BILD

“And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”  – Jeremiah 31:34

I can’t wait for heaven! The day we don’t have to worry about who gets in and who doesn’t will be a huge burden off my shoulders, just to be honest.  But the fact remains that 2,000 years ago we were given the greatest gift the world has ever seen. The ability to know the God of gods and the King of kings is ours, but yet hundreds of people cycle through the revolving doors of the church only to go back into the world unprepared and under equipped.

Paul’s Concept of Establishing Churches

Unit 1: Issue 1 – Project 1

Paul’s Concept of Sterizo

            The word sterizo is Greek (according to Strong’s Numbers) for: set fast, that is, (literally) to turn resolutely in a certain direction, or (figuratively) to confirm: – fix, establish, steadfastly set, strengthen.  Similar to (and seems to be a verbish version of) stereos which is: steadfast, strong, sure.  Paul uses this word in a few different verses throughout his letters, of which I will annotate shortly.  He uses the word mostly to describe the establishment process of churches he describes/addresses in these letters.  The use of the word sterizo is very definitive of his strategy which I will discuss in the next section.  Paul is very quick to act and has little time to waste in carrying out the task at hand: making disciples of all nations; the Great Commission.

What “Missions” Is And How Central The Local Church Should Be To It

Unit 2: Issue 2 – Project 1

What “Missions” Are

“…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

– Acts 1:8

When the Great Commission was given by Jesus to the apostles it was the first instance in the book of Acts where they had received direction from God.  He said to wait on the Holy Spirit to empower you, and then witness all the way to the ends of the earth.  This command was not only given to the apostles, but handed down from generation to generation, even to us.  This command has lasted centuries and needs to continue being the focus of each and every Christian journey.  We all have something to contribute to the advancement of the Kingdom of God which resides inside of us.  Some are good at drawing a crowd, some at developing meaningful relationships; some at directing and leading, some at serving and protecting.  The gospel is at the core of missions and drives us to live missionally.  But living missionally in our own back yard isn’t enough.  Missions abroad, expansion, whether long distances or short, were vital to the growth and expansion of the first century church.  They also continue to be today, where the doors on one church close, the doors on another must open.  Where the gospel is unheard of, it needs to be taught and proclaimed.

Necessary Qualities and Skills of a Church Planting Team

Unit 5: Issue 3 – Project 1

Quality of Leadership

I’d like to first preface this project with a definition of what context the different qualities and skills needed for a church plant will take place in.

When you start off as a church chances are you won’t have any biblically qualified elders or deacons yet (although legally in the U.S. you have to have elders to be recognized as a church).  So to simply define the qualities and skills of a church planting team to be the same things that qualify an elder or deacon would be somewhat erroneous.  Instead let’s look at what a church needs to thrive in its beginning stages.  In Issue 1 of this Unit 5, I discussed a basic definition for a “healthy” church.  With that definition came a process that the church should go through leading up to living it out.  That process is the context for these qualities and skills we will be discussing here.