Faith Planting Churches
Your Part In History
• Read Isaiah 12
VV.1-2 – Our story as the people of God…
VV.3-6 – Delivering our story…
Examples of lostness in North America…
Map of select states number of people per 1000 that identify themselves as any type of evangelical Christian (ARDA 2000)
There is a desparate lack of churches in some strategic populations centers like…(SBC is Southern Baptist Church)
1. Raleigh-Durham has 1 SBC church for every 3,960 people
2. Harrisburg, PA has 1 SBC church for every 44,957 people
3. Boston, MA has 1 SBC church for every 80,771 people
4. Pittsburgh, PA has 1 SBC church for every 90,719 people
5. Wilkes-Barre-Scranton, PA has 1 SBC church for every 89,253 people
6. Rochester, NY has 1 SBC church for every 99,836 people
7. Toronto, Ontario, CA has 1 Baptist church for every 179,222 people
The problem is actually much worse than these statistics tell (refer to stats from Outreach Magazine)
* 3,000 churches close each year
* Growth is far outpacing the church’s ability to keep up
* The percentage of people in the USA who even attend church is expected to be cut in half between 1990 and 2050.
Faith Baptist Church has a vision to see the people of North America hear and respond to the Gospel through the sending of teams of missionaries to start and re-start new churches.
Let me try to explain this vision by answering 5 basic questions…
WHY do we need to engage North America by sending teams of missionaries to start new churches?
It is consistent w/ the Mission of God to reconcile all people’s back to Himself.
Gen. 1-2: Creation / Gen. 3: The Fall
Gen. 3:15: Immediately following the fall, God begins to unveil a plan to reconcile all people’s back to Himself through the defeat of the Serpent (Satan) by the offspring of the woman (Jesus).
Gen 12:1-3_ God further unveils His plan to bless all the families of the Earth through Abraham
Ex. 19:6: Abraham’s descendants had grown into the nation of Israel and in this passage God tells them their part in His mission to reconcile people to Himself. They are to be a Kingdom of priests (meaning they go between God and the people telling the people what it is God wants)
2 Samuel 7:12-16: God continues to unveil His plan of reconciling all people’s back to Himself through a King that will come through the line of David and will reign forever.
Throughout the Old Testament, you get a picture of God’s plan to reconcile all people’s back to Himself…
Psalm 67:1-2 / Psalm 96:1-3 / Isaiah 45:22 / Etc.
Matthew 1:1 This verse points out the fulfillment of God’s promise to send a “once and for all reconciler” through the line of Abraham and David.
Matthew ends with Jesus commanding us to go and make disciples among all people’s telling them that any who would believe in Him can be reconciled back to God.
The rest of the New Testament shows us the advance of the GOSPEL into more and more places and people’s.
Faith’s mission to engage North America is not really our mission at all. It is simply our participation in what has long been God’s mission for all men to be reconciled back to Him.
Starting new churches is consistent with God’s strategy of incarnation (this is simply the idea that God not only told us the message; He also sent us the message.)
John 20:21: Jesus tells His disciples that He is sending them out in the same manner that He was sent.
John 1:14: John tells us this remarkable truth that God cared so much about reconciling us back to God to send His only Son to dwell among us.
Sending teams of missionaries to start new churches in strategic population centers is a great way to do what Jesus Jesus did in moving into our neighborhood for our sake. The people who will go to start these new churches will not only share the gospel, but also live out the gospel in front of their new community through the everyday routine of their life.
The Church is God’s primary way of demonstrating what the Kingdom of God will ultimately look like and many communities and regions in North America are desperately lacking good churches that spread the gospel and expand God’s Kingdom.
1. The Kingdom of God (or Heaven) is already here in that God reigns and rules in the hearts of men and women.
2. The Kingdom of God is not yet in that it has not been fully established like it will be when Jesus returns again someday.
