Bread&Wine | Portland, OR

• Duke Revard
• Oct 15, 2010
• Series: Church Profiles
• Categories: Church Planting Articles, Latest News

Briefly describe your story of your call to plant a church

My call to Portland began subjectively as God grew a desire to plant in an under-reached city. Portland, Oregon is an Evangelical Donut. 10% Evangelical in the Suburbs, but only 2% Evangelical in the Urban Core. We are planting in the urban core, a place that desperately needs more churches.

I am increasingly convinced that God has wired me to be a “directional/visionary leader” in a church. I come from an entre-preneurial family and much of the day-to-day in church planting comes intuitively. I am a good fit for Portland because I am adaptive and open to new approaches and strategies. The traditional attractional approach has been largely ineffective in Urban Portland the past 20 years, evidenced by the low percentage believers in the city (2%). My wife and I have very little problem in building relational bridges with unbelieving Portland. We have some shared values and are comfortable and effective in building relationships with unbelieving hippies/hipsters/artists/homosexuals/and Eco-Pharisees.

How did you build up your core? What advice would you give to guys in the core-stage?

I built relationship. Cold emails to every Christian in the city that I could find online. 90% were willing to meet with me when I said "I am buying(lunch/coffee) and I will drive to you and meet when it is convenient for you." I always asked for 5-6 other names of "people I should know."

I casted vision early and often with anyone who would listen.

What were the biggest challenges you faced in planting your church (and/or currently facing)?

Evangelistic growth in a city that is antagonist towards Christian. The New Atheism....more than a unbelief in god, moves towards a position which views fervent belief as a dangerous threat to society being understood to be responsible for all that ails us (e.g. Israel/Palestine, Muslim Extremism, Christian Fundamentalism, etc). Polarization exists between Progressives and people of faith over the issues of homosexual rights and abortion. To be "Christian" immediately brings the stereotype "You voted for Bush and by extension responsible for the Wars...you hate me because I am gay and you judge me because I have abortions." We start in a deficit and have to work hard to re-shape perceptions of Christians in light of the Person&Work of Jesus.

How did you become involved with Acts 29? What have been the biggest benefits of being in the network?

I have been friends with Kevin Cawley, Hunter Beaumont for several years. They were A29. Over the past year I have gotten to know Jeff and Caesar at Soma Communities. We are of the same tribe and I have learned a ton from them. I have benefited at the "brotherhood" level and at the tactical/strategic level.

What advice do you have for men who are wrestling with the decision to plant? 

• Do you like pain? Disappointment? Running in the mud, uphill, against the wind with an enemy throwing little balls of hate at you? If so, you are perfect for church planting.
• Are you persistent? If you give up on things when they don't come easily, please don't plant a church.
• Do you like having a clear-cut 40hr. a week job? Church planting will be more like 50-70hrs. for the first couple of years if you hope to actually gain momentum.
• Are you a visionary? Don't react or look for an opportunity to preach more often. If you have a heart for the lost in a particular city and God has gifted you to lead others in reaching those people...do it. If not, look for another existing church that more closely aligns with your values.
• Can you teach/preach? A church planter is a defacto elder and therefore must meet the requirements of "able to teach" (along with many other things). Do you feel competent to teach "ecclesiology" to a group of people who lack solid awareness of the nature&function of the church?
• When was the last time you personally lead someone to faith in Christ? Don't plant a sunday service that merely grabs transfer growth through a new Aesthetic in church. If you haven't lead anyone to Christ in recent years and don't regularly share your faith or have never equipped others to do so....don't plant a church.

How do you pastor your family?

I read books with my wife. 

We converse about what we are learning in the Scriptures.

We engage weekly with our Gospel Community; studying the scriptures, praying, and serving our city as regular rhythm together.

• I read the Jesus Storybook bible to my kids.
• We pray with and for our kids daily.
• My wife and I pray together several times a week.
• We process our relative intimacy with the LORD frequently.

Outside of the Bible, what is the most helpful book you have read for church planting?

The Redeemer Pres Church Planting Manual (Tim Keller)

Church Profile: Bread&Wine
Launch Date:October, 2010
Location: Portland, OR

Mission, Vision, Values of Church 

We exist to...Introduce a City to a Person.

Introduce....implies an interpersonal relationship.

A City...namely Portland, Oregon. We function as a decentralized collective of Gospel Communities that live & serve local neighborhoods for the good of the city.

A Person.....the Gospel lies in the Person of Jesus Christ, He is the “Good News” and our only task is to live for Him and to introduce Him to our Neighborhood/City/World. In this way we seek to differentiate "Christianity as Institution" from an authentic encounter with the Person of Jesus Christ.

Vision

• We see a growing network of Gospel Communities on Mission that introduce Portland to the Person of Jesus Christ as we love one another and live for the good of the City.
• We see our neighborhood without need.
• We see Gospel Communities forming in other neighborhoods and beginning to display Christ there for the good of the city. We see new Churches planted as Gospel Communi-ties are sent out on mission throughout Portland, North America, and the World.
• Result: The “Church” will grow and God’s glory will increase in our generation. Many in Portland will come into the relationship that they were created to enjoy. Marriages will survive, children will have godly families to grow up in, hurting people will be comforted, Christ will be exalted in a place where He is currently obscure.

What is your philosophy of community in your church and what does that look like practically in your church? Of evangelism?

The Gospel is "good news" about what God has done in Christ to reconcile us back to Himself and to one another. This is a message that we proclaim to Portland. However, the Gospel is also a powerful thing to be demonstrated in the life of the Church. The Apostle Paul, in Eph 2, argues that reconciliation with one another is one of the great benefits of the Gospel. What does reconciliation look like? While the New Testament uses several images, they are all communal in orientation ("Household" I Tim 3:15, "Kingdom" Col:1:13, "People as Temple" Eph 2:29, "Body" ICor 12:12-27, etc). That being said, the metaphor of Family/Household is easily the most pronounced ("brother" is used 159 times in the NT). Therefore, the church demonstrates the Gospel when we live together in a new, unified Family with God as Father and with deep, sibling-like love for one another. Seeing the church as family means we see our connection to one another as primary, not as a secondary commitment that we invest in occasionally or when it is convenient.

Evangelism 
I resonate with Chester&Timmis' approach of doing "ordinary things with ordinary people with Gospel Intentionality."

Exposure to Gospel Community
A Healthy Gospel Community is perhaps the greatest picture of the Gospel that we can give to not yet believers. Therefore, we intentionally expose our unbelieving friends to our Gospel Community in both informal (e.g. block parties, dinner parties, recreation, etc) and our formal gathering times.

The Table
We regularly host unbelieving people in our home around the dinner table. This is the most frequent form of engagement that we utilize and with the greatest return on investment.

Recreation/Hobbies
We recreate with others with Gospel Intentionality. We have joined sports leagues, or-ganized hikes, etc as means of deepening relationships with our unbelieving friends.

Work
We equip the church to work with Gospel Intentionality. Challenging people to take unbelieving coworkers to lunch, asking people to “tell their story” when appropriate, praying for coworkers, and looking for opportunities to serve coworkers at work (e.g. tag teaming work projects) and after work (e.g. helping coworkers move)

What are some examples of God's grace that you have seen in your life and/or the life of your church?

• God has provided laborers to help with the work in Portland.
• A dude I haven't seen in months sent me a check for $15,000 a couple of weeks ago.
• God has given us favor with people.
• God has drawn unbelieving, skeptical Portlanders to Himself and we have baptized them.

How can we pray for you?

Pray that I would continually preach the Gospel to myself, my family, my church, and my city.