My wife and I just returned from celebrating our wedding anniversary. In our constant quest for adventure, we headed north to experience some things we\u2019ve not yet done here in New England, as well as some things that have become regular routines in our life together.<\/p>\n
Among our memory-making moments, we ate in a treehouse, visited the location where the movie \u201cOn Golden Pond\u201d was filmed, and went kayaking. This last item is a personal favorite, as it gets us outside, enjoying God\u2019s world, and keeps us healthy.<\/p>\n
Replants must recognize the value of \u201cgetting outdoors,\u201d as well. If churches fail to move outside the walls of their meeting place and exercise their faith, it will leave them weak, unhealthy and in danger of disease. Churches must get outside and into their mission field.<\/p>\n
Recently, I recalled that church plants baptize on average three times more new believers than older, established churches. Part of the reason for this is found in the foundational factors that guide the new churches, like vision, focused alignment, emphasizing relationships and the desperate desire to make a difference.<\/p>\n
In addition, I want to mention five external elements that replants or revitalizing churches can learn and apply from new churches to help them be healthier and stronger for the future.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. Passion for the unchurched<\/strong><\/p>\n Church plants \u201clive and die\u201d for the lost and unchurched people around them. For most planters, this is a large part of the \u201ccalling\u201d that led them into church planting. This burden upon their hearts leads them to spend more time with the lost that surround them, consider them when strategic decisions are made, prioritize them in their prayers and remove certain barriers to their participation with believers in the new church. This driving concern undergirds everything they do!<\/p>\n 2. Incarnational ministry<\/strong><\/p>\n New churches have a \u201cgo and make\u201d approach to ministry, rather than a \u201ccome and hear.\u201d Granted, this is a decision of necessity for most, since they don\u2019t have a building that can serve as the hub of activity. With limited ongoing access to such a site, most church plants have to focus their activity on getting out in the community \u201cwherever the people are.\u201d They take the gospel to the people. This keeps the focus on people, rather than facilities (which can later become both an asset and a liability).<\/p>\n \u00a03. <\/strong>Try new things<\/strong><\/p>\n Church plants are constantly trying creative, innovative ways to connect with people and their community. Since they have no \u201cpast\u201d to inform their methodology, they don\u2019t ask, \u201cHow have we done that before?\u201d but rather, \u201cWhat do we need to do to get their attention and resonate with their hearts?\u201d In addition, they are not afraid to risk, take a chance or try something new, if it means they might reach others with the life-changing eternal message of the gospel. They know that if they simply keep doing what they\u2019ve been doing, they keeping getting what they\u2019ve been getting … and many will remain unreached.<\/p>\n \u00a04. <\/strong>Not money-driven<\/strong><\/p>\n For church plants, money is not the determining factor in whether they can minister to someone else. \u201cOpportunity\u201d becomes the significant factor. They find a need and fill it. The question they ask is not, \u201cCan we?\u201d but \u201cHow can we?\u201d Faith drives their decisions and the belief in a huge God who wants to accomplish through them more than they could ever ask or imagine. Size in number or bank account will never determine their significance for God.<\/p>\n 5. Kingdom-focused<\/strong><\/p>\n As newcomers to the \u201cworld of church,\u201d they are able to see the forest, not just the trees. Church plants realize there are many other congregations around them, often doing a wonderful job at reaching people effectively with the gospel. Yet they recognize that no church can reach everyone. So they do their part to reach those God has sent them to reach and, at the same time, refer others to churches with different styles and emphases. In addition, they start churches, too, extending the kingdom\u2014and thus Christ\u2019s influence\u2014beyond their own.<\/p>\n Not all church plants, replants or established churches fit neatly into the descriptions mentioned above. Some replants and revitalizing churches have successfully navigated these perilous waters, and some church plants have failed to live up to this potential. Even so, we all can be healthier! The question is, \u201cWhat can we learn from them, and apply to our own setting to help us live out our calling for God?\u201d Or perhaps, \u201cWhat have we forgotten that we need to reclaim in our love and service for God?\u201d<\/p>\n These are the lessons here for us. The challenge is to listen, first and foremost, to the voice of God: \u201cHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" My wife and I just returned from celebrating our wedding anniversary. In our constant quest for …<\/p>\n