question(s), “When ought we to in fact commence this event - given the
need for recruiting and training helpers, advertising and fund raising - and
for how long will it continue? And then, “When will we review the work?”
Following conversations with the Church Council (as their support and blessing is
required) Sheldon and the Tans decide on a spring launch for the new ministry. This will
give them just under 30 weeks for things like:
• Scheduling special times of prayer for this new ministry. Sheldon is keen for the
whole church to embrace the work philosophically, physically and prayerfully.
• Recruiting a Core Team.
• Deciding what the weekly tasks will be, writing simple job descriptions, recruiting
more helpers and drafting rosters.
• Training in: welcoming people to the group; conversational evangelism; sharing
one’s own ‘faith journey’; child protection; Occupational Health and Safety (O.H
& S); operating equipment; set-up and tear-down.
• Drafting a budget and identifying ways of raising money to fund the project.
• Creating an outreach/publicity plan. This will include: simple invitations that
people will give to friends; letterbox drops; information on the Y.C. Council web-
site; leaflets in the Community Centre, schools, doctor’s surgeries and the like; a
large banner (once they’ve settled on a venue) and so on.
• At least two ‘dry runs’ prior to the official launch (if a public ‘event’ is what is
planned).
• A formal commissioning of the team (during the morning service at St. Micks).
Tools. This is the “what help and/or resources will we in fact need to get
this ministry off the ground?” question.
To begin this pioneering work, the Tans and their Core Team (once they recruit them) will
need to:
• Identify equipment required: toys, story books, sandwich signs, banners,
cleaning materials and so on.
• Secure a venue. They like the local library. It has a large meeting room for hire
with easy access to toilets, a ramp for wheelchairs and a fenced courtyard.
• Ensure they have appropriate insurance and liability cover.
• Find a way of transporting equipment to the venue.
• Acquire resources (materials and people) to train their team. In the faith-sharing
aspect they note that “Just walk across the Room”63 and “Friends for Life”64 -
are readily accessible DVD training resources that will work well in their culture.
• Cost and fund all the above (hence the need for a budget).63 http://www.justwalkacrosstheroom.com/commit.aspx
64 http://www.greatjourneys.org
Chapter 5 – Five Big Questions | 37
It is also becoming clear to Sheldon, the Church Council and the Tans that a plan - a
‘Mission Action Plan’ - that ties their activities to the overall direction of the church is
required. Such a plan will give the whole organisation a consistent, aligned focus.
A good Mission Action Plan (MAP) comprises:
• A schedule of Biblical Values.
• A clear Statement of Mission.
• A compelling Vision.
• Activities grouped under Key Ministry Areas.
• A set of achievable Goals for each Key Ministry Area.
In Chapter 8 we’ll revisit and enlarge upon the elements of a good ‘Mission Action Plan’.
For a fuller treatment of this subject, I suggest readers consider acquiring the book,
Mission Action Planning: For Churches and Organisations in the 21st century (186
pages) from Gospel Outreach Ministries.65
Chapter 5 – think it through for groups and individuals...
Set aside 10 minutes or so write down in a sentence or two a description of the
‘target’ group you are seeking to reach. Complete: We are seeking to reach
From what sources did you collect data in relation to this group? Is the information
deficient in any way?
Given the ‘Five Big Questions’, to what areas will you need to give further attention?
As a result of reading this chapter I/we intend to
65 http://www.gospeloutreach.com.au/resources/resource1.pdf
Chapter 6
Writing A New Ministry Profile
Chapter 6 – Writing A New Ministry Profile | 39
Having considered the ‘5 Big Questions’ pioneer ministers are in a position to write a
New Ministry Profile.
The New Ministry Profile is no more than a paragraph in length.
The New Ministry Profile will describe the kinds of people that the new ministry will serve,
possible points of entry into their community and the gifts and skills that potential Core
Team members will need.
The New Ministry Profile will serve as:
• A succinct guide for prayer (for a sending church or for friends and relatives who
are supporting the pioneer ministers).
• A basic statement of intent for the purposes of recruiting potential Core Team
members.
• A starting point for the development of a Mission Action Plan once a Core Team
is in place.
A New Ministry Profile for the Yarmouth Cove project66 could read as follows:
New Ministry Profile: St. Micks ‘Playgroup’, Yarmouth Cove
The fastest growing cohort in Yarmouth Cove (Y.C) population 34,000 is
commuting-type families with pre-school children. St. Micks has little or no
contact with this group. In addition, programs and activities for this cohort
are limited. We believe a playgroup-style ministry will begin to address
community needs and create a stable base for gospel initiatives. Myrtle and
Tony Tan have been appointed (by the Church Council of St. Micks Y.C.)
as the part-time honorary Team Leaders. A ‘Core Team’, comprising not
less than 12 mature Christian women and men is needed to serve alongside
the Tans. The ‘Core Team’ will work towards a spring launch. Together
they will meet (at least weekly) for prayer and training in outreach and
evangelism. The ‘Core Team’ will write a ‘Mission Action Plan’ that will
inform and shape this new ministry.
66 See above, chapter 5.
40 | Chapter 6 – Writing A New Ministry Profile
Chapter 6 - think it through for groups and individuals...
Take a moment to list (again) the kinds of people you are seeking to reach
List possible points of entry into the community/culture of the people you are seeking
to reach.
What gifts, skills and experience are you looking for in potential Core Team members?
With the above information to hand, you are now in a position to write a draft New
Ministry Profile
As a result of reading this chapter I/we intend to
Chapter 7
Recruiting a Core Team
42 | Chapter 7 – Recruiting a Core Team
What to look for when recruiting a Core Team
The ‘Core Team’ comprises the group of women and men who create the relational,
theological, philosophical (and physical) structures that will sustain a new ministry over
time. To this end it does not, in my view, need to be a large group.
That Jesus appointed 12 members to his ‘Core Team’ is instructive. Historical/theological
reasons to one side, a team of a dozen or so affords each person the opportunity of
being closer to the ‘centre’ and to the ‘side’. That is, it is possible to know and be known
by the team leaders (and other team members) whilst at the same time maintaining
friendships with unbelievers, as this is essential in church planting.
In a group this size accountability (and a sense of responsibility) tends to be higher; the
buck generally stops with whoever is given an assignment and if people do not attend
meetings (for whatever reason), their absence is, or should be felt keenly.
In my opinion, the Core Team, are people who will be exercising a diaconal role within
the new faith community. To this end, the qualities to which Paul makes reference in I
Timothy 3:8-13 should be re-visited when considering potential team members.
In short, Core Teams should comprise women and men who are Faithful, Available and
Teachable.
• Faithful – that is, people who are passionate disciples of the Lord Jesus and
passionate when it comes to making disciples for the Lord Jesus. These women
and men are faithful to and inspired by the ‘Great Commission’ (Matthew 29:19,
20).
• Available – that is, people who are able to carve out the time to serve.
‘Available’ people are women and men who make pioneering ministry a priority.
They are the sort of people who’ll enthusiastically turn up to prayer meetings,
set out chairs, clean the filthy toilets in the rented premises you’ve secured for
your event, knock on doors, invite their friends to outreach activities and give of
their own personal finances.
Pioneering ministry is really hard work; ‘available’ people have a clear
understanding of the cost in time, money and effort and do not hesitate to throw
their lot in with the leadership.
• Teachable – that is people who are willing to be shaped and formed by the
Scriptures. ‘Teachable’ people are disciplined in their devotional life. They are
seeking to be more like Jesus in outlook and character.
Once in place the Core Team will be responsible for the oversight and
operation of the Key Ministry Areas (that we’ll discuss in chapter 12).
Getting the word out...
The first ‘strategy’ in recruiting a team is to “ask that the Lord of the Harvest [might] send
out workers into his harvest field”67.
67 Matthew 9:38.
Chapter 7 – Recruiting a Core Team | 43
We must pray.
And we must not take short-cuts at this point. Sending churches, denominations (and
dioceses), small groups and friends are to make every effort to pray that the Lord would
indeed raise up a Faithful, Available, Teachable Core Team.
People need to be informed in their prayers.
The New Ministry Profile serves as a very helpful guide to prayer.
The New Ministry Profile from Yarmouth Cove is reproduced below.
