Dear Church Planters

It is very late – and we have just had the most encouraging day with over 100 church planters (members and pastors) in the Baltic countries.

There are at least 7 unchurched people here with us. Another group that shared their story today (which has launched a new church within the last

year) have at least 6 people present at this X-Change who have just been baptised. This new church plant has grown from one small group to six small groups – with over 90 people in worship last Sabbath.

Church leaders are very encouraged by the growing numbers getting involved in planting new churches to reach lost people. While a few continue to debate and argue over the validity of this New Testament evangelistic method – more and more are focusing upon reaching their lost friends. Within the last two weeks –

# 40 church leaders from the countries of the TED spent 2 days receiving

training to support church planting movements.

# Conference, Union and Division leaders met with 40 pastors in the South

France Conference to study and develop plans to plant new churches.

# Last Sabbath 400 members from the South France Conference met with

their leaders and myself to explore the idea of planting – and to pray and worship.

# Leaders from the Baltic countries – with the ‘Korinta’ plant in Riga –

have organised the Church Planters X-Change that I am attending this week.

One church leader writes, “Church Planting is really beginning to move. God is using people – I had a phone call from someone yesterday saying they want to get involved in planting a new church.”

Pray for each other. Encourage each other. You are doing God’s work.

Christian regards

Peter Roennfeldt

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CHURCH PLANTING NEWS – 19 March 04

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In this issue:

# ‘THE PASSION OF CHRIST’ – EVANGELISTIC POSSIBILITIES # PRAYER SUPPORT …

# YEOVIL FAMILY CAMP – ATTRACTS NEW UNCHURCHED FAMILIES # STOCKHOLM CELL CHURCH – INVADED BY UNCHURCHED FRIENDS # STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL CHURCH PLANT – HOLDS FIRST PUBLIC WORSHIP # GYM FELLOWSHIP GOES ON …

# COMMUNITY AWARENESS!

# YEOVIL FAMILY CHURCH – PLANNING ANOTHER BAPTISM # CHURCH PLANTING – FULLY SUPPORTED BY CZECH & SLOVAKIAN LEADERS # FOCUS ON THE EMERGING CHURCH – Ideas for Church Planters & Leaders!

# ‘FACE-OUT’ CONTINUES TO REACH OUT!

# ACCOUNTABILITY GROUPS

# CHURCH LEADERS EQUIP TO FOSTER A CHURCH PLANTING MOVEMENT # WHO KILLED JESUS?

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‘THE PASSION OF CHRIST’ – EVANGELISTIC POSSIBILITIES

Think of the possibilities at the present time. Mel Gibson’s film ‘The Passion of Christ’ is breaking box office records. This presents every church plant (and church) with the biggest and most powerful evangelistic tool. Do some of you struggle to invite a friend to a church?

Anyone can invite a friend to a film – which can be followed by an informal small group discussion and a teaching series in your worship services. Willow Creek is conducting a four week series called ‘The Man Behind The Movie.’ Their members invite a friend to see the movie and give to them a discussion guide entitled ‘Experiencing the Passion of Jesus’ by Lee Strobel and Garry Poole. To get quantities of this guide – phone your order to the WCA UK at +44 (0)845 1300 909.

PRAYER SUPPORT …

# For church leaders: Laverne Byng writes, “About 2 or 3 weeks ago, I started praying for leaders in God’s church like yourself on a daily basis.

So know that you are before God’s throne always … ” (Thanks Laverne – all the leaders need prayer support!) # For church planters: Pray for each other – and for all who are on the frontline of evangelism. Some are coming under sustained challenges – and need to encouragement of your emails, phone calls, text messages and visits.

YEOVIL FAMILY CAMP – ATTRACTS NEW UNCHURCHED FAMILIES

Dana & Leslie King write, “We appreciate all the prayers we can get – particularly as we have our Yeovil Family camp planned for 9-13 April. We praise God as already 5 families from the community have signed up in a week. From past experience we know this enrages the enemy and stands as a testimony to how powerful it is to ‘belong.'”

