HPMHC is the abbreviation for "Help in Planting and Multiplying Healthy Churches", a monthly newsletter. I have made very minor structural adjustments to the newsletter so that it fits this blogpost. The original newsletter article was published on 2/8/16 entitled "If We Were to Plant Another Church!" You will find Dr. Bob Vajko's contact details at the bottom of the article. The article follows, quoting Dr. Bob Vajko:
At one point in our ministry in France, I interviewed a number of church planters asking them the following question: “If you were to start all over and plant another church, what would you do differently?” It was fascinating to hear the varied replies and to share them with others. Now in this article I want to ask myself the same question. Along with my wife Noreen we had the joy of starting daughter churches out of a church planted by another missionary, planting a new church in France in the new city of St. Quentin, along with two daughter churches and then planting a new church in Australia while teaching at the Adelaide College of Ministries in South Australia. Then for the last twelve years I have been serving as a church plant consultant teaching in various parts of the world where I have then learned some other valuable help.
So ... I want to ask myself the question, “What would I do differently if I were to plant another church?” As we look back we see that there were some key things that we did rightly such as planting the church in prayer and leaning hard upon Christ’s promise, “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18). We also made planting daughter churches a vital part of a new church. I have a study that I have used with church planters entitled, “Twelve Mistakes Church Planters Make” (available by electronic copy, just e-mail me at bobvajko@gmail.com and request a copy). Nevertheless, were we to plant another church, here are some aspects of church planting that we would either do differently or emphasize more.
Here is some of what I see as of importance now:
1. First, I would lay an even greater emphasis on faith and prayer than we had done in previous church planting experiences.
a. We learned about the importance of prayer in the church plant that started in the New City of St. Quentin, France, and put great emphasis upon prayer and had prayer partners with whom we communicated each step of the church planting cycle.
b. But we have learned even more the importance of other aspects of prayer in church planting from what has happened in what are called “church planting movements” where seven aspects of prayer are enumerated.
i. Prayer for the missionaries.
ii. Prayer for the lost people group.
iii. Prayer modeled by the missionaries and church planters.
iv. Prayer for the new believers.
v. Prayer by the new believers.
vi. Prayer between partners.
vii. Prayer for more workers. (Garrison 2004, 173-177).
We did emphasize nos. i, iii, Iv, and v, but would lay greater weight on every one of these aspects of prayer.
2. Second, I would spend more time in discipleship right from the beginning and make this a key part of the church plant at all times. This would include the following elements:
a. Clearly defining what a disciple is and does. Here is a helpful description from Bill Hull (1984,11-12):
i. One who “remains in Christ, consistently walking with him.”
ii. “The second major characteristic of a disciple is obedience.”
iii. “The third basic characteristic of a disciple is that he bears spiritual fruit.”
iv. “The fourth primary badge of a true disciple is that he glorifies God.”
b. Having a basic approach to the phases of discipleship without developing a program that is not flexible. These would include the following stages: (Hull & Gilliam 1995, 27-29).
i. “Come and See.”
ii. “Follow Me”
iii. “Be with Me”
iv. “Remain in Me”
This does not mean that we would necessarily follow a linear approach but we would seek to have people move in discipleship as God works in their lives. What this also means is there is no such thing as a person having arrived at what we call “discipleship.” There is always growing and moving ahead and the local church provides that possibility of movement. Leon Morris states, “discipleship is not static, but a growing and developing way of life. Always the true disciple is becoming more fully a disciple” (Morris 1971, 673).
c. Developing discipleship so that it becomes a clear step to the needed leadership in the newly-planted church.
d. It would also be important to have personal discipleship in a mentoring situation with key people that would help them develop as disciples. Robertson McQuilkin talks about “Personal is ‘in’” in discipleship and further clarifies: "Whatever the approach, clearly the concept of having someone gifted and called to the role of personally instructing believers and holding them accountable could indeed be a major source of spiritual development, of becoming ever more like Jesus, of having the lost image restored, of living our life in the presence and power of the Spirit. In short, of becoming a true disciple of Jesus Christ" (McQuilkin 2007, 54).
3. Third, I would seek to develop leaders before the church started and continue training leaders as the church plant developed.
a. This would mean a proactive approach to developing leaders rather than a passive waiting to see leaders arise.
b. This would also involve developing leaders for planting new churches out of a mother church in order to see multiplication take place.
