Do you remember the playground game Red Rover? You know, where school kids stand in two lines facing each other and take turns yelling out, "Red Rover, Red Rover, send Suzy right over!" Then little Suzy would have to leave her line and run as fast and hard as she could to break through the other line of kids holding hands. If successful, she would take one member from the other team back with her to her line. If unsuccessful, Suzy had to remain in the opposing team's line and then another child would be called to come over.

The game has seemed to lose some steam in the last few years. Maybe it's due to the development of "cooler" games. Perhaps it's due to the number of kids with neck injuries from nearly being strangled trying to break through. Whatever the case, it seems for the most part that Red Rover has gone to the playground cemetery along with King of the Hill. We'll have to hope for a resurrection.

It has occurred to me that we often to adopt a kind of Red Rover Strategy in church planting and pastoring. Like Paul in Acts 16, we hear the call, "Come over and help us!" and we react with a violent attempt to just break through the line. We have a dream in our heart to plant or pastor a church and we become so consumed with this vision that we barrel right into a new town looking for the weakest link in the chain before ever getting an honest and clear picture of the people that live there. We start plowing into a community with strategy, plans, and really great books written by "cool" church planters and pastors without ever considering the group of people into which we're being sent. And before we know it, we find ourselves strangled, trying to break into a community that is not ready or able to receive the church we have planned.

So, let me say this; before planting or pastoring a church, it's vital that we have a vision of the people to whom God has sent us. This was the crucial step that happened in Acts 16.

Paul and his companions are setting out to minister to people and they're running up against barriers along the way. The Bible says, "Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia, went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, come over to Macedonia and help us!" The "Come over and help us" ends with a little dative case pronoun: "us." And, it matters.

Here was Paul, sure of where he wanted to go, never stopping for directions, but being stopped at every turn. Until he received God's vision for ministry. And in the vision, he met a person, the man from Macedonia. We can learn a clear lesson from this story. Do not go plant or pastor a church if all you have is a vision for a particular kind of church, or because you think a particular city is "cool." You can only plant or pastor a church when you have a vision for the people. Part of being missional is to recognize that we are to go into a culture, engage the people of that culture, and plant a Biblically faithful church for those people, all the while acknowledging that culture matters in the way we do ministry. In many ways, the how of church ministry is determined by the who, when, and where of culture.

So, when we "come over," it's important to remember that we are going into our own community, not someone else's. It's so easy to hear an incredible speaker at a conference and say, "I'm going to be just like that pastor!" That is not the right goal, nor is it what God is calling you to be. Too often, we get so excited by someone else's church that we get a vision for their church before we get a vision for our people.

My challenge is, don't plant or pastor a church in your head. Plant or pastor a church in your community. When you are there, that's when the Gospel transforms real people who are living real lives. When we are in love with someone else's community, we fall prey to community lust and demographic envy. We begin thinking, "If I could just be in this part of California, or this part of Seattle, or this part of Manhattan... then, my church would be incredible." Know and live in your culture, not someone else's. Don't just bring a model, bring the Gospel. Create a church. Don't create a plan.

Most importantly, we must bring Christ, not just a church, particularly a way of doing church. Sometimes, I think we get too excited about the fact that we're leading a church. That's great, as long as we remember that we're planting the Gospel that creates a church, not a church that's known for being the best church or the most trendy or the most relevant. We're planting the Gospel and so we bring Christ and not just the church. Being missional has to be tied into the mission of Jesus, which is to seek and save the lost.

Unlike the in the game Red Rover, we win when we get to stay with our new "team" and begin leading it in a new direction. Planters and pastors must first take the time to listen to the Spirit, responding appropriately His call to the particular people He assigns to us. Then, we can best respond to the call to "Come over" and win them for the kingdom of God.

I am blogging from Taiwan. You can't get much farther away from Nashville.

While here I will be working with the Upstream Collective and another organization. For some contextual reasons, I won't be saying the name of that organization in my blog posts.

And, as you can tell we will be avoiding some other terms as well. Many of our M friends move between different regions in the area and they have asked us to be careful.

