“Well, David and John, I haven’t seen you for over three months. The work must be going well in Gane.” Brother Eyo said as he greeted the young men with a big smile.

“Yes, very well. Praise God!” replied David. “The church is growing more every month. Two deacons are teaching the new believers’ class.”

“That is very good news,” said Brother Eyo, “but why are you looking so concerned?”

David showed him two letters. “I have had letters from my friends who feel called to plant churches in other countries where the gospel is needed. But those countries have severe problems. One suffers poverty and turmoil from a recent civil war. The other is a place very hostile to Christians, where there are many restrictions against preaching. What can I write to encourage them?”

Brother Eyo’s answer was to tell David about the churches in this lesson. These are true examples of churches that grew in very difficult circumstances. As you study the lesson, try to find the principles that worked for each church. These principles can be applied in any situation.

IN A RURAL AREA

In this lesson, you will study how four different churches were planted. One is in a rural area, another is in a city area, another is in an area where political or community pressures make it difficult to become a Christian, and the other is established by a new, unusual method. This lesson should help you picture how good church planting works. It will also help you to discover some of the characteristics of churches which grow and multiply. As you study these examples, allow God to put a vision in your heart for starting new churches where you live.

The following story about a church in Central America was reported in an interview with Dr. Melvin Hodges, a well-known former missionary-missions administrator and professor of missions. He has authored several good books on church growth, including The Indigenous Church and A Guide to Church Planting which have been translated into many languages. Reading these books may provide you with valuable insight about church development.

A church was started in 1934 in a poor rural area in a Central American country by a man who had little formal education. He was not known as a great preacher, but the pastor was a man of great faith who had a strong desire to make new disciples for Jesus Christ.

The church did not grow fast. It was located in such a poor area, it took the people ten years to finish their church building. They did what they could as the money came in. The church never had more than 100 members, and rarely did attendance reach 150. Yet for many years this church was one of the most important churches in helping to spread the gospel throughout the country.

The pastor was a faithful teacher of God’s Word. Every Sunday night he taught the people the doctrines of their faith. The people studied their Bibles faithfully. The pastor taught workers in the church principles from the Scriptures and how to teach them to others (Matthew 28:20; 2 Timothy 2:2). These workers were appointed to go out and start branch Sunday schools and outstation churches in the surrounding villages. Many of the new churches began with meetings in the homes of the new believers. The workers followed the example of their pastor. They were faithful to their responsibilities and showed love to the people where they ministered (John 13:34-35). The pastor believed his church should start new churches in all the surrounding areas. He believed that half the distance between his church and the next church in every direction was the area for which his church was responsible.

As the workers whom the pastor was teaching became more experienced, they usually became pastors of the new churches. They continued to receive help and training from the sending church, which they sometimes called the “mother” church. The church became a multiplying church. It not only started new churches itself but also taught the new churches to do the same. You will remember from Lesson 4 the illustration of how strawberry plants grow by a mother-daughter system. A ‘mother” plant sends out shoots which sprout into “daughter” plants. The new plants take root and in turn send out shoots that become more daughter plants. There is a continual development of plants which spread systematically over a large area.

The church sent out workers (like plant runners) to make new believers and gather them into daughter churches. As the new believers became grounded in the Word of God, they became stronger and were able to grow and draw strength from the Word. As soon as a new church was strong enough, it was allowed to function by itself. The people developed a sense of responsibility and love for their church and for the lost people of their area. They were eventually able to support their pastor and send out workers to witness to those who needed Christ. They became “mother” churches themselves.

There are now at least 25 fully established churches within a circle of 20 miles of the first mother church. Each of those churches is also sending out volunteer workers to start new churches. New groups of believers are constantly being formed. There is a well-established church every eight or ten miles in every direction throughout the whole area.

