church planting movement

I have been at a church planting conference these past few days. Some of it was good. Some of it was great! The weird thing was being around church planters that were not just part of church plants but church planting movements. Here I was, having just finished my last final in seminary and not even graduated yet, and I was rubbing elbows with folks doing some amazing things for the Kingdom.

Did you know that in the last 10 years there were 9 churches in the US which planted more churches than all the major denominations combined. Those 9 churches planted 303 churches in the last decade. And not just regular churches, but churches that will be multiplying and planting churches of their own. Imagine what that number will be in the next 10 years. And all of that started from just 9 churches.

I was humbled to be around these guys. I used to call myself a "future church planter." I used to call the church I will go to a "church plant." But compared to these "movements" both Horizon and myself pale in comparison. They challenged us not just to plant churches but to plant a church planting center which would be the center of mobilization for a church planting movement. I hope that Horizon will be such a center in the future.

I thought planting a church every two years was daring and edgy. Nope. That is almost boring to these guys. They are leaders of churches that are planting 5-10 churches every year. And those churches that are getting planted are planting another church within a year. They are all networked together and they call themselves Glocalnet.

Not only are they multiplying here in the states, but each Glocalnet partner church adopts a nation. They go into various nations and build schools, hospitals and the like. They call it Nation Building. Some churches are even helping to rebuild Afganastan and Iraq. Churches are literally transforming those nations.

They have a three fold approach to church. Transform people from the inside out. Transform local communities from the inside out. And transform nations from the inside out. Its not just a crazy dream or an optimistic casting of vision. No, its a practical reality. God is moving. And his moving dwarfs our expectations and limitations. I just hope I can be a part of what He is doing in and through the Church today.