I felt like I was back in my high-school weight-training class. The only thing lacking was a Howie Long poster on the wall (and the weights).
We will never, ever forget it. That’s for sure.
The neighbor was very, very unhappy about our presence, specifically that we were baptizing people right next to his house (on a private beach not owned by him). He really tried hard to disrupt our day:
He blasted a combination of the above bands as loud as he possibly could all… day… long… We’re talking 4-5 hours straight… and it was very, very loud.
…gunned his motorcycles up and down his property next to us as loudly as possible.
…shot fireworks over our heads, landing around us.
…called in fire trucks concerning our campfire (which they complimented before leaving)
…called the police concerning cars parked on the street (we emptied the street completely).
If anything, it unified us even more.
When he began shooting fireworks we called the police. The other things were annoying, but the fireworks were dangerous. Considering the fact that there were over 100 of us, including small children, we decided that it would be appropriate to use the God-given authorities for our physical protection.
Several guys mentioned that prior to becoming christians, the music would not have lasted more than 15 minutes (they would have stopped it, and him, with their bare hands). But now they are full of love for the neighbor, not vengeance. Forgiveness and not hatred. Prayer and not mockery.
I was proud to be a part of a group proclaiming Christ both through baptism and through loving when it’s difficult (Matt. 5:46).
We look forward to the day when the neighbor tells the yet-to-be-written story of how Christ transformed his heart.
First of all, we need to define what a church-planting movement is. Here is David Garrison’s definition:
A rapid and multiplicative increase of indigenous churches planting churches within a given people group or population segment
According to Ed Stetzer, no such movement exists among the majority peoples in any of the thirty-four western industrialized democracies in the world. Though much church planting is taking place in many western countries, it has not reached this point of “rapid and multiplicative increase”. He spent a year looking for one, with this eventual conclusion:
Ed’s search for the mysterious church planting movements began to feel a lot like looking for the Holy Grail in the Middle Ages. Everyone knows that it exists, and everyone knows someone who has seen it. But the Grail always ends up two villages away, and when you search two villages away, the treasure is another two villages away. Likewise, today many people seem to be hearing a buzz about a church planting movement (among the majority peoples in the western industrialized world), so everybody thinks there is one-but somewhere else. (p. 167, Viral Churches)
Such movements do exist, however. Just not among Western Industrialized democracies. They have even been thoroughly observed and documented:
Looking over the Two-Thirds World-parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America-where millions of people are coming to faith in Jesus Christ through the church planting movements, Garrison generalized something he named the ten “universal elements of a church planting movement.” According to his research, these qualities do not appear to be
limited to one geographical, cultural, or sociological sector of
the world. They have been documented in relatively affluent and impoverished urban areas, as well as rural, pluralistic, Hindu, Buddhist, communist, Muslim, Roman Catholic, animistic, and even post-Christian secular contexts. (p. 168, Viral Churches)
…
There are such movements among western settings (Cuba), in industrialized societies (China), in democracies (many in Central and South America), and among majority peoples (many in Asia and Africa). (p. 167, Viral Churches)
In this video, as Ed Stetzer interviews Paul Harrison (a Parisian pastor), they contrast the difficulty of church planting in the French-speaking world (specifically France), with the U.S. .
Fascinating.
…reveling in hope because He is risen! Several dozen attended for the first time.
For the first time, a publicly owned hall gave us permission to rent… even though we are a church (up to this point, the city has always turned us down, saying that the official policy is that “they don’t rent to churches”. The reason they said “yes” this time is a blog post all unto itself. I’ll share it soon). Merci l’Ami du Cartier!
The music was incredible as we worshiped our creator. Great job guys!
I took 20 minutes to present the reality of God’s existence.
Jacob read from Philip Yancey’s “The Jesus I Never Knew), all put to music with dozens resurrection images. You’ve got a gift Jacob!
Gilles & Nancy talked about hope, specifically Gilles’ hope as he received the news that he had prostate cancer. Two years ago he would have been crushed. But since Jesus transformed his life, his hope is placed in eternity. Thanks for the courage to share Gilles and Nancy!
The kids participated in a series of games lead by our youth group. What a phenomenal group of teenagers!
A potluck brunch was enjoyed by all… extremely well organized by Myriam!
The day ended with a huge Easter-age hunt with turns for each age-group. Everyone I spoke to loved it. Special thanks to Jacob for a great idea!
Here are some photos of the great day.
A view from the projector
Thomas did a great job with the Powerpoint, as did Danny with the sound
At least two dozen people attended that I had never met
Singing together… a little less dynamic around tables
Parents looking on
Caleb had a great day
Martine & Constance, having a great day!
