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~~~ A Checklist for Staying on Course ~~~ [Edition 3, February 2003] Contents
The Church Planting Phases Checklist Using The Church Planting Phases Checklist PHASE 2: Bonding with the People PHASE 4: Gathering and Making Disciples PHASE 7: Reproducing and Exiting The Move Is On! 1,000 teams to the unreached In the mid 1990s the Lord launched YWAM into the most challenging and exciting adventure in our history! With the full backing of the Global Leadership Team and enthusiastic support of YWAM Frontier Missions leaders, YWAM’s President, Jim Stier, urged our mission to work toward sending 1,000 teams to unreached people groups. "This would be a significant contribution to world evangelization, and certainly is well within the realm of the achievable!" Jim declared. What goals are these teams to pursue among the unreached? What steps do they take to reach those goals? A thousand missionary teams need these questions answered as they move ahead.
Moving Where? "If you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there," as the saying goes. One of our leaders, who oversees several church planting teams, complained to me of their difficulties which stemmed from what he called "ill-defined goals." David Hesselgrave, in his book, Planting Churches Cross-Culturally, writes: "Goals are essential…. Most will agree with that. But in spite of that agreement we often lack well-understood goals. Why? For four main reasons. First, because measurable goals sometimes seem incompatible with spirituality. Second, because of our lack of discipline. Third, because of confusion as to what the goals should be. Fourth, because even when we establish goals they are often too general and imprecise. None of the four reasons offer a sufficient excuse for lack of goals." How vital it is that Frontier Missions (FM), as an arm of YWAM, have clearly defined goals and that each of our teams have the advantage of knowing what they are to do and how to do it. Jeff Romack, a YWAM leader in South East Asia, helps us get down to the basics: "It is my assumption that YWAM FM exists as a distinct expression within YWAM in order to reach unreached peoples in particular. It is also my assumption that the key strategy for reaching the unreached is the planting of reproducing churches among these people groups. That is the measurable goal -- the primary goal which we must keep in focus." Jeff hit the bull's eye, the very center of the target! Our goal as YWAM Frontier Missions is the establishing of church planting movements among unreached people groups. This is a goal that is objective and measurable. It provides all of our workers—mobilizers, trainers, administrators, strategy coordinators, coaches, church planting team leaders/members—with clear direction. Each new worker can begin his or her journey with the "destination" in mind. A "Map" for Getting There The Church Planting Phases Checklist It takes more than envisioning the destination to complete a journey. You need to plan the route. A map is an extremely useful tool to help you get somewhere you’ve never been before. The Church Planting Phases Checklist serves as a map. It helps church planting teams chart their course and assess their progress toward their destination. Evangelizing and discipling a people group is obviously a long-term goal. The goal will not be fulfilled as the result of one big "leap," it requires a series of many small steps. Those directly involved in church planting use The Church Planting Phases Checklist to help identify the specific kinds of activities that lead to the planting of reproducing churches among their people group. This checklist was originally developed by Dick Scoggins, church planting coach for FRONTIERS (the mission organization devoted to bringing the gospel to the Muslim World). He sent a copy to our "YWAM Church Planting Coaches" office. Seeing how well it meshed with the church planting strategy most widely used in YWAM, I asked him for permission to circulate it among our teams. He kindly agreed. Since then, he and other FRONTIERS leaders further developed and expanded the checklist to cover seven phases which are normally part of the church planting process. Along with Jeff Neely, of the YWAM FM International Coordinating Office, we adapted the checklist. We added some YWAM terminology and also made it applicable for teams working among Hindus, Buddhists, Tribals as well as Muslims. In 1995, in Seoul Korea, YWAM FM "officially" adopted this checklist of church planting phases. We are extremely grateful to FRONTIERS for all the work put into this project and for allowing us to use it in creating our own church planting phases checklist. Staying On Course Using The Church Planting Phases Checklist The purpose of The Church Planting Phases Checklist is to help team leaders and team members stay on course as they move toward their goal. It helps to remember where you have been, recognize where you are now and reach ahead for where you want to go next. While not all the details of church planting strategy are meant to be included, there is enough to keep a team advancing as they seek the Lord for specifics.