POUCH CHURCHES Modified

What Are You Aiming For? What fruit do you hope to see as a result of your ministry?

*What exactly is your ministry? n Strategic thinking & planning ? n Equipping others for ministry? n Modeling ? n Mobilizing ? n Enabling? n Evangelizing & discipling ? n Planting a church ?

* Is your aim correct?

Think More Broadly We must begin to think in terms of what needs to be done rather than what we can do personally.

Your Goal Complete evangelization of whatever group you are working among! Nothing less than a true church planting movement among the people group !!

What Are You Doing Now? Is the way you spend your time, the way you conduct your ministry now, in line with what you claim you are wanting to happen? Will your intended outcome result from your current ministry? If not, what do you need to change?

*Why not re-visit your goal? 1. Consider what your vision would look like if it were fulfilled. 2. Consider what it would take to get there. 3. Work backwards, step by step, to your present situation. 4. Take the necessary actions to retrace the steps forward through time to your goal.

Evangelizing 6 Million People You will need a church in every village and city neighborhood. 5,000 churches! *How many will it take for your People Group?

Leading One Person a Day to the Lord --until my retirement-- Result: 15,000 new believers 6,000, ,000 5,985,000 left to win *How long would it take YOU?

Twenty Church Planting Teams Planting one church a year-- would take 250 years to plant the 5,000 churches! *How many years will it take for your Church Planting teams?

Two Kinds of Churches Mule Horse

A Mule Church Mules are sterile. n They are hybrids. n They can’t reproduce.

A Horse Church n Produces a church every year which n Produces a church every year which n Produces a church every year Completing the job in years!

Winning Individuals/ Planting Churches Winning individuals is not the same as Planting churches. Planting mule churches is not the same as Planting horse churches.

*Your Church Based upon your endvision, what will the typical church in your people group look like? Describe this to your colleague!

Describe the Kind of Local Church You Would Like to See What will be the worship style? What are marks of success? Who will be the pastor? How many members will it have? Where will they meet? * What questions might you need to describe the church among your people group?

P.O.U.C.H. Churches Participative discussion characterizes Bible teaching. It centers on application. Obedience to Scripture by members and the group is the measure of success. Unpaid, often semi-literate lay people co-lead. Cell groups or small independent churches of about 15 members are usual. Houses or storefronts are typical meeting places.

P: Participative Participative Bible Study n Every member a contributor n Every member reproducing

O: Obedience Obedience to Scripture *Bible is the authority; not a leader, not another church, not tradition. Result: Fruitfulness Bible mandate to share or take the gospel to every people group.

U: Unpaid Unpaid Lay Leaders No seminaries available Formal education would limit the pool of potential leaders “Extras” would slow down preparation time Salaries would slow down multiplication of churches

U: Unpaid (con’t.) Advantages: Reduced load Reduced requirements Prevented distinction between clergy and laity Preparation was “on-the-job” Ready supply of “extra” leaders

C: Cell Groups Cell groups or small Congregations will provide: n Intimate settings for effective accountability n Assured involvement n A doable leadership task n A measure of security n A true spiritual family with a high sense of mutual concern

H: House House churches n No expense frees resources for outreach n Intimacy helps maintain a “go and serve” mentality instead of a “come and hear” attitude n Encourages witness to family and friends

Your “Ideal” Church Critique your stated goal for an ideal church in terms of REPRODUCIBILITY. Ideal Church ?

STOP!

*What is one major tool for establishing your “ideal” church ? The most important tool for establishing your “ideal” church is modeling.

Model Patterns In Bible studies, praying and singing. (*Discipleship is not a body of knowledge to teach, it is a series of processes or concepts to be modeled.) By entrusting new converts to the Lord. By teaching that Biblical concepts are the same for all people. By teaching that they have the same Holy Spirit guiding and indwelling their lives.

Model Patterns n By involving believers in shared leadership from day of baptism n By allowing new leaders to lead in new group meetings. n In all discipling and training situations

MODELING Participative Bible Study n When you lead in evangelistic Bible study n When you lead in discipleship training n When you lead in leadership training MODEL!

MODELING Obedience to Scripture n Make obedience the norm n Ensure that everyone follows the same pattern n Teach that the Bible demands accountability n Show the Bible is living book with which to interact MODEL!

MODELING Unpaid Non-professionals n Use unpaid non- professionals or n model in a way that can be reproduced by unpaid non- professionals MODEL!

MODELING Cell Groups *Participate in a cell group Look for natural groups. (It is easier to group and win individuals than it is to win them and then attempt to group them.) MODEL!

MODELING Houses or Storefronts n Encourage the usage of local homes or storefronts. ***Houses become legitimate locales for evangelism and spiritual activity. ***Houses are much less threatening than a traditional religious setting. MODEL!MODEL!

Training Cycle Model Assist Watch Leave

Model As you train Church Planters YOU Church Planter

Model Church Planter 1st Generation Church planting team does the work...

Discipleship Chains

Cell Group

Cell Groups

Church (Cell Group) Multiplication

Assist As team members and others do the work CPer 1st YOU

Watch Watch for second and third generation starts 2nd 3rd you Church Planter Cell church

Leave Leave and start new work in another area. Begin the process all over! You Church Planter

Model patterns with new churches n At the macro level when planting a church Provide assistance when asked Don’t give opinions; go to Scripture Observe from a distance to ensure that reproduction occurs Leave to begin new work elsewhere

The Most Common Mistake n Developing a dependence upon the church planter rather than on the Lord Over assisting! Inappropriate modeling! Not observing! Observing ensures they do things the same way the CPer did. Dependence causes exiting never to occur!

Jazz Chants “Model, assist, watch and leave…” “Modeling is great if you do things right...” “Assist means help;don’t get in the way...” “Watch means observe: best done from afar...” “Leave means go! Just get out of there...” “Just model, assist, watch and leave...”

To SUMMARIZE: REALIZE your goal is important because it determines n what is done n who does it n how they do it, and n when they do it.

To SUMMARIZE: MOBILIZE the necessary people and resources to accomplish your goal. n Do not be limited by what you can personally do. n Do whatever it takes under Christ.

To SUMMARIZE: *Develop (POUCH) or Horse Churches. n Your goal should be nothing less than a church planting movement.

To SUMMARIZE: MAXIMIZE modeling opportunities at every level. n Do this at the individual level in witnessing and discipling. n Do this at the church planting and training level.

To SUMMARIZE: UTILIZE local leadership among believers. n Always. n Without exception.

To SUMMARIZE: EMPHASIZE the training cycle: n Model n Assist n Watch n Leave

Try Again! Win Converts 1 Point Plant Mules 5 Points Plant Horses 1,000 Points

Office of Overseas Operations International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention P. O. Box 6767 Richmond, VA 23230, USA