Mt. 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 Bruce Bennett’s statement that, “We may not have precedent but we have Promises.”
I want to say a big “Thank You” to each of you who have participated in training, have taught the training program, and who have participated in seminars. Thank you also to all those who have been on the streets in new communities finding a person of peace and sharing your story and Jesus’ story.
The question is where do we go next? This issue of the Mt. Bethel Update will lay out what the Project will look like as we move forward. It will consist of training participants in a set of knowledge and a set of behaviors. The set of knowledge that people need to know to make the project succeed will be taught in the “Church Planting by the Numbers” Seminar that was previewed in the last Update.
We also want to produce a set of behaviors. This update will preview the set of strategies that we need to work to produce the behaviors in believers that will enable the project to succeed. We will train a group of people called “Strategy Coordinators.” Strategy Coordinators will know the nine strategies necessary to produce a church planting movement and will have the skills to coach people to train others in these strategies.
These strategies, previewed below, will produce the behaviors in believers that enable church planting movements to keep moving forward across multiple generations of new believers.
The Book of Strategies
There are nine strategies necessary to create a church multiplication movement. Each strategy will be taught in such a way as to produce a behavior in believers. Oversight of the process and the trainers will be provided by strategies coordinators.
Strategy One – Abundant Prayer – Because strategies are not enough
- Pray for One Hour
- Community Prayer Walks
- Praying with others
- “Pray, Map, Go”
Strategy Two – Reproducible Entry Strategies
- Go 2×2
- The Person of Peace
- The new group of friends and Family
Strategy Three – Abundant Sowing – Seeded Field strategies
- The Person of Peace
- The Reproducible Gospel Strategy
- My Story
- God’s Story
- Opportunity for commitment
- Oikos Strategy
Strategy Four – Reproducible Short Term Discipleship
- Training for initial obedience
- T4T Plan
- RAD Plan
Strategy Five – Reproducible Long Term Discipleship
- Producing self-feeding, obedient disciples
Strategy Six – Intentional Church Formation Strategies
- One Vision
- Two authorities
- Three offices
- Four marks of maturity
- Five purposes of meeting together
Strategy Seven – Reproducible Leadership Multiplication
- Moving from “Come and See” to “Come and Be”
- Identifying Multipliers
- Attenders
- Workers (Sowers and Disciplers)
- Starters
- Multipliers
Strategy Eight – Healthy Church Strategies
- The marks of a healthy church
- The quarterly evaluation
Strategy Nine – Church Reproduction Strategies
- Starting over with Strategy One
- Teaching the “Four Fields”
Pray for One Hour
All church planting movements are fueled by prayer. The Mt. Bethel Project wants to raise up a generation of believers who know how to pray. I have been hearing stories of people whose praying has been significantly changed by using the “How to Pray for One Hour” guide. Ask God if you should be using it also. You can find it here. https://mtbethelproject.com/2013/02/26/mt-bethel-project-update-no-15/
If you have found the “How to Pray for One Hour” to be profitable, please send me a few sentences describing what you have experienced. Send it to me at dharveymar@aol.com. I am collecting statements that we can use to encourage others to pray more. Join in being a part of creating a system of encouragement.