"All the churches that were planted by Paul were planted because Paul was ... explicit in preaching the gospel ... a number of contemporary churches think it's insightful to quote 'preach the gospel and use words if necessary' but this has no connection with what we find in the life of Paul."
In 2009, Western Europe Acts 29 Director, Steve Timmis, taught two sessions at the London Boot Camp on "How to Plant a Church." In How to Plant a Church - Part 1, Timmis taught that the book of Acts is a church planting narrative. In Part 2, he laid out five specific principles needed in order to plant a church - which we are sharing here.
1. Preach the Gospel.
The apostle Paul gathered believers by preaching the Gospel, “Almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the ...
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Tags: how to plant a church, steve timmis, five factors, five principles, uk, church planting, planter, how to start a church, how to start a gospel-centered church, how to plant a biblical church, biblical church, model, context, preach, preaching, total church, help for church planters
In this post Steve Timmis, director of Acts 29 Western Europe, concludes his series on ‘Church Planting Out of Season’.
‘We all know sometimes life’s hates and troubles
Can make you wish you were born in another time and space
But you can bet your life times that and twice its double
That God knew exactly where he wanted you to be placed’
God knowsHow true those words of Stevie Wonder ring when it comes to church planting out of season. How many of us wish we were born in a different age? Or long to be ministering in a time of revival? Who of us wonders why God has chosen us to be the ones who are living for him in such a ‘time and space’ as this? And yet, Stevie was right. God’s sovereignty is both comprehensive and intimate; he did ...
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In part three of the series 'Church Planting Out of Season', Acts 29 Western Europe Director Steve Timmis looks at Expectations. ExpectationsExpectations are incredibly important. Every relationship that fails does so because of mis-matched expectations, and unrealised expectations are often a significant factor in depression. So undertaking and sustaining gospel ministry 'out of season' requires the setting of godly expectations. After all, look at how Paul continues in his final words to Timothy after he had exhorted him to "be ready in season and out of season" (4:2). He talks about people "not enduring sound teaching" (4:3), and "turning away from truth" (4:4). He refers to his own circumstances of being "poured out as a drink offering" (4:6), before speaking of Demas (4:9), ...
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Steve Timmis (Acts 29 Director for Western Europe) continues with the second part of the series Church Planting out of season.
Humility
In the previous post I suggested that, as far as Western Europe is concerned, we are engaged in 'out of season' gospel ministry. The soil is hard and compacted, and calls for determined gospel faithfulness. Even when fruit is in short supply, our response should not be one of despair or desperation. We are called to faithful gospel labour, which is an outworking of dependence on the Lord.
Another feature of gospel ministry in such a context should be humility. Immediately prior to Paul's exhortation to Timothy to preach the word in season and out of season, we find him reminding the young leader to "continue in what you have learned and firmly believed" ...
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Jesus once told a Jewish leader, Nicodemus, that the Holy Spirit blows where he wills. Church history has confirmed that assertion. Revivals come and go, passing as unexpectedly as they arrived. Anyone who's been around for a while knows that churches have 'seasons.' There seems to be no rhyme nor reason other than the sovereign blowing of the Spirit.In Paul's final letter to young Timothy, Paul urges him to "preach the word" and to be ready both "in season and out of season" (2 Tim 4:2). He explains that Timothy (who may have been in Ephesus for at least 5 years by now) has a responsibility to bring the gospel Word to bear on the lives of his hearers. Paul predicts resistance and indifference to truth (cf. vv.3-4). Yet that hardness is the very context into which the gospel must be ...
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