May God be gracious to us and bless us

and make his face to shine upon us, Selah

that your way may be known on earth,

your saving power among all nations.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you!

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,

for you judge the peoples with equity

and guide the nations upon earth. Selah

Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you!

The earth has yielded its increase;

God, our God, shall bless us.

God shall bless us;

let all the ends of the earth fear him! 

Psalm 67

The glory of God is what we want to see through church planting. We are not in this for the sake of our great name, but for the sake of the great name of Jesus. He is King over the universe and deserves to be worshiped by all peoples from all tribes and languages. He is the one that deserves all praise and glory and honor. He is the one to whom the nations will gather around in worship. He is the glorious, all-sufficient one who has placed every star exactly and knows them by name (Psalm 147:4).

How will his great name be known? How will his glory be displayed in our world? His glory is known as his Kingdom is built by his Church multiplying through his gospel being proclaimed.  As we proclaim the gospel and see lost men, women and children come to faith in Jesus Christ, they are joined together in the people of God, the church, and seek to establish God's rule and regin (His Kingdom) in every area of their lives and their place so that God's glory would overflow and his light would shine in the very darkness of our world. 

This is the why of church planting for me. Ultimately it is the the God and his ways would be known on earth. And the Kingdom outpost that he has chosen to bring the gospel to a dying world is the church of Jesus Christ. So, we will seek to plant a church that proclaims the gospel and plants churches that proclaim the gospel and plant churches, so that all the peoples will praise His great name! This is a big vision, but our big and mighty God deserves no less.

Prayer is the irreplaceable human instrument by which God's people advance the cause of God's Kingdom.

Wow. What a statement! Pastor Larry Kirk shared this with the group of church planters at Mission to North America's church planter training that I attended in Florida. It is so simple and I know it, but I need the reminder so often. God, the sovereign powerful God of the universe, uses the prayers of his people to accomplish his purposes in building his Kingdom in his world. And yet, I am so slow to pray boldy for God to do this very thing. 

In Isaiah 37 God declares to King Hezekiah that he has saved his people and will strike down the Assyrian army (185,000 people!) who is threatening to destroy the people. Why will God do this? Well, in Isaiah 37:21 he says to Hezekiah through the prophet Isaiah that he will do this "because you have prayed." Because he had prayed. Because he had prayed. Because he had prayed. Wow. 

God has called us to an incredible task: multiplying the gospel through church planting in Muncie, IN. A task that apart from his sovereign mercy and power is impossible. More impossible than striking down the Assyrian army. Yet God will be pleased to do it "because we have prayed." If the vision for us from Part 1 of this reflection is to see the Kingdom of God advance as we seek the good of the city in proclaiming the gospel and serving the city, than the power for its accomplishment will only come from God. So, we will pray. We will pray that God will transform the hearts of those in our city. That those in rebellion against God will hear the good news that the King has made a way to pardon rebels, and that they will turn towards him. That God will bring justice and mercy to the brokenness of our city. That God will make the name of Jesus great in the city of Muncie and build his Kingdom. And we will storm the throne room of Heaven with confidence, not in ourselves, but because of the blood of Jesus, and persistantly plead with God to do this very thing in our midst. 

Join with us please in praying for our city and God's grace and mercy to triumph over the darkness of our hearts. 

One thing that I am doing in light of this, is making the words of this song by Rend Collective my prayer for Muncie.

"Build Your Kingdom Here"

Come set Your rule and reign
in our hearts again.
Increase in us we pray.
Unveil why we're made.
Come set our hearts ablaze with hope
like wildfire in our very souls.
Holy Spirit, come invade us now.
We are Your church.
We need Your power in us.

We seek Your kingdom first.
We hunger and we thirst.
Refuse to waste our lives
for You're our joy and prize.
To see the captive hearts released.
The hurt, the sick, the poor at peace.
We lay down our lives for Heaven's cause.
We are Your church.
We pray revive this earth.

Build Your kingdom here.
Let the darkness fear.
Show Your mighty hand.
Heal our streets and land.
Set Your church on fire.
Win this nation back.
Change the atmosphere.
Build Your kingdom here.
We pray.

Unleash Your kingdom's power
reaching the near and far.
No force of Hell can stop
Your beauty changing hearts.
You made us for much more than this!
Awake the kingdom seed in us!
Fill us with the strength and love of Christ.
We are Your church.
We are the hope on earth.

Build Your kingdom here.
Let the darkness fear.
Show Your mighty hand.
Heal our streets and land.
Set Your church on fire.
Win this nation back.
Change the atmosphere.
Build Your kingdom here!
We pray!

Build Your kingdom here.
Let the darkness fear.
Show Your mighty hand.
Heal our streets and land!
Set Your church on fire!
Win this nation back.
Change the atmosphere!
Build Your kingdom here!
We pray!

"Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." (Jeremiah 29:4-7)

Does your city exist for the good of your church plant, or will your church plant exist for the good of your city? What a challenging question that was posed to a group of church planters by Steve Childers, professor of church planting and missions at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, FL. This was one of the biggest takeaways for me from the Mission to North America Church planter training that I attended last week in Florida. What does the difference between these two statements look like in the context of church planting. The first, that the city exists for the sake of the church, sees success as creating a sustainable church. How do we get enough people from the city involved in the church to make it viable. What resources does the city have (people, places, businesses) that can be used to build a successful church. Certianly the motivation for this attitude is often that people from within the city would hear the gospel and be saved. However, this fundamental attitude can lead to a false view of success. It can lead to measuring success through the gathering of resources (people or money) and not through real Kingdom impact. 

