PREAMBLE:
Years running out, the second coming of Our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ is fast approaching. Events which will quicken the
manifestation are already with us. It is within this concept therefore, that we
need to work harder in expanding His Kingdom so that those whom The Father has
destined for His eternal Paradise, will be dragged in. The church has long been
sleeping and a new re-awakening is necessarily compulsory. The church as we
know of today like the people of Israel is fast loosing her focus. If the
church must fulfil her eternal purpose, all hands must be on deck to revitalize
the mode of expanding God’s Kingdom.
WHAT IS THE
CHURCH?
We will avoid all secularism of the definition of the
word Church and go to a definition that will enhance our productivity. The
church therefore can be defined as an assembly of people called by God,
incorporated into Christ and indwelt by the Holy Spirit. These people consist
of those whom God foreknows in sovereign love and are called into fellowship
with Him.
THE PASTOR:
There seems to be confusion today about the person and
ministry of a Pastor. Ephesians 4:11-14 states as follows: “It was He who gave
gift. He appointed some to be Apostles, others to be Prophets, others to be
Evangelists, others to be Pastors and Teachers. He did this to prepare all
God’s People for the work of the Christian Service, in order to build up the
body of Christ……” (Good News for Modern Man). Therefore, Pastors and Teachers
probably are symbolic and are probably different from Apostles, prophets and
Evangelists, Pastors are to care, feed, guard and guard protect and Shepherd
the flock from the wolves that would destroy it. (See Acts 20: 28, 29; I Peter
5: 2-3, 8).
CHURCH PLANTING
Church Planting can be defined as a Local Church
deploys her members to plant multiple Churches far and near her new location.
The Local Church in an attempt to expand the Kingdom of God seeks to a
community to become part of God’s kingdom.
THE BIG
QUESTION:
What are the Roles of Pastors in this great venture?
In answering this big question, we will begin from where we started. That there
is some confusion concerning the functions of the Pastors. In our system, the
Pastor is a mail-runner. He collects mails, sorting them out and distributes
the mails. Those who do not mail-run have become pay-loader. They go out only
when it is convenient. I think we need some reasoning together. The question
that we need to ask is this, ‘what does the Bible say concerning the Pastors
duties’. In the passage earlier quoted, Paul in his letter to the Ephesians
emphasized that the Pastors are to build, guide, feed, protect and Shepherd the
flock. In the gospels, Jesus laid the foundation. He trained or discipled His
followers and sent them out in twos to witness. They came back to report of
what were their experiences. They would reviewed their strategies together and
fashion out procedure to follow. The Pastor, therefore, is the leader of the
church under the great Shepherd. This cannot be compromised The Pastor as
Leader is to govern the church in the way God wants him to do it. (Peter 5:
2-3). The Pastor is to feed the Sheep. (John 21: 15f) feed them with spiritual
food, preach the word of God, proclaim salvation message. Nourish the members
with the bread of life. The Pastor is also a Teacher. The Pastor teaches his
members to love their people with the love of God. Having fed them, he would go
on to teach the gospel truth about the salvation of their soul. The Pastor’s
function include training. He will train members the method of approach to
beginning a new church. He disseminates information and instructions on what
and how to start a new station. He might want to lead by example and encourage
his church members to follow suit. The Pastor as a leader leads the Church to
provide money for the new station. Unfortunately, some Pastors are afraid to
lead their churches to begin new churches. One would ask why?
I. Because of the fear of unknown. Many
of his financial members might want to divert their donations to the new
project or even decide to join new the Church.
II. Because, this might affect payment of
their salaries and at times withdraw their membership to join the new
settlement.
The Pastor as the General Overseer, will from time to
time supervise and review the progress of the work.
The Pastor must lead his Church members in praying for
the new Church project. There is no other way to success than taking the whole
matter before the Lord in Holy Communion. The role s of the Pastor in Church
planting cannot be exhausted here but as we pray, God will continue to open us
a way of self-discovery. We pray to know the will of God and in which direction
He wants us to go. Prayers open-up the heavens to man and guide man in God’s
direction.
REWARD FOR A
CHURCH PLANTER.
What often gear up people to want to greater things in
life is when they consider what will be their benefit or what reward will
accrue to them. This is true of all human activity. As a Church planter, what
will be your reward? Peter the Apostle answer this question appropriately in I
Peter 5: 4. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the glowing
crown which will never lose its brightness” (Good News for Modern Man) A crown
of glory that fadeth not away. Of course, your reward is of two-fold: The
Earthly and Heavenly Reward. In both the earthly and heavenly reward, your joy
is filled to the brim. These is nothing in this earth and in heaven that offer
greater compensation than through the ministries of Church planting turning men
from darkness to light, from Satan to the Saviour and from Hell to Heaven.
I am thinking of that beautiful land I shall reach
when the sun goeth down
When throu’ wonderful grace by my Saviour I stand
Will there be any stars in my crown?
Will there be
any stars, any stars in my crown When at evening the sun goeth down?
When I wake with the blest in the mansions of rest
Will there be any stars in my crown?
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, a few questions may help us to find our
feet on the ground.
(i). How old is your Church, when was it established?
(ii) Can you remember how the Church was
founded? What relevance is
this to your establishing a new station?
(iii) How many Churches has the Church
founded since its own creation?
(iv) How old is your youngest Church?
(v) How old are you in that Church?
(vi) How many Churches have you planted
since you get there?
(vii) Do you have a Church planting group
or Evangelism Committee in
your Church?
(viii) Do you have a discipleship
programme in your Church?
(ix) Do you have a budget for Evangelism?
(x) What do you intend to do after this
conference – business as
usual? God forbid.
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