New Ministry Profile: St. Micks ‘Playgroup’, Yarmouth Cove
The fastest growing cohort in Yarmouth Cove (Y.C) population 34,000 is
commuting-type families with pre-school children. St. Micks has little or no
contact with this group. In addition, programs and activities for this cohort
are limited. We believe a playgroup-style ministry will begin to address
community needs and create a stable base for gospel initiatives. Myrtle and
Tony Tan have been appointed (by the Church Council of St. Micks Y.C.)
as the part-time honorary Team Leaders. A ‘Core Team’, comprising not
less than 12 mature Christian women and men is needed to serve alongside
the Tans. The ‘Core Team’ will work towards a spring launch. Together
they will meet (at least weekly) for prayer and training in outreach and
evangelism. The ‘Core Team’ will write a ‘Mission Action Plan’ that will
inform and shape this new ministry.
The New Ministry Profile can also be posted on neighbouring church web-sites, Bible
College sites, para-church and mission agency sites and denominational websites.
Not only does this create a broader base of prayer support but it gets the information into
the hands of interested potential team members.
Now God may (and does) call people to serve on Core Teams via dreams and visions
but in my experience the usual way is through direct invitation (from the leaders),
recommendations and word of mouth.
Having ‘hard copies’ of the New Ministry Profile will facilitate the word of mouth process;
people can readily give the information to possible candidates.
The second strategy is to set time aside for a series of information meetings.
The meetings are simple enough in structure:
• Welcome and prayer.
• Introduction of Team Leaders.
• Those present introduce themselves (and how they heard about the new
ministry).
44 | Chapter 7 – Recruiting a Core Team
• The Team Leaders work through the New Ministry Profile in greater detail and
explain what they are looking for in a Faithful, Available, Teachable Core Team.
• The Team Leaders then take questions from the group.
• A general time of prayer for God’s guidance.
• Those who are still interested should leave their contact details and the names
of three mature Christian people who might serve as referees.
Prior to the next stage (which is meeting with people or couples individually), I would urge
the Team Leader(s) to check all references. Much heartache can be avoided down the
track if this simple action is taken. Questions to referees are to be shaped by the Faithful,
Available, Teachable schema.
I would also suggest Team Leaders send referees a New Ministry Profile for their
information and thoughtful reflection prior to answering questions.
Interviews…
Team Leaders are now ready to spend time meeting and praying with couples and
individuals. As with referees, questions to and dialogue with potential Core Team
members is shaped by the Faithful, Available, Teachable schema and the New Ministry
Profile.
Never appoint people to Core Teams to ‘fill up numbers’. It is far better to ‘watch and
pray’ for what (and whom) God will provide.
Don’t be in a rush.
The people with whom I worked at Pyrmont waited three years before the Core Team
was complete.
To this end, if people are unsuitable, then graciously tell them as soon as is practicable.
From the outset let people know that an information evening and an interview in no way
guarantees a berth on the squad.
Commissioning…
A last and important step in the recruiting phase is the ‘commissioning’.
The sending church or the denomination (if applicable) or even friends and family should
set time aside to pray over and ‘send out’ the new Core Team.
This is a very exciting time in the life of a new ministry. It should be well planned, well
attended and well supported in prayer.
Chapter 7 – Recruiting a Core Team | 45
Chapter 7 - think it through for groups and individuals...
A Core Team of 12 or so affords each person the opportunity of being closer to the
‘centre’ and the ‘side’ ”. Does this ring true for you in your context? Take a moment to
explain your answer.
Are you comfortable with the notion that the Core Team exercises a diaconal role?
List the avenues that you intend to explore in the recruiting of a Faithful Available
Teachable Core Team.
As a result of reading this chapter I/we intend to
Reality Check – Maroubra Surfers ChurchSteve Bligh
Steve Bligh (50) came to faith in Christ at age 17. He was a member of the surfing
community. Fellow surfers who followed Christ explained the Bible to him and answered
his questions.
Steve is married with three young adult children. He is the pioneer minister at Maroubra
Surfers Church.
Q. Please describe the group you are seeking to reach?
A. Local Maroubra surfers, their families and their networks. In addition we also seek
to reach visiting surfers from other suburbs and abroad. The latter includes Japanese,
Brazilians and some French surfers too.
Q. Why surfers?
A. Personal experience over a generation convinces me that few within this group know
Christ (nor are they being nurtured in good local churches). Surfers comprise 14% of
Australia’s population according to the Sweeney Report68.
I’ve been a part of the surfing community all my adult life. I immersed myself in the
Christian Surfers69 movement and I’ve run surf missions and had close contact with
leading surfers for decades.
Q. Do you have a Core Team?
A. Yes we do – 8 at present. Our leaders are trained in Bible reading, teaching, giving
their testimonies, evangelism, and management of teams and so on. The Core team are
Faithful, Available, Competent and Teachable.
Q. Do you have a Vision for the ministry?
A. Yes. ‘2035 saved’. Let me explain. 2035 is Maroubra’s postcode and it also a ‘Bra
Boy’70 tattoo. We dream of seeing Maroubra surfers and their networks saved from death,
addictions, mediocrity. Thousands saved is what we long for.
Q. You make contact with locals in culturally appropriate ways, I believe.
A. Right. We run regular coffee mornings, surfing contests, surfing coaching, surfing trips,
dinners, barbeques, beach and street evangelism. We have an internet site71 and two of
our members run a gym for boxing and weights.
Q. Did you begin with a ‘public worship’ service?
A. No way! In my opinion that would take far too much of our resources and detract from
the real work of person to person mission and evangelism.
Q. So when and where do you gather to teach and train people?
Steve Bligh
68 http://www.sweeneyresearch.com.au/
69 http://www.christiansurfers.org.au/main.html
70 http://www.mediaman.com.au/profiles/the_bra.html
71 http://www.myspace.com/177308990
46 | Reality Check: Maroubra Surfers Church
A. 6.00pm on Sundays in a rumpus room for ‘Grom Church’ 72 (kids, families and their
friends); 7.00 pm on Mondays in a beachside café for our main Bible teaching; 7.30pm
Wednesdays in a beachfront office for training leaders; 10.00am on Saturdays for
evangelistic coffee mornings at a footpath café by the beach.
All up we minister to around 200 people.
Q. Who pays you, Steve?
A. Financial support comes from what we raise ourselves, from Church Army Australia
and from the Diocese.
Q. Will you plant again?
A. From the outset we made it very clear to all our people that our model can be
reproduced all over the world. This will mean, among other things, envisioning and
training our overseas surfers.
Q. Highs and lows?
A. Seeing ‘Bra Boys’ and their families put their trust in Jesus and seek to live for him
– that’s a high. The greatest ‘bummer’ is seeing people without Christ self destruct.
Reality Check: Maroubra Surfers ChurchSteve Bligh
1. Is it clear who Steve and his team are seeking to reach?
2. From the information to hand, does this ministry appear to bearing fruit? If so, why?
3. In your opinion, what are the greatest challenges that Steve and his team face?
4. A transferable principle or idea that we might apply in or context is……
72 ‘Grommets’ are surfer kids or children of surfers.
Reality Check: Maroubra Surfers Church | 47
Chapter 8
The Mission Action Plan – An OverviewMAP
Chapter 8 – The Mission Action Plan – An Overview | 49
The acronym ‘MAP’ says it well!
A Mission Action Plan – a MAP is a foundational document.
The MAP - prayerfully written by the Core Team, clarifies direction and shapes priorities
for new (and existing) ministries.
A MAP will express ‘what we’re on about’ and ‘where we’re going’ as a community of
faith.
A MAP will enable the Core Team to draft budgets and to know how (and where) to
deploy people.
A MAP informs prayer. This is especially true once goals are set; for “unless the Lord
builds the house, its builders labour in vain.” 73
Mission Actioning Planning is a process that requires some time. I think you should allow
between three to six months.
This is no bad thing.
Creating a M.A.P. affords the Core Team an excellent opportunity to read through the
Scriptures and to spend time together in prayer as they mull over their ministry context.
The “mapping” process in itself fosters ‘community’ among the Core Team.
A Mission Action Plan should in my view, comprise:
• A schedule of Biblical Values.
• A clear Statement of Mission.
• A compelling Vision.
• Activities grouped under Key Ministry Areas.
• A set of achievable Goals for each Key Ministry Area.
Let me now outline what I mean by these terms. I’ve written a fuller account of this
process in ‘Mission Action Planning: For Churches and Organisations in the 21st
Century’. Much of the following information is drawn from that volume.74
73 Psalm 127:1.
74 http://www.gospeloutreach.com.au/resources/resource1.pdf
50 | Chapter 8 – The Mission Action Plan – An Overview
Chapter 8 - think it through for groups and individuals...