I am bringing several pastors with me on the trip and we will be post video content here are on several other blogs. Our hope is that we might give some global focus on the missional conservation.

Here are some of my friends who will be posting content in the next week.

Andrew Jones (Tall Skinny Kiwi)
J.D. Greear
Matt Chandler
Ed Stetzer
David Phillips (Integrating Missionally)
Almost an M
Michael Carpenter (Dining with Sinners)
Derek Webster (re:frame)
Grady Bauer (Missional Space)
C. Holland (Missionary Confidential)
Kevin Mullins (Life.Outpoured)
Guy Muse (The M Blog)
Ray Short (Cultural Dichotomy)
Todd Littleton (The Edge of the Inside)
Paul Chambers Cox (OMS International)
Tim Patterson (Travel Light)
Justin Powell (Urban Idealist)
David Jackson (Moving at the Speed of God)
Ernest Goodman (Missions Misunderstood)
David Putman (DavidPutmanLive)

Occasionally, I list things of interest inside my denomination that may be helpful to readers of this blog. I will continue to do that (as I am today), but I will be moving my denomination-specific blogging to a new blog. My blog has become a place to discuss mission, culture, and research. So, I have decided that, with a few exceptions, I will move my denominational content to Between the Times.

A few weeks ago, Richard Harris and I sent out an email indicating that the North American Mission Board (NAMB) task force, of which I was a co-facilitator, had been disbanded with the resignation of NAMB's president. We mentioned in the email that we would be releasing the "list" we made at that meeting since it had been reported in the news.

I think the list might be helpful to people both inside and outside of my denomination. But, before we get to the "list," let me tell you a little about the group. Here is a picture of the meeting. If you follow on Twitter, you have already seen this pic.

The group had a mix of people:
• Four state execs (staff leader of the state convention from where they came-- the closest is Terry Robertson, from NY, up close and on the right)

• The president of the Woman's Missionary Union, Kaye Miller (way back on the left side)

• Seminary professors (you can see Chuck Lawless from SBTS on the right and Gus Suarez from MWBTS with a big smile and also on the right)

• Directors of missions (George Dean is in a stylish green on the left, you can't miss it)

• Several pastors and church leaders from diverse contexts, races, and church sizes (you can see Charles Roesel, who always wears a suit, on the near left-- the other pastors were suit-less!)

And, yes, that is my Mac in the front, right next to former co-facilitator Steve Reid. My Mac is (predictably) open to Twitter, which is where I originally posted this picture.

Let me say how thankful I am that these men and women took the time to come to Atlanta and talk about North America. Why?

Well, I believe that my denomination is at a crucial point: will we recapture the evangelistic passion and missional impulse we have seen in the past? As I have written about over the past several years, if the 50-year membership change trend continues, we will enter a protracted period of decline.

The task NAMB has been given is both big and essential: if our churches are not effective here, none of the other agencies (including the IMB) will have much of a future.

Initially, the members of the group were asked, "What are the big issues we need to address?"

We talked for over an hour about the things that needed to be studied and discussed. As we talked, Rich Carnie wrote them all on a big whiteboard. We wanted to narrow them down to a group of issues we might be able to address.

Here is an actual picture of the board (sorry about the erased section on the top left, but you can still see it all). I snapped a quick picture just as they were erasing it.

Here is the list in text form:
1- Understanding/engaging ethnics

2- Church planting/effectiveness (methodology)

3- Discipleship - fill church with more robust passionate disciples

4- Urbanization/cities

5- Next generation issues

6- See and engage NA as a mission field 

7- NAMB funding issues

8- Partnerships

9- How we do church

10- Prayer/spiritual awakening
 


Tammi Ledbetter, who was part of the committee and also an excellent journalist, sent me the list. Thanks, Tammi.

Note: Although they are in a numbered list, they are not in order of priority. We just put numbers on the list to focus in on ten.

We discussed how to release these items after I mentioned to the members of the task force that we would be doing so. We considered a release from NAMB, but it seemed odd to release something from a dissolved task force. So, after talking it over with the NAMB communications team, we agreed for me to blog about it here.

