E-Connected Archive - December 2011

CHURCH PLANTING PHASES // FROM THEORY TO REALITY

Last month we looked at the different phases of Church Planting, this month we hear stories of how these look in reality!

Sharing good news
Asif had a vivid dream in which Jesus told him that there is only one straight path to God and that he should find it and stick to it, not keep listening to all the people telling him to go different ways.

Jesus said he would find the way in the book he had been given and that he was sending a man who would be a helper to show him the way. Concluding that Sam was that helper, Asif has since been eagerly asking him many questions about God-what an exciting breakthrough! He’s currently reading through Mark and is keen to be a follower of Jesus but is still trying to work out what that means and what it’ll cost him. He likes talking to his friends about his new discoveries and has suggested that someone should start some sort of organisation to tell people around the world about this Good News. Good idea eh?!

Time to get wet!
“On Sunday, we headed out to the beach and baptised two new Muslim background believers. The presence of the Spirit was very clear and the time was a highlight that we will hold to until the day we die. On Monday, one who was baptised was soaring about his ‘new life’, and saying that he was having dreams and very encouraging feelings, including an encounter where he was accepted into ‘a new family’. On Tuesday, the other came and said he did not want me to think he was crazy, but he was hearing ‘a little voice’ inside. He said it was encouraging him and telling him to spend the morning praying for his family and for others. Most amazing of all, it was telling him that it is time to make a group of people that will sit together and study and pray and encourage each other. I was almost jumping out of my skin. “

Discipling Believers...
“This afternoon we had our discipleship studies with Kamil and Shafiq, and we enjoyed Acts 15 together. Shafiq informed me that he is ready to be baptised. This fuelled their conviction that they want to go out and share the Good News for two months of the summer in places where there is no witness to the gospel. They plan to go and follow up with many who are still calling them from Kamil’s sharing last year. They are asking you to pray that God will help them.”

Keeping the end in mind
When Sandra and her husband moved to South East Asia, they didn’t anticipate having to wait 22 years before they made it to church planting phase 7! It wasn’t that they expected it to be easy; they were raising a family overseas, learning a new language, and taking the gospel to people who’d never heard it before. The challenges were bound to be many. But they hadn’t considered that they could work for years and see no one come to faith. It was only the strong call of God to persevere which helped them to remain faithful through the long years of very little fruit.

Finally, 18 years in, Sandra was able to build a relationship with Yasmin, who was keen to pray with her and to study the Scriptures together. Over time, Yasmin was able to share her faith with family and friends, many of whom began to follow Jesus too. Eventually, more and more Muslims came to faith in Jesus and new groups of believers began forming in the area. These communities of faith are now reproducing on their own. Sandra and her family were there for the early formation and were able to invest richly in the lives of the early believers. They’ve now been able to step back, to move on to new work, and to trust that the gospel will keep spreading through the local church.

"Unfortunately, for many of us the word 'church' carries so much baggage. But when we get back to the original New Testament concept, it's energising!" Dan Sinclair