Having read the brief introduction to Mission Action Planning are you able to list some
of the benefits of leading your Core Team through the process?
It may take from between three to six months to produce a MAP. Could this create
hurdles for your Core Team? If so, how might they be overcome?
As a result of reading this chapter I/we intend to
Chapter 9
Biblical Values MAP I
52 | Chapter 9 – Biblical Values MAP I
Biblical Values are the priorities, assumptions and principles, the essential tenets that
describe the character of a new (or existing) ministry.
Biblical Values are essential for clarifying direction. That is, Biblical Values are used by
the leadership team to shape, direct and inform goal setting for every activity within the
church. This is the great strength of Biblical Values.
In addition, Biblical Values may be used to measure progress in ministry.
Let me explain.
In pioneering ministry ‘results’ may not be all that obvious. Numbers may remain small for
some time and income growth may not be all that spectacular.
This is also often true in student/campus ministry, military and international expatriate
communities and in inner-urban high-rise developments where population turnover can
be significant.
A helpful way to measure (or get a sense of) forward movement is against Biblical
Values. Keep on asking the question, “how are we tracking in relation to our Biblical
Values?”
For example, a church that sees prayer as foundational in all they do and nominate
prayer as a Biblical Value should regularly be asking, “are we in fact spending time in
prayer?”; “is prayer both reflexive and intentional?” If the answer to these questions
is a resounding ‘yes’, even though they may not be bursting at the seams, they are
nonetheless being faithful to that which they believe God has called them to do.
Here is a set of Biblical Values from a local church. Please note that these Biblical Values
are context specific. They have been worked up with a particular ‘target’ group in mind.
At St. Micks Family Church we are committed to …
• Reading and teaching from the Bible, God’s Word.
The Bible, God’s revealed Word, is essential for knowing God and for personal
life-change. The Bible is our standard for faith and conduct and leads us to
honor Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. II Timothy 3:16.
• Prayer.
Prayer is an expression of our dependence upon and our relationship with God
our Father. Prayer is a priority in all our gatherings. Ephesians 6:18.
• Sharing our faith, making disciples and planting churches.
Locally and globally, individually and corporately, we will engage in the work of
presenting the Lord Jesus to a lost and broken world with a view to making
disciples and starting new congregations. I Peter 3:15; Matthew 28:18-20.
• Servant leadership.
Following the example of Jesus – and with training, nurture and modeling – our
leaders are to selflessly nourish and guide those in their care. John 10:11.
• Integrity, transparency and accountability in all relationships.
Our words and actions are to be consistent with God’s Word and above
Chapter 9 – Biblical Values MAP I | 53
reproach. This requires willingness (and a reliance on each other) to speak the
truth in love. Matthew 5:13-16; Ephesians 4:15.
• Alleviating human need through just and loving service.
This will mean being generous with our resources and making every effort to
stand against systems and agencies that dishonour Christ. Hebrews 13:16.
The process by which Biblical Values are decided is open to discussion.
One simple ways is as follows:
• The Core Team lists (on a white board or good old fashioned butcher’s paper)
what they individually deem to be central and non-negotiable.
• Once a list is produced the scribe or a facilitator decides if certain ideas can be
grouped with other like or similar ideas.
• Each person in the Core Team is allocated a predetermined number of votes
(I’d suggest somewhere between eight and ten) that are cast in favour of certain
groups of ideas.
• The highest ranking eight to ten groups are then discussed, nuanced, ‘word-
smithed’, prayed through and agreed upon.
This methodology may seem a little clumsy but in my experience it is a surprisingly
satisfactory process.
Chapter 9 – think it through for groups and individuals...
Are you aware of a church organisation that has a set of Biblical Values in place? Do
they adhere to them and do they inform and shape what they do?
List at least three reasons why Biblical Values are central to the MAP process.
Note down a preliminary list of four or five Biblical Values that could be included in a
Core Team discussion on the subject.
As a result of reading this chapter I/we intend to
Chapter 10
The Mission Statement MAP II
Chapter 10 – The Mission Statement MAP II | 55
By Mission Statement I mean,
A simple, clear and memorable written description of a church’s reason for
being.
A Mission Statement should ask the, “why does this church or ministry exist?” question.
The Mission Statement articulates the church’s purpose and in so doing establishes
identity (“who we are”).
A church in a dormitory suburb articulated their purpose thus;
We exist to please and honour God as we engage with our community,
evangelise the lost and equip and establish the church.
That works for them. That describes who they are and what they are ‘on about’; they are
those who exist to glorify God as they engage with people in their spheres of influence,
evangelise those outside the community of faith, and equip and establish the people in
their care.
I’m not suggesting readers adopt that particular statement (with its 4 ‘e’’s) but I think
you’ll agree that it is simple, clear and memorable.
Formulating the Mission Statement.
In some ways the church has a real advantage when it comes to formulating and
articulating Statements of Mission.
That is because God, in his Word, has given us some very helpful and clear guidelines
as to why we exist.
Here are three for your consideration;
• As disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ our life mission is to know, love and serve
God with all our heart, soul mind and strength - Matthew 22:37-39. We exist
therefore to please, glorify and honour God.
This might be described as the Great Calling.
• A clear outworking of this is to obediently and graciously call other people to
love and serve the Lord Jesus; “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising
them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” - Matthew 28:18-20.
This disciple making mandate is often spoken of as the Great Commission.
• And our words will be underscored by our actions. Jesus made it very clear that
those who followed him were to selflessly and sacrificially care for each other
and in so doing honour God and impact the community; “A new command I
give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
By this will all people know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
- John 13:34-35.
These words of Jesus are known to many as the Great Commandment.
56 | Chapter 10 – The Mission Statement MAP II
The following real Mission Statements are informed in varying degrees by these three
guidelines:
• We exist to reach people and teach them to follow Jesus.
• We exist to preach the gospel, teach the Bible, create community,
show compassion and promote justice.
• We exist to establish God’s kingdom on earth, through people.
• We exist to introduce people to Jesus and equip them to serve Him.
From the above we can see that clear Mission Statements are;
• Simple.
• Short - an economy of words is used.
• Memorable.
• Uncluttered with strategy.
Peter Wagner75 adds that an effective Mission Statement is;
Explicit. It must be written down, not just taken for granted. Writing disciplines thinking,
and as you go through several drafts, the Lord may reveal new and creative things to
you.
Mutual. The Mission Statement is the same for the team leader/minister, the staff the
elders (church council) and the congregation.
A deeply held conviction. If you do not really believe that your Mission Statement is
apt, clear and biblical, you’ll need to work on it further.
Static. By this Wagner means that churches that do not adhere to their Statement of
Mission are inclined to lose growth potential.
Having the New Ministry Profile to hand will enable the Core Team to carefully and
prayerfully consider the Scriptural imperatives mentioned above in the light of their socio-
economic/demographic context.
This process is sometimes called ‘double listening’76; an ear attuned to
culture and community and an ear attuned to the Word!
75 Leading Your Church to Growth, Regal Ventura, 1984
76 See http://www.cofe.anglican.org/info/papers/mission_shaped_church.pdf
Chapter 10 – The Mission Statement MAP II | 57
Chapter 10 – think it through for groups and individuals...
Does the church in which you are currently serving have a simple, clear and
memorable written description of why it exists? If so, are you able to write it down
(unassisted)? If the answer is ‘no’ what does this suggest?
Do you think that the ‘Great Calling’, ‘Great Commission’ and ‘Great Commandment’
are helpful parameters for formulating Mission Statements? Explain.
With your new target group in mind, take 20 minutes or so to think through an initial
first draft Mission Statement that you might share with your Core Team. Note: keep it
simple, short, memorable and uncluttered with strategy.
Our Mission
We exist to
As a result of reading this chapter I/we intend to
Reality Check – BerkeleyWayne Pickford
Evangelist and professional wrestler Wayne Pickford (49) with his wife Mary and three
teenage daughters have started a pioneering ministry, ‘Berkeley Life Centre’, in the
Illawarra region of N.S.W.
Q. Wayne, who are you seeking to reach?
A. Working class Australians. Our ministry is primarily in the ‘Housing Commission’77
area. 23% of the households are single parent families (half as much again as the
national average). Berkeley has a label - ‘a place without hope’ in the region.
