Friday, November 18, 2011

Why Plant Another Church in Christian America? Part 2


As I’m writing this, I’m thankful to have made it over the mountain passes of Western Montana and Northern Idaho tonight!  We've just come over from Missoula for the weekend.  After waiting for work crews to unblock the pass (due to wrecked semi trucks, not due to too much snow) we finally made it.  While the weather isn't exactly great today, my anticipation is!

This trip will not only have us staying with good friends in Post Falls but also meeting with local pastors in Spokane, connecting with others interested in being a part of this new church plant, and even connecting with Dave Hensen and Tim Heath, two Newfrontiers church planters working in Hope Church in St Petersburg, Russia.  Spokane has a significant Russian population as well so their insight could be really helpful.

No matter the ethnic origins of people in Spokane this is the first of four things we want them to encounter in the people of Spokane Grace Church.

·        We desire to be a come-as-you-are, welcoming community offering a fresh challenge to live life to its fullest purpose found in Jesus Christ. 

Come As You Are
This means people who come to check out the church community don’t have to put on a “Sunday Best” façade to hang out with us.  This is bigger than being free to wear jeans or flip-flops to church, although that’s fine.  It means people who have addictions don’t have to pretend like they don’t, and people who have questions can ask them.  People who don’t have life figured out at all can come.  People who think they have it all figured out can come.

A Welcoming Community
People should feel welcome when they get together with the people of God!  There should be a sense of “coming home.”  While there are many examples in the Bible of what the church is like, one of them is that of family.  We want people to find that with us.

A Fresh Challenge
The call to serve Jesus is not new, but the challenge to each new generation and every people group to embrace the call to live in Christ must be delivered in the context of that people’s cultural understanding.  We are called to speak the language of 21st Century Northwestern AmericaSpokane style.

Purpose Found in Jesus Christ
Jesus and His mission will be our focus, not only in theory but in actual life experience as well.  There is no greater mission in the world than Jesus’ call to carry the good news of salvation by grace through faith in Him!  Every believer is called to join in this purpose, not just by going to church meetings but by bringing the power of the gospel into every area of life – work, school, home, the gym, the coffee shop and the street.

Everyone should have the opportunity to join with a church community that embraces this.  Next time we’ll talk about developing passionate worship within the context of this community!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Why Plant Another Church In Christian America? Part 1


I recently heard the argument made that the US is essentially a Christian nation and that we should focus our church planting efforts primarily into other nations.  So, why exactly are we planting a new church into Spokane, Washington then?  There are easily more than 150 churches already between Spokane and Spokane Valley, not to mention the surrounding area.  Isn’t that enough?  (Should I even mention the fact that if every existing church in Spokane had one thousand members – which they don’t – more than half the population of the metro area would still be unchurched?!)  Besides the obvious fact that we have a strong sense of God calling us to plant into this city in particular, there are practical reasons for planting churches right here in the States.  Take a look.

It’s interesting that missiologists are referring to the U.S. as one of the largest mission fields in the world.  Also interesting is the increase of Christian “missionaries” being sent from other nations to evangelize the unreached people groups of the good ole’ U.S.A.  Are they “getting” something that the church in the States should understand?  I think so.  And what’s even more interesting to me is that the Northwest U.S. is considered one of the most unreached regions in this mission field.  The steeples we see across the skyline of Spokane, therefore, do not represent much more than cool looking landmarks to the majority of the people in this compelling city.

While 80% of churches in the U.S. are not growing, according to researchers like Ed Stetzer, there are also statistics showing what is working:  starting new churches; churches that are speaking culturally to the society we live in now; churches that are engaging that culture; churches that are serving their communities rather than simply inviting the community to come to their events.  (I’m not saying events are bad; we plan to host some!)  With that in mind, this is what we hope to be in Spokane:

  • We desire to be a come-as-you-are, welcoming community offering a fresh challenge to live life to its fullest purpose found in Jesus Christ
  • We purpose to develop passionate worshipers of Jesus who continually grow in grace, truth, gifting and service to God and to people.
  • We aim to be a missional community where every member is involved in making disciples of Jesus.
  • We envision young and old of various socio-economic backgrounds committing together to plant churches and extend the kingdom of God together in the neighborhoods of Spokane and in other cities and nations. 

Over the next four posts we’ll examine how these ideas play out in a city like Spokane.  Church communities like this are springing up around the United States and the world, and God may be calling you to join the magnificent, risk-embracing teams of people planting them!  Do you feel the tug?