3. New churches can serve to foreshadow what God’s kingdom will ultimately look like and invite them to be a part of it now through trusting in Jesus
Sending teams of missionaries to start new churches is not primarily about church growth! It is about Kingdom growth! It is not about building our kingdom but building His Kingdom!
WHERE will we focus on sending teams of missionaries to start new churches?
• We will focus on sending teams of missionaries to start new churches in strategic population centers such as large cities, rapidly growing cities, regionally influential cities, cultural hubs and education hubs. We will do this for two reasons…
It is consistent with the Paul’s model in the New Testament of taking the gospel to the places of influence and letting it spread into the surrounding areas over time (i.e. Ephesus, Corinth, Rome).
It seems like the best use of limited resources because seismic shifts in regions usually begin in the centers of influence.
• Our pastors have visited and researched more than twenty of these strategic populations centers over the past year including places right here in the Triangle, places in New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.
• We have chosen to focus first on Pennsylvania because…
The network, training, leadership and vision is already well established there.
We have many families with close ties to PA here at Faith.
WHEN will we send teams of missionaries to start new churches in strategic population centers?
• ASAP
• Luke 10:2 says “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
• This is our prayer; that God would raise up laborers to be trained and sent out into the vast harvest of North America.
o We are in a particularly special position as a church because this idea of reaching out to those who don’t know Jesus no matter what it takes is already a part of our DNA
o We have all the resources necessary to train, equip and send as many teams as God raises up!
• Although this vision is just beginning, we plan to pursue this vision for the long term. This is not a “one and done” project!
WHAT will these teams of missionaries actually do when they get there?
• Ordinary life with extraordinary intentionality (i.e. Trey and Robin Cates in Vermont / Pastor Richard here)
They will do what every other family or person moving there would do…
Get a job, learn about and explore their new community, meet and get to know new people, get involved in the activities of that community, and visit other churches.
They will do all of this praying that God will grant them the eyes to see where He is leading and ears to hear what He is saying, and words and deeds that allow them to engage people in love and truth.
In short, most of their time will be spent living life as a Christian person or family; simply in another context!
• Do they actually do anything intentional to build a church?
They actively engage people with the gospel and when it is received take the initiative to walk alongside that person as they grow in their new faith.
Although it will differ for each team depending on circumstances, they will meet together regularly as a team to study the Bible and discuss the opportunities God has given them. At some point, non-believers and new believers will be invited to attend those Bible studies which will begin the process of becoming a church.
The main goal is to make disciples and expand the kingdom; not just grow a church!
WHO should go on a team of missionaries to start new churches?
• It takes all types of people to reach all types of people. Diversity of ages, marriage status’, and life stages are valuable when forming a team. We need singles and married; we need younger people and older people; we need those who have kids in the house, those with kids who have left the home and those who don’t have any kids.
• Do I have to stay the rest of my life?
Each team will need to have some people (specifically team leaders) who make long-term commitments however some may choose to be a part of a team for a shorter duration…Maybe you would be willing to go for a summer or a year or two or maybe you are willing to make a long-term commitment. All of these time frames can be valuable for the making of disciples and the starting of new churches in these strategic population centers.
• If you think you may want to go as a team member, the following list of general descriptions may help you to know whether to pursue it more…
1. I have placed my trust in Christ for salvation and I am seeking to follow Him (not perfectly but certainly consistently) each day.
2. I love people. I want to get to know them, serve them, hang out with them, and most of all I want them to know and follow Jesus the way I do.
3. I am growing in my own relationship with Jesus through basic spiritual habits such as reading my Bible, praying, and serving my church.
4. I look for opportunities to share the gospel with others so that they too can experience the blessings of knowing and following Jesus, and when able I take the opportunity.
5. I work well on a team and can support a common vision even when I don’t agree with all of the details.
6. I believe spreading the good news of Jesus to more people is well worth any sacrifice or changes I may need to make as I enter a new community.
• If you think you may want to go as a team leader, each of the previous statements should be true of you in addition to some other things that are best discussed in greater detail. Contact Brad to talk! brad@faithnc.org