Q. Why this group?
A. The church, in my view, fails to reach working class people. I grew up in Mt. Druitt,
in Sydney’s working class west – I’ve worked as a storeman, a correctional officer, a
professional wrestler; I love being around these kinds of people.
Q. Do you have a Core Team?
A. Yes. There are currently 7 members of ‘Berkeley Life Centre’. It’s only a small team.
Each person has a key ministry area to oversee.
Clyde coordinates our ‘Adopt a block’ program. June is our disciple-making coordinator.
She follows up and nurtures all new believers. Pam coordinates prayer. We meet every
Thursday night for prayer and we’ve established a prayer chain and a prayer letter. Ken
takes care of evangelism and is the primary speaker at ‘Alpha’. Dave’s focus is youth;
he’s very experienced in getting alongside working class young people.
Q. Do you have Mission Statement?
A. ‘A Life Worth Living’ sums up what we are on about at Berkeley. The letter ‘t’ in ‘worth’
is in the shape of a cross; life is only worth living when you discover that Jesus came into
this world to deal with brokenness and sin and prepare us for eternity.
Q. Did you begin with a ‘public worship’ service?
A. No. We are committed to reaching the local community and we want our church to
comprise locals. We meet each week for Bible study. When this group reaches 50 or so
we plan to begin a public meeting on a Saturday night.
Q. How does ‘Adopt a block’ work?
A. Each week one couple visits homes (around 30 families) in the same block. We have
targeted the streets that are adjacent to our church property. We knock on their doors
and offer bread donated by Bakers Delight78 and share our life and faith with them. We
‘pastor’ our block and do whatever it takes to serve people. We cook for those who are ill
or alone. We listen, laugh and cry together. We spend time praying for and with them.
At present we are reaching 120 households – about 500 people. We’re also getting
Wayne Pickford
77 Public housing
78 http://www.bakersdelight.com.au/cms/
58 | Reality Check: Berkeley
requests from locals to adopt their block too!
Q. Where does the wresting fit in?
A. I reckon wrestling events are the poor man’s opera! We’ve hosted professional
wrestling events combined with Gospel messages; “You’ve seen him wrestle, now come
and hear him preach!”
Q. How are you supported?
A. I’m mentored and trained by Church Army. They also provide a portion of my stipend. I
raise the rest myself.
Q. Where do you meet?
A. In the old fibro Anglican Church hall in Berkeley. It was disused for 18 years.
Q. Your Vision for this ministry?
A. To see a community of local believers worshipping Jesus, being missionaries to the
people of Berkeley and for these people – once saved – reaching their friends and
families in Berkeley for Jesus. We’ll keep on planting churches that plant churches….
Reality Check: BerkeleyWayne Pickford
1. Is it clear who Wayne and his team are seeking to reach?
2. From the information to hand, does this ministry appear to bearing fruit? If so, why?
3. In your opinion, what are the greatest challenges that Wayne and his team face?
4. A transferable principle or idea that we might apply in or context is
Reality Check: Berkeley | 59
Chapter 11
The Vision Statement MAP III
Chapter 11 – The Vision Statement MAP III | 61
Vision exists to provide a link between mission and action.
Contrary to widely held misconception, vision and mission are not
synonymous. Mission is the broad based description of why you exist
– your purpose for being. Vision is much more specific; it details the
particular direction you will pursue within the broad framework of your
mission. Vision provides focus. – George Barna.
A question I’m often asked runs something like this “Isn’t this Vision stuff overly
‘Corporate’ and quite foreign to the Bible?”
Whilst Jesus does not use the term “Vision” as such, he nonetheless constantly seeks to
inspire the men and women who were following him with a vision79. John chapters 13 -15
are a case in point.
Having spent three years together, the faith community that Jesus called into existence
appears to be unravelling. There will be a betrayal80, a denial81, and Jesus himself has
just announced that he is leaving them82.
We know the mood is dark because Jesus states (in John 14:1), “Do not let your hearts
be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me.”
Jesus then sets a Vision before his friends. It is a Vision of fellowship, unity, safety and
satisfaction.
He says in John 14:2-6,
2. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told
you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3. And if I go and prepare
a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also
may be where I am. 4. You know the way to the place where I am going.”
5. Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how
can we know the way?” 6. Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and
the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
Christina Drouin from the U.S. based ‘Centre for Strategic Planning’83 rightly observes
that...
Vision is a compelling word picture of a desired future state.
That’s what Jesus creates for his friends. He paints a compelling word picture of a
desired future state.
A time is coming when Jesus’ friends will again experience rich, uninterrupted, unsullied
fellowship for all time with God’s people, in God’s Heaven, through God’s Son.
That’s the Vision.
And then the ‘strategy’ (if I may use such a term) follows.
79 I understand vision to mean “to see with one’s mind’s eye”
80 John 13:8.
81 John 13:38.
82 John 13:33.
83 See http://www.planonline.org/
62 | Chapter 11 – The Vision Statement MAP III
In the light of this grand Vision Jesus’ friends are to press on with
• Selflessly serving and loving one another - John 13:34; 15:12.
• Obeying his word and commands – John 14:15, 23.
• Prayer and bold supplication – John 14:13.
And for his part Jesus will send the Counsellor to indwell, teach, nurture, instruct and
comfort them.84
I believe Vision is very much a function of leadership.
A Vision that is born out of prayer, consultation and research will ‘resonate’ with those in
the planning group (the Core Team) and will be a unifying focus for the whole church or
ministry. To this end, Vision is to be ‘tailor-made’ to the individual passions and giftedness
of the church; their call, their target group, their leaders and their faith.
Clear Vision Statements should answer these four questions:
• What does God want us to do and to achieve; is it consistent with Biblical
Values?
• Will this Vision stretch us beyond our natural abilities so that we really are
depending on God to see its fulfillment?
• Does the Vision offer a clear Christ-honoring focus?
• Is the Vision easily communicated, readily understood, and heartily embraced?
Noting that Vision Statements are context specific, I offer the following real examples for
your perusal.
• Our vision is for men, women, boys and girls to move from being
‘outsiders’ (Colossians 4:5) to ‘disciples’ (Matthew 28:19) within
eighteen months.
• Our vision is to exercise pastoral care and outreach through a
developing network of cell churches.
• Our vision is to engage in gospel growth by multiplying
congregations.
• Our vision is to provide a safe place for emotional and spiritual
healing.
• Our vision is to provide the greater metropolitan area with a
church geared to the needs of ‘baby boomers’, who are nominal
Christians.
• Our vision is to identify, train and support believers as leaders who
carry the ministry of the local church to the world.
• Our vision is to plant and grow a bible-focused, cell-based, Christ-
centred Anglican church amongst the people of the valley.
• Our vision is to reach the greater metropolitan area through
planting four new churches by 2004.84 John14:23, 25ff.
Chapter 11 – The Vision Statement MAP III | 63
• Our vision is for 207 people attending services by 2007.
• Our vision is to plant churches that plant churches.
Discerning Vision.
With risk of being formulaic, I would suggest that the Vision discernment process could
incorporate the following:
• An extended period of time be set aside for the Core Team to pray (together); they
are to ask the Lord for clarity and direction.
• Each member of the Core Team be given an A4 work-sheet upon which is already
printed the New Ministry Profile, Biblical Values and the Statement of Mission.
• On this worksheet each member of the team, informed by the Ministry Profile,
Biblical Values and Mission Statement writes down impressions and ideas about
what they believe the ministry could look like; ‘a compelling word picture of a
desired future state’.
• These thoughts and reflections are then shared with the whole team, recorded on a
white board (or post-it type notes) and grouped into common themes and images.
• After further prayer, the Core Team will then seek to draft a single sentence that
might coherently express these themes and images.
• At this point the Core Team should be asking those four questions of their draft
Vision:
- What does God want us to do and to achieve; is it consistent with Biblical
Values?
- Will this Vision stretch us beyond our natural abilities so that we really are
depending on God to see its fulfillment?
- Does the Vision offer a clear Christ-honoring focus?
- Is the Vision easily communicated, readily understood, and heartily embraced?
• Having prepared a draft Vision, I suggest the Core Team allow a week or so for it to
‘percolate’. Having prayerfully pondered the draft Vision the Core Team should then
meet again for prayer, discussion and re-negotiation. This process can continue
until the Vision is firm. The latter must not be rushed. And don’t fear impasses
– they may well be God’s way of alerting you to things not yet considered – things
that might only come to light through extended prayer and dialogue.