* Jim Stier has spent many years ministering to YWAM church planting teams all over the world. He has this response to The Church Planting Phases Checklist: "The Church Planting Phases can be a very important tool for us. Too many church planting teams are out there, but get stuck doing almost nothing for long periods of time, and then quit. They aren't lazy or bad people. They just don't know what to do. This can give them guidelines as to what the next goal is. …Visible and measurable progress will encourage our teams more than any amount of pastoral commiseration." Take time to study The Church Planting Phases Checklist carefully. There will be overlap in these phases. For example, a team may have most of their work in Phase 4, but also be doing some of the activities of Phase 5 and 6. This is to be expected. Not every team is going to engage in all of the activities on the checklist. Some activities may be irrelevant in a specific context. It is certainly likely that some will skip over a whole phase and still plant reproducing churches. Other teams will create new, more fruitful activities, which we will want to add to the checklist in the future. The checklist is a point of reference, giving basic guidelines not rigid rules. As stated earlier, The Church Planting Phases Checklist is like a map. A map has its limitations: it does not supply the vehicle; will not provide the fuel; cannot change a flat tire; will not tell you if the bridge has washed out; nor caution you to stop gazing at the beautiful scenery because there is a water buffalo in the middle of the road. Nevertheless, a good map is a great help in getting you heading in the right direction! -Kevin Sutter *For more on the Biblical church planting principles upon which these phases are based, read "Multiplying Churches On The Frontiers", available from YWAM Church Planting Coaches. Church Planting Phases Checklist (Edition 3, February 2003) Cross-cultural church planters must be clear on what it is they intend to plant. We define a church as "a group of believers of any size, committed to one another and to obeying Jesus’ commands." However, the goal is not simply to plant a church, but to establish a church planting movement among the target people. It is important to note that certain features of rapidly growing, indigenous church planting movements are quite different (though Biblical) from models of established churches you may have known at home. Small, reproducible churches of 10-30 members meeting in homes or storefronts are a universal element of movements we are seeing among the unreached. Use this checklist as a means to evaluate your progress toward the goal of planting cell and/or house church movements. The different steps listed below are intended only as guidelines, and may not necessarily take place in the same order as presented. Place a checkmark on the line next to the steps you have taken. Definition: Preparing the team. Initial church planting plans and strategies are formed. When begun: The aspiring team leader is officially commissioned by appropriate YWAM leadership to form a new church planting team. ___ 1. Research best information available on language, history and culture of country and target people group. ___ 2. Form a team with a good balance of gifts: leadership, teaching, mercy, evangelism (if possible, recruit evangelist from the target group or culturally similar group). ___ 3. Prepare a vision statement ___ 4. Develop a Team Profile ___ 5. Plan a strategy paper (if necessary, include plans for "tent making" or small business to enable entry and visas) ___ 6. Each team member (TM) secures adequate prayer, financial support ___ 7. Whole team owns the vision and strategy for a "movement of multiplying churches" among the target people group ___ 8. Each TM commissioned by home church and maintains good relationships with it. ___ 9. Team is commissioned by appropriate YWAM leadership and sent out. PHASE 2: Bonding with the People Definition: Learning the language, adjusting to the culture, becoming "belongers" in society. When begun: Most of the team is on-site (and usually engaged in active language learning). A. On-site Orientation: ___ 1. TMs "land," secure suitable housing in the midst of the target group, arrange for (initial) entry strategy ___ 2. Resolve conflicts arising in the home ___ 3. Address conflicts arising in the team ___ 4. Develop a team life which spiritually sustains members ___ 5. Pray regularly as a team, to know God’s will in setting goals and making plans B. Language and Cultural Adjustment: ___ 1. TMs work hard at learning the target language (most people must spend 30 to 40 hours per week) ___ 2. Language-learning program and accountability in place ___ 3. Learn how to survive in area chosen, get comfortable, and enjoy life among the people in the new community ___ 4. Enable the whole family to do the same ___ 5. Discern what the Christian life should look like in this culture and begin to model it ___ 6. Start residency procedure on basis of strategy ___ 7. Develop multiple relationships of varying depth with target persons ___ 8. Prayerfully evaluate your friends for a prospective "man of peace", can he bring others with him? ___ 9. Enable all members of the family to develop relationships with target persons ___ 10. Bring redemptive elements into your relationships ___ 11. Enhance character through the stress of adapting personally, as a family, as a team to the culture ___ 12. Discover any evangelistic tools available in your target language, choosing those the local believers can use Definition: Praying and seeking for men and women of peace around whom churches may be planted. Evangelizing is presenting the good news of the Kingdom so the hearers understand that the call is to follow Jesus in community. When Begun: Most of the team spends most of their ministry time on evangelism, as opposed to an exclusive focus on language learning. ___ 1. Memorize stories from the Bible (e.g. parables, miracles, etc.) in the target language. Avoid sermonizing. ___ 2. Learn to share the essentials of the gospel in the language ___ 3. Pray with the sick and oppressed for healing and deliverance ___ 4. Develop a sympathy for the gospel in friends' minds ___ 5. Develop a strategy for reaching receptive people ("men and women of peace") and their family and friends as a group ___ 6. Begin evangelistic Bible studies or oral witnessing (for illiterate or barely literate people) in homes, using methods which can be easily imitated by the people ___ 7. Encourage people to bring some committed relations ___ 8. Prayerfully identify one or more heads of households as potential leaders among your relationships ___ 9. Lead people to commit to following Jesus, continually seeking to reach heads of household who can then win their families. The goal is to get a cohesive social group to agree to follow Jesus in community. Individuals can then be added to this community PHASE 4: Gathering and Making Disciples Definition: Discipling one or more believers from a cohesive social group of the target community. As soon as two or more disciples are gathered and commit to obey Jesus together and begin meeting regularly for the purposes of fellowship, teaching, prayer, sharing the Lord's Supper, etc. the church is born! (See definition of "church" in the opening paragraph of this Checklist). For ongoing discipling, care should be used to identify and concentrate upon potential leaders, as Jesus did. Local leaders and the new church will emerge together. You and your disciple(s) should recognize discipleship as a long-term process, working toward the maturing of the believer in character and service for Christ. When begun: Regular discipleship occurs with a believer of the target group. A. Disciple the Believer(s) by: ___ 1. Challenging one or more believers (head of household if possible) to be discipled by TM(s) in their home ___ 2. Modeling Christ's lifestyle before them and their network of relationships ___ 3. Having the believer include some of his family or friends in the discipling process (see 4.B.) ___ 4. Equipping the believer to know and obey Jesus' basic commands (i.e.: repent and believe; be baptized; love God and others; pray; give; share in the Lord's Supper; make disciples) ___ 5. Using Bible stories, parables, dramas, proverbs, while avoiding heavy preaching NOTE: Remember to do all ministry activities in a manner that your disciples can quickly imitate and pass on to others. Do not allow yourself to become stalled in this phase – your disciples will make better disciplers than you. B. Disciple the Believer(s) to: ___ 1. Fully understand their new identity in Christ, by faith not works. (Are there tendencies to return to "works" mind-set of previous religion?) ___ 2. Be baptized, understanding the purpose of baptism as an outward sign of the death of self and rebirth in Christ ___ 3. Celebrate the Lord’s Supper (have head of household help) ___ 4. Relate Bible stories to their families which will impact life practices ___ 5. Develop a regular habit of turning to the Bible to deal with specific life problems as they arise ___ 6. Recognize sin in personal life and respond by repentance, confession and developing new life patterns ___ 7. Live out Christ's life in extended family (e.g. Matt.5-7) ___ 8. Develop godly patterns of loving spouse (e.g., resolving conflict, forgiveness, reconciliation) ___ 9. Develop godly patterns of child rearing ___ 10. Implement godly patterns of conflict resolution with others ___ 11. Understand the place and function of suffering and be able to apply it to their own lives ___ 12. Practice godly response to those hostile to his faith (e.g., government, family, employer, friends) ___ 13. Understand the Biblical perspective on local occult practices and godly alternatives and responses ___ 14. Be ready to give a reason for their faith in non-fearful, non-combative but prepared way ___ 15. Share the good news with family/friends, while maintaining lasting, loving relationships with them. ___ 16. Begin to identify his gifts and calling ___ 17. Become familiar with God's plan for the extension of the Kingdom in the Book of Acts C. Mobilize Believers (to): ___ 1. Begin to explore good news together with family and friends ___ 2. Covenant together to follow Christ in a committed "Kingdom