A couple of days ago, I met with a young Welsh church planter who has moved his family into a hilltop "council estate" (American translation: "government housing project") that needs a tangible, relational, relevant proclamation of the gospel in their needy community. This couple has actually purchased a home in the middle of the estate, indicating the seriousness of their commitment. He's originally from Pontypool, but the last couple of years has been spent in reaching young people in a similar—but more urban—situation in Cardiff, the capitol city of Wales.

We're exploring the possibilities of working together for the foreseeable future, as part of my involvement with the Waleswide church planting initiative. I don't know yet how things will work between the two of us—the ball's in his court right now—but it's just so encouraging to see God's hand at work in this way. My new friend is teaching a group of street kids how to rap (go HERE to listen and read the lyrics), and it's opened up Read more

Money. It’s one of those necessary discussions, and sometimes a major factor, in the decision to pursue one’s passion to plant a new church. I get a lot of e-mails from those that come across my Grace Church Planting Ministries website, who see the incredible need all around them and who are seriously engaged in thinking through the process. And that process always includes, “How will I make ends meet?”

Many prospective church planters express the frustration of feeling trapped in their present “full-time” ministry because, as they often put it, “I would get a secular job, but I don’t have any marketable skills!” Most of these men would even be willing to flip burgers at McDonalds or sell shoes at JCPenny, but they know it wouldn’t pay the bills or provide the Read more

Want to be a superhero? Have you thought about becoming a church planter? To read some of the literature out there, the average person can forget about applying for the job. You need the combined skills of a brain surgeon, rocket scientist, Wall Street financier, marketing expert, computer programmer, life coach, and motivational speaker. What does the typical North American church planting strategy look like for most denominations and various independent evangelical ministries or networks? It goes something like this Read more

When I hear the word, “Anabaptist,” my mind races back to a paradigm-shifting class on “The History of Christianity” by Tom Nettles, professor of church history at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in 1984. I even took another course under my mentor and friend, in which we were required to read a book, Calvin and the Anabaptist Radicals,as well as The Anabaptist Story: An Introduction to Sixteenth-Century Anabaptism.But that was the early 1980’s and I don’t recall anyone telling me that Anabaptists were still lurking around in a present-day incarnation. But then I saw a book listed on Ed Stetzer’s book recommendations list by Stuart Murray, entitled Church Plantingand I purchased it here in the UK. Imagine my surprise when I found out that Stuart Murray is also known as Stuart Murray Williams, a leader in the Anabaptist Network. Here’s a brief description from their website:

Stuart Murray Williams works as a trainer and consultant under the auspices of the Anabaptist Network. Based in Oxford, he travels widely in the UK and overseas and works with local churches, mission agencies, denominational leaders, conferences and individuals. He has worked with at least 25 denominations in recent years. His particular areas of expertise are in: church planting, emerging church, urban mission, mission in post-Christendom, Anabaptist history and theology.

Here’s a one-minute video clip featuring Williams, articulating their vision for urban church planting:

If your friends sometimes call you “Curious George,” perhaps you would like to watch more free video excerpts from the Anabaptist Network’s DVD, Cloud of Witnesses: Rediscovering Anabaptism. You may also like to visit the website of an emerging church (Peace Church) in Birmingham, England, that has been planted on Anabaptist principles and has spread to three other cities in Britain. Personally, I find this very intriguing and would welcome some online dialog regarding these brothers and sisters in Christ.

In his paper, "Church Planting in India," Stanley Mehta summarizes a presentation by D. R. David at the Bless India Conference held in Chennai in January 2006. He says, "amidst all the pressures and changes, the church in India is growing more rapidly than ever before. The persecution has begun to bring together many Christian leaders who have operated rather independently of one another in the past." Most of us in the Western world have heard the incredible reports coming from China, but I was really thrilled to read Mehta's explanation Read more

For quite some time, the Alliance for Saturation Church Planting has been offering their Omega Course: five practical training manuals (free, downloadable PDF files) which each offer 26 hours of instruction; sharing a vision for saturation church planting as well as practical principles and priorities for accomplishing local church plants. Designed for modular instruction in a working seminar format, the training schedule can be adapted for work/ministry realities of church planter trainees.