Tammi suggested, and NAMB communications agreed, that I should try to explain what a few of these mean since they are not self-evident. Keep in mind that these are my descriptions, not those of the entire group, though I think they are reflective of such. But, I just don't feel authorized to speak for a group of people that no longer exists. (Well, the individuals still exist, just not in group form--you know what I mean.) The list is in the picture; my descriptions are my own.

I think that numbers 1-5 seem self-evident, so I'll keep my explanations to the latter five.

6. See and engage NA as a mission field 

Number 6 specifically addresses the issue of the need to think and live in mission-focused ways in North America. There was some discussion about the word mission/missional. Mine and Tammi's notes both say "mission," but what was on the board was "missional." Either way, the point was we need to help our churches see and engage our immediate contexts like we do the rest of the world-- like a mission field. The mission is now "from everywhere and to everywhere."

Now, let me make a personal comment: I think it is encouraging to see the shift in thinking about North America as a mission field. Ten years ago, this was considered controversial. Some of the voices talking about "thinking missiologically" and talking "missional" today were actually opposed to the idea a decade earlier. I'm glad that this idea has now become mainstream, but I will be "gladder" when the idea becomes a mainstream practice.


7. NAMB funding issues

Number 7 addressed issues of funding. The main question here seemed to be: are we directing NAMB funds to the appropriate locations for the best strategy?

We specifically discussed NAMB and the "Cooperative Agreements." Though most of you have never heard of these, it is these agreements that are the basis for the partnerships NAMB has with state conventions. NAMB only works in and through these "Cooperative Agreements." (More info about that in the next point.)


8. Partnerships

Number 8 addressed how partnership works. Why? Well, here is something most people in the denomination do not know: NAMB has the convention assignment for planting churches but does not plant churches. Ever. Anywhere.

Most church planters NAMB helps don't receive checks from NAMB, but NAMB helps out with their paychecks through funds sent to state conventions and to sponsoring churches. More assistance comes from NAMB for outreach and other planting startup costs. And NAMB funds pay church planter strategist missionaries who help multiple church planters in an area. Training, research and other resources are also made available to church planters through NAMB. But it's all done through partnerships that sometimes mask NAMB's involvement by the time money and resources reach the front lines. 

It's an approach that values local churches and local state conventions. You cannot talk about church planting and NAMB without talking about partnerships.

9. How we do church
Number 9 addressed the issue of HOW we do church. There seemed to be several issues at work here as I listened.

First, there was the ecclesiology question: what is a biblical church in our confessional understanding?

Second, there was the missiological question: what is the best way to plant churches that leads to a church planting movement?

Again, a personal comment. NAMB addressed the ecclesiology question years ago and has a statement on ecclesiology. Richard Harris, who is acting interim president at NAMB right now, commissioned the project.

My friend Stan Norman wrote the statement. I had the privilege of being the "editor" and argued with Stan on many occasions (something for which Stan thanked me in his ecclesiology book, so I felt good about our arguments!). I think by always asking, "what is biblical?," not just our tradition, helped shape the document.

10. Prayer/spiritual awakening
Although this was last on the list, it was not last in priority. The group was passionate about the fact that what we really needed was God's people praying for (and receiving) a fresh outpouring.

Conclusion

I emailed the (former) task force about releasing this list and how we might share it with others. I also forwarded the list to Ronnie Floyd, chair of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force. I let him know that these were the issues we considered important as we move toward the future.

Again, thanks to the members of this task force. Although we only had one meeting, I believe that our time was not wasted--this can help inform conversations about the future and even some of the research we are doing at present.

Yesterday, we finished up a meeting in Nashville with denominational leaders from over 20 denominations. More than half of the churches planted in the U.S. each year were affiliated with the denominations represented in the room.

You might find my opening words of some interest. In some ways, they relate to comments I made at the Advance09 panel.

It is a bad idea theologically, with bad results historically, for us to partner and jointly plant churches. But, it is a bad stewardship and irresponsible missiology for us not to find ways to learn from each other.

