Bruce 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 accompanying e-mail.
Dear Friends,
Attached please find a copy of the OMS SA Board report for our church planting activities across Africa.
We celebrate God’s goodness toward our ministries – our registers now record 1,76 million members and 21000 new churches.
If you receive a copy of this report and do not desire to, please advise me by return email.
Blessings,
Bruce Bennett
Executive Director
One Mission Society (South Africa)
Reports from the field
We are starting to get reports of actual results from those who signed up at our training to try to implement Mt. Bethel multiplication. Storm Hutchison has begun a church planters training group and listed below is the system he is working on to reproduce churches. The intriguing part of Storm’s plan is that he sends people out to start a prayer group in a new community with the intent of turning that prayer group into a church.
Here are Storm’s thought about how this might work:
Mt. Bethel Thoughts
Once a church trainer/pastor is identified:
They start attending Xcellerate (discipleship) and Pastoral Training Classes
Start searching for the person of peace
Next Steps:
Start a prayer only meeting in the community where church is to be, not planning meeting – prayer meeting. Goal: listen to God and take notes
Can be on Sunday morning but not necessary. May continue to worship at originating church during prayer phase.
Mapping – begin to plan next congregations
Offering is collected at prayer meeting. Monies given to The River Church to be held. Those at prayer meeting may give their tithe toward the Church plant project. All monies must be processed according to the new church start financial guidelines.
Next Steps:
Purchase Bose speaker, smart phone, laptop and printer.
Learn how to manage technology
Within six months church starts Sunday morning worship.
Pastoral Training Classes / Xcellerate:
One night per week
Must also be leading a prayer group and attending prayer leader meetings
Only 4 unexcused absences a year
Help lead Sunday morning worship at The River Church unless meeting on Sunday morning.
Qualifiers are fruit and faithfulness
Join the Champion’s Prayer Team
As you know I am serving as the Champion of the Mt. Bethel project until God reveals the person he wants to be that leader. At our District Leader meeting they asked that I begin to to create a prayer team for the this project and for my work. I am asking for people who are willing to pray regularly and fast at least one meal a week for the project and for me. If you can do that please respond and let me know that you will be a member of the prayer team.
Be With Him
The benefits of spending time with Jesus are too many to be listed. But here are several of these benefits to which we need to pay attention.
1. It increasingly frees us from being a victim of other people, of circumstances, of our own fears, of our own bad behaviors.
2. It increasingly frees us to be the person God made us to be.
So go into your room, close the door (His instruction, not mine) and be with him.
For those of us who are interested in creating church multiplication, the effect of the freedom that comes from 1 and 2 above is that:
3. We increasingly know what to do next.
Bruce Bennett spent four years just being with Jesus to learn what to do. Since those years 1.7 million people have been reached for Jesus.