PNWM 1Day Event with Dr. Efrem Smith
Sept 14th- 9 am-1:30 pm – Free lunch included – hit the barcode below to register
This event, hosted by the Pacific Northwest Movement (PNWM), is free and open to all Pastors and Christian leaders interested in what church planting would look like in a rapidly changing culture.
missional church planting
“Church planting is not an end in itself, but one aspect of the mission of God which churches are privileged to participate”
Stuart Murray
Church planting is a dynamic and purposeful endeavor that involves establishing new Christian communities within specific cultural and social contexts. There are three ideas that will prove to be very important as guiding principles for success.
Contextualization
The approach of contextualization lies at the heart of the church planting venture. It acknowledges that every community is distinct, molded by its social surroundings, history, values, and customs. Contextualized church planting necessitates an extensive interaction with the local culture, language, and traditions. One of the methods to achieve this is by becoming a “participant observer.” This includes immersing oneself in a specific community to observe and listen to the genuine joys and laments of a particular social location. This guarantees that the message of Christ is communicated in a way that makes sense to the community’s identity and requirements, making it more relatable and meaningful. Rather than enforcing a strict template, contextual church planting adapts its strategies to address the particular challenges and prospects of the context. We prefer to say that a church plant must emerge from a community rather than a planter moving into an area with preconceived notions about how things should proceed.
Missional
The missional may be overused at this point, but theologically it is still a vital orienting concept. Missionality, as it relates to church planting, provides a focus that acts as a motivator or impulse for ministry. A missional approach shifts the focus from simply attracting individuals to a church gathering to actively engaging in God’s redemptive work within the broader community. This includes both the declaration of the Gospel and the acting out of the Gospel. The idea of being missional is based on the Latin phrase “missio Dei,” which simply means the Mission of God. We believe God is the first missionary, and we must follow and join him in his work. God created the world and loves the world beyond what we can imagine, and paying attention to what he is already up to is fundamental to all mission work. This involves identifying brokenness, injustice, and spiritual need and partnering with community members to bring about positive transformation. Missional church planting aims to create genuine connections, build relationships, and extend acts of love and service beyond the organized presence of a worshipping community, reflecting the Great Commission’s call to make disciples of all nations.
Incarnational
At PNWM, we refer to incarnational living as “embedding in context,” which means embodying Christ’s love within a given community. Please center the idea that church planting is joining and being with rather than being above or ministering to others. This involves living out the gospel in a way that shows its relevance and power in people’s everyday lives. In short, a planter is to be present, vulnerable, and in the midst of a community. Think of words like proximate or near or being a real neighbor. A solid commitment to living among or with the people, sharing in their experiences, and modeling Christlike behavior is necessary to plant an incarnational church. This approach values investing in relationships, as church planters become a tangible and observable representation of Jesus.
Church planting becomes a holistic and transformative process in the dynamic interplay of contextual, missional, and incarnational principles. It empowers local communities to encounter the gospel in meaningful and culturally resonant ways, sparking a journey of faith that extends far beyond the initial church gathering. Through this approach, churches are not merely planted but take root, flourish, and spread, catalyzing a movement of God’s love and grace within diverse and often overlooked social locations.
In conclusion, church planting that is contextually sensitive, missionally motivated, and incarnationally formed, church planting encapsulates a comprehensive and adaptable strategy for establishing a vibrant Christian community. By contextualizing the gospel message, embracing a missional impulse, and embodying Christ’s love, this approach enables churches not just to plant worship services but faithfully engage with their neighborhoods, cultivate meaningful relationships, and ultimately contribute to the spiritual and social transformation of a city.
choosing freedom
refusing to accept a legalist version of my faith
I want to stand for freedom. I am not necessarily laboring for the national or political type, although I resolutely am for that.
It is more the interior version. It is the kind that leans arduously against the pressure to conform to external obligations because someone or the other feels uncomfortable.
This often arises in the church. Because none of us likes treading alone, it is more comfortable to insist, in most cases with fervor and “God’s” authority, that others do the same. I have found that in most cases, this insistence emerges from honest and genuine personal conviction to live a well-ordered or devoted life, but then it gets projected onto others as a sacred expectation. There may be a better definition out there, but from my humble vantage, this behavior is a garish picture of religious legalism.
It is often couched in terms like “the Bible says…” or “God commands…” Sometimes, the Bible does say, and God has commanded, and I am happy to bend my life to those concepts and directives. What has more often happened, though, is these personal convictions become an “ex-cathedra” ordinance for everyone when in all truthfulness, there is no actual Biblical support.
So, I am in vigilant resistance to that type of control and authority and want to give way to a liberty I believe with all my heart true Christianity can and absolutely should provide. Without it, Christianity is only a veneer of its intended existence. It is a shell without its innards.
That is the type of freedom I want to live in and stand for.
“The task of future Christian leaders is not to make a little contribution to the solution of the pains and tribulations of this time, but to identify and announce the ways in which Jesus is leading God’s people out of slavery, through the desert to a new land of freedom.”
Henri Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus
who’s discipling you?
As we journey through our Christian faith, it is important to reflect on the influences that have shaped us and how we perceive and interact with the world (read discipling you). Our families, schools, media, and culture have all contributed to making us who we are. Our discipleship is an ongoing process, including how we view and experience church and God.
It is essential to honestly acknowledge that our cultural background can shape our interpretation of the Gospel, or as my friend Lenore Three Stars often says, “There is no culture-free Gospel.” To continue growing and learning, we must also be willing to deconstruct our beliefs and scrutinize what we hold as true. This requires honesty and vulnerability within a Christian community.
It is important to admit that there is no culture-free influence, whether inside or outside of the church. Your inputs are vital in defining who you are. Therefore, it is crucial to pay attention to them.
crown of glory – psalm 8 and romans 8
You should know Dr. Haley Jacob, a notable theologian who was supervised by the renowned N.T. Wright during her Ph.D. studies. We are so fortunate that she is a member of our church community and on our preaching team at Immanuel. Her research on Romans 8 is unique, even groundbreaking, and needs to be heard by every Christian. I am not exaggerating. It will set you free to imagine following Jesus in a new, IMHO, more beautiful way. In fact, I was so moved by her teachings that several times during the presentation, I physically gasped. Trust me; you don’t want to miss out on what she has to explain.
a case for honest compassion
Evil is evil, and it is wrong for me to attempt to soften it for myself or others.
Today, innocent suffer, people are exploited, friends die, and disease ravages. To give meaningless platitudes steals dignity from honest and real grief.
We all want to take pain and tragedy away. We want to avoid evil, so we degenerate into telling others things that are not true.
The most blatant offense in this situation is citing the verse without proper thought and consideration, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (a much, much better understanding of this familiar verse is found here from the brilliant, Dr. Haley Jacob – you owe it to yourself to check it out – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehHlqvija-M&t=666s)
The reality is there is an unanswerable evil, and to try to shrink it steals dignity and honor from others.
Perhaps the better plan is to be with. We need to extend authentic compassion to each other. I read
somewhere this week that the Latin root for the word compassion is pati, which means to suffer, and the prefix com – means with. Compassion, originating from compati, literally means to suffer with.
Instead of trying to twist real evil into a domesticated box, simply attempting to be with, holding the other with dignity, being physically present in the hardship not only humanizes the other in trauma but perhaps provides the only thing that truly helps.
Rob Fairbanks
Rob is a father, husband, pastor, teacher, church planter and professor. He is an alumni of Whitworth University and has a Doctorate of Ministry from Bakke Graduate University. He is the former president of Christian Associates International and currently pastors Immanuel Church in Spokane, and teaches at Whitworth University.