When it comes to church planting, it is not really the same as evangelism. In church planting, we need to plant our own gardens. But, we will consider this an agricultural co-op where we learn to do it better by learning from one another.

So, that is why we are here: to learn and share best practices with other Christian denominational leaders committed to plant churches.

We had a great meeting with much helpful interaction.

Here are the presentations that each of the speakers shared:

Ed Stetzer (LifeWay Research), The State of Church Multiplication and the Causes that Hinder It (no PowerPoint)
Thom Rainer (LifeWay Christian Resources), Twelve Axioms for Leading a Christian Organization
Ron Sylvia (Next Coaching Networks), Church Planting Coaching Networks
Larry McCrary (The Upstream Collective), Creating Church Planting Recruitment Systems for Denominations
Steve Pike (Assemblies of God), Influencing Your Denomination for Church Planting
Bob Harrington (Church Coaching Solutions), Understanding and Harnessing Networks: Part 1, Part 2
Chris Conrad (Wesleyan), Church Planting Assessment (no PowerPoint)

We are also undertaking two research projects with different denominations participating in each. One will focus on urban church planting and the other is on church planting assessment. Drop a comment below if you are interested in being a part of either one.

This meeting is the beginning of our leaders fellowship that will meet three times a year: November 18-19 is the next meeting. This is not an open meeting, but if you are the denominational head of church planting, you can leave a comment here and we will send you a network application. (Feel free to email this page to others who you think might be interested.)

Here is a pic from our first meeting (courtesy of Ron Sylvia).

We look forward to more to come.

I just received my copy of the Assemblies of God Enrichment Journal. It contains what must be the longest article I have ever written. ;-)

I've posted the introduction here. If that interests you, be sure to read the entire article right here and then share your comments at the blog. The Enrichment Journal is always a well done resource and I don't know any other denominational "journal" quite like it.

Introduction

I have always been struck by the first few minutes of the movie Saving Private Ryan.The Americans have landed on the beach. Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) sees an opening for the men with protection on the other side. He says, "That's the route." Immediately, he sends six men through the gap and they are brutally killed.

The sergeant, who is more experienced, warns Miller with a stern look, "That's a ... shooting gallery, Captain."

Miller/Hanks responds, "That's the route." Miller commands another group of six -- "Go." They obey and are brutally cut down.

Miller turns to the next six and says, "It's the only way ... you're next." The third group of six loses several but finally breaks through the German lines. It is hard to watch. Many people close their eyes, unable to stomach the harsh realities of combat.

That is what church planting looked like when I started in the late '80s. Planters and their teams, unprepared for the challenges, quickly ran into harvest fields that soon became killing fields. They were excited for the task, but they were not ready to face the realities.

When I came to Buffalo, New York, to plant my first church, eight of us began with great enthusiasm. Now, 20 years later, only one of our churches remains. Four pastors are out of the ministry; three are out of their marriage and faith.

My interest in developing ways to change some of these brutal realities started in a conversation in St. Louis, Missouri. My denomination wanted to stop the carnage, so they brought our church-planting leadership together and asked, "What systems can we create to change the tide?" I was determined to be a part of the solution. I later wrote my Ph.D. dissertation focusing on how church-planter support systems impact church plants.

The past 20 years have produced radical changes in how churches are planted. Success rates are increasing. A 2007 North American Mission Board study assessing multidenominational church-plant survivability rates shows how 99 percent of church plants now survive their first year, 92 percent survive their second year, 81 percent survive their third, and 68 percent survive their fourth. These are encouraging statistics, especially in light of pessimistic reports that "80 percent of church plants fail in the first year."

We are doing many things better and much of this is due to the emergence and development of church-planting systems. This article will explore church-planting systems, their components, and the impact they currently have in church planting. I will address church-planting systems in three ways: who uses them, how effective they are, and what we have learned about them.

The rest of the article is here.

Tomorrow, I will be in an all-day conversation about what we need to know about church planting and evangelism (details here). Although this meeting is related to the North American Mission Board, I'd like to open up the conversation to all my blog readers and ask you:

• What do we need to know about church planting and evangelism?
• What research is already out there that needs to be considered on the subject?

