About Time

This past Friday I got to spend some time with some people from our denomination to help craft a vision and plan for planting 250 new faith communities in 30 years in the state of Virginia. The sheer enormity of such a thing is great because only if God is in it can it be done.

I rejoice that people in our denomination, both at the conference level and the general church level, are beginning to get it. Church planting is the most effective way under the sun to make disciples of Jesus Christ- period! As the church planting cliche goes, "It is easier for us humans to give birth than to raise the dead!"

There is a sizable number of the people called Methodists that get it. They get that planting is the most effective way to introduce people to a life changing encounter with Jesus Christ. They get that church planting is biblical (hello remember the Book of Acts!). They get that part of what it means to be Wesleyan is to be about the business of starting new faith communities. I thank God for these people.

The challenge will come in helping others to see the vision. This will take the work of a God who can do impossible things- far more than we can even ask or imagine.

Please pray for those who are seeking to embed a vision and culture of church planting in our denomination and for that matter in denominations across the world and for those who are part of networks or non-denominational groups.