4. Fourth, I would emphasize not only Sunday worship but what was happening in the lives of believers during the week.
a. In some cases, instead of a vision of making disciples, the emphasis is upon starting up another church service. Diet Schindler, an experienced church planter in Germany states that churches do not thrive because of a wrong vision of “Planting worship services instead of churches. In many instances church planters are not planting a new church; they are planting a new worship service. Worship becomes the dominant driving force; sucking in most of the time, energy, and finances of the core group. I believe this is a grave error that we need to overcome.“ As Schindler sees it, you will end up with a group of people attending a service rather than true disciples having a vision of making disciples in accord with Christ’s command in the Great Commission. He further explains this simply as a church plant having, “No intentional way of making disciples that make disciples” (Schindler quoted in Vajko 2012).
b. J. D. Greear explains, “Churches that want to penetrate their world with the gospel think less about Sunday morning bang and more about equipping their members to blast a hole in the mountain of lostness” (2015, 29). Then again he states, “We see our weekend gathering of the church like a huddle, where instructions are given for how the players can run the ‘mission’ play throughout the week” (85).
c. Effective small groups that function well in the following areas would be emphasized:
i. Praying together.
ii. Discipling together
iii. Applying the Word of God together.
iv. Serving together.
v. Evangelizing together.
5. Fifth, I would seek to develop a strategy for multiplication that would continue to more than four generations. This means also that I would do everything I could to train church planters from within the church plant to plant other churches without developing sterile churches that do not reproduce.
6. Sixth, I would emphasize the balance between quality and quantity in church planting.
a. We would seek to see definite quantity growth without playing the numbers game.
b. We would determine what are the basic qualities of a healthy church.
c. We would seek to also put in place what might be called “organic” or “structural growth.”
d. Above all, we would seek to develop the following ten qualities of a healthy church:
i. The Priority of the Word of God in General and of the Gospel in Particular.
ii. True Discipleship.
iii. Leadership Development.
iv. Spiritual Gifting Valued.
v. Biblically Balanced Personal and Corporate Worship.
vi. Effective Small Groups.
vii. Effective Evangelism.
viii. Loving Care for One Another.
ix. Reproduction by Church Planting.
x. World Missions Vision. (Vajko 2011)
7. Seventh, I would implement a plan for teaching the Word of God in a systematic way.
a. This would involve what Paul said about the church plant in Ephesus, “I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house” (Acts 20:20).
b. This plan for teaching all the Word is seen in what Paul stated in 1 Tim. 3:16, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God might be competent, equipped for every good work.”
c. It has become more and more evident that people need a true biblical theology –to see the Bible as a whole and not just some sections of Scripture.
8. Eighth, I would emphasize even more that a true church must have a vision for the Great Commission to make disciples in all the world according to Matt. 28:18-20.
a. This would mean a vision for making sure that the church understand that the making of disciples in every nation is the responsibility of every believer. J. E. Greear explains, “In every sermon I preach, I ask myself, ‘Have I connected this text to God’s global mission?” (Geear 1975, 157). This keeps world missions in the center of the local church.
b. This would mean doing everything possible to mobilize the church to send out key people in mission to all nations.
c. This would also mean having a major part of the giving going to support missionaries throughout the world.
Reference List
All Scripture quoted is from the English Standard Version, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
Garrison, David. 2004. Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World. Midlothian, VA: WIGTake Resources.
Greear, J. D. 2015. Gaining by Losing: Why the Future Belongs to Churches that Send. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Hull, Bill. 1984. Jesus Christ Disciple Maker. Old Tappan, NJ: Revell.
________. 1990. The Disciple Making Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Revell.
Hull, Bill and Bob Gilliam. 1995 “Biblical Foundations of Disciplemaking.” Syllabus of Course at Trinity International University, July 1995.
McQuilkin, Robertson. 2007. The Five Smooth Stones: Essential Principles for Biblical Ministry. Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing.
Morris, Leon. 1971. The Gospel According to John. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans
Schindler, Dietrich. Personal e-mail in response to a question about church planting.
Vajko, Robert. 2011. “Church Planting Seminar on Church Health– Budapest, Hungary, March 20, 2009, revised May 2011.”
________. 2012. “Church Plants that Survive and Thrive.” Study for training Church Planters.
This newsletter is edited by Dr. Bob Vajko, International Church Planting Consultant, and is sent out by TEAM (The Evangelical Alliance Mission). Remember our goal is that “no church planter might stand alone” and “we have a dream—a world where there are no lonely church planters.” If you would like to reply to this issue or any part of this HPMHC newsletter, simply send an e-mail to either me at bobvajko@gmail.com or my wife at nvajko@gmail.com. Thank you.