In August, I will be hosting the first meeting of a Church Planting Leadership Fellowship. This meeting will include time with Bob Harrington (Stadia) on church networks, Hutz Hertzberg (Moody Church) on assessment research, Thom Rainer (LifeWay) on organization leadership, and Steve Pike (Assemblies of God) on influencing your denomination. In addition, we will have peer-to-peer interaction among church planting leaders from different denominations. The first meeting is in Nashville, August 24-25th and the focus of this, and subsequent, meetings is how denominations can be more effective in church planting by sharing ideas and best practices.

The Mission America Coalition had asked me to convene a Church Planting Leadership Fellowship to help denominational leaders connect and collaborate around church planting learning. There seems to be a need for a place for peer learning and I am glad to help facilitate the group.

Chris Conrad (Director of Church Planting for the Wesleyans) and I will be working on this leadership community for people in denominational church planting leadership. It will meet three times per year: one in summer, once in fall, and once in spring (in partnership with the Exponential Conference). The group will be limited to those in similar church planting leadership roles. The focus will not be planting together, but rather learning from one another.

There may be an additional group that helps networks and network leaders connect together, but we have not decided on that quite yet. If you would be interested in that group, please let me know in the comments. (We won't post them but will contact you.) Also, feel free to email this information to your denominational church planting leadership if you think they might be interested in participating.

Here is the email we sent out earlier this week.

Dear Fellow Church Planting Champions,

I pray this finds you doing well as you continue to roll up your sleeves and give your best efforts to serve, support and celebrate church planting and church planters in your context.

Each of you receiving this e-mail have indicated an interest in being part of the Church Planting Leadership Network as we discuss best practices and work together to increase the number and effectiveness of church plants being launched.

So far we have two meetings scheduled:

August 24-25 (Nashville)
November 18-19 (Location TBD)

Our August meeting will include presentations and discussions about the following subjects all of us in the church planting world face:

• Recruitment
• Assessing
• Training
• Networking
• Multiplying

Attached you will find flyer that will give you more information as well as an application. To join the Church Planting Leadership Network, simply fill out the application and send it in, along with the membership fee, to the address on the application.

We look forward to having you with us in this "Best Practices" community.

Thanking God for you,

Ed Stetzer and Chris Conrad

Here is my interview with a French pastor, Julien, who tells a fascinating story of his journey to be a bi-vocational church planter in France:

A neat journey...

Yesterday, I was struck by the "red carpet welcome" given to church planters of the Church of God (Cleveland). I was speaking at the National Church Planting Lab and when I came arrived I saw this: every time a church planter walked in, they came down a "red carpet" to the applause of volunteers.

Symbolic? Yes. Do they have difficulties in the COG? Of course. We all do. But, kudos to Michael Knight (national church planting director and COG bishop) for symbolically laying out the red carpet for church planters.

I was moved by the gesture.

I wonder if it was so meaningful to me because I have seen church planters:

-attacked because they used different methods and music
-accused of being _____ (Purpose Driven, Reformed, emerging, contemporary, etc.)
-opposed because their were planting in "my" area
and the list could go on and on...

What if, instead, church planters were welcomed into your denomination, into the area where your church served, and maybe even into your church's strategy?

What a difference that would make.

The symbol blessed a lot of planters today. The reality would bless a lot more.

As I mentioned yesterday, I am in Kentucky today, Virginia tomorrow, and then I will be heading to Germany tomorrow afternoon to spend some time in Europe with the The Upstream Collective. I am speaking to a non-denominational group in Frankfort, Germany and then am off to Rome and Marseilles.

I do two of these trips a year with Upstream as part of my role with the International Mission Board. We think it is important to take pastors and mission leaders globally to give them a taste of missions overseas and to help them find ways to connect with missions internationally.

Please pray for us as our group prepares to go. We will be blogging and twittering about these as we go on the trip.

We shot some video while I was in Rome last year. They are raw, but authentic. Take a look at this one featuring Jason who is doing church planting in Rome. He talks briefly about the religious culture, spiritual climate and how a focus on Jesus helps to overcome some anti-Christian bias.

