MentorNet #15
COORDINATORS
OF NEW CHURCH WORK
Copyright
© 2003 by Galen Currah and George Patterson
I left you on the island of
Crete so you could complete our work there and appoint elders in each town as
I instructed you. Titus
1:5 NLT
Paul left Titus in Crete to
"coordinate" the new church work by appointing elders in each town
and instructing them in faith, conduct and responsibilities. Paul did the
same during earlier church planting trips (Acts 14:23). In both cases the churches had been planted before
elders were appointed, and were functioning as the Body of Christ, although
immaturely.
Whether you are the coordinator for such church
planting for your region or you mentor such coordinators, you should know the
essential tasks of a regional coordinator for new church work. He plans for
the churches to do what the New Testament requires of a church, and ensures
that they get done. The coordinator's duties include the following:
- Research who and where
are the neglected people groups in your region, and make plans for
church planters to enter every one of them.
- Build up new church
leaders by mentoring them, helping them to understand and obey the
instructions of the Lord and his apostles.
One easy way to mentor
new leaders is to use a "menu" to select topics, activities or
materials to fulfill what a new church is still lacking. For menu-driven
materials we recommend:
- For new leaders of
new churches, or any church that wants to train new leaders rapidly:
Pastor's Storybook (one book, free--an easy 'start up' program). http://www.Paul-Timothy.net.
- For widespread
church multiplication: Train&Multiply® (65 pocket-sized books): http://www.TrainAndMultiply.com
- For a broad scope of
training tools on all levels: Paul-Timothy Menu: http://www.Paul-Timothy.net.
- For mentoring or
coaching to help you implement any of these programs, contact Galen
Currah, [email protected].
If he is too busy, he will put you in contact with another mentor in
our network.
- Demonstrating the
skills and conduct that the new leaders must acquire.
- Develop their churches
by planning with the new leaders to introduce all the ministries
required by the New Testament.
- Plan with church
planters, leaders, elders and regional coordinators, the specific steps they
will take so that their churches reproduce by winning new believers and
preparing new pastoral leaders to serve them.
God seems to be pleased
to add to his church increasing numbers of believers wherever we, his
servants, lay plans by faith to empower churches and leaders to multiply.
- Help these pastoral
leaders to identify and mentor apprentices who lead new churches.
- Provide training
materials that are geared to mobilizing new leaders of new churches.
Keep supplies of training materials available to all participants in the
mentoring chains throughout your region. This may require recruiting
helpers.
Because of the rapidly
growing number of churches in many fields where workers follow these New
Testament guidelines, the task of procuring, copying, stocking, and
distributing training materials to leaders who mentor others soon becomes an
immense challenge.
- Arrange occasional
training seminars for leaders and elders, to supplement the mentoring
chains and to build a sense of joyful unity among the older and newer
leaders.
In parts on northern India, for example, regional coordinators are very busy men
who, in addition to mentoring new leaders, lead training seminars for them
twice a month. That is because there are so many new churches being planted,
an average of one a day in many regions.
Our prayer is that you will give all needed
diligence to implement these duties of regional coordinators, either by being
one or assisting one or more.
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