Making Disciples in a Church Plant

Making Disciples in a Church Plant

For a church plant to be healthy and grow, it must develop an intentional and natural process for making disciples.  For many new churches, the back door is as big as their front door. This means that they lose as many people as they gain. Over a long period, a church will slowly die if they cannot close the back door and connect new people. Therefore, we need to close the back door of our churches by being intentional about connecting people to Christ and the church. The main way that we connect people is through having an intentional assimilation process built into our church plant that helps people connect. To do this, our discipleship process should be clear and understandable so even a non-believer or new Christian can understand it.

Assimilating New People

Helping assimilate people in your church plant is an important part of discipleship. You cannot be a disciple of Christ and not a connected member of His body. Being intentional about connecting new believers to the church is a stewardship issue. The Bible tells us that we should, “Know well the condition of your flocks, and give attention to your herds” (Proverbs 27:23).Likewise, Paul tells us to “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which He obtained with His own blood” (Acts 20:28). If we are not connecting people to Christ in a meaningful way, we fail to fulfill the Great Commission.

Here are some ways that we connected people in the church plant where I have served. Our church developed an assimilation process that helps newcomers connect to the church body. First, we have a hospitality area on Sunday mornings with coffee from one of the local coffee shops and other goodies for people to eat. This helps people let down their guard and mingle before and after the service. I have made many connections with people over a cup of coffee on Sunday morning who felt welcome and eventually let down their guard and became a member of our church.

We hosted a monthly Next Step Dinner for people who are interested in getting involved in our church. At the Next Step Dinner, church leaders share the church’s vision, values, and beliefs as well as our discipleship process. This process emerged from the church’s vision to develop 21st century followers of Jesus Christ who connect with God, connect with others, and live on mission. The key to the assimilation process is helping people take the next step in their journey of faith. We should think outside of the box about how we can connect people. There may be hundreds of ways that new believers can connect to Christ and your church.

Small Group Ministry

Regardless of what you call them, small groups are an important way to help people build authentic Christ-centered community in a church plant. Discipleship seeks to connect and grow disciples with Christ through community groups that involve Bible studies, pathways to serve, and teach spiritual disciplines. The church community is the organic context in which disciples grow. We should desire to help people grow in a community of believers who love God and care for one another through real relationships by meeting regularly in fellowship groups and weekly small groups.

Disciples are made through biblical Christ centered community. When reading the book of Acts, we can see that the life of the early church revolved around community. Acts 2:42 says, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, tothe breaking of bread and the prayers.” Fellowship is an intimate union in which Christians can share. This is not just friendship, but also the deep bond that only Christians can know as the family of God. The Christian life is living together in community with one another and Christ. The spiritual discipline of fellowship is very important in living the Christian life.

Small groups are typically a home fellowship made up of 10-15 people who meet every week for six to eight weeks to share, study, and support one another. A leader usually leads each group. An average meeting lasts for an hour and a half, followed by light refreshments. There are all kinds of groups because there are all kinds of people. There can be small groups for married couples, single adults, blended groups, men’s groups, women’s groups; just to name a few. There can be groups designed for new Christians and groups for people who want to really dig deeper into a book of the Bible. There can be a small group for just about everyone and everything. They are the place where the real ministry of the church should take place as we study God’s Word, while supporting and sharing our lives with one another.

The Christian life finds its fulfillment when we share it together with one another and Christ. Small groups are one of the primary ways of experiencing fellowship. Small groups provide a place for spiritual growth, intimacy, accountability, and protection. The church is not a building but the family of God and the Body of Christ. The people that we connect with in small groups become our spiritual family that support and encourage us. Through true fellowship in small groups, we experience and share the love of God with our brothers and sisters in Christ. In small groups, we also become a part of the spiritual formation of others through the blessing of fellowship.

There are several specific benefits for being a part of a community group. First, small groups are a place for believers to live together in community. The Christian faith is a social religion not a solitary one. Secondly, they are a place for believers to pray for one another. Prayer is one of God’s greatest gifts that He has given the church. Thirdly, small groups are a place to hear and learn from the Word of God. Small groups are a place where we can find, grow, and use our gifts and talents for Him. Lastly, you will be under spiritual protection of godly leaders who will help you grow (Heb. 13:17; Acts 20:28-29). There are many more reasons why you and I need to be part of a small group. Do not rob yourself of the great blessing of being a part of the family of God by joining a community group.

Warning: Being Missional May Kill Your Church Plant

Warning: Being Missional May Kill Your Church plant. You may be thinking, “Seriously I thought being missional was cool?” or “I thought being missional was going to grow my church plant?” Well, I have good news and bad news for you.

The good news is there is a healthy mission shift happening in the church today.  Missional is the new sexy. The shift that is taking place in the church is called by some the “Missional Church Shift.”  Churches are becoming missionaries in their communities, that do not focus on strategies and formulas that have worked among people who live in other areas. Instead they find strategies that help them connect with the people in their context.

In Breaking the Missional Code, Ed Stetzer explains how the church has shifted to missional thinking in the following way:

From programs to processes
From demographics to discernment
From models to missions
From attractional to incarnational
From uniformity to diversity
From professional to passionate
From seating to sending
From decisions to disciples
From additional to exponential
From monuments to movements

Before you get too excited about being missional know that not everyone is going to like this.  Before you and your church become missional you may want to count the cost first.