IN AN URBAN AREA

In 1958, a recent Bible school graduate started a new church in a small tent at the edge of a large city. The church started in the midst of post-war poverty. The pastor preached words of faith, hope, salvation, and healing. Early morning prayer meetings were held. Soon word of healings spread to the surrounding area. Dramatic healings and deliverance from demon possession occurred often. People experienced the joy of salvation in Christ and found freedom from sinful habits which had controlled them. In two years the number of believers had grown to 300.

Property was purchased in the city to build a church. When the building was finished, an evangelistic campaign was started in a tent in an open space beside the new church. When the new 1500 seat building was dedicated, the believers totaled 800. Positive preaching and further healings caused even more rapid growth. The church emphasized the teaching of Bible doctrines to build up new believers as well as to continue evangelism.

Two years later the first lay leaders were appointed as deacons and elders. They were taught regularly by the pastor. (Lay leaders are not full-time church workers. They support themselves and give their free time to the Lord’s work.)

The church continued to grow rapidly. One day a near tragedy helped to increase the growth of the church. While preaching on a Sunday evening, the pastor fainted from physical exhaustion. This was caused by his efforts to carry most of the responsibility for the ministry of the church. During the months of his recovery he worked out a plan to train others to assume some of the responsibilities for the church.

The pastor trained men and women to become leaders of “cell units,” groups of people who met in homes all over the city at least one night per week. These cell units were made up of 10 to 15 families who actively witnessed, prayed, and studied the Bible together. A lay leader supervised the ministry of five home cell units. Fifty to one hundred cell units were organized into cell unit sections led by a full-time pastoral staff member. Ten to twenty of the cell unit sections were overseen by an ordained pastor of the church. These cell units provided training and fellowship for new believers. By 1983 there were well over 18,000 home cell unit meetings all over that large city.

By 1969 the church had grown to 8,000 members. In faith the congregation began building a new church building which seated 10,000. The cost was three million dollars. The pastor was told by the Holy Spirit to receive no foreign donations even though his country was still very poor and there was financial hardship. The pastor and many of the people sold their homes and moved into small apartments, donating the money to the church building project. After great sacrifice the church was dedicated in 1973. Fifteen months later the membership was over 20,000.

As the church grew, its ministries continually expanded. A night Bible school was started, new churches were sponsored all over the country, a Christian magazine was published, church growth seminars were given, and missionaries were sent to many countries around the world to minister to their people who had moved to other countries.

By 1979 it was not unusual to see over 3,000 new members join the church each month. In 1983 the church had 275,000 members. One outstanding characteristic of the church is its strong emphasis on prayer. Prayer is above everything in the lives of the church’s people, from the individuals in home cell units to the pastors and lay leaders. Fasting and prayer for the people and their needs is common in all the ministries of the church.

IN A RESTRICTED AREA

In some parts of the world it is more difficult to live as a believer and make new disciples. In such places, there is often strong religious or political pressure against those who become believers. In certain areas, both political and strong religious pressure combine to bring severe persecution against new believers. Unbelieving relatives of Christian believers are expected to force them to deny their faith. If they refuse to deny their faith, they are put to death. This strong community pressure against conversion requires different methods for starting new churches. Yet our Lord is “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). The sovereign Lord of the harvest finds ways to build His church even in the most difficult places.

We can learn some important methods from a new church which was started in a city of a country which imposes severe restrictions on any religion other than its official, non-Christian religion. In this country the people have followed the official religion for many years. It is against the law to become a believer in Christ. The only believers in the country are a few foreigners.

Then God sent a brother (a church planter), who was a believer from a nearby country. He quickly discovered what he must do first. The people could not read the Bible because it was written in a language very different from their spoken language. Not even the well educated could understand it. So the church planter translated the gospel of Mark into the local dialect. But when the first copies were ready to use, he found that it was not possible to distribute Christian literature in public.

