Nice!
When we say we are planting a church we are actually planting the kingdom. The whole idea is that the mission of the church is an extension of the mission of God. Church planting is not the end result; the kingdom is the end result.
We seek to become a culturally appropriate expression of the Body of Christ in the context of the people we are targeting to reach. How do they express enthusiasm? How do they express gratefulness? What kind of values are held dear? How can we incorporate all that into our church context?
The biggest challenge that a church planter has is probably the critical mass. “I don’t have much to invite them to. All I have is this vision!”
You may be surprised to learn that “pastoring” and church planting are different. You can pastor and grow a big church and not actually like people. You can be a grouch, as long as you can preach well and lead your staff adequately. You can’t do that and church plant; you’ve are the primary attraction, so to speak. And if all you have got is this vision, you jolly well learn how to communicate that effectively. If over time that and whoever you got get the cultural expression right, then you have got the beginnings of something to invite people to.
Yesterday’s meetings were sweet, and we loved the way everyone expressed what NLV is about!