64 | Chapter 11 – The Vision Statement MAP III
Chapter 11 – Think it through for groups and individuals...
In your own your own words, take a few moments to write out the difference between
Mission and Vision.
Does the ministry or church in which you currently serve have a Vision? Can you write
it out (unassisted)? If ‘no’, what does this suggest?
In preparation for working on a Vision with your Core Leaders, in a sentence or two
write out your dream for the ministry you are planning. What could it look like three
years hence? Check what you’ve noted down against the four Vision questions.
As a result of reading this chapter I/we intend to
Chapter 12
Key Ministry AreasMAP IV
66 | Chapter 12 – Key Ministry Areas MAP IV
With limited resources (people, money, equipment, time) the Core Team must now ask
the “what specific areas will we focus on in order to fulfil our mission and realize our
vision” question.
Key Ministry Areas are categories into which like ministries are grouped and a leader or
coordinator assigned.
People from the Core Team are ideally suited to serve as coordinators;
they are clear on Biblical Values and they have an extremely high level of
‘ownership’ of the Mission and Vision of the church or ministry (or ‘Fresh
Expression’).
Once Key Ministry Areas are established the coordinator and his or her team will then set
goals for each activity (that will also include the public phase of the new ministry).
Consider the proposed new ministry at Yarmouth Cove (that we reviewed in chapter 6).
The Core Team will be guided and directed by the Biblical Values and the Mission and
Vision of St. Micks as they plan their mid-week playgroup program.
However as it is an off-site and discrete ministry, targeting families who are not involved
with St. Micks, it is quite appropriate for the Core Team to draft a list of Key Ministry
Areas that relate to this particular initiative.
A schedule of possible activities is included. The Key Ministry Area leader (and her team)
will then create a series of goals for the activities they in fact elect to run with.
Chapter 12 – Key Ministry Areas MAP IV | 67
Weekly Mainly Music group (and the starting
of new Mainly Music groups once a pre-
determined ‘ceiling’ is reached), monthly
outing, birthday celebrations, special
Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Easter and
Christmas events, recruiting additional help,
etc.
Monthly prayer meeting for team and
supporters, creation/distribution of an email
prayer bulletin, coordination of prayer ‘triplet’
ministry85, recruiting additional help, etc.
Budget creation, venue hire and set up,
purchase of equipment, collection and
processing of monies received, equipment
purchase, correspondence, production of
‘welcome packs’ for friends and guests
serving rosters, coordination of publicity: web
page (and web info for other sites); letterbox
drops; personal invitations; newspaper ads
and stories; banners, recruiting additional
help, etc.
Baby Bliss86 and ‘Parenting Toddlers’
classes87, baby sitting programme, The
Marriage Course88, wine and cheese tasting,
Introducing God DVD evangelism course,
Messy Church, recruiting additional help, etc.
Occupational health and safety, child
protection, conversational evangelism,
set-up and tear down of venue, hospitality:
Friends for Life89 course, recruiting additional
help, etc.
Conduct small group leaders training
workshop, identify two small group leaders
and two apprentices, start two small groups,
select small group study material, plan 3
small group social events, devise welcome/
incorporation program, etc.
Key Ministry Area Possible ActivitiesCoordinator(s)
Yarmouth Cove ‘Playgroup’ Key Ministry Areas
85 A ‘prayer triplet’ is a group of three people who meet together (in person or via conference call or ‘MSN’ or ‘Skype’ etc) to pray for each other, their friends who are living apart from God in Christ and any other special needs or concerns they might have. A helpful leaflet, Prayer Triplets written by the Reverend David Mansfield is available from Gospel Outreach Ministries at http://www.gospeloutreach.com.au/resources/resource1.pdf
86 http://www.gfi.org.au/resources/babywise_bliss.html
87 http://www.gfi.org.au/downloads/letter-childwisepastors.pdf
88 http://themarriagecourse.org/marriage/
89 http://www.greatjourneys.org
(usually drawn from Core Team)
Myrtle and
Tony Tan
Cynthia
Cave-Smythe
Sylvia Chung
and
Deepak
Choudhury
Jeff and
Terri Spring
Oscar Bauer
Holly Poulos
Families
Prayer
Administration
and Advertising
Outreach
Team Training
Small Groups
68 | Chapter 12 – Key Ministry Areas MAP IV
Chapter 12 – think it through for groups and individuals...
As you reflect on your target group there could very well be many ways to serve them.
Given limited resources, simply list three possible Key Ministry Areas. Explain why
you’ve chosen these particular Key Ministry Areas.
Our experience has shown that unless a person (or a couple) is appointed to lead
a Key Ministry Area it will languish (or die). From your Core Team, can you identify
suitable leaders for the three Key Ministry Areas that you have selected? List and
explain.
Choose one of your Key Ministry Areas and write out half a dozen possible activities
for which goals (for the selected activities) might be set.
As a result of reading this chapter I/we intend to
Having now listed a range of possible activities for each Key Ministry Area the people
responsible for these ministries will prayerfully consider, in the light of Biblical Values and
resources to hand the activities for which goals are to be set.
Chapter 13
Prayer and Faith GoalsMAP V
70 | Chapter 13 – Prayer and Faith Goals MAP V
By goals I mention the action steps required to ‘make ministry happen’ in each of the Key
Ministry Areas.
These goals or action steps are to be prayed through from formulation stage right
through to completion (and evaluation). I would encourage the Core Team to make a
schedule of goals available to friends, family, the sending church, the web-site and of
course all those involved in the new congregation or ‘fresh expression’.
In setting goals we should be asking the four basic ‘what’, ‘how’, ‘who’ and ‘when’
questions:
What exactly do we90 want to do?
How will we do it?
Who will do it?
When is it to be done by?
In passing, I should add that some leaders find the ‘SMART’ formula helpful when setting
goals. That is, goals are to be:
Specific
Measurable
Achievable
Result-oriented
Track-able (or time-dated)
In publishing goals we create expectation, ownership and accountability –
• An expectation that God will bring glory to himself in and through our plans and
dreams.
• A sense of ownership interest and involvement among those who are praying for
that which we are seeking to achieve.
• A higher level of accountability in that our supporters will be keen to know how
and when goals are realized.
Goals are generally flexible and mid-course corrections may be appropriate. Goals are to
be set for short, medium and longer term ministry seasons (e.g. six months, 12 months,
2-5 years).
As goals are drafted for each of the Key Ministry Areas those doing the planning are to
‘filter’ any ideas through the Biblical Values ‘grid’. That is, Biblical Values must set the
agenda in goal formulation.
In addition goals can and must be regularly revised and evaluated. Quarterly and annual
evaluations are oft-used time frames.
Lastly, and this is often overlooked, celebrating goals that have been achieved (or in
some way realized) is a wonderful way of encouraging the ‘body’ and bringing honour to
Christ. Context is also created. This means the church can look back on what God has
90 Assuming that as a group you are continuing to ask God what He wants you to do!
Chapter 13 – Prayer and Faith Goals MAP V | 71
done in their midst and then boldly step forward with new faith-filled goals.
Let me give you a very simple example of what a set of goals for a Key Ministry Area
could look like.
I’m using the Key Ministry Area ‘Outreach’ from the Yarmouth Cove playgroup ministry.
Key Ministry Area - ‘Outreach’
Yarmouth Cove Playgroup
Goal 1: To run a six week ‘Parenting Toddlers’ program on Thursday
evenings with free baby sitting for couples who attend. The program will
begin in July. It will be coordinated by Jeff and Terri Spring and a team of
four assistants.
Goal 2: To host a wine and cheese evening for playgroup parents and
friends with a short testimony from a Christian parent. Lucy Greaves will
organise this event. It is set down for August 22 at 8.00pm (not long after
the ‘Parenting Toddlers’ program ends).
Goal 3: To invite the fathers of children from playgroup to an early
Saturday morning fishing trip where they will meet other Christian men.
Conversation and fishing are the main agenda items. Enzo Batini will
organise the event and provide the boat and gear. The date is Saturday
October 7 at 6.00am.
Goal 4: To construct and coordinate a ‘live’ Nativity scene for the
playgroup Christmas party on December 17 at 3.00pm. The Olling family
will take charge of this venture.
Goal 5: The playgroup Christmas party will use the ‘Messy Church’ format.
Outreach coordinators, Jeff and Terri Spring will also oversee this event.
The above sample goals are also working on the principle of ‘flow’. By this I mean one
activity ‘flowing’ naturally into another.
