At Reframe Conference last year the conference voted to go “all in” to try and start a church planting movement in the United States, based on what we had learned from Bruce Bennett. The conference committed oversight of this project to the District Leaders. The District Leaders have taken this charge from the conference seriously. We have met several times to teach Bruce’s system, we have had conference phone calls discussing this, including one with Bruce who is in South Africa. Much of our regular District meetings are devoted to designing this system that can become a church planting movement.
So far we have about thirty lay people in training to plant churches and three new groups, or “initiated churches” have been started. Next week we will gather at the Waverly Church to share stories of how God has been working among us.
We have begun to call this effort the Mt. Bethel Project because the action was passed at the conference at Mt. Bethel, Pennsylvania.
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- Mt. Bethel Project 01Sept. 21, 2012 Training Event Summary Thank you to everyone who attended and participated in our first training event. We had 30 people attend the training. Nineteen people signed up to try and start a training for trainers group. Thanks especially to Storm Hutchinson who taught the Xcelerate discipleship model. Remember that Xcelerate can be…
- Mt. Bethel Project 021. Have you been where the people are? A vision for Kingdom advancement comes from being among the people. Jesus saw the people “harassed and helpless” and “without a shepherd.” No one can multiply the church unless they GO to where the people are and “see” them the way Jesus saw them. ALL church planting…
- Mt. Bethel Project 03Go to the communities Jesus want you to go to. Jesus told us how to choose the communities in which to plant new churches. In Luke 10 Jesus sent out disciples to find the persons of peace who could assist in starting new churches. Luke explains the process this way: After this the Lord appointed…
- Mt. Bethel Project 04Bruce Bennett’s Report I will attach Bruce’s latest report. He is now reporting 1.76 million members and 21000 churches. When he was at Reframe in June Bruce was using the numbers of 1 million members and 17,000 churches. We pray that someday we will see these kinds of numbers in the U.S. Here is his…
- Mt. Bethel Project 05Hospitality The Kingdom advances primarily through hospitality. That is one of the key values for church multiplication. Bruce Bennett says that hospitality is the central message of the Bible. Hospitality is not about inviting someone to our home for dinner, it is about the way we respond to people we don’t know. It is the…
- Mt. Bethel Project 06Develop Strategies for the Four Fields Remember that creating a church planting movement requires that we have strategies for each of the four Fields: For an Empty Field we need entrance strategies such as mapping, prayer, and planning For a Seeded Field we need Gospel strategies such as finding the person of peace and ways…
- Mt. Bethel Project 07One thing we know for certain… There is a lot we don’t know about how to multiply churches. When I think about that I take refuge in Bruce’s statement that, “we don’t have precedent, but we do have promises.” But here is one thing that we do know for certain: we will not multiply churches…
- Mt. Bethel Project 08Want to start a church multiplication movement? Start training “hospitalitists” instead of pastors. “Christianity spreads through the hospitality of believers” During my recent hospital stay I was introduced to a new word—“hospitalist.” When I first heard the word I thought it was a strange and awkward word; it sounded dumb. It turns out that a…
- Mt. Bethel Project 09Starting a Multiplication Movement… “Pushing forward while you wait” To create a multiplication movement takes great energy. It is sort of like trying to push a car. Once you get it rolling it moves easily, but it takes all the energy you have to get it rolling. But starting a multiplication movement also takes waiting;…
- Mt. Bethel Project 10Meeting with David Nelms Al Sones and I met with David Nelms and his assistant Greg Kappas this week. David updated us on his church planting work, and our project in Ethiopia. (Their work can be seen at www.ttionlline.org). As you know, I first met David on an airport hotel shuttle at midnight in San…
- Mt. Bethel Project 11How to Start a Church Planting Movement – Creating Our Own Paths through Culture Allan Hirsch says that secular people have a positive view of Jesus but a very negative view of the church. These negative views of the church are part of the reason why efforts to create a church planting movement in the…