The second approach takes the approach of a servant. A servant of God and of people. That God's purposes dominate the vision for church planting, and the city is seen not as a means to an end (planting a successful church) but as a part of the end goal. That planting a church would make a real difference in the life of the city, and the people that live there. Otherwise, why do it? This does not mean that evangelism gets relugated to a back seat in the name of "making culture." No. God's purposes dominate the vision for church planting. Evangelism must remain primary in church planting. God has declared that His Kingdom will be manifested in this world through the church. And the church therefore must be a herald of the good news of what Jesus has done in his life, death and resurrection. The King has come and declared that there is a way for rebels of his rule and reign to be forgiven and brought into fellowship with the King. This must remain primary. But, what happens when people hear this good news and respond in faith to Jesus Christ? Do we hide away in a bunker waiting for Jesus' return? Do we flee the city and head for the hills? No. We bless the city. We bless the city and its people, systems, businessess, arts, culture, music, and even its physical structures. We serve the city. We love the city. We live in it and seek its good. This is what God has declared. In Jeremiah 29:4-7 God instructs his people to do this very thing, while they are in Exile in Babylon. And if you know anything about the Bible, you know that Babylon is not a good place. It is the representation of all that is evil and broken and in rebellion against God. And yet, God calls his people to seek its good. Wow. What does this look like? Well, first of all it does not mean compromise. It does not mean abadoning God or holiness for the sake of the city. But it means living as salt and light in the midst of the city, building relationships, showing love, and sharing the hope of the gospel. It means making culture and seeking the transformation of broken places. Would the city look any different if the church was not there? 

What will this look like in Muncie? I don't know yet. But I do know that I am committed to seeing the gospel transform our city. I love Muncie. And it needs the gospel. It needs the transforming power of Jesus Christ to save men, women, and children from their sin and from eternal condemnation. And it needs the transforming power of Christians, filled with the Holy Spirit, seeking the good of the city, blessing it, serving its people, and not simply consuming it. This will be the mark of success for church planting: Is the Kingdom of God advancing as the gospel saves and transforms people and the city? We will always return to this, so that we don't simply focus on growing our church and transfering christians from one place to another, but really taking the mission of God seriously and being used by God to seek and save the lost. 

We are very exicted about church planting in downtown Muncie. And we want to share that excitement with everyone who wants to hear about it! God has been showing us a lot of things through His word and giving us a heart for our city, Muncie. And, if you know me at all, you know that I can stop talking about something that has me excited. So, we are gathering together to give information about what we are trusting God with for church planting in downtown Muncie. Coming to this meeting, signs no one up to join with us, but simply allows you to be better informed about what we are trusting God for and how you can be praying for us. I will share some of our vision for church planting, answer any questions (as best I can!) and then we will take time to pray for our city and what God will do as we multiply the gospel through church planting. Please join us!

Details:

Church Planting Informational Meeting

Monday February 23rd, 6:30 PM

New Life Presbyterian Church

8000 W River Road, Yorktown, IN 47396

There are lots of reasons for confidence in church planting, but here are 3 things in particular that give me great hope as we move forward (hint: none of them are found in me!)

1. Most importantly, God has promised that his kingdom will grow, that the gospel will grow.

If the results of our work in church planting were up to me- it would fail. We might be able to draw a crowd, get some emotional responses, and even see some financial or numerical success, but as far as seeing real kingdom growth, we couldn't do it. I have zero power in myself to make dead sinful hearts come to life so that that people repent of their sins and cling to Jesus, the only hope in this broken world. And that is why, I have zero confidence in myself to accomplish this work by myself.
However… God has promised that he is at work to grow his kingdom and that He will work to regenerate hearts so that men, women and children from every tribe, tongue and nation will worship Jesus. This is the source of our boldness and our confidence. Jesus will build His church!

I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. -Jesus(Matthew 16:18 ESV)

2. The witness of history shows that the gospel really does grow.

The apostles moved forward with the gospel at the promise of Jesus. He said he would be with them and that was enough for them to move forward with boldness in proclaiming the gospel. Well, they also had the Holy Spirit living inside of them, and they had seen Jesus raised from the dead (both pretty good boldness boosters!). We have all of that and more. We also have the witness of history. The witness of the apostles and the work that God did through them and that he continued long after they were gone. We have 2,000 years of church history to look at in order to answer the question "Does the gospel really grow?" And the overwhelming answer is yes! There are seasons of slow growth, and even some of decline, refining and darkness throughout church history, but the overarching picture is one of amazing, unbelievable growth. The gospel really does transform hearts, lives, cultures, societies, people groups, and the whole of the world. The witness of history is so overwhelming to the power of the gospel and serves as evidence that Jesus' promise to build His church was true. Which also gives weight to who Jesus claimed to be and who the church has always confessed him to be: God in the flesh. If the consistent testimony of church history is that the gospel grows as it is faithfully proclaimed in the power of the Spirit, why should we think it would be any different today?

3. Jesus has not yet returned.

This one may seem a bit odd. You may think, well, our confidence is that Jesus is returning, not that he has not yet returned. Well, I certainly have confidence that he is returning and that gives me great hope to persevere in faith. But, one of the driving forces for me to pursue church planting with confidence is that he has not yet returned, meaning, his work on earth through his church isn't complete yet.

And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. -Jesus(Matthew 24:14 ESV)

Jesus hasn't yet returned because the Father is not done drawing his people through the Spirit. So, we can be confident that God has people for himself that he will draw as the gospel of the kingdom, the message of the King and the salvation he offers, goes forth in all the world. This means we can walk forward boldly proclaiming the gospel and trusting in its power to seek and save the lost.


If you want to hear more about our heart for church planting listen to this sermon that I preached at New Life Presbyterian Church on May 25, 2014.