STOCKHOLM CELL CHURCH – INVADED BY UNCHURCHED FRIENDS

“One of the cell groups in the Stockholm church plant had a wonderful experience with the way cells grow,” reports planter Mariusz Wieczorek, “We experienced that it only takes one group member with many unchurched friends, for the cell meeting to be almost too big (there were 16 of us!).

One of our regular cell members brought no less than ten of hers unchurched friends to the small group meeting. We also discovered how commitment can grow out of need, and not duty. The other week, many members of the group would be gone the following week, so we decided to skip one meeting. But member after member said they didn’t want to miss out on the fellowship together for even one week. So through the group network, we got the news out and the cell group met again.”

STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL CHURCH PLANT – HOLDS FIRST PUBLIC WORSHIP

“On February 28, we had the first International Service in Stockholm,”

says planter Mariusz Wieczorek. “There was a wonderful fellowship and community as people many nations met together to worship God in English.

The most joyful part was that one fourth of the people who attended the meeting were guests, or unchurched people. Word of mouth, personal invitations of friends from work or school brought 25% of the people attending the service. We continued the fellowship after the service with snacks and drinks, and the last words from some of our guests were: ‘We will be back!'”

GYM FELLOWSHIP GOES ON …

Returning from “an awesome two days of training” (on Church Planting Movements), Laverne reports she was involved in a car minor accident which delayed her arrival at one of her Gym classes by 20 minutes. “While almost there I kept praying (as I been doing) about leaders to help with this work. I thought of how my being late or absent means the classes don’t happen and I told God I need to stop being the centre of this,” Laverne says. “Got to the hall and there were about 13 women present and the class was in session! Two of the Muslim ladies were at the front leading the class.”

“A few moments ago I was reflecting with God about the ‘greater purpose’ behind my accident. Couldn’t help wondering whether he was answering the prayer I been praying since these 2 days of training ‘to precipitate a crisis in the women’s life, in mine, in the class’ – whatever it takes – to move us on to his vision.”

COMMUNITY AWARENESS!

As church planters – have you noted in your calendars every day that is important to people in your community? If you are working with Muslims

– have you noted all the feast days? Have you noted all the special days of the culture you are working with?

YEOVIL FAMILY CHURCH – PLANNING ANOTHER BAPTISM

“We have also pencilled into our diary Sabbath August 21 for our next baptism,” write Dana and Leslie King. “We are earnestly praying for the harvest from this community.”

CHURCH PLANTING – FULLY SUPPORTED BY CZECH & SLOVAKIAN LEADERS

The Czech & Slovakian Union Secretary, Miroslav Kysilko, has written a very encouraging note telling us that “in all three local conferences in our union the program of church planting has been started.” In the constituency meetings – each conference decided to continue those projects started “and to start new ones.”

FOCUS ON THE EMERGING CHURCH – Ideas for Church Planters & Leaders!

“In its Feb. 18 issue, The New York Times published an interesting article on the Emerging Church movement – new congregations targeted specifically at postmoderns. The article notes, “The label ’emerging church’ refers to the emergence of a generation with little or no formal attachment to church. The congregations vary in denomination, but most are from the evangelical side of Protestantism and some are sponsored by traditional churches. Brian McLaren, 48, pastor at Cedar Ridge Community Church in Spencerville, Md., and one of the architects of the fledgling movement, compared the churches to foreign missions, using the local language and culture, only directed at the vast unchurched population of young America.

“An example of an emerging church leader is Dan Kimball, a one-time youth minister at an evangelical megachurch. The Times says, “Expanding his ministry, Mr. Kimball brought in candles and crosses from garage sales, and began reading long passages from the Bible, inviting people to talk back to him or discuss what the stories meant to them as a group. In contrast to the bright and cheerful big churches, ‘younger people want it like a dusty cathedral . . . They want a sense of mystery and transcendence,’ he said.

‘Anything that sniffs of performance turns them off.'”