Martine & Constance
Martine & Constance
Jacob overseeing
Constance on the prowl for eggs (with Momma at her side)
Please pray for us as we look forward to this Easter Sunday:
Plusieurs jeux et activités pour les enfants, incluant un chasse aux oeufs. Une prédication sur comment l'existence de Dieu n'a pas seulement du sens intellectuellement, mais a des implications importantes pour nos vies.
Translation (L-R, Top to Bottom):
Why believe in God in 2010?
Free brunch!
Join us for a special Easter celebration this Sunday, April 4, beginning at 10am.
Many activities for every age. We look forward to welcoming a great number of people!
10am to 11:30: A special message as well as activities for kids ages 3 to 12 (a nursery is also offered for younger children).
Matt Chandler (Pastor of the Village Church) speaks to the ridiculousness of the secular theory that Jesus didn’t die when he was crucified, but was somehow revived when placed in the tomb.
Aaron was totally cool with Jonathan’s “desire” that he become a Christian, but opposed to the idea that becoming a Christian be a “condition” for their relationship… or even an agenda of Jonathan’s in their relationship.
Ed Stetzer, a church planting guru (this dude), recently wrote an article on church planting survivability & health based on a statistical analysis of more than 1,000 new churches. Here is a clip from that article:
Church Planting Survivability and Health
Many people have repeated the idea — which turns out to be a myth — that the vast majority of new churches fail within their first 2 years. In fact, the opposite is true. In a research project commissioned by Leadership Network, The North American Mission Board reviewed dozens of studies on church plant health, survivability, and processes to discover what improves the strength and effectiveness of church plants. Church plants from 12 denominations and networks were included in the study. Leadership Network participated in this study of more than 1,000 churches. From this study NAMB discovered that 68 percent of church plants still exist 4 years after denominations had started them. The graph below displays the survivability by year.
Discovery: 68 percent of New Churches Still Going After 4 Years
Factors Influencing Survivability
One long-held principle says that churches must become self-sufficient to have long-term survivability. Though 30 percent of the churches studied attained self-sufficiency in the first year, 30 percent were still not self-sustaining by year 5.
In the North American Mission Board study, over 100 factors were tested for statistical significance in relationship to survivability. Only a few factors indicated a statistically significant relationship to survivability. Interestingly, the chance of survivability increases by over 400 percent when the church planter has a “realistic” understanding and expectation of the church-planting experience. On the other hand, conducting door-to-door or cold-call evangelism in church planting decreases the odds of survivability by 59 percent.
The odds of survivability increase by over 250 percent in church plants that offer leadership-development training. In addition, survivability increases by 178 percent when there is a proactive stewardship-development plan within the church plant.
The Planting Pastor
Over the past two decades most church-planting leaders have come to believe that the most critical factor to the success of a church plant is the church planter or planters. Research by Leadership Network and others bears this out. Survivability is significantly higher when the church planter engages in support systems provided by denominations, networks, and/or church-planting churches. Before the 1990s most church-planting groups had little interest in focusing on the church planter’s abilities, training, or involvement in support networks. None of the church planting books written before 1990 address such issues. In contrast, today the topic of systems is a key issue for church planting organizations. Every group surveyed indicates that having well-designed support systems for the planter improve their survivability. Some groups report that their survival rate has doubled since implementing important systems such as assessment, training, and coaching.
The NAMB study also focused on the value of peer groups. Odds of survivability increase by 135 percent when the church planter meets with a group of church planting peers.
Warren Wiersbe: The term “disciples” was the most popular name for the early believers. Being a disciple meant more than being a convert or a church member. “Apprentice” might be an equivalent term. A disciple attached himself to a teacher, identified with him, learned from him, and lived with him. He learned, not simply by listening, but also by doing.”
According to Wiersbe, a disciple should be taught not simply by speaking, but also by doing.
Teaching is usually inbetween Watching and Doing throughout the N.T. We observe, learn a little, then apply it. Then observe again, learn a little more and apply it. Continued observation (and participation) learning and applying soon lead to teaching.
Teaching in the N.T. is always practical in the sense that it has a direction and a purpose with short-range (and long-range) practical results. We don’t learn to learn. We learn to apply, then teach others.
Ed’s search for the mysterious church planting movements began to feel a lot like looking for the Holy Grail in the Middle Ages. Everyone knows that it exists, and everyone knows someone who has seen it. But the Grail always ends up two villages away, and when you search two villages away, the treasure is another two villages away. Likewise, today many people seem to be hearing a buzz about a church planting movement (among the majority peoples in the western industrialized world), so everybody thinks there is one-but somewhere else. (p. 167, Viral Churches)
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