"I have a question whose answer I'm looking for several years" - I said to Charles Brock, author of Practicing the principles of planting local churches, when I met him in the Philippines a few years ago. "You go into the poor areas of Manila, plant churches quickly, they always produce their own leadership, they are never dependent on outside funds and is always played."

"I know two other brothers who plant churches in those same areas and it takes them 6 or 7 years. They are always dependent, they never played, and they never can produce their own leadership. They say that poverty has destroyed the souls of people and they do not correspond to what would be leaders. "

"I want to know why you can do it, but they are not?"

The issue was acute, because I was involved in church planting - as far as I can remember, but I've never seen such a growth rate of reproduction and such churches as I saw in the service of Broca.

Sick, dead or sterile.

During my growing up I remember there were a few evangelical churches in the West Coast of the United States, when my family moved there in the early forties. Our little church, which consisted of approximately 85 members, started a church in Fresno and later in Sacramento.

My father took the family to a new church, we started a year or so. When the new church was raised and became independent, we returned to the mother church and from there moved back to the next church was planted. I'm back in this area already as an adult, 9 years later, but I could not find all the churches in our association. I was surprised - where they podevalis.

Now I have a very simple view. I know that if something is alive, it is played. It is natural for trees and plants. They drop their seeds for the spontaneous germination. We do not have to exert much effort that would have children, we must make a special effort, that would not have them. In fact, if the body does not play, we would say that he is ill, dead or sterilized. Eventually I discovered that we planted sterile church, churches that were not churches, which have planted other churches. I have studied this issue and conducted a survey in four cities on the West Coast and found the same phenomenon. The parent church may appear in a certain area and period of 12 to 15 years to plant other churches. But only a small number of these new churches may impose at least one church.

That's what we found. People in America are considering an alternative: either to plant a church or follow a two-step process. "We will first grow and we will first thoroughly potreniruemsya and equip, and then we'll reproduces the church." But those who followed the path of this two-step process remain in the first stage for many years and I'm not sure - made whether they had ever such a the time when reproduction starts.

It was raised many questions in my own heart and mind, questions that I started to get responses when I talked with Charles Brock in Manila.


'Man of Peace'

He said that there are two things that make the planting and reproduction. In the first place he found "a man of peace." "I always expect an element of wonder in any work, which begin," he explained. "One day, I understand that the church should be started at any location. When I go out, I noticed this woman in the second-story window. At first I did not attach importance to this circumstance. When I come back an hour later she was still a second-story window. Just when I drove past it on my scooter, she called me: "Sir, you are a biblical teacher?" I told her that I teach the Bible. She asked: "Could you teach me and my family?" I've had thoughts about another area where I was supposed to start, but it did not happen there. It happened here because God has prepared it. "

Jesus told his disciples when he sent them: "In whatever house you enter, first say: Peace to this house and if there is a son of the world (people of the world), will rest on him your peace ... In the same house remain, eating and drinking, that they have ... Go not from house to house. "

There is a reason why Jesus gave such an instruction. If God sent us, and we're on its wavelength, this means that there are people whom he has prepared. These are the people who are destined to be the nucleus of a new, conceiving of the church.

He ordained that this particular person, which he called "a man of peace." Most of the time the pastor, the leaders of home groups and founders of churches are waiting for so long until they find such a man. This way, you slowly startuete in church planting and it is not necessarily very spontaneous.


Reliable evidence

Not in the Bible verses that would describe the look of a man of peace. But here's what we can do to see the look of a man of peace. We can see where in the Bible, God acts and then begin to see the overall trend.

Lydia was such a man. Cornelius was one. The man had demons was so. The woman at the well was so. There were others.

Once you start to look at them closely, you'll see that they have three characteristics: They are susceptible. Not everyone is susceptible people - a man of peace. There will be many people who take Christ, until you find that person. But every man in the world is susceptible.
These people - the people's reputation. They know. They may have good or bad reputation. But they are known. The woman at the well had a bad reputation. Cornelius was a good reputation.
They have influence. They are people who, when they answer the call of Christ, but many others bring with them.




When Jesus came into one town, a man possessed by demons screaming in the caves. Jesus cast out demons and sent them to the pigs, the pigs ran off the cliff, and then the whole town had requested that Jesus had departed from their limits.

