Permission to Plant

House Church Leaders….here is permission to launch a church.

God doesn’t waste anything that He does. In the 1970’s there was a great move from religion to power. In the 1980’s  it was a move to empower preaching and teaching ministries. In 1990’s it was all about Small Groups and Cell Group; a time when thousands of people all over the USA we equipped to lead the church. Then in 2000-2010 there was, and still exists, the Church Planting movement. In each of these eras God was preparing men and women for a great 21^st Century harvest. Let’s focus on the 1990’s in this article.

From 1990 till 2000 I was very involved in training churches that wanted to transition from a program based church to a “cell” based churched. The idea was to put all programs into small groups (cells). In order for this to be successful it was necessary to train church members to do several things. We actually equipped church member to become small group leaders that helped pastor the church. For us it was a huge church growth experience that shared about around the world. Here is what we trained each leader to do.

They learned:

1. How to gather people.
2. How to lead a meeting.
3. How to share a lesson, lead a Bible study,  and pray.
4. How to pray with people and minister to their needs.
5. They also learned how to raise up associate leaders.
6. They learned how get in touch with God and intercede for group members.
7. Finally, they learned how to multiply their group.

As we grew to several hundred groups some wonderful things began to happen. There was a new emphasis on evangelism and thousands came to Christ in the homes of our leaders. Some of the groups grew to 50 people or more and would multiply into several groups. Our members became “pastors” in the truest meaning of the word. The leaders grew spiritually and in experience. It was wonderful.

Over the years several of our leaders actually launched out and planted churches. They saw that the small group was their training ground but that God had something bigger for them. In other words, their ministry was bigger than just their home and God wanted to add many other souls to their care and leadership. All they needed was permission.

Now, you may be totally suited to a small “house church” and should never venture out. On the other hand, you may feel God is saying, “Go launch a church, an Attractional church that is missional.” You have the call of God and now you are ready. ARC can help.

At our website www.arcchurches.com you can find out what the process is to become an ARC church plant. We provide the knowhow, the coaching, training and resources for you to launch a new church. Let’s work together to reach this nation with vibrant, refreshing and relevant churches that reach lost souls in our communities.

In this blog post I want to give you permission to do something bigger, something wider, broader, and more impactful than a small group experience. Pray and ask God if He will also grant you that permission. – Billy