| Dec. 2, 2001
Church Planting Report with pictures
Nov. 25-28 the Baptists of Bashkortostan
conducted a church-planting conference at a conference center about 2
hours south of Ufa. We expected up to 70 participants in a church-planting
conference led by Charles Brock, a former IMB worker in the Philippines
for 20 years. We finally tallied 110 registered participants, far beyond
our expectations. Some of the participants came from as far away as
Moscow (900 miles from Ufa) and Ekaterinburg (450 miles).
There were excellent sessions during which Charles trained the folks how
to lead an evangelistic bible study using indirect and inductive methods.
He trained them how to write and share an evangelistic testimony, and
asked several of them to come to the microphone and share it. He
trained the participants how to lead new Christians in discipleship
lessons and also how to do simple leadership training. We are thankful to
Southern Baptists for providing the funds for this conference. We were
able to give multiple copies of the training literature (evangelistic
bible studies, new believer's bible studies, leadership training manuals,
etc) to each participant so that they can go back to their communities and
begin to lead these studies and help birth new bible study groups and new
churches.
We are praying that the conference will eventually
result in many, many, many new groups and churches. We have a supply of
these materials at a local church to aid in further development of bible study
groups and new churches. One participant spoke of his ministry among Aids
patients, and how he intends to bring the Word of God to them thru leading
indirect/inductive evangelistic bible studies in hospitals and prisons. Can you
imagine: God giving birth to new bible study groups and churches behind prison
walls and bars, and in hospitals where the Aids patients have longed for a sense
of hope?
Another participant spoke of her desire to take the
materials and lead her sister's large family in evangelistic bible
study? Can you imagine: a large family has the potential to become a bible
study group and the core of a new church?
Another participant spoke of his plans to use the conference training and
materials in student ministry, so that new bible study groups and churches will
be started on college & university campuses.
Charles Brock did a wonderful job of stating the case for simplicity when
planting churches. He stressed four necessities for successful church planting:
1. The Spirit
2. The Seed (the Bible)
3. The Soil (lost people)
4. The Sower (the church planter)
Mr Brock clearly and succinctly explained exactly who could BE a church
planter: any believer! In fact, most of the time a farmer, mechanic, truck
driver, business owner, maid, etc will have a more successful church-planting
ministry than a professionally-educated, professionally-paid vocational church
staff person. We were especially thrilled to hear him make the case for
EVERY BELIEVER to be involved in church-planting: it opened the eyes of the
conference participants to understand that they themselves should be involved in
God's great mission movement to draw people unto Himself thru His Son Jesus!!!
Mr Brock also drew a wonderful illustration on a whiteboard, listing all the
things we normally expect to be present in order to have a church: a pulpit, a
choir, a sound system, a building, a seminary-trained pastor, carpet, tables,
chairs, a whiteboard (!), etc. He asked the conference participants concerning
each item, one by one, if we really needed that item in order to have a
church. Each time, the participants said, "no!". As they said so, he erased
each respective item. It was amazing...you could see the "light" come on in
participants' heads, thru their facial expressions. For some, it was the
first time that they had been confronted with what is absolutely necessary to
start a new church: the Spirit, the seed, the soil, and the sower.
We ask you to pray in the following ways:
1. That the Holy Spirit constantly lead and bless each conference
participant. Conferences in and of themselves will accomplish nothing; without
the power and blessing of God's Spirit we can do nothing.
2. That each participant be led to dream a God-sized dream as to the
locations where they should attempt to start new bible study groups and as to
the numbers of such groups they should attempt to start.
3. That the participants be held accountable by their local churches
which sent them. Every indigenous pastor and missionary who attended will be
expected to give at least a monthly report to the senior indigenous
leadership on how they are putting into
practice the training/materials/principles they received at the conference.
4. That the simplicity of biblical church-planting continue to be emphasized.
There is always a danger of religious tradition and legalism hampering the
rapid and explosive nature of true New Testament church planting efforts.
5. That the Lord would continue to bless the ministry of Charles & Dottie
Brock as they travel the globe conducting such conferences. |