The people who come along to the playgroup will be invited to the ‘Parenting Toddlers’
course. That cohort (and others) will then be personally encouraged to attend the wine
and cheese event where a short, clear testimony (‘personal faith journey’) will be shared.
It is hoped that some of the men (having met other fellows from the group) will come to
the Saturday fishing trip and then with their families to the Christmas party. The ‘Messy
Church’ format will be used for the Christmas party. If the response is positive a series of
‘Messy Church’ events will be scheduled throughout the next year.
72 | Chapter 13 – Prayer and Faith Goals MAP V
Chapter 13 - think it through for groups and individuals...
Please state (in your own words) the purpose and value of setting goals.
“Biblical Values must set the agenda in goal setting.” Discuss.
From the possible list of activities that you produced from one of the Key Ministry
Areas, select two activities and formulate goals. Make sure they answer the ‘Why’,
‘How’, ‘Where’ and ‘When’ questions.
1.
2.
As a result of reading this chapter I/we intend to
Reality Check: Church by the BridgePaul Dale
Paul Dale (37) is the minister of Church by the Bridge91 (CBTB), in Kirribilli. This aptly
named church is based just metres away from the northern end of the Sydney Harbour
Bridge.
Paul, a ‘Brit’, became a Christian when he was 20 as a result “of reading the Bible cover
to cover for myself.’ He came to the conclusion that Jesus was indeed the Lord and
Saviour.
Q. Paul, tell us about the people you and your team(s) are seeking to reach?
A. Kirribilli is an interesting area. The surveys indicate that there are two main groups
– the 25-30 year old home renters (mainly single – like me – or married without kids) and
the 60 plus years home owners (many of whom were born in Kirribilli).
We’ve sought to focus on the first group. Their issues are ‘wealth’, ‘prosperity’, ‘busy
lives’, ‘no need for Jesus’. We know this because we’ve spent time with them; walking
the streets, speaking to people in cafes, shops and offices.
Q. Do you have a Core Team?
A. We began with a team of ten. They were selected by invitation – based on skills. We
started with a group of people (mainly from St. Thomas’ North Sydney – our ‘parent’) who
could oversee the following Key Ministry Areas: Men; Women; Outreach; Small Groups;
Pastoral Care; Music; Publicity; Welcoming; Mission and Teaching.
Q. Now Paul, CBTB has experienced rapid growth in just a few years. I understand
around 240 people meet across three services. Did you begin with ‘public
worship’?
A. Here’s how it played out. We had an information night three months prior to our
launch. By that stage we’d fixed a venue, time, Core Team, as well as the style of
meeting and target group. We had a Mission Action Plan in place (and our Mission is to
‘know Christ, serve Christ, proclaim Christ’.)
The information night helped people see that we were really planting two new churches
– one in Kirribilli and the “re-planting” of the 7.pm service at St. Thomas’ North Sydney92
from which we were being sent out. As a result of this meeting 40 new people ‘signed on’.
Q. How do you make contact with locals and where do you meet?
A. We knock on doors, do leaflet drops and people invite their friends to events. We’ve
run market stalls, trivia nights, puppet shows, ‘hot topic’ nights, ‘Carols under the Bridge’
(outdoor service) and our Sunday services (in St. John’s Kirribilli). We meet in cafés,
homes and in the church building.
Q. Will you plant again and do you see yourself in the role long term?
A. We planted CBTB in February 2005. By January 2007 CBTB comprised three
Paul Dale
91 http://www.churchbythebridge.org.au/
92 http://www.st-thomas.org.au/
Reality Check: Church By The Bridge | 73
congregations (one morning, two evening). In February 2008 we will plant again in an
adjacent suburb.
I see myself more as an initiator rather than a maintainer. I just want to keep on planting!
Q. Downsides?
A. There is great joy in seeing so many people come to Christ. My greatest
disappointments have been in relation to members of the original Core Team leaving.
That’s tough.
Reality Check: CBTB KirribilliPaul Dale
1. Is it clear who Paul and his team are seeking to reach?
2. From the information to hand, does this ministry appear to bearing fruit? If so, why?
3. In your opinion, what are the greatest challenges that Paul and his team face?
4. A transferable principle or idea that we might apply in or context is
74 | Reality Check: Church By The Bridge
Chapter 14
Going ‘Public’
76 | Chapter 14 – Going ‘Public’
In our journey together so far we have93:
• Noted that in starting mission-shaped churches we are referring to a process
by which new communities of faith that make and grow disciples of Christ are
formed.
• Considered some of the Biblical evidence for starting new communities of faith.
• Reviewed the characteristics that pioneer ministers tend to exhibit and some of
expectations of leaders that the Bible sets out for us.
• Surveyed a range of models for mission-shaped ‘start-ups’.
• Asked the ‘five big questions’ pertaining to data gathering prior to starting a new
ministry.
• Been presented with the concept of and ‘had a go’ at writing a New Ministry
Profile.
• Thought through the process of recruiting a Core Team and the importance of
finding Faithful, Available, Teachable people.
• Looked at what comprises a Mission Action Plan: Biblical Values; a Statement of
Mission; a Statement of Vision; a list of Key Ministry Areas; a schedule of prayer
and faith Goals.
Having worked through these eight foundational areas we can now speak more briefly
about ‘going public’.
The ‘going public’ stage once meant (more often than not) finding a venue and starting a
‘worship-service’ (for want of a better term).
I do hope that in starting mission-shaped churches it is clear to the reader that the ‘going
public’ phase may mean starting the ‘worship service’ but in many situations, given the
context, it may not.
In our Yarmouth Cove scenario it will mean starting the playgroup ministry as per the
plan, building relationships and slowly serving that community in line with the goal
schedule and making mid-course corrections if the goals are off the mark.
As a matter of interest, this ministry is based on a model that is working in an
inner-urban community. Each week nearly 100 carers and children meet in a local
government owned and managed community centre for movement and dance
activities. They sing simple songs about Jesus and do craft activities that relate to
the theme of the day. Until they attended the group, the carers, all generally under
35 years of age, knew almost nothing of the person and work of Jesus.
A traditional Sunday service not only does not fit their schedules and life-styles (at
this point in time), it is completely outside their frame of reference.
It is also worth noting that the team who lead this ministry are non-stipendiary; they
are ‘tent-makers’ or bi-vocational workers. They derive an income from sources
apart from the ministry.
93 A checklist version of this list is found at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 14 – Going ‘Public’ | 77
This particular ‘public’ ministry, as with all the examples given in this manual, has
embraced a ‘go to them’ approach to evangelism - as opposed to the ‘come to us’
philosophy inherent in much of what we do (or at least much of what I have done!).
What is more, like Jonathan Holt, Lyn Bullard, Wayne Pickford, Steve Bligh and
Paul Dale, they are passionate about multiplying their ministries. They want to
see more groups emerge and more people reached and brought warmly into the
church’s fold. They are not content with the status quo.
The ‘going public’ phase, whatever it might look like locally, must, in my view, flow quite
naturally out of the Goals that have been set for each Key Ministry Area.
Let me illustrate this once again from the Yarmouth Cove playgroup project.
Myrtle and Tony Tan have recruited a Core Team. Team members have been assigned
Key Ministry Area responsibilities and specific goals will be set; goals that ask and
answer the ‘What’, ‘How’, ‘Who’ and ‘When’ questions.
It could look something like this…
Myrtle and Tony Tan, the Families coordinators will:
• Organise the Mainly Music programme.
• Schedule a range of social activities that will forge and enhance relationships.
• Set dates for the start and finish of each activity.
Cynthia Cave-Smythe (and her team) has the Prayer angle covered. Cynthia will:
• Ensure people are prayerfully informed about all events and activities (including
the public launch).
• Organise small groups (prayer triplets) to regularly meet for intimate intentional
prayer.
Sylvia Chung and Deepak Choudhury are responsible for Administration and
Advertising. Among other things, they will:
• Secure a suitable venue, draft budgets, produce a web-site.
• Book advertising space in local media.
• Coordinate a letterbox drop.
• Put welcome packs together.
• Purchase equipment.
• Serve as a conduit for all correspondence.
78 | Chapter 14 – Going ‘Public’
Jeff and Terri Spring have taken on the Outreach portfolio. As with the other Key
Ministry Areas, they will:
• Invite people to serve alongside them in this strategic activity.
• Have in place, or will be developing a schedule of events to which people
attending Mainly Music (and others with whom they may come into contact) can
be invited.