Not discouraged, the brother decided to make as many friends as he could. He prayed, and then when the Holy Spirit directed him, he gave a copy of the Gospel of Mark to his friends. As the friends read the book they were invited to the brother’s home to discuss different topics relating to religion and the customs of different peoples. As the people entered the home, they were invited to sit on a straw mat according to their usual custom. As soon as the people entered the room they knew it was a religious place, and they felt comfortable. They were able to discuss their ideas freely.

After several weeks, one person realized he had found the truth his heart had been searching for. He repented and confessed Christ as his Savior. Slowly, a few others became believers. Some received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. The group began to grow.

The church planter was very wise. He did not try to control everything in the new church. From the beginning, the new believers led discussions, prayers, songs, and other worship activities. As the group grew it was divided into small groups which met in different homes. This was a good plan. The new groups attracted people from the different areas of town. Their small size prevented them from being noticed by the officials, who would have reacted to the gathering of a large group.

Today the believers are very close to each other. They are strong in their support for those who are persecuted. The leadership of the new church was developed so fast that the church planter has moved on to start another church in a neighboring country. Meanwhile, the new church continues to grow and multiply.

BY A NEW METHOD

The Experience of Philippe

He Saw the Need

A young man, whom we will call Philippe, was attending Bible school. Philippe’s father was a devil worshiper. When Philippe was saved his family disowned him. During his last year in Bible school, Philippe felt a burden to take the gospel to a remote mountain area in his country. It was a poverty-stricken area where the people had never heard the gospel. Many people there worshiped evil spirits. Philippe saw the spiritual needs of these people.

He Discovered a Means

While in Bible school Philippe helped in the local office of International Correspondence Institute. He became very excited about the possibility of evangelizing the unreached people in the mountains by using the ICI evangelism course: The Great Questions of Life. Philippe had found the means to meet the spiritual need.

He Made a Commitment

Philippe committed himself to use this means to take the gospel to the mountain people. Every Saturday he rode the bus as far as he could. Then he walked for two hours up into the mountains. On the first Saturday, he found 15 people who were eager to study the course. They completed their courses and then gave him the names of several other prospects. Every Saturday Philippe returned with corrected lessons. He enrolled new students and preached to the villagers whenever he had the opportunity. Many students accepted Christ as their Savior. Philippe continued to teach them Bible truths by using some other ICI courses: Highlights in the Likeness of Christ, and Your Helpful Friend, a study on the Holy Spirit.

In a short time, a group of believers built a small chapel with a straw roof. Not long after, the church was organized according to the principles you studied in Lesson 3.

Now there is a church of over 250 members in that mountain area. Philippe did not stay there. Using these same methods he has planted six more churches. Not long ago Philippe went to an island off the coast of his country. There 35 people have accepted Christ as a result of studying The Great Questions of Life. They have asked Philippe to come to their village to preach the gospel and teach them more of God’s Word. Philippe has inspired others to plant churches by using these same methods.

The Guidelines to Follow

In the country where Philippe worked, the national church organization and the national ICI office found that guidelines were needed as new churches were planted, thus certain principles were agreed upon.

First, the church planter must be a motivated, Holy Spirit-directed worker. The Holy Spirit lays the burden on the heart of the church planter. When a person is under the Holy Spirit’s direction he can persevere and withstand whatever difficulty and sacrifices are necessary to see a church established.

Second, the worker must be provided with proper credentials from the national church body and the national ICI office. Local officials may be suspicious of a stranger who is teaching from materials they have never seen. With a letter of introduction from the national offices, the worker can explain his mission and avoid problems with local authorities. Also, he has the opportunity to make friends with the officials.

Third, the worker must go into an area that has no evangelical church work. The worker and national directors prayerfully select an unchurched, unevangelized area. The purpose is not to draw members and adherents from other evangelical churches but to reach the unevangelized.

Fourth, the church planter must work closely with the national church. The national church body is informed about church planting plans. This body helps select the areas for evangelism, commissions the worker, and helps with the overall planning. As soon as possible the new church is set in order and affiliated with the national church organization.