Later, we see that Jesus came back in this same area, where he was kicked out, and now everyone was glad to see him. The only difference between these two situations that are now freed from the demons of a man living among them. Life changes, which every day was a testimony to the power of God, has changed life around.

This is a very powerful thing, as soon as you see it. This becomes a reliable indication of Who is Jesus and what He can do. Thus, when you go, you are looking for a certain category of people. When you find such a person, you'll have a good start for the beginnings of the church. You'll stay there and go through the circle of influence that person.


Not one, but 200

Paul and Silas had in mind just such a circle of influence, when the Philippian jailer said: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."

Anthropologists tell us that every culture in any period of time, there are four relationships: family, neighbors, colleagues and friends. Thus, when we find such a man of peace, his family, neighbors, employees and friends are the people, which will affect his decision. They also tell us that most people in a healthy society in the west have 25-30 people, with whom they are close enough. So I know that when I find a man with influence, I seem, I can immediately affect the 200 people at least. I no longer see a single person. I see 200.

What is amazing here, so this is what a great opportunity to start a church! The point here is that to go out and find a man of peace. In this case, you are communicating with what God is doing already.


Look at the Christian who repents a week ago?

The second thing Charles told me was: "I never do anything such that he could not make a Christian who confessed last week. If I preach, as I did at my church where I come from, they would have thought that they would not be able to carry the gospel to as long as they do not have my skills, my abilities, my natrenirovannosti. If I prayed as I did in church, where I come from, they would think that they can not talk to God as long as they do not have such words and phrases such as mine. I do not include the worship leader, because if I do this, they will think that they can not worship God as long as they do not have someone who is specially trained in this.

"All that they see what I'm doing, they can do well. Sometimes I did not return to them in their area for several weeks. But since they did not know what they could not do, they went and talked to their relatives in other areas and they, therefore, there is another group "

It's easy. We have made things so complicated and require much training. They should be natural.


'Growth' versus 'reproduction'

I want to show you the difference between what I call the "culture of growth" in which all of us have been taught and "model of reproduction." Because I believe that the church plant - it is something other than plant a church that plants a church. In fact, I am convinced that a set of skills that we acquire in the traditional service will actually guarantee that things will not play.

In our culture, the growth we have learned to focus on individual applications, while the reproductive model focuses on group calls.

We are used to start at the base of believers. But for that to play, we must start at the base of the unbelievers. If we want to address a group of family members, colleagues, neighbors and friends, these people will not come into the house to the strange people or strange sitting in the church. They will come to the place to which they are accustomed to and where they are often. In our culture, we teach the Scriptures for information. In the model reproductive scripture is studied for the application, so that people see the power of God.

We are used to start with a search for Christians. But if you want to start really strong church, find a person in the world. Eliminate Christians, do not let them enter. They ruin everything from the beginning.

We are accustomed to the facilities (such as buildings). This requires money and expertise that are not easily available. If you start at home, on the porch, in the little square or in the park - it is always a lot of easily accessible places.

We are used to begin with worship in a large group. For reproduction you start with a small group. Very few people actually have the ability and gifts to a large group well. It requires more skill, more training, more of everything. But many people can cope with the small group. They already do this in their natural environment, even before they are saved.

We build programs and buildings. For what would have happened reproduction, you are creating leaders.

Leadership is also different. Traditionally, we import a professional priesthood. But what we need for reproduction - is to have local, resulting from treatment of the priesthood. Where future pastors for all this? They are on the streets, they beat their wives, they steal from their employers.

Also, leaders tend to see themselves the heads of all those involved. In reproducing the same church leaders are osnastitelyami for emerging leaders. That's how they see themselves, and then, on what they focus. We are usually looking for someone who will start the church (usually a minister full-time employment). But for churches that would start other churches, you need to begin the work of Churches (ie those other than service could still work on regular work and support themselves). If we want to see the city reaches, then this must be done through the people who both work and are in service simultaneously. Otherwise, it will be difficult to finance because it is a long process.

In my own experience I say that every time we were ready to start a church, we felt that we could not afford to lose people who went to a new church to lose their titles and all that. But every time when we still do, we, in fact, did not interrupt the process. God continued to provide us. I found that the most amazing things happen just when we take care of another church.

In fact, in every church where I saw the planting of churches, I found that some of their own affairs began surprisingly well resolved. I do not know what it is. They gave themselves away. I am convinced that you can not dry up - God fills again and again. The more you give, the more God is doing through you.