• Have scheduled programs for parenting infants and toddlers.
• Also offer a marriage enrichment course and a range of social events (such as a
wine and cheese night) where relational bridges can be built.
• Also coordinate the Messy Church event(s).
Oscar Bauer is looking after Team Training. Oscar will:
• Cover a range of training activities from how to set-up and tear down a venue to
relationship building courses.
• Schedule his training so that people are well prepared for events and activities
before they come ‘on line’.
Holly Poulos has been assigned the task of coordinating the Small Groups
ministry.
• Initially these groups (2 to start with) will comprise the Core Team.
• As people ‘sign up’ for Mainly Music and other associated activities the Core
Team members will gently invite them to experience the fellowship and care of a
small group.
Chapter 14 – Going ‘Public’ | 79
A Checklist for ‘going public’
(or)
1. A skilled, gifted and experienced pioneer(s) is leading this new ministry [ ]
Comments
2. An accurate, researched picture of the intended target group is to hand and a New
Ministry Profile has been written [ ]
Comments
3. A Faithful, Available, Teachable Core Team has been prayerfully selected and is
meeting regularly for prayer and planning [ ]
Comments
4. The MAP process is complete and we are agreed on
Biblical Values [ ]
A Mission Statement [ ]
A Vision Statement [ ]
Key Ministry Areas and who will oversee/coordinate them [ ]
A schedule of Goals and the people responsible for actioning them [ ]
Comments
5. To this end we have (if appropriate)
- secured a venue [ ]
- a public ‘launch’ date [ ]
- worked out budgets and purchased equipment [ ]
- devised a strategy for marketing/publicity [ ]
- a plan for incorporating and discipling people [ ]
- the (informed) prayer support of friends, family and/or a
sending church and denomination [ ]
- scheduled a time for a formal review of all our activities as per our
Mission Action Plan [ ]
Comments
The Checklist.
I’d like to end this chapter with a simple checklist that may assist pioneer ministers and
their teams as they work towards going public. After each statement there is space to
check-off the item and add a comment if action is required.
Chapter 15
The Last Word
Chapter 15 – The Last Word | 81
From a distance some of the examples of pioneering ministry and church plants to which
I’ve made reference look ‘untidy’. By this I mean they don’t necessarily present like
church in a traditional sense. Oftentimes they don’t meet on Sundays in church buildings,
they don’t have full-time ordained clergy and they don’t replicate the forms and styles of
worship with which many of us are familiar and comfortable.
They do however fit the definition of mission-shaped churches that I suggested when we
began; they are
“new communities of faith that exhibit the values of the Kingdom of God;
principally making and growing disciples of Christ”.
The question, “so exactly where will they end up?” is a good one. The answer for some
– even though they have a plan is, “we’re not entirely sure”. My own view is that if we
begin to release pioneers and entrepreneurs into the mission field we’ll also need to learn
to live with patterns and models that are different, risky and ‘seasonal’; they may not,
under God, have a long life. Indeed some may fail.
That said they all have at least three things in common; they are passionate about the
mission to which Jesus has called them; they are prayerful in all their undertakings
and they have a flexible Christ-centred plan. That plan – in every instance involves
reproduction and multiplication. Kingdom growth – to the glory of God, is a driving force
in each scenario.
My hope is that those three elements will be present in the work to which the Lord is
leading you – and that this manual will bless and assist in the process.
Let me close with the words of my friend, colleague and British church planting doyen Dr.
Martin Robinson94 as we reflect on the task ahead.
The challenge for church planters is to give birth to new forms rather
than replicate the same structures that have failed elsewhere. Creative
church planting that discovers new ways of being the Body of Christ in a
changing world will help keep the sinews of our denominations supple
and more able to respond sensitively and vigorously to the as yet unforseen
challenges of tomorrow’s world. New churches, and the fresh theological
insights that they generate, counter the tendency to ecclesiological
ossification that turns structures into strictures.
“...stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work
of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain...”
I Corinthians 15:58.
94 http://www.togetherinmission.org/theteam.php
Appendix
Appendix I: Mission Shaped or Mission Flavoured? | 83
Appendix 1: Mission Shaped or Mission Flavoured?
Two of my colleagues, George Lings95 from the Church Army’s Sheffield Centre (UK)
and Ken Morgan96 a Church Army consultant (and former church planting coach with
Church Resource Ministries Australia97) have expressed concerns that many of the
emerging expressions of church were not “mission-shaped” as much as they were
“mission-flavoured” instead.
With Ken’s permission, I’m reproducing some of his material below.
Here’s a true story…
Every Sunday morning about sixty or seventy people take over the ‘Green Macau’
café located in a suburban shopping strip.
The small space is packed to the door and people sit around tables to enjoy the
music, listen to a brief and punchy message, hear stories and generally celebrate
the good things that God is doing in their community.
It’s a pretty unlikely crew – a millionaire businessman sits at the same table as a
recovering heroin addict.
The head bouncer from the local pub is there, along with IT professionals, welfare
dependent single mums and an array of others.
The young ministers are desperately seeking a larger space in which they might
meet.
About half the people attending that morning have come to faith in this group.
The rest were either part of the original planting team or have re-connected with
church after a break.
Sunday afternoons, in another city meets another church, which looks virtually the
same.
The look and feel is ‘café casual’, although they meet in a school hall.
The music is not too different, the message just as relevant and punchy.
The crowd lacks some of the diversity, but numbers about eighty or so.
All in all, you’d struggle to see from the outside how very, very different these two
churches are.
What’s the difference?
Our first example began six years ago as a team of about ten people.
For the first two years they had no public worship service, committing most of their
time to building relationships with unchurched people, doing simple acts of service,
making disciples one by one and gathering them into small groups.
When the people they were reaching kept asking to ‘start church’, they commenced
a monthly service.
They moved to a fortnightly service only when they had enough people involved to
sustain both grass-roots mission activity and the public service.
They’ve only recently increased the frequency to weekly.
95 http://www.churcharmy.org.uk/ca/sc/SheffieldCentreHome.asp
96 Ken can be contacted at [email protected]
97 http://www.crm.org.au/
84 | Appendix I: Mission Shaped or Mission Flavoured?
Because a favourite pastime in their area is relaxing in a café, they chose a one as
a meeting place.
Founded and formed by mission, this is a mission-shaped church.
Although a little bigger, the second example church is only eighteen months old.
The origins of the church are found in a small group of young adults, frustrated by
the rigidity of the traditional church they attended.
They wanted something fresh, contemporary and informal.
They wanted something to which they could invite their friends.
The group worked hard to bring their dream to reality.
They put together a detailed strategic plan, pulled together ideas, people and
resources and even gained the blessing of their home church.
Local government demographics told them that middle class 18-40 year-olds
abounded in their suburb, so everything about the service - from funky music to
plunger coffee – was chosen with these in mind.
Their first service was everything they had hoped, and since then a steady flow of
new faces has delighted the leadership group.
While the new church appears to be a resounding success, a few nagging doubts
rattle about in the minds of the leaders.
Firstly, almost all the newcomers are from other churches.
Some stay, some attend for a few weeks and move on.
Everyone is encouraged to invite their friends, but all their friends are Christians.
Secondly, the church’s efforts at outreach don’t seem to be effective in bringing
people into the church.
They’ve done everything from a ‘battle of the bands’ to offering free marriage
counselling (statistics showed a high marriage breakdown rate in the area), but
there’s been no ‘flow on’ from these to the worship service.
Thirdly, the core team is growing tired of the effort required to maintain the current
standard in the weekly service, plus the outreach activities.
Because successful, large churches emphasise excellence, the leaders have
drummed into the worship team to give their all.
But now the team is starting to lose their energy and creative edge.
Contemporary and cool as it may be, the second example is, in our view, ‘mission-
flavoured.
Appendix I: Mission Shaped or Mission Flavoured? | 85
Mission-Shaped Church…
Had its origin in a call to mission.
Began work with the unchurched
and their needs.
Made serving those outside the
community of faith its first priority.
Launched its public worship service
according to health indicators.
Sought to discover and meet the
needs of unchurched by engaging
with them in relationship, then
serving them in a relational ‘peer’
approach.
Allowed those new to the faith to
influence its form and style.
Became ‘insiders’ in their local
culture – ‘bringing Jesus to them’.
Mission-Flavoured Church…
Was born in reaction to the
established church.
Began work with the churched and
their preferences.