Everyone wants to blog about being missional but few people actually want to live on mission.  Why? Being missional will cost you something.  Look at Jesus in John chapter 6. When Jesus told them what it really meant to follow him many of his followers bailed on him.  And I have news for you; people will bail on you too.

Notice I said, “Your church.” Being missional will not kill Jesus’ church, but it just might kill your church.  In many ways this is exactly what needs to happen. Too many of our churches are built on personalities, buildings, and programs instead of Jesus and his mission. We are addicted to our church subcultures, numbers, personal agendas, and so on.

If we are honest, we all want our church plants to be successful. But what if being successful meant focusing on a few instead of the multitude? What if being successful means losing a lot of our church crowd who really don’t want to follow Jesus or live on mission anyway? So before you try to transition your church to being missional ask yourself the question, “Are you ready to pay the price?”

Advice for Becoming a Missional Church

If this sound like I am discouraging you from leading your church to live on mission, I am not. In fact I would challenge you to begin to lead your church on mission from the start. So here are a few ways that you can begin to make a missional shift in your local church.

1. Take baby steps. Don’t blow your church up all at once. Your church will never be missional if you don’t have anyone left.
2. Personally live and lead on mission. It all begins with you. As the planter you are the example that others will follow.
3. Recognize the needs of your community and pray about how you can meet their needs.
4. Begin to preach and teach on mission. Remember baby steps.
5. Just do it. Get people to leave the four walls of the church and get out into the community.

Anglican Church Planting & Catechesis

What does Anglican church planting and catechesis have in common? The answer is a lot. Christians have used catechesis to teach the essentials of the faith for centuries. One of the biggest challenges church planters face is teaching new believers the essential doctrines of the Christian faith. Many of the people who come to a new church know little if any about the basic doctrines and catechesis is one of the best ways to instruct them in the essentials of the historic Christian faith. 

What is a Catechesis?

At this point, you may be wondering, “What is a catechism?” The Greek word for "instruct" or "teach" is katecheo from which we get our English word "catechize." Catechesis is the process of instructing believers both young and old in the basics of the Christian faith and catechisms are basic summaries of the church’s teachings to ensure that all members of the church understand the essentials of the faith for themselves using questions and answers.

Catechisms are not a pass or fail fill-in-the-blank test, but an invitation to learn the doctrines of grace. Using a catechism is an invitation involves vital learning, ongoing reflection, and discussion within the community of faith that has been a normal part of the church’s discipleship for centuries. 

As early as Augustine (353-430), the Christian Church has used catechesis to instruct new believers. Author J.I. Packer reminds us, “Richard Baxter, John Owen, Charles Spurgeon, and countless other pastors and leaders saw catechesis as one of their most obvious and basic pastoral duties.” Among these classic reformation catechisms, was the classic Anglican Catechism (1549).

The Process of Catechesis

J.I. Packer has embarked on what he is calling “Packer’s last crusade in this world.” Packer’s “last crusade” is a call for the church to rediscover the lost art of catechesis. In their book, Grounded in the Gospel: Building Believers the Old-Fashioned Way, J.I. Packer and Gary Parrett explore the church’s need to make catechesis an important part of its life once again. Catechesis, according to Packer and Parrett, “is the church’s ministry of grounding and growing God’s people in the Gospel and its implications for doctrine, devotion, duty and delight.” Packer and Parrett offer three phases of using catechism, which can be adapted to your own context or ministry.

1. Phase one, is about giving people their first glimpses into the Gospel. This would be a focus is on introducing the essentials of the Faith. This can be a more simplified use of catechesis for new believers.

2. Phase two, is a formal grounding in the Gospel, usually in conjunction with preparation for baptism or confirmation and for official leadership. This is a foundational instruction in Christian doctrine for believers of all ages.

3. Phase three, is ongoing catechesis, which focuses on the continuing growth in depth of knowledge of God and His ways. This is a more systematic teaching that can be done in different ways such as a weekend seminar, Sunday School, midweek classes, or small groups.

Catechesis Today

You may be asking yourself several questions, “Why use catechisms today? Aren’t they outdated or irrelevant in the postmodern world?” I believe they are important because they provide an outline of the essentials of the faith that is universal for all Christians regardless of denomination or affiliation. 

These essentials are what C. S. Lewis had in mind when he wrote Mere Christianity, “To explain and defend the belief that has been common to nearly all Christians at all times.” In a similar way, the essentials are what G.K. Chesterton said were to be, “understood by everyone calling himself Christian until a very short time ago and the general historic conduct of those who held such a creed.”

Many church planters today are rediscovering the need for catechesis and the benefits that come using a good catechism. Both new and existing churches can benefit from using catechisms. A catechism can be used as an individual study, during times of family worship, or in small groups. They are still as useful today as they were then.

When using a catechism, allow yourself time to ponder each question and reflect on the answer then let them speak to your head and your heart.  Once you get the hang of using it, you can begin to use a more in depth catechism or even write one of your own. Remember, the point is to be slavishly tied to the past, but to learn and apply the principle of using questions and answers for helping Christians learn the essentials of the Christian faith for today.

I would like to recommend To Be a Christian: An Anglican Catechism, which is now available in print and download. The Catechism is designed as a resource for the renewal of Anglican catechetical practice and follows the essential of classic catechetical instruction: the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the Ten Commandments. It is ideal for new and existing churches to instruct and disciple new believers in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic faith. You can download a version of the catechism here.