How 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 of believers. SC’s are trained in the strategies that produce these behaviors and know how to train their workers to train others in these behaviors. A complete list of these behaviors can be seen in Mt. Bethel Update No. 19 at www.mtbethelproject.com.
On August 19 -21, 2013 at Peach Orchard Retreat Center, the Mt. Bethel project will have its first Strategy Coordinator training event. The event will begin at 8:30 Monday morning and end at noon on Wednesday. There will be a brief overview of the entire system as it is taught by Bruce Bennett, and then there will be training in at least the first five strategies.
The requirements for attending are 1) Agreement to start a group of three to five people who you will not only train in these strategies, but train them to train others. It will be a goal to have at least two people in your group of 3-5 who have been discovered by your work of looking for a person of peace; 2) Agree to complete a short pre-training reading list; and 3) Agree to enter fully into the training experience.
If you are interested and have not yet signed up please contact David Harvey at Dharveymar@aol.com.
Travels with Bruce Bennett
I was honored to travel with Bruce Bennett around New York State for three days after Reframe Conference. Bruce met with a number of groups that were seeking his advice on expanding Kingdom work in Africa. The first group we met with was from a church near Binghamton, NY, which is sponsoring work in Senegal. They were asking Bruce for advice on how to make their investment in Senegal more effective for the Kingdom. We then met in East Aurora, NY with a several United Methodists from New York and Indiana who have begun to work with Bruce in Uganda. They currently have about eight churches planted in Uganda. It was inspiring to be in this meeting as they spread out a map on the table and laid plans to expand the church planting work throughout Uganda and eight neighboring countries. As I sat in these meetings my faith grew that the same God who was expanding the church in Africa wants to expand his work in the United States.
Wilkes-Barre District Starts its’ Second New Group
The Wilkes-Barre District has started a new group in the city of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The group is led by Pastor Joe Gandia, assisted by Pastor Matt Riley. The group is growing and is already reaching new people. This is the Wilkes-Barre District’s second new group they have started. The first group continues to meet in Shamokin, PA. In addition to these two new groups, the Wilkes-Barre District continues to support the Centro de Esperanza church plant in Hazleton, PA. The Wilkes-Barre District is led by Pastor Al Sones.
Follow-up from Tom Doherty in Cadillac, Michigan
I did go back to Cadillac two more times. The last two times I have been alone. The first time I went down near a park and sat on a bench reading my bible and praying. Here is what changed in me. I went back to see if anyone would show up. As I went to Cadillac I talked with the Lord about how I was feeling.
I was going to Cadillac on that day because I was being obedient to what I thought God was telling me to do. It wasn’t because I had a feeling that there was going to be a large group of people there who I would be ministering too. I was at peace with that. When I got there I prayed for the time I would be spending there.
When I got to my park bench and sat down I began to read Luke 10 again. I saw some new things; at least they were new for me. I also could hear the conversation of several teens that were nearby. What happened in those few minutes surprised and blessed me. As I read the companion scripture Matthew 9:36 “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” I too was filled with compassion for the teens that were near me and the town as a whole. I had been changed from someone who came because of an idea, because God told me to go, to someone who had a heart full of compassion and now a drive. Now I think about the church plant in Cadillac all the time.
God corrected and clarified something in me in addition to this. I always understood that the person of peace would be a non-Christian. The scripture doesn’t say that. It says go to the towns and go to a home. The homes may have been a home where Jewish people who already believed in God lived.
Why does this matter? It helped me think in a larger context. Since this revelation, I have gone back to Cadillac and placed an ad in the News paper reaching out to persons of peace. We will see what God brings of this. I am now open to working with people who already know Christ and have in their heart to be a part of this.
Be with Him…
How multiplication happens: “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.” Isaiah 44:3