One of the comments that many traditional missions people make concerning BAM is that it can sometimes lose the focus of CHURCH PLANTING – or as many of us abbreviate it “CP”.
This should always be a concern no matter what type of activities we are involved in. Medical Missions without proclamation is just curing sickness! Education for knowledge purpose make well-studied people but no outreach.
We need to always be asking ourselves if the work we are doing is helping to further the Kingdom of God.
We are one body and many parts…we all have different roles and gifts…but all working together to build the Lord’s Kingdom.
Church Planting
(CP) is an interesting topic of discussion because over the years, many have made Church Planting the main goal and now Church Planting Movements are the “buzz-topics.” It is great to have this as an ideal target, but the question I have is, “What did Jesus send us to do?”
From what I read, Jesus said to go and make disciples. Jesus tells Peter, “…I will build my church.”
We are to make disciples and allow Jesus to build HIS church. He is the head…
Perhaps our focus has shifted slightly from making disciples to trying to accomplish the Lord’s work of building his church! I have been around some who are so focused on gathering believers to have “planted a church” that they miss out on the awesome responsibility and privilege to disciple.
I believe that if you disciple someone using strong Biblical teachings, the gathering will be a result of that discipleship.
The others P’s of Church Planting
Actually the point of this article is not to get into a debate about strategy and semantics but to start a new set of articles on some other “P’s” that must be included in any “CP” effort.
A few of those “P’s” include: Presence, Power, Proclamation, Prayer and many more… Over the next few weeks, I will be touching on a number of “P’s” that I believe should be thought about, discussed with team, and incorporated into our BAM lives.