GLO Europe
GLO Europe
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Ten good reasons to plant a church
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What does church planting look like in the 21st century?
Stephen McQuoid
Stephen McQuoid
Preparing the Ground
Building a Church Planting Church
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Philippe Perrilliat
Church Planting Resources
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Andrew Lacey
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Patrizio Zucchetto
Summer Team Focus
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This magazine is published twice yearly to report on the work of GLO in Europe and around the world and to promote mission interest. There is no subscription rate but readers are welcome to send gifts towards postage and production. GLO is a charity registered in Scotland: SC007355 If you would like to contribute financially to the work of GLO this can be done directly using the bank details below or by contacting our Finance Director Ian Smith (ismith@glo-europe.org).
Keeping the Church Plant Growing
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Andrew Burt
Training to Plant
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Simon Marshall & James Hyde
Leaving a lasting legacy M
any people have a concern about what the long term impact of their lives will be on others. As Christians this is a big issue because the Bible encourages us to live our lives in view of eternity. GLO,
BANK OF SCOTLAND, 72 BRANDON PARADE, MOTHERWELL ML1 1UW ACCOUNT NAME – GLO TRUST SCOTLAND, SORT CODE – 800915 ACCOUNT NUMBER – 00400636
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along with many other Christian organisations, benefits greatly from legacies that people leave behind. It is a way of significantly helping the work of the kingdom by organising your giving after you have gone. We have produced an information booklet on the use of legacies and if you would like to have one then write to: Stephen McQuoid, GLO Centre, 78 Muir Street, Motherwell ML1 1BN smcquoid@glo-europe.org
hope as you looked at the front cover of this edition of e-vision you found it to be a little provocative; that was the intention! I have been involved in church for almost all of my life. Before I became a Christian my parents compelled me to attend; once I became one I had a desire to be part of a church. After many years of attendance I have become convinced of the importance of church. I hear complaints about church, but the biggest problem with church is that there are not enough of them! This issue is particularly marked in Europe where Christendom has all but collapsed and evangelical Christians are only a small minority. The great need of our age is to have more churches, and this means that we as Christians need to think seriously about planting them. As the front cover suggests, when we walk down one of our city streets and see all the people, we need to see them as Jesus did as ‘sheep without a shepherd’ and we need to ask how we can bring them together to form living and dynamic churches that impact the community. It is possible that you have never thought about being involved in a church plant. Perhaps the thought scares you! This edition of e-vision is designed to give the reader an insight into the kind of church planting in which GLO is involved. I hope it will encourage and challenge you to pray about each situation mentioned. However, before you read the rest of this magazine, allow me to give ten reasons why church planting should be done.
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It is a biblical thing to do Even a cursory glance at the New Testament would reveal a theme of church planting threaded throughout. In the gospels Jesus told his disciples that he would build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it (Mt.16:18). At that point no church had been planted, but planting churches everywhere in response to the Great Commission (Mt.28:18,19) would be the preoccupation of those who claimed to follow Jesus. The book of Acts is full of stories of Christians sharing their faith and planting churches wherever they went (Acts 11:1921). Moreover the Pauline epistles are the follow-up documents of Paul’s church planting career. The very fact that the New Testament is so replete with references to church planting should force us to think about its importance.
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Churches die and need to be replaced It is a simple fact that churches die and consequently need to be replaced. Whatever the reason for churches dying, if new ones are not planted there is no future for the church!
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It is healthy for existing churches It is healthy for existing churches to reproduce themselves by church planting. There is an initial cost in sending people out to plant, but if churches don’t do this they miss out on the blessing of giving birth to new churches.
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Churches become calcified and are no longer fit for purpose Just because a church exists it does not follow that it is fit for purpose. Many churches become ineffective and irrelevant; when that happens new churches should be planted that can reach the communities that need them.
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Church planting is among the most efficient ways of evangelism Church planting is such an intentional activity - those involved are totally focussed on sharing Christ with others and do not get distracted. This makes church planting a very efficient form of evangelism.
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Changes in culture require fresh ways of reaching people and doing church Church planting is necessary because rapid change in culture often makes it difficult for existing churches to keep up. Where churches are highly resistant to change, church planting becomes a better option.
for young people, encourage cohesion and bring about positive social change.
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Population growth requires church planting Many European cities have become huge and diverse urban sprawls due to population shift and immigration. Church plants are required to meet this need.
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Development of gift in existing churches requires an outlet One of the challenges for existing churches, especially large ones, is how to make use of all the gifts available. Untapped energy and gift will lead to a sense of frustration. Church planting gives the opportunity to release this potential. This edition of e-vision is dedicated to church planting. GLO has a heart to plant churches all across Europe. Throughout this magazine we will mention specific places where we would like to plant churches in the future. If you would like to know more about any of these locations or learn about church planting, then please contact me: smcquoid@glo-europe.org. We would love you to work with us to see new churches established in this needy continent.
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The presence of subcultures in society require culturally nuanced churches to reach people A huge change that has taken place in society over the past 50 years is the appearance of a great many subcultures throughout Europe. Sometimes these subcultures are defined by language or religious belief, at other times by private interests and lifestyle such as the biker community, the clubbing community or young urban professionals. In some of these situations existing churches might not be equipped to reach out or disciple effectively, so church planting is the answer.
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Church planting gives life to a community The social impact of new churches can be immense. Many churches have been greatly used by God to ease community tensions, care for the poor and the marginalised, provide positive outlets and mentoring
10 Good Reasons to Plant a Church
by Stephen McQuoid
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