1. Church Planting Movements28
Church Planting Movements

2. Why Churches?
New emphasis by mission organizations on planting churches
The quest for fruit that lasts leads us from crusades to church planting
Churches have the unique characteristics to turn converts into true disciples

3. What is a church?
DEF: A church is a corporate or communal expression of an individual’s allegiance to the sovereignty of Christ in his or her life.
Only in a church can a believer find a full range of opportunities for growth in Christlikeness
The standard of measure for a church is this, “How intimately is it related to Christ? How faithfully does it continue his life and ministry?

4. What is better than a church?
If planting churches that foster growth in Christlikeness is a great good, then doing it rapidly is a greater good
The “better” thing is a church planting movement

5. Church-planting Movements
DEF: A rapid multiplication of churches planting churches that sweeps through a people group or population segment.
EX: see pg.455
Latin America: 235 churches to 4,000
Southeast Asia: 85 believers to 90,000 in six years
North India: 28 to 4,500 churches in eleven years
Cuba, east: 200+ to 7,000+ churches in 20yrs

6. CPM characteristics Rapid – CPMs reproduce rapidly
Because they can – structurally simple
No big budgets, no waiting for professional leadership to be trained, no facilities to construct
Because they must – they fill up the small places where they meet and thus must multiply
Multiplication – many if not most churches are themselves starting multiple churches
Indigenous – leaders are raised up out of the converts to become the heads of new churches

7. CPM characteristics
Churches planting churches – though a missionary may start the first few, the churches get into the act. The more churches that get involved, the more things accelerate
Sweeps through a people group – the gospel spreads through relationships, faster and faster, then spills over into other groups

8. What CPMs are not
Not revivals or spiritual renewals – they occur among unreached groups
Not mass evangelism – they multiply churches; communities of disciples
Not people movements – it is more. People movements may not result in man churches
Not church growth – that tends to focus on getting bigger
Not just a miracle – we cooperate or hinder by the things we do.
Not a Western invention – we are observing what God is doing around the world
Not an end in itself – a means to taking the gospel to the whole earth, that all have an opportunity to believe

9. Why CPMs are so important
Because God is mightily at work in them
Because we learn better our role in taking the gospel to the ends of the earth
Because of what they accomplish – bringing millions into the kingdom of God
Because they exponentially multiply the glory of God