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Sending to a Church Plant: Part II
In Part I, Pete Cornford began his article by showing what it means for a church to send to a church plant. Although it is a biblical priority, it can be both costly to the sending church, and also greatly beneficial. Pete emphasised the importance of sending a church plant well, and this second part begins with some examples of churches that have done this excellently.
Here are two examples of churches and leaders in the UK that are generous in sending:
St Neots
The Open Door Church, St Neots began in 1995, as a plant from Brickhill Baptist Church in Bedford. Following rapid growth and with people travelling from the local area of St Ives they decided to plant The Bridge Church, sending out 35 people in 2001. In 2002, Tony Thompson, who was leading the church, was sent out to plant Hope Church Luton with another twelve people from St Neots. By now The Open Door Church had church planting in their DNA, and in 2005 they took up an offering of £80,000 towards the next church plant, New Life Church in Biggleswade!
Since then, St Ives have planted into Kings Lynn and Luton have planted into Dunstable - that’s five churches in thirteen years!
This sounds exciting but has not always been easy, as within an eighteen-month period The Open Door Church gave away 49% of their givers!
Martin Tibbert, who now leads The Open Door Church, reveals the heart of a sending church leader, ‘It is better to give than to receive.’ We all know that you cannot out-give God and to those He sees can be trusted with little, He will give even more.
Wimbledon
Queens Road Church, Wimbledon is a very different church from St Neots as it was planted in 1897! Yet the leader, Malcolm Kyte, who has been working full time since 1985, also has a very generous heart, and the church has in its DNA a passion to church plant!
Malcolm planted a church in Colliers Wood in 1990, and then another into Kingston in 1994. Queens Road planted another church in Wimbledon in 1998 and in 2003 planted 25 people into Sutton and gave eight people, an elder and family and thousands of pounds to another church plant in North London! Malcolm is acutely aware that sending people out unsettles others. Again it has not been easy to send so generously. It has taken four years to re-gather people and money. Apparently the first church plant was the scariest and now they have faith that God can do it through them - and He will do again!
Stories like this will be repeated again and again as we see God fulfil the prophetic promises that we will have 1,000 churches in the UK and that Newfrontiers will change the expression of Christianity around the world. Who knows how many church plants that will take?
SENDING WELL
I would like to suggest some practical points to consider when facing the challenge of sending people to church plants:
1. Vision is needed for the sending church, so that people do not feel as if nothing is happening at home base and they are just left behind. Instead, people staying should feel excited and motivated by the energy in the church.
2. Words. What we say as we send people is important. It is much better to ‘send people’ rather than ‘lose’ them.
3. Rejoice. It is good to rejoice with those who rejoice. Church plants often have exciting stories and momentum from a fresh start. Let’s be those who get excited rather than feeling threatened.
4. Keep a close relationship between the planter and the leader of the sending church. This helps in dealing with conflict that could arise from a lack of communication.
5. Train church planters in the areas that they are weak in; make sure they have broad experience in finance, children’s work and administration, as well as preaching and worship-leading.
6. People. Sending people is better than sending money! The people will get on and do the work. They will pray, reach out, serve and hopefully give their money generously as well!
7. The Best. Only send the people who want to go. Church plants are not an opportunity to clear your church of the frustrated, bored, difficult folk who demand a lot of your time. Send to a church plant only those people you would like to receive.
Surely there are really only two ways that we should send people to church plant - to bless them and be 100% behind them. We want to bless those going, talk them through the process, and pray with them and for them. The church is so much bigger than our local expression and we want people to go with our blessing. We will also want to get wholeheartedly behind some church plants - sending money, attending their first Sunday meeting, keeping in regular contact with them and being in the front row cheering them on as they attempt exploits for God!
Initially our sending will probably be to geographically local settings, but as we press on those areas will be filled and we will be required to send further and further away from our home base, giving us less control and less visible encouragement to keep us going.
We know that because of Jesus we have freely received and are freely to give. None of us can fully comprehend the generosity of God in sending His Son to die for us, so let us generously give to see churches planted across the world and His name glorified.
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