Obviously you hear a lot about Rome but you may not know as much about Marseilles. Marseilles has a large immigrant population from people in North Africa. The city also has a large Jewish population. Meet Scott who works in Marseilles as a church planter. Scott talks about how they are utilizing Third Places in Marseilles to connect with the French and tell them about Jesus Christ.

We are planning a trip this Fall to Asia. For more information about this trip go to the Upstream website to fill out the initial application. The dates are September 19 - 27th and we will be in Taiwan.

Tomorrow and Tuesday I'll be speaking at the Missional Church Planting Conference at Sojourn Community Church at an event sponsored by the Kentucky Baptist Convention and Campbellsville University. It includes a host of other great speakers and lasts for four days, so be sure to check out the full info here.

I have to say that I am genuinely excited about the gospel-centered, missional approach to church planting that we're seeing in more and more parts of my own tribe. i wish such a "missional church planting" focus would be welcome in more places, but, for now, I will celebrate it when it is welcomed. So, thanks Sojourn Church, Campbellsville University, and the KBC for making this event possible.

If you're near Louisville you should check out the Missional Church Planting Conference running Monday through Thursday (May 11-14).

Details below from their web page:

Where? Sojourn Community Church 930 Mary Street Louisville, KY 40204

When?
Monday-Tuesday: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Monday Dinner/Q & A with Ed Stetzer: 6:00 p.m.
Wednesday-Thursday: 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

What?
Is God calling you to plant a church? Are you already involved in a church plant? Are you interested in church growth processes and principles? Join us for a four-day conference that will challenge, encourage and prepare you for this great calling.

On Monday and Tuesday, we'll learn from Dr. Ed Stetzer as he covers a variety of key topics, such as planting models, teams, systems and much more. All participants will also have some Q&A time with Stetzer at a special Monday evening dinner.

On Wednesday and Thursday, you'll gain in-depth insights from four church planting experts, along with breakout sessions and personal testimonies from High Impact church planters in Kentucky. Add in some worship and fellowship, and you've got what we believe will be a highlight in your journey to explore or dig deeper into church planting.

Since I am in Orlando at the Exponential Conference, church planting is on my mind. I get a lot of requests for book recommendations, especially as they relate to church planting. In recent years we've seen a great increase in the number of books written on the subject. Here are books (along with some of my thoughts) that may be helpful to those thinking through church planting. (If I missed any, feel free to let me know. And, if you choose to share this on your blog, please note the comment about reproducing it at the end.)

Also, throughout the day, I will be tweeting some church planting related info. You can follow me on Twitter here.

"I like reading sailing books by people who have circumnavigated the globe; I prefer history from the pen of eyewitnesses who participated when the tide turned for a nation; and I want to read church planting books by people who have been down the alley-ways of neopagan Western society and know what it means to call together a new body of believers in Jesus Christ." -J. Nelson Kraybill, from the Foreword to Church Planting: Laying Foundations.

The books:

Last week I spoke at the Innovation3 Gathering in DFW. I have already posted my main session notes here.

I also co-led a breakout session with Matt Wilson who is the Executive Director at The Message Trust, a youth and community ministry based in Manchester, England. We talked about European church planting, a subject on which he is far more of an expert that I would ever claim to be.

In preparation for my session, Larry McCrary, Caleb Crider, and I prepared this paper (handed out at the conference). It tells some of the European story. I have posted it in its entirety below.

Leadership Network commissioned me and a team I put together to research the state of church planting in North America. The findings are encouraging, while pointing out we still have a long way to go. The State of Church Planting in North America is a four-part report: Church Planting Overview, Who Starts New Churches, Improving the Health and Survivability of New Churches, and Funding New Churches. Below are some highlights from the Church Planting Overview, but you will want to download all of the reports. You can download the study in its entirety here via the American Society of Church Growth Journal. You can also download a podcast we did related to the study.

Summary

North American Christians are interested in church planting in a way not seen for many decades. In response, Leadership Network commissioned a research project that surveyed over 200 churchplanting churches, more than 100 denominational leaders from dozens of denominations, and over 45 church planting networks.