- Mt. Bethel Project 12The Glory of Christmas “The Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost” Luke 19:10 “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.” 1 Timothy 1:15 “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news…
- Mt. Bethel Project 13How to Start a Church Planting Movement – Find the People Who are Waiting for You “The harvest is plentiful” – Jesus As you contemplate going into a new community and looking for a person of peace who can assist you in starting a new church, go with confidence in these words of Jesus, “The…
- Mt. Bethel Project 14How to Start a Church Planting Movement – Knowing the Next Step to Take The question I am asked most frequently by those who are working in church multiplication is: “What do I do next?” There are always two answers to the question: the first answer to spend time asking God that question. The second…
- Mt. Bethel Project 15Prayer Request On Saturday, February 16, 2013, David Harvey will be presenting the Mt. Bethel Church Planting system to a group of people in Cedar Springs, Michigan. At last report over 60 people had signed up to take this seminar. Please be in prayer for this day; for the people who will attend, and for…
- Mt. Bethel Project 16Cedar Springs, Michigan A big “thank you” goes out to everyone who prayed for the seminar that David Harvey did in Cedar Springs, Michigan, last Saturday. About one hundred people gathered to hear a teaching on how to start a church planting movement. This seminar was a follow up to Reframe Conference. Four people from…
- Mt. Bethel Project 17Mt. Bethel Project Status – Where do we go next? We are just about six months into the Mt. Bethel Project. We have been heading in the right direction to try to get a movement started, even though we have not really known how to accomplish our goals. We have been moving forward based on…
- Mt. Bethel Project 18Help Wanted – Strategy Coordinators All church planting movements have had some form of the role of persons who provide training and oversight of the movement. In many movements this role is called “Strategy Coordinator.” Strategy Coordinators have a deep understanding of the behaviors necessary for the church to multiply and know how to use…
- Mt. Bethel Project 19How to start a church planting movement: Nine strategies that produce nine behaviors in believers that are necessary for church multiplication Church planting movements happen because of the actions of believers. If believers do the correct actions, then multiplication will happen. But that fact is that many believers invest many hours working for Christ and…
- Mt. Bethel Project 20How to Start a Church Planting Movement: Know the Difference between Teaching and Training We have all known people who have sat in Bible Studies their entire life, but whose behavior never changes. These people are often very Godly and sincere people but who are ineffective in using their gifts to advance the Kingdom. They…
- Mt. Bethel Project 21Reframe Conference Our second Reframe Conference has come and gone. It was a great time of being in God’s presence and learning from him through his servant Bruce Bennett. Bruce helped us to see hospitality in a new way, pushed us to keep seeking persons of peace as the foundational way to start new churches,…
- Mt. Bethel Project 22How to Start a Church Planting Movement – Strategy Coordinator Training – August 19-21, 2013 – Peach Orchard Christian Retreat Center, Burtonsville, MD Church planting movements (CPM’s) happen through the work of the Holy Spirit and are guided by Strategy Coordinators (SC’s). Strategy Coordinators understand that CPM’s happen through producing multiplying behaviors in the lives…
- Mt. Bethel Project 23Strategy Coordinator Training Available August 19-21 are the dates for our first Strategy Coordinator Training. The training will be held at Peach Orchard Retreat Centers in Burtonsville, MD. There are a limited number of registrations that can be accepted. Strategy Coordinator training will enable trainers to train others to train second and third generation trainers…
- Mt. Bethel Project 24How to Start a Church Planting Movement: Knowing the three things that have to reproduce across multiple generations A church planting movement is marked by one primary characteristic—multiplication. If one church plants five new churches, it is still only accomplishing addition. There can be no spontaneous church planting movement when we are just adding new…
- Mt. Bethel Project 25How to Start a Church Planting Movement: It’s simpler than you think “Discipleship Cycles” is a short paper that summarizes the entire church planting movement in 39 pages. It is the best short summary and short training document available. It is available to read free on the internet at http://www.scribd.com/doc/88649548/Discipleship-Cycles-T4T-Training-Material , but it is behind…