“One of the major emphases of the movement is small groups. “Though the churches are often small, most break down into even smaller groups throughout the week and set a premium on eating together. Larry Eskridge, associate director of the Institute for Study of American Evangelicals at Wheaton College in Illinois, said this interest in small groups, in which everyone knows each other, marked a generational shift from baby boomers, who found strength in numbers, whether at Woodstock or in megachurches.”

(Click here to read the full article.)

– PREACHINGNOW – Vol. 3, No. 8, February 24, 2004.) –

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/18/national/18WORS.html?pagewanted=1

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/18/national/18WORS.html?pagewanted=1

‘FACE-OUT’ CONTINUES TO REACH OUT!

The Face-Out Friday club for kids attracts about 40 – with two-thirds of them not used to attending any church. The Sabbath afternoon worship-sharing services are attracting 12+ visitors! Keep praying for ‘Face-Out.’

ACCOUNTABILITY GROUPS

For those committed to spiritual growth through supporting accountability partnership – you will find the book by Neil Cole called “Cultivating a Life For God” very useful. You will be able to adapt the accountability questions that are shared in this material.

CHURCH LEADERS EQUIP TO FOSTER A CHURCH PLANTING MOVEMENT

Forty leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church from eight of the 16 Unions and attached fields in the Trans-European Division have enthusiastically participated in the first of six modules of leadership development to equip them to foster a movement of revitalised churches and new church plants in their countries.

Speaking at the close of the conference held at King’s Park Conference Centre, Northampton, Pastor Henk Koning (Secretary of the Netherlands

Union) commented, “This is was extremely valuable. The material presented was excellent.” Pastor Humphrey Walters, Church Planting Coordinator for the South England Conference, was also enthusiastic about the two days, emphasising that the processes outlined to foster a church planting movement were very practical and useful.

Each participating Union Conference can send a team of 8-10 leaders for each of the six modules of training. “These are leaders who have the influence to develop strategies – and foster and support church planting movements,” says Peter Roennfeldt – Church Planting Coordinator for the Trans-European Division. “We have Union and Conference Presidents, Union Church Planting Directors – and other very committed leaders involved. At least four people in each team must attend the six equipping modules.”

The modules include “Building Church Planting Movements,” “Empowering Church Planters Through Coaching,” “Identifying and Recruiting Church

Planters,” and “Planting Healthy Churches.”

The teachers and facilitators are Dr Steve Addison and Ian Hamilton from Church Resource Ministries; and, Peter Roennfeldt. Pastor David Cox, Church Planting Director for the British Union, hosted the first module which was attended by leaders and teams from the United Kingdom, Finland, Hungary, Israel, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden.

“This is part of the commitment of Union and Conference Presidents from across the Division – who last November voted that Adventism in this Division would be a ‘CHURCH PLANTING MOVEMENT’,” comments Peter Roennfeldt.

“Leaders recognise that such a movement will also revitalise existing churches.” – (Miroslav Pujic)

WHO KILLED JESUS?

“Much of the controversy surrounding the movie ‘The Passion of The Christ’ surrounds concern that anti-Semitism may be a result as people hold the Jewish people responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion. In his Feb. 12 Breakpoint commentary, Chuck Colson noted:

‘The Jews didn’t cause the death of Jesus, nor did the Romans. They were merely instruments carrying out what God had decreed. He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross so that the sins of mankind might be forgiven. And those who take Scripture seriously have always known who killed Jesus: You and I and all other sinful human beings did so.

‘Mel Gibson understands this. In his movie, The Passion of the Christ, the hand holding the spike being nailed through Christ’s wrist is Gibson’s.

Who killed Jesus? Mel Gibson knows. And he made the very point with his own hand that he was responsible, not the Jews.

‘Similarly the Dutch painter, Rembrandt painted The Raising of the Cross as a self-portrait. As Christ hangs on the cross while it is being lifted into place, the soldier pulling it up is Rembrandt. Who killed Jesus? Rembrandt knew. He did. And I did. And you did. We’re the ones who sent Jesus to the cross loaded down with our sins.'” – PREACHINGNOW – Vol.

3, No. 8, February 24, 2004.