community"--the church. ___ 3. Pursue God's plan for forming the church among their family and friends ___ 4. Witness to family and friends ___ 5. Embrace God's plan for the church to grow and multiply ___ 6. Learn to recognize and maximize their spiritual gifts to build up the emerging church ___ 7. Practice the "one another" verses of the Bible and how this defines church life ___ 8. Develop culturally meaningful forms of worship for the church ___ 9. Celebrate the Lord's Supper together ___ 10. Meet together regularly as small groups for meaningful worship, instruction, and prayer in homes. ___ 11. Do the work of evangelism throughout their community ___ 12. Demonstrate God’s love to the poor and needy in practical ways ___ 13. Keep their gatherings small and vital by multiplying rapidly and frequently (Note: meetings are private and the public is not invited until local leaders are in place.) ___ 14. Develop a firm sense of identity so the church is able to resist being taken over by other groups with conflicting vision and values Definition: For the church to become strong and healthy, local believers must be trained to lead the church. Churches typically need a variety of leaders to build up the church and serve the community. When begun: the CPer starts regular training sessions with potential leaders, including elders who oversee, protect and coordinate the proper functioning of the church. A. Potential Elders Emerge: ___ 1. Suitable curriculum chosen for on-the-job training of local leaders. ___ 2. Mature believers are discipling new believers ___ 3. Mature women teach newer women Titus 2 skills ___ 4. Potential elders trained to take on increasing responsibilities ___ 5. Believers take responsibility for Biblical instruction ___ 6. Management of church finances is taught to leaders ___ 7. Local believers are presiding at the Lord's table and baptizing new believers ___ 8. Initial leaders emerging, functioning as shepherds ___ 9. Church gatherings are evaluated regularly for spiritual health and cultural attractiveness ___ 10. Leaders plan the first public worship service to which outsiders are invited (unless church must remain "underground") ___ 11. Leaders recognize the place of their church within the broader body of Christ and begin to establish appropriate relationships with other churches ___ 12. Growth in godliness in their homes sets pace for others ___ 13. Gifts encouraged and developed for edifying the church and meeting needs in the community ___ 14. Leaders practice 2 Timothy 2:2; training others to reproduce new cell and/or house churches B. Church Planters Begin to Phase Out ___ 1. Responsibilities between CPers and local leaders defined ___ 2. Withdrawal of most of the CPers from church worship meetings ___ 3. Redeployed CPers focus on starting new churches, ideally with local believers ___ 4. Remaining CPers take lower profile in meetings as observers, lead from "behind the scenes." ___ 5. CPers go on "planned absences" to allow local leaders to experience unaided leadership Definition: Last steps so that the fellowship becomes a healthy and reproducing indigenous church. The main goal is leadership development and installation. In this phase any remaining CPers will target leadership development. When begun: the two or more potential elders have been proven, as Scripture requires, and are readied for commissioning to oversee, protect, and coordinate the proper functioning of the church. Leadership development is now the main work of the team. Future elders are appointed by the church (in whatever decision making model they choose). A. Train and Recognize Leaders: ___ 1. CPers often absent from church meetings, trains leaders from behind the scenes ___ 2. Suitability of prospective elders evaluated in light of Biblical qualifications ___ 3. "Team Leadership" concepts modeled, taught, implemented ___ 4. Discerning the will of the Lord by leaders and church modeled, taught and practiced ___ 5. Leaders' place in conflict and peacemaking in the church modeled, taught, practiced (Phase 6,B) ___ 6. Emerging provisional elders recognized (who, after proving themselves, will be installed as elders) ___ 7. Mature women recognized in ministry ___ 8. Elders lead the people in following Jesus' basic commands ___ 9. Conflicts about leadership appointment dealt with ___ 10. Leaders begin shepherding and church discipline ___ 11. Leaders continue to disciple new leaders, using on-the-job training curriculum ___ 12. CPer often absent from leadership meetings ___ 13. Elders formally commissioned as church gathers and celebrates B. Peacemaking Skills Exercised by the Community: ___ 1. Forbearing and forgiving ___ 2. Confronting, exhorting, reproving erring members ___ 3. Avoiding and "dis-fellowshipping" those persisting in sin PHASE 7: Reproducing and Exiting Definition: Facilitating the multiplication of churches among the target group and beyond. The CPers are not making a career out of working with the churches they have planted, but are working with local believers to establish a church planting movement. When begun: Plurality of Biblically qualified elders recognized and installed. Local authority and