- Mt. Bethel Project 26How to Start a Church Planting Movement – The value of “meet and report” “Encouragement is the ‘oil’ of the church.” This is one of Bruce Bennett’s favorite sayings. Without oil in an engine the friction produces heat and the heat will destroy the engine. Like oil keeps an engine functioning, encouragement keeps the church…
- Mt. Bethel Project 27This issue of the Mt. Bethel Update will be devoted to the Superintendent’s David Harvey’s report to the District Leaders of Acts 12:24 Churches. When the Mt. Bethel Project was set up, the district leaders were designated as the board of Mt. Bethel and David Harvey was designated the interim leader of the project. This…
- Mt. Bethel Project 28How to Start a Church Planting Movement: Visualizing What God is Doing in Your Area The first time I heard Bruce Bennett teach about how to start a church planting movement (CPM) I was taken aback by his starting point. Bruce said that we start a CPM with a map. The way to start he…
- Mt. Bethel Project 29How to Start a Church Planting Movement: Beginning With the End in Mind In Steven Covey’s book, “Seven Habits of Highly Successful People,” he lists “Beginning with the end in mind” as one of those habits that lead to success. To have a church planting movement we have to start our work in an empty…
- Mt. Bethel Project 30How to Start a Church Planting Movement: What the Holy Spirit Does to Assist in Starting a Church Planting Movement When Jesus sent out his disciples two by two to find persons of peace, he gave them specific instructions. Some of these instructions were: they were to go to the towns where Jesus wanted…
- Mt. Bethel Project 31How to Start a Church Planting Movement –A Challenge to Trust the Holy Spirit The persistent question that will not go away is, “Why has there been no church planting movement in the West,” when these movements have been prospering everywhere else around the globe. One answer is that a church planting movement is just…
- Mt. Bethel Project 32How to Start a Church Planting Movement –Start Churches of 20 – 25 People The first time I heard Bruce Bennett speak I was stunned by a statement I heard him make. He said that to start a church planting movement you first have to decide what a church is. He said that if you…
- Mt. Bethel Project 33How to Start a Church Planting Movement –Response from Bruce Bennett on “What is a Church?” In the previous issue of the Mt. Bethel Update I published an article on “What is a Church” Bruce Bennett has responded to that article with the teaching below. Dear David and the Acts 12:24 Churches, From Bruce, called…
- Mt. Bethel Project 34How to Start a Church Planting Movement –Focus on Getting to a Fourth Generation Church 1. Stop training churched people – Train new Christians rather than churched people. There are church people called to this work who should be trained, but every time you train a churched person who does not start a group you…
- Mt. Bethel Project 35How To Start A Church Planting Movement – The Luke 10 Instructions – Praying For Workers Luke 10 contains instructions on starting new churches in new communities. These instructions have been carefully followed by many people in our generation. Following these instructions has led to tens of thousands of new churches being planted and millions…
- Mt. Bethel Project 36How To Start A Church Planting Movement – Community Groups – The Missing Link In Church Formation One of the things that many people have been asking as they seek to get to multiplication is, “How does a group of people get shaped into a church?” T4T has proposed that all group meetings consist of…
- Mt. Bethel Project 37How To Start A Church Planting Movement – The Role Of Suffering I have always been a person who did not pay too much attention to those in the West who claimed they were suffering for their faith. While suffering for the cause of Christ is very real in our generation in other parts of…
- Mt. Bethel Project 38How To Start A Church Planting Movement – Luke 10:5 – “What do we say to a Person of Peace?” One of the more intriguing and difficult to understand parts of Luke 10 for me has been the instruction in verse 5 that when we enter someone’s house we are to say. “May peace be on…
- Strategy Coordinator Training AvailableAugust 19-21 are the dates for our first Strategy Coordinator Training. The training will be held at Peach Orchard Retreat Centers in Burtonsville, MD. There are a limited number of registrations that can be accepted. Strategy Coordinator training will enable trainers to train others to train second and third generation trainers in the nine strategies…