Church Planting

A sociologist, after studying the spread of Christianity across the world in several countries, said that there is no single more effective way of increasing the number of active Christians in an area of the world is to plant new churches.

As someone who has – as of last weekend – planted two churches in two very different areas, I think that is an accurate conclusion.  Church planting is effective – it attracts people who for whatever reason have not made contact with, or in worst case scenarios, been hurt by – the established churches in the area.  It raises the mood in the area and it forces you to focus on how to reach those who have never been reached.  

Just reflecting back on last weekend, which I consider to be a total success, there are three things I have learned that maybe some of the wannabe church planters, or even those who just have an interest in these matters might want to consider.

Firstly, church planting starts off as maximum effort.  What made this weekend about fifty times easier than starting the Dagenham church was the number of people who drove hours and hours this weekend helping out, making teas, greeting people, sharing their lives, cleaning and setting out chairs, playing guitars, and doing all the stuff that needed to be done.  When we first started out Tree of Life in Essex, we did all that ourselves, and if we couldn’t do it, it couldn’t get done.  I think this really bears well when we  consider planting in Watford next year, as it means there will be even more helpers around to invest in the church plant.  That makes a massive massive massive difference.  My advice to anyone looking to plant a church is this: GET AS MUCH HELP AS POSSIBLE.  We had more people come to our first Healing Crusade (which was in Barkingside) than we did in the Guildford one, but we lost people because we did not have the structure in place to keep them.  Here, the people who came will be with us when we officially launch regular services in two weeks’ time because we did have the helpers.  Everyone who came and helped is absolutely awesome, and will get many, many rewards in heaven!  That’s awesome.

Secondly, the most important thing isn’t how slick you are but how much you care.  One of the realities about Tree of Life Dagenham is that as it is growing (another 100+ day yesterday, praise the Lord – five first time visitors, one of whom got saved, another got baptized in the Holy Spirit) things that were informal have to become formalized to cope with the growth.  Praise God for the Living Churches where you can still meet in a house and share the Word and teach and help one another and love each other.  That way we get the benefit of big and the benefit of small.  But when you are starting you are small.  Rather than hate that, use that.  You can say hello to everyone, find out everyone’s name, have some fun with everyone.  Use that to your advantage.

Thirdly, always celebrate every step of the way.  The first family, the first healing, the first salvation, the first baptism in the Holy Spirit.  Everything when you are new is just awesome.  They say with children you adore the first but enjoy the second.  I think it is the same with church planting, I am thoroughly enjoying myself in a way that I could not with Dagenham because it was so intense and everything was new.  This is fun, and I love it.

Selah!

Meep Meep!

Perhaps you remember the old cartoons like Tom and Jerry, Pepe Le Peu and Tweety Pie. My favourite cartoon as a child was Road Runner. No matter what the coyote did, you always knew it was going to backfire and make an awful mess.

In one of my favourite episodes, Wile E. Coyote paints a mural of a road on a stone cliff face, making it look like the road is going into the cliff face. His plan is to deceive the Road Runner to running into the cliff face and hurting himself.

However the Road Runner, breaking all the laws of physics and reality, runs right into the picture and keeps going. As he gives chase, the coyote crashes straight into the picture.

As Christians the devil is always out to get us. Peter tells us he is like a roaring lion – not as a roaring lion, but LIKE one. The devil is not a roaring lion – Jesus is the Lion of Judah, the devil is just a cheap, beaten copy. But the point is that the devil is looking for prey. And the way he finds prey is through silly tricks.

Sometimes the devil paints a picture to try and distract us and to try and stop us ending up where God wants us to be.
But the Good News is this: you are a child of God. You have God’s favour and love on you. If you believe God, you can run right through the trap even if it breaks the laws of physics.

Moses was trapped with the largest army in the world on one side, and a massive sea on the other. That’s ok when you know God – He is the expert at making a way where it is impossible to make a way.

Whatever you are facing today, however it looks, remember God is capable of making a way where it is impossible to make a way, and He will make a way for you.

Maximizing Your Harvest

http://treeoflifelondon.weebly.com/war-on-poverty.html

Our sixth message in our series WAR ON POVERTY is now online free of charge to stream or download.

Facing financial pressure is nothing new. Abraham and Isaac both had to face times of famine – but in dealing with it, they actually increased in times of pressure. And so can you! This message will inspire you to increase in times of pressure and challenge you to be a faithful steward of God’s resources.

Grace, Grace, Grace!

It always has to come back to GRACE. It’s so easy to slip back into old habits and do things to impress God, to please man, to build a reputation based on our brilliance and not on God’s glory.

But every work we do to impress God doesn’t. Because it is actually a work of unbelief in what Jesus has done for us on the cross.

True spiritual works come from knowing that Christ has done it all. They are not done out of fear and guilt, not done to manipulate God; but rather are done out of faith and love to thank God.

Today, stop striving and enjoy the complete work!

You Are Greater than Elijah!

Matthew 11.11 says “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.”

Think about that statement for a minute! The group of people born of women includes Elijah, Moses, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Joshua, Hosea and Elisha! And Jesus said clearly that John the Baptist was greater than all of them. And then Jesus said – just as clearly – that the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John.

Do you realize the magnitude of what Jesus has said? You might be the worst Christian on the planet, the least Christian in the history of the world – but you are greater than Isaiah, than David, than Abraham, than Moses, than Elijah!

You are a born again Christian. You are right with God. You have the same spirit inside you that raised Christ from the dead. You can speak and it happens. You can live a life of freedom, grace and wisdom that the Old Testament Christians could only dream about!

They had to beg for the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit lives in you and will never leave you.
They had a set of commandments to obey to be blessed, you are already blessed.
They had accredited righteousness, you have been made righteous.
They had faith in God, you have the faith of God inside you
They had dead spirits, you have a living spirit.
They had to contend with the accuser of the brethren, you live in an age where the devil has been completely dealt with.

Amplification

God wants to amplify your voice. He wants your voice to be louder in the world than the voice of the world, the voice of the devil and the voices of doubt, unbelief and defeat and despair.

In your business place, He wants to promote you! He designed you to be the head and not the tail. He designed you to make decisions not have them made for you. He wants you to have the wisdom to save the city, to transform your home, your family, your place of work, your place of education. He wants you to be like Daniel – ten times as wise as your colleagues. He wants you to be like Joseph – favoured and prosperous wherever you end up.

You need a larger vision. The more you see on the inside, the more you will see on the outside. The better you see the invisible, the more stuff you will have that is visible.

God wants you to succeed. Totally healthy, out of debt, money in the savings account. An inheritance for your children and your children’s children! Full of life, speaking truth, healing the sick, changing lives, being everything God wants you to be.

Jesus Christ took all your sin, shame and sickness into Himself on the cross. So live sin free, shame free, sickness free – enjoy an abundant successful and happy life! It’s yours – the price has been paid!