Here is the final video put together by the Central and Eastern Europe team. I do hope you will considering partnering with the folks there in church planting. Here is the link where you can find all the info about the ministries there.

While I was there in Europe, I also spent a couple of days in Rome. I will be talking more about this later. Darrin Patrick and I will be leading a group to Europe (Rome and Marseille) May 22 through June 1, 2009. More on that soon, but here is an interview at the Vatican talking with Chris Watts about church planting in Rome.

You can learn more at the Upstream Collective.

Here is a Wordle of my recent Twitter activity while in Europe. I'm wrapping up my blogging series by providing all the links in one place and sharing and few more things (including some downloadable resources) that may interest you.

You can get some background information here in an excellent story written by Natalie Kaspar.

On to Europe...

First, here are my Central and Eastern Europe Mission Posts (in order).

Why We Are In Europe
Vision and Video from Europe
Planting Churches in Budapest and Beyond
OneApp
More from Poland
Teaching English and Telling the Gospel
When the Mission gets Lost in the System
Planting Churches in Moravia with Steve Brown

Second, here are some Central and eastern Europe Videos.

Church Planting in Europe
Vision for Budapest: Trey Shaw
Mission Strategy for Churches in CEE
Interview with Trey Shaw and Ed Stetzer
On Global Missions
Interview with Jeff Noble: Krakow
Interview with Polish Professor of English
Interview with church planter Steve Brown

And here is a pretty neat new video to add to the bunch:

Fourth, here are some links to help you connect with the people working in CEE:

Sebastian and Erin Vazquez

Shea and Rachel Massengale

Doyle and Karen Fletcher

Allan and Sue Weaver

You can find several on Facebook as well.

And, be sure to follow Natalie Kaspar and Larry McCrary on Twitter as well. If you want more information, be sure to interact with them.

Finally, are are some "Concept Papers" for Europe Planting
This is from Leadership Network's European church planting strategy teams. All are worth downloading.

Preparing to Plant
Midsized Missional Groups
Models of Missional Engagement - Europe
Church Planting within Historical Reformation Churches in Europe

I will be discussing these papers and other things at Leadership Network's Innovation3 gathering which, as best I can tell, has more speakers than 10 normal conference combined. It looks pretty amazing, so click the link above and register.

Anyway, back to Europe: thanks for following a long. Thanks for all of you that have expressed an interest. And, I hope you will consider it a place you can partner in church planting!

J.D. Payne has written a valuable book that shines some much need light on church planting teams. Having taught church planting and evangelism courses in evangelical institutions for nine years and served with several church planting teams, Dr. Payne is aware of the lack of quality church planting resources, particularly resources addressing church planting teams.

In The Barnabas Factors: Eight Essential Practices of Church Planting Team Members, Payne examines the life of Barnabas in Christianity's first church planting efforts. He uses this as a model for contemporary church planting team members. Each chapter of this work addresses a particular "Barnabas Factor, " a healthy aspect of Barnabas' life that assisted in Kingdom expansion. The is broken down into eight practices and chapters that include:

1. Walks with the Lord
2. Maintains an Outstanding Character
3. Serves the Local Church
4. Remains Faithful to the Call
5. Shares the Gospel Regularly
6. Raises Up Leaders
7. Encourages with Speech and Actions
8. Responds Appropriately to Conflict

Payne's book also includes a guide to assist church planters in selecting and
developing team members according to the Barnabas Factors. Each chapter
includes an application section, "Points to Ponder for Team Development."

I was happy to write the forward to this book, and have included that here below.

Foreword

In this book, The Barnabas Factors: Eight Essential Practices of Church Planting Team Members, J. D. Payne addresses the desired characteristics of team members in the context of church planting teams. He does this by examining the life of Barnabas in Christianity's first church planting efforts.

This book is different from anything I've seen in church planting books. While it is generally expected that a book will start with a concept and then move to the use of scriptures to back up that concept, J. D. takes a completely different approach. This is a very straightforward, non- glitzy look at what the Bible has to say about team ministry in church planting. The principles laid out and explained in this book are taken directly from the scriptures through an in-depth look at the life and ministry of Barnabas.