PUBLISHING AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION . HELP IN PLANTING AND MULTIPLYING HEALTHY CHURCHES (HPMHC) is put together in collaboration with TEAM by Bob and Noreen Vajko, TEAM International Church Planting Consultants. There are now more than 450 people receiving this newsletter in 36 ministry areas of the world. Also, if you know someone who would like to receive this newsletter, simply have them e-mail us and request a free subscription. You are free to use, photocopy, and send any part of this newsletter to others who might be helped. Just cite the source as you use this material and then encourage them to sign up to receive this free newsletter. Send requests for new subscriptions, changes of address and cancellations to the Vajkos.
So ... I want to ask myself the question, “What would I do differently if I were to plant another church?” As we look back we see that there were some key things that we did rightly such as planting the church in prayer and leaning hard upon Christ’s promise, “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18). We also made planting daughter churches a vital part of a new church. I have a study that I have used with church planters entitled, “Twelve Mistakes Church Planters Make” (available by electronic copy, just e-mail me at bobvajko@gmail.com and request a copy). Nevertheless, were we to plant another church, here are some aspects of church planting that we would either do differently or emphasize more.
Here is some of what I see as of importance now:
1. First, I would lay an even greater emphasis on faith and prayer than we had done in previous church planting experiences.
a. We learned about the importance of prayer in the church plant that started in the New City of St. Quentin, France, and put great emphasis upon prayer and had prayer partners with whom we communicated each step of the church planting cycle.
b. But we have learned even more the importance of other aspects of prayer in church planting from what has happened in what are called “church planting movements” where seven aspects of prayer are enumerated.
i. Prayer for the missionaries.
ii. Prayer for the lost people group.
iii. Prayer modeled by the missionaries and church planters.
iv. Prayer for the new believers.
v. Prayer by the new believers.
vi. Prayer between partners.
vii. Prayer for more workers. (Garrison 2004, 173-177).
We did emphasize nos. i, iii, Iv, and v, but would lay greater weight on every one of these aspects of prayer.
2. Second, I would spend more time in discipleship right from the beginning and make this a key part of the church plant at all times. This would include the following elements:
a. Clearly defining what a disciple is and does. Here is a helpful description from Bill Hull (1984,11-12):
i. One who “remains in Christ, consistently walking with him.”
ii. “The second major characteristic of a disciple is obedience.”
iii. “The third basic characteristic of a disciple is that he bears spiritual fruit.”
iv. “The fourth primary badge of a true disciple is that he glorifies God.”
b. Having a basic approach to the phases of discipleship without developing a program that is not flexible. These would include the following stages: (Hull & Gilliam 1995, 27-29).
i. “Come and See.”
ii. “Follow Me”
iii. “Be with Me”
iv. “Remain in Me”
This does not mean that we would necessarily follow a linear approach but we would seek to have people move in discipleship as God works in their lives. What this also means is there is no such thing as a person having arrived at what we call “discipleship.” There is always growing and moving ahead and the local church provides that possibility of movement. Leon Morris states, “discipleship is not static, but a growing and developing way of life. Always the true disciple is becoming more fully a disciple” (Morris 1971, 673).
c. Developing discipleship so that it becomes a clear step to the needed leadership in the newly-planted church.
d. It would also be important to have personal discipleship in a mentoring situation with key people that would help them develop as disciples. Robertson McQuilkin talks about “Personal is ‘in’” in discipleship and further clarifies: "Whatever the approach, clearly the concept of having someone gifted and called to the role of personally instructing believers and holding them accountable could indeed be a major source of spiritual development, of becoming ever more like Jesus, of having the lost image restored, of living our life in the presence and power of the Spirit. In short, of becoming a true disciple of Jesus Christ" (McQuilkin 2007, 54).
3. Third, I would seek to develop leaders before the church started and continue training leaders as the church plant developed.
a. This would mean a proactive approach to developing leaders rather than a passive waiting to see leaders arise.
b. This would also involve developing leaders for planting new churches out of a mother church in order to see multiplication take place.
4. Fourth, I would emphasize not only Sunday worship but what was happening in the lives of believers during the week.
a. In some cases, instead of a vision of making disciples, the emphasis is upon starting up another church service. Diet Schindler, an experienced church planter in Germany states that churches do not thrive because of a wrong vision of “Planting worship services instead of churches. In many instances church planters are not planting a new church; they are planting a new worship service. Worship becomes the dominant driving force; sucking in most of the time, energy, and finances of the core group. I believe this is a grave error that we need to overcome.“ As Schindler sees it, you will end up with a group of people attending a service rather than true disciples having a vision of making disciples in accord with Christ’s command in the Great Commission. He further explains this simply as a church plant having, “No intentional way of making disciples that make disciples” (Schindler quoted in Vajko 2012).
b. J. D. Greear explains, “Churches that want to penetrate their world with the gospel think less about Sunday morning bang and more about equipping their members to blast a hole in the mountain of lostness” (2015, 29). Then again he states, “We see our weekend gathering of the church like a huddle, where instructions are given for how the players can run the ‘mission’ play throughout the week” (85).
c. Effective small groups that function well in the following areas would be emphasized:
i. Praying together.
ii. Discipling together
iii. Applying the Word of God together.
iv. Serving together.
v. Evangelizing together.