Made a ‘hip’ worship service their
first priority.
Launched their public worship
service according to a schedule.
Perceived the needs of the
unchurched form a distance
and opted for a ‘provider-client’
approach to serving them.
Designed its look and feel based
on its own idea of what the
community needed.
Remained outsiders in their local
culture, trying to ‘bring them to
Jesus’.
Upshots98.
• Clarify the call
The basis for mission-shaped church is a call to mission, rather than frustration
that our own needs aren’t met.
As far as possible, pioneer ministers will need to deal with frustrations and other
gripes before they set off to plant.
• Be good news
Right from the start, pioneers are to spend significant time with those they trying
to reach. Their job is to be good news, not a purveyor of goods and services,
religious or otherwise.
• Keep public worship services in perspective
In a mission-shaped framework, a public worship service should be the overflow
of mission and its fruits, rather than preceding it.
It will therefore be shaped by those who’ve come to faith through mission.
The form it takes may or may not follow the style and symbols of the Core Team. 98 Following Morgan and Lings.
86 | Appendix I: Mission Shaped or Mission Flavoured?
• Make time for unchurched people
Public worship services are usually very resource-hungry.
Beware of committing too much of your people’s time and energy to the service
at the expense of relational time with the unchurched.
• Let programs serve relationships
Programs as a concept are value-neutral.
They succeed or fail as outreach tools largely on the basis of whether they
provide a context for relationships to form and grow.
Appendix II: Resources | 87
Appendix II: Resources – Electronic and Written (with thanks to George Lings, Wayne Brighton, Steve Addison
and Ken Morgan).
There is a growing corpus of material available to interested readers. Two foundational
documents that I recommend you buy and read are:
Building The Mission Shaped Church in Australia (Sydney: General Synod, 2006;
Contributors - Wayne Brighton, Andrew Curnow, Trevor Edwards, Rob Forsyth, Stephen
Hale, Stuart Robinson, Di Nicolios, Sue Williams – Ed. A. Nichols).
Mission Shaped Church: Church Planting and Fresh Expressions of church in a changing
context (London: Church House Publishing, 2004; Contributors – Graham Cray, George
Lings and others).
A selection of other material includes:
Electronic.Steve Addison – planting the next 1,000 Australian Churches – workbook:
http://www.next1000.org/files/next1000ebook.pdf
Alliance Church – downloads and training manuals for church planters:
http://www.alliancescp.org/resources/index.html
Anglican Church Planting Initiatives – UK - the title says it all: www.acpi.org.uk
Base ecclesial cells and ministering communities – resources and links
www.newway.org.uk
Brad Boydston downloads and manuals:
http://bradboydston.com/html/church_planting.html
Church of England – Fresh Expressions – great examples, downloads and links:
www.freshexpressions.org.uk
Emerging church – information and links www.emergingchurch.info
Encounters on the Edge – Church Army Sheffield Centre UK – great research
material, links, training information: www.encountersontheedge.org.uk
Rural church plants and fresh expressions (UK):
http://www.ruralmissions.org.uk/rural%20fresh%20expressions.pdf
Charles Ridley’s characteristics of church planters – checklist:
http://www.churchplanting4me.org/ridleyfactors.htm
Martin Robinson – Together in mission – resources courses and papers:
http://www.togetherinmission.org/
Stuart P. Robinson – articles and downloads:
http://www.anglican.org.au/nco.cfm?SID=9&SSID=149
Seven Steps in Planting Churches: http://www.churchplantingvillage.net
Ed Stetzer’s Newchurches.com - and excellent site with resources and downloads:
http://www.newchurches.com/
88 | Appendix II: Resources
Written.Roland Allen, The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church and the Causes that
Hinder It. (Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, 1997).
Jennifer Ashley (ed), The Relevant Church: A New Vision for Communities of Faith.
(Orlando: Relevant Media, 2005).
Paul Bayes, Mission-Shaped Church. (Grove Evangelism 67. Cambridge: Grove
Publishing, 2004).
John Bellamy, Profiling Australians: Social and Religious Characteristics of the
Population. (Adelaide: Openbook, 2003).
David Bosch, Transforming Mission: Paradigm Shifts on Theology of Mission. (New
York: Orbis, 1991).
Stuart Christine and Martin Robinson, Planting Tomorrow’s Churches Today: A
Comprehensive Handbook. (Tunbridge Wells: Monarch, 1992).
Steven Croft, Transforming Communities: Re-Imagining the Church for the 21st
Century. (London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 2002).
Steven Croft, George Lings and Claire Dalpra, Starting a Fresh Expression
Workbook. (London: Church House Publishing, 2006).
Steven Croft and George Lings, Moving on in a Mission Shaped Church Workbook.
(London: Church House Publishing, 2005).
Vincent Donovan, Christianity Rediscovered: An Epistle from the Masai. (London:
SCM Press, 1982).
Michael Frost, Exiles: Living Missionally in a Post-Christian Culture. (Peabody:
Hendrickson, 2006).
Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, A Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and
Mission for the 21st Century Church. (Peabody: Henrickson, 2003).
Eddie Gibbs and Ryan K. Bolger, Emerging Churches: Creating Christian
Community in Postmodern Cultures. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005).
Eddie Gibbs and Ian Coffey, Church Next: Quantum Changes in Christian Ministry.
(Leicester; IVP, 2001).
Kevin Giles, Making Good Churches Better. A Workbook for Church Councils and
Church Leaders. (Brunswick: Acorn, 2001).
Robin Greenwood, Transforming Church. (London: SPCK, 2002).
Darrell J. Guder, ed., The Missional Church. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998).
Alan Howe, Leading Ordinary Churches into Growth. (Grove Evangelism Ev 70.
Cambridge: Grove, 2005).
Bob Jackson, Hope for the Church: Contemporary Strategies for Growth. (London:
Church House Publishing, 2002).
Bob Jackson, The Road to Growth. (London: Church House Publishing, 2005).
Peter Kaldor et al., Connections for Life: Core Qualities to Foster in Your
Church.(Adelaide: Open Book, 2002).
Dan Kimball, The Emerging Church: Vintage Christianity for New Generations.
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003).
Appendix II: Resources | 89
Alan C. Klass, In Search of the Unchurched: Why People Don’t Join Your
Congregation. (Alban Institute, 2002).
George Lings and Stuart Murray, Church Planting: Past, Present and Future.
(Grove Evangelism Ev.61. Cambridge: Grove, 2003).
George Lings, Discernment in Mission: Navigation Aids for Mission-Shaped
Processes. (Encounters on the Edge. 30. Sheffield: Sheffield Centre, 2006).
George Lings, Mission-Shaped Church: The Inside and Outside View. (Encounters
on the Edge. 22. Sheffield: Sheffield Centre, 2004).
George Lings and Stuart Murray, Church Planting: Past, Present and Future.
(Grove Evangelism Ev 61. Cambridge: Grove Books, 2003).
Aubrey Malphurs, Planting Growing Churches for the 21st Century. (Grand Rapids:
Baker, 1994, 3rd edit).
Ann Morisy, Journeying Out: A New Approach to Christian Mission. (London:
Continuum, 2004).
Michael Moynagh, Emergingchurch.intro. (Oxford and Grand Rapids: Monarch
Books, 2004).
Stuart Murray, Church After Christendom. (Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2004).
Stuart Murray, Post-Christendom: Church and Mission in a Strange New World.
(Milton Keynes: Paternoster, 2004).
Stuart Murray, Church Planting, Laying Foundations. (Scottsdale: Herald, 1996).
Martin Robinson, Planting Mission-Shaped Churches Today. (London: Kregel,
2006).
Stuart P. Robinson, Cheryl Smith, Michael K. Wilson, Mission Action Planning Kit.
(Sydney: Anglicare Diocese of Sydney, 2004).
Alan Roxburgh & Fred Romanuk, The Missional Leader: Equipping Your Church to
Reach a Changing World. (John Wiley & Sons, 2006).
Alan Roxburgh, The Missionary Congregation: Leadership and Liminality.
(Harrisburg: Trinity Press International, 1997).
Lyle Schaller, 44 Questions For Church Planters. (Nashville: Abingdon, 1991).
Robert Warren, The Healthy Churches’ Handbook: A Process for Revitalizing Your
Church. (London: Church House Publishing, 2004).
Robert Warren, Building Missionary Congregations: Towards a Post-Modern Way
of Being Church. (London: Church House Publishing, 1995).
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