MentorNet # 01 Now that the term 'church
multiplication' (CM) has become accepted in mission circles, is there a
danger of it becoming a superficial fad? We must never see it as a
ministry by itself or our motivating strategy. The Bible does not mention the
term. What Scripture does reveal is that where the apostles and their mentees made disciples the way Jesus said to, churches reproduced. History shows the
same. And that's as far as we should take it. In all my Perspectives classes
on it and every workshop I've led to introduce Train & Multiply(TM) I've
emphasized the need for obeying the commands of Jesus and His apostles in
love and childlike faith. That's about the only thing on this planet that men
can never carry too far. Dr. Galen Currah and I
discussed the need for a well-reasoned paper to assess this concern. I hope
that the article will be picked up by EMQ or in
some other way reach those who might be tempted to confuse the cause and
effect of church multiplication. Paul clarified this when he said that he
planted, Apollos watered but God gave the growth. * Appointing
inexperienced youth as "CM missionaries" to raise funds. History shows that church multiplication
is the normal result of God working in response to several things. These
include our prayers, relational evangelism focused on people that He has prepared, discipling for obedience to Christ, meaningful
worship and leadership training, especially when these ministries are
harmonized by the Holy Spirit and done in the New Testament way.
For information on T&M: www.TrainAndMultiply.com For information on the
electronic textbook Disciple the Nations: http://www.westernseminary.edu/mrg/disciple/ http://www.trainandmultiply.com/ The revised Church Multiplication Guide by
Patterson and Scoggins has just been printed. We haven't seen it yet. For information, click on the
Church Multiplication Guide button on the web page www.MentorAndMultiply.com. To order: [email protected] For information on Western Seminary's
Division of Intercultural Studies and other programs for the public including
Mentoring for Ministry www.westernseminary.edu/mrg/multiply/ (include the final /). For information on receiving
mentoring: [email protected] © George Patterson and Galen Currah |