responsibility for shepherding rests solely in the hands of indigenous leaders. A. Church Multiplication: ___ 1. Vision casting for church multiplication intensifies ___ 2. Church plans for the planting of daughter churches, actively looking for receptive communities ___ 3. Daughter churches started in a new locations ___ 4. Leaders network with emerging leaders of daughter churches, taking some responsibility for their training ___ 5. Leaders formally recognize newer emerging leaders (potential elders) ___ 6. Leaders of churches meeting regularly ___ 7. Elders take more responsibility to develop leaders in the new churches ___ 8. Churches care for each other -- resources shared ___ 9. Peacemaking with leaders of different churches practiced ___ 10. Elders (possibly with CPer) lay hands on new elders in the daughter churches ___ 11. Relationships between churches and leaders worked out ___ 12. Peacemaking skills between churches and leaders of different church associations exercised ___ 13. CPers commend the church to God and cease attendance at church meetings. May sometimes visit. ___ 14. CPer redefines relationship to church leaders as "coach." No longer attends leadership meetings unless invited ___ 15. New churches started with indigenous CPers. ___ 16. Momentum gains toward a movement of church multiplication. B. Great Commission Vision Imparted: ___ 1. Vision developed to plant churches beyond local area ___ 2. Vision includes recognizing, training and sending indigenous CPers to other cities/countries/cultures ___ 3. Vision given by leaders to churches ___ 4. Means of sending their own CP teams devised ___ 5. CPers sent out either with YWAM or other group ___ 6. New clusters of churches started C. Pioneer Church Planting Team Departs A Coach’s Help While it’s extremely useful to have The Church Planting Phases Checklist to serve as a map, it’s even better to be able to go over the map together with a friend who has been down that road before! We call this person a "coach." Ideally, every team leader should have a coach available to offer encouragement, input and prayer. A coach will help you stay accountable to the Lord and to your ministry goals. If you do not yet know the benefits of having a coach, then here are a few: A. The world's greatest athletic teams have coaches who give objective input to encourage and challenge the teams on to the victory they desire. Coaches likewise help our church planting teams reach their goals.
B. YWAM’s training for pioneer church planting (through our courses in SOFM, SOSM, SOM, SOE, etc.) provides a good introduction to the work of reaching the unreached, but ongoing and timely input is also essential. We help one another continue to grow in the Lord and in ministry skills.
C. YWAM church planting teams are propelled forward by a coaching structure which is decentralized, non-controlling, relationally oriented and which promotes flexibility, creativity, and innovation yet insures quality of team leaders, teams, and the churches they plant and reproduce. In the Book of Acts, we see Barnabas (the "Son of Encouragement") arriving in Antioch to coach the new believers: "Then when he had come and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord." (Acts 11:23-24) A good coach is one who wants, with all of his or her heart, to see you reach your goals and will work and pray with you to see it happen. A coach can look at The Checklist with you. You will be able to describe specific activities in which you have been involved. Together, you may better discover where God is at work. You can also point out where you might be having struggles and discuss some of the options for overcoming them. The Checklist can often help in making plans for the next steps. Between visits with a coach, you may want to stay in contact and use The Checklist to report your progress, by simply explaining your current phase and activity. Because coaching is such an important element in a team’s success, in 1993, YWAM Frontier Missions launched "YWAM Church Planting Coaches." Our purpose is to develop a growing, international network of trained YWAM church planting coaches who serve teams on the field. Our goal is that every YWAM church planting team has access to a church planting coach. If you do not have a coach and would like to have one, contact us. YWAM Church Planting Coaches 381 Bayside; Arcata, CA 95521 USA Phone: (707) 822-4662 Fax: (707) 822-8952 E-mail: CPCoaches@CPCoaches.com www.CPCoaches.com
"Ecclesia Plantada!" The Church must be planted! |
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[This site has been designed to accommodate those around the world who have slower connections. Graphics have been kept to a minimum. In the future we may have the option of choosing a more graphics-rich, interactive experience for those who have faster connection speeds.] CPC Designs. Copyright © 2000-2003 [YWAM Church Planting Coaches]. All rights reserved. Revised: 03.15.2007 YWAM Church Planting Coaches is a ministry of YWAM International CHURCH PLANTING COACHES -- 381 Bayside Road -- Arcata, CA 95521 -- USA Tel: 1 (707) 822-4662 -- Fax: 1 (707) 822-8952 email us at: kevin[at]cpcoaches[dot]com |