5. Fifth, I would seek to develop a strategy for multiplication that would continue to more than four generations. This means also that I would do everything I could to train church planters from within the church plant to plant other churches without developing sterile churches that do not reproduce.
6. Sixth, I would emphasize the balance between quality and quantity in church planting.
a. We would seek to see definite quantity growth without playing the numbers game.
b. We would determine what are the basic qualities of a healthy church.
c. We would seek to also put in place what might be called “organic” or “structural growth.”
d. Above all, we would seek to develop the following ten qualities of a healthy church:
i. The Priority of the Word of God in General and of the Gospel in Particular.
ii. True Discipleship.
iii. Leadership Development.
iv. Spiritual Gifting Valued.
v. Biblically Balanced Personal and Corporate Worship.
vi. Effective Small Groups.
vii. Effective Evangelism.
viii. Loving Care for One Another.
ix. Reproduction by Church Planting.
x. World Missions Vision. (Vajko 2011)
7. Seventh, I would implement a plan for teaching the Word of God in a systematic way.
a. This would involve what Paul said about the church plant in Ephesus, “I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house” (Acts 20:20).
b. This plan for teaching all the Word is seen in what Paul stated in 1 Tim. 3:16, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God might be competent, equipped for every good work.”
c. It has become more and more evident that people need a true biblical theology –to see the Bible as a whole and not just some sections of Scripture.
8. Eighth, I would emphasize even more that a true church must have a vision for the Great Commission to make disciples in all the world according to Matt. 28:18-20.
a. This would mean a vision for making sure that the church understand that the making of disciples in every nation is the responsibility of every believer. J. E. Greear explains, “In every sermon I preach, I ask myself, ‘Have I connected this text to God’s global mission?” (Geear 1975, 157). This keeps world missions in the center of the local church.
b. This would mean doing everything possible to mobilize the church to send out key people in mission to all nations.
c. This would also mean having a major part of the giving going to support missionaries throughout the world.
Reference List
All Scripture quoted is from the English Standard Version, Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
Garrison, David. 2004. Church Planting Movements: How God is Redeeming a Lost World. Midlothian, VA: WIGTake Resources.
Greear, J. D. 2015. Gaining by Losing: Why the Future Belongs to Churches that Send. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Hull, Bill. 1984. Jesus Christ Disciple Maker. Old Tappan, NJ: Revell.
________. 1990. The Disciple Making Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Revell.
Hull, Bill and Bob Gilliam. 1995 “Biblical Foundations of Disciplemaking.” Syllabus of Course at Trinity International University, July 1995.
McQuilkin, Robertson. 2007. The Five Smooth Stones: Essential Principles for Biblical Ministry. Nashville, TN: B & H Publishing.
Morris, Leon. 1971. The Gospel According to John. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans
Schindler, Dietrich. Personal e-mail in response to a question about church planting.
Vajko, Robert. 2011. “Church Planting Seminar on Church Health– Budapest, Hungary, March 20, 2009, revised May 2011.”
________. 2012. “Church Plants that Survive and Thrive.” Study for training Church Planters.
This newsletter is edited by Dr. Bob Vajko, International Church Planting Consultant, and is sent out by TEAM (The Evangelical Alliance Mission). Remember our goal is that “no church planter might stand alone” and “we have a dream—a world where there are no lonely church planters.” If you would like to reply to this issue or any part of this HPMHC newsletter, simply send an e-mail to either me at bobvajko@gmail.com or my wife at nvajko@gmail.com. Thank you.
PUBLISHING AND SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION . HELP IN PLANTING AND MULTIPLYING HEALTHY CHURCHES (HPMHC) is put together in collaboration with TEAM by Bob and Noreen Vajko, TEAM International Church Planting Consultants. There are now more than 450 people receiving this newsletter in 36 ministry areas of the world. Also, if you know someone who would like to receive this newsletter, simply have them e-mail us and request a free subscription. You are free to use, photocopy, and send any part of this newsletter to others who might be helped. Just cite the source as you use this material and then encourage them to sign up to receive this free newsletter. Send requests for new subscriptions, changes of address and cancellations to the Vajkos.