I was asked "what does non-come-to-us christianity look like?" The answer is it looks like "we-go-to-them" and then it looks like "they-go-to-them" making disciples as we/they go (Matthew 28:19). The aim is always multiplication, not addition. The people who respond to the gospel are encouraged to be church in their own home/family setting rather than come to church.
Learning from Roland Allen the primary task is evangelism, next discipleship so that the disciple has a strong grounding in scripture, and there needs to be a very strong confidence/faith in the ability of the Holy Spirit to lead people into truth. The Church planter does not try to control the life of the new church, but remains in a supportive relationship.
I found a blog from a missionary in South America where these principles are being used. Have a look at this link for an example of what simple home churches look like.
This link elaborates the principles which they use.
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The Apostle Peter was sent by the Spirit to eat with Gentiles. Saul of Tarsus was a Hebrew of the Hebrews called by Jesus Christ to be an Apostle to the Gentiles. Who are the Gentiles in Britain today? How can the gospel reach those who are unlikely to ever make the cross cultural journey required to belong to the Church as we know it?
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About Me
- Ross Garner
- I am the Vicar of St. Mark's which is the Church of England Parish Church in Bredbury and Woodley. We have been a Cell Church since 1998. I am married with two sons at university.
3 comments:
It's clear from your earlier posts that your church is a cell church - how is this simple church different from what you're already doing?
I am a great fan of Cell Church. It is a way of structuring a church so that multiplication growth is encouraged. If all the correct values are present a cell group will be evangelistic. New believers will be nurtured and mentored. Leaders will be developed by apprenticeship. Genuine deep loving community will exist and loving service will be seen. The group will be focussed on what God wants and every member will be using their gifting for the good of all. In this respect the cell group looks like simple church.
Cell church as we know it also has a "big wing" to quote Bill Beckham. In an ideal cell church this would be a time when many of the members gather for a praise celebration with preaching input from the clergy or theologically trained pastors. The big wing of the church will also normally organise training and support for the cell leaders and will often produce cell notes each week. The big wing also tends to include pastoral care of those who are not looked after by the cells (or are too disfunctional to be in a cell group.
I would like to encourage more churches to become cell churches as it makes them more mission-shaped. But after 10 years of cell church in the UK most are still only seeing addition growth.
I am now starting to think about what changes need to happen to move from addition to multiplication growth. My hunch is that it all needs to be smaller and simpler because small and simple is easier for ordinary folk to pass on.
I think I need to blog about this some more when I have a bit more time rather than continue in a comment, but thanks for the question.
Ross,
I love the kinds of things you are blogging about. How I would love to sit down with a cup of coffee (tea?) and swap notes on these subjects. After reading over your entries I can see we have a lot in common. Thanks for the link in this post back to my site. The values expressed there have held pretty solid for several years now.
Blessings,
Guy Muse
Guayaquil, Ecuador
http://guymuse.blogspot.com
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