It's not really a revolutionary idea to draw one's understandings from the biblical text, but it is a foundational principle that we often miss in our quest for effective leadership and exponential growth. The primary reference point for J. D.'s book is a candid look at biblical references to Barnabas. To put it simply, the primary case study for this book is the life and ministry of Barnabas.

Case studies can be powerful. They give us insight into the motivations, principles, and goals of the one being studied, while allowing us a window for viewing our own circumstances through the filter of someone else's experience. By looking at the biblical principles in Barnabas' life and ministry, this book has a high scriptural component that provides an even clearer window into your own church planting experience. After all, nothing is able to speak to the soul like God's Word. Similarly, when we think of church planting in the Bible, we might easily be drawn to the more-famous Paul. Yet as you read the words of this book, you will find that Barnabas's experiences aren't too far removed from your own planting journey. He wasn't the star. He was more like most of us--an ordinary guy who surrendered to a great call to simply do his best to assist in the greatest mission enterprise ever.

Barnabas probably lacked some of the oratory skills or apologetic artistry of more famous guys like Peter or Paul, but Barnabas's faithfulness provides a glimpse into how we can be better church planters in a calling that is often trying and always in need of greater staying power, faith, and steady determination.

Through an examination of Barnabas's life and ministry, J. D. has identified eight characteristics of successful church planting team members. He applies these characteristics not only to the individual church planter, but also to the church planting team. He then examines each of these characteristics in detail and helps the church planter apply them to the everyday needs of the church planter and his team.

As you read this book, you will come to a greater understanding of these biblical qualities. This understanding will aid you in either building an effective team from scratch or in reforming your present staff to function and live as a team.

Although The Barnabas Factors is not a how-to book or a strategy manual for the team approach in church planting, J. D. has provided a very nice and concise application section at the end of each chapter entitled, "Points to Ponder for Team Development."

I personally believe this application section is one of the best features of this book. These questions are designed for the church planting team members to use in sharpening their own application of the principles taught in this book. It would greatly benefit you and your team to systematically study and discuss these "Points to Ponder for Team Development" during your weekly training/staff time. Another good option might be to use these reflection questions in a retreat or weekend training event for your team.

As you read this book and continue along your church planting journey, let me encourage you to always center all that you are and all that you do on the gospel. As you prayerfully strategize on how to employ the knowledge gained in this book in your own team setting, keep the message of the gospel front and center. J. D.'s methodology for extracting his material straight from the scriptures is a good reminder for us to always, always, always keep the proclamation of the gospel as our chief purpose.

May God greatly bless you and work through you as you assemble and grow a team for a great harvest.

You can order the book at Amazon.com.

I just finished breakfast with some church planters here in Denver, Colorado. As always, I am blessed by their commitment and their sacrifice.

Just after I finished breakfast and came back to my hotel room, I received notice that I had a new video to share with you about church planting.

I had the privilege to meet another sharp church planter, Steve Brown, in Krakow last week. Steve is working to plant churches in a place that might surprise you. If you have heard of the Moravians, then you have heard of Moravia. And, regrettably, Moravia is no longer a place that sends many missionaries-- it is in need of many more.

Church planters are always a unique group. And, planting in postmodern Europe requires a certain way of viewing the world. As I listened to the Strategy Coordinators we met with, I could certainly see that to be the case. (I earlier described what a Strategy Coordinator does, but basically the SC helps to facilitate church planting.) These SCs want to change the world for the gospel and they press ahead even in a resistant field.

I thought I would share a couple of videos with you that tell part of that story.

Good early morning from Krakow, Poland.

Today's post is about God's mission in Europe AND YOU NEED TO READ IT AND WATCH THE VIDEOS. I just wanted to get out of the way-- God wants you to pay close attention to the blog this week. He told me so.

But seriously, we shot some video on our trip. I hope you will take a moment to read the posts, watch the video, and learn about engaging Central and Eastern Europe with the gospel.