Church Planting is not for Wimps
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By Pastor Scott Thomas
(Acts 29 Director and Pastor of Global Church ~ Mars Hill Church, Seattle).
Mars Hill Church donates 10% of its general income to Acts 29 Network, a church planting organization. I serve as its director and as a pastor at Mars Hill Church. Acts 29 has over 120 member churches in North America and members in 7 International countries. Acts 29 seeks to plant church planting churches that collaboratively promote the gospel with a vision for the entire city or region through the local church.
Acts 29 provides church planting boot camps four times a year around the country and in foreign countries. At each church planting boot camp with Acts 29 Network, some participants complain that they did not receive pragmatic methodology and "how-to" steps. These are the men who may be looking for easy answers and a quick fix to a mission reserved for the pastors with strong character, competence and calling. Church planting is not for those who are fearful of mankind or those who are weak in character.
It is the aim of Acts 29 boot camps to provide a theological compass that will guide the church planter and pastor with the tools necessary to lead their church according to the gospel. The reasons we do not dictate methodology in our church plants is that we believe first that theology drives method; second, God's methods determine ours; third, the gospel both enables and informs our participation in God's purposes; and fourth, faithfulness to the gospel must be our measure of success, not results.
Our church planting boot camps are always open to all people and are beneficial to all church leaders. The next boot camp will be in Chicago January 29-30 on the campus of Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS). "Chicago at the end of January?" you ask, doubting our sanity?" I told you that church planting is not for wimps.
Scheduled to speak is Mark Driscoll, Ed Stetzer, Mark Dever, and Darrin Patrick. I will provide a final session to help you to appreciate the quality of the other communicators! We are thrilled to have Mark Dever participate in his first boot camp with us. He is the pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church and founder of 9Marks Ministries. His book, The Deliberate Church, is extremely helpful to build a church on the gospel. In the chapter, Looking for a Few Good Men, Dever talks about the necessary courage of a pastor to stand up against the pressures of the culture. This includes the evangelical church culture. No wimps are allowed to pastor a church.
Click here to register for the Chicago Acts 29 Boot Camp.
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Samuel Sutter on Jan 2, 2008 4:57am
Scott, we met at the Evangelical Free North East district meeting - thank you for your ministry there. I'm looking forward to hearing the Chicago bootcamp in the future. Thanks for your service to the Church.
Steve Fuentes on Jan 2, 2008 9:30am
Today in Chicago the high temp was around 14 degrees, with wind-chills around -10.
Scott, I look forward to attending the Chicago bootcamp and meeting the entire Acts 29 team. The Lord is using A29 mightily around the globe.
We await your arrival in Chi-town with cold hands and warm hearts!