A few weeks ago, I spent several days on retreat with a number of our CBF new church starters. I have rarely been a part of a more diverse gathering within the Fellowship: young and old; black, white, and Hispanic; male and female; urban and rural; from the Deep South to the Far West.
Relatively few in number, CBF church starters are often forgotten within the other numerous activities of the Fellowship. With the current economic pressures, constant internal debates, and activities within our own local churches, it is so easy for us to turn inwardly and focus on the concerns close to home. But despite that tendency in almost all of us, there are a few pioneers among us who feel called to start new CBF churches.
Often with little outside financial support, these church starters follow the call to plant churches with passion. Church starters do not simply want to start a church simply to do things their own way or to split from another local church when tempers flare. I have found that those called specifically to church starting have a desire for evangelism: to introduce people to a relationship with Christ. Many are working to reintroduce the Christian faith to those who have fallen away from church years ago or those who have been hurt by the church. They are also working with many who have never found authentic community – a place where people feel comfortable sharing their lives with one another.
Over our weekend together, we shared experiences and methods, we named our successes and failures, and we prayed for one another. We prayed that others in our seminaries and in our pews might feel the call to venture out to start a church. We prayed that CBF churches will see the importance of church starting for our movement. If we are to grow, if we are even to sustain our current size, and if we are to continue to exemplify a vibrant faith and witness to our communities, we must be working to start new churches. Remember, every church at some point began as a church start. It’s hard work, but it’s a clear part of our missional calling.
October 30, 2009 at 5:37 pm
As I see it, perhaps “church starting” at the CBF may mean “Church rehabilitation”–the effort of strong and established congregations to assist churches that may need encouragement [insome urban areas]; or churches left out by some denominational entity because they did not sign a “faith or practice” statement. One case like this is happening in Louisville, KY and we need prayers and persons who can facilitate changes so that the church will not die.
November 3, 2009 at 4:27 pm
David,
I agree with you that part of what CBF church starts can do is “church rehabilitation.” The church in Louisville you mentioned is a great case here. Your are also right that the key is to find established churches that have a passion for helping to support new or older churches that might be struggling in a difficult place of ministry – like an urban setting. But I pray this is not all that church starts can be. I hope that church starts can embody the missiological approach that you mentioned in your blog post recently. As we are rightly beyond any notion of missions from one place to another, church starters can often be bridge people between places, contexts, and cultures. There is a need for new churches in our movement that will model the type of mission – both evangelism and social action/justice that we strive to promote. Whether in China or Kentucky, the need for new church starts still exists to connect people to God.