BaptistLIFE Online

By David Jackson, BCMD Missionary for Church Multiplication

David Jackson

It was recently pointed out to me that a building I was visiting had a telltale crack that had appeared in one of the corners where two of the walls came together. The building was older, perhaps a hundred years in age, and from all appearances on the outside, was quite beautiful and impressive.

However, I was told that the crack—visible only from the inside—indicated a more serious problem than was even evident to the naked eye. The foundation was flawed, cracked as well, and that this would eventually bring about the demise of the building itself.

Can I state the obvious? Church planting doesn’t always encourage the construction and building of the planter’s own spiritual life. In fact, ministry in general often fights against the necessity of personal spiritual formation in the life of all Christ-followers. I find this especially true, at least anecdotally, among leaders in church life.

I have no doubt that the Enemy is behind a lot of this. He is “looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8). Sometimes it’s an all out, frontal assault, but often times it’s not. He’s usually subtler than that. If he can get church leaders to focus on “the good” rather than “the best,” he can neutralize their development or at least encourage a crack to appear in it.

In church planting this is often compounded by the fact that egos are large and resources are small. Planters sometimes think too much of themselves or they have limited options to assist them in the work of ministry. In either case, they often try to do it all themselves. Since everyone, including the planter, has the same amount of time, then something has to give. Unfortunately, it’s often their own spiritual development that suffers as a result.

This past month, the BCM/D granted me a sabbatical, for which I am thankful. My intended purpose for this experience was to retreat, reflect, renew and re-engage, all in the midst of life and ministry learning with family and friends.

During this time I was reminded of several keys that are essential for church planters—and all Christian leaders, in fact—to remember as they seek to build strong, healthy spiritual lives while ministering.

Being before Doing. In God’s eyes, who I am is more important than what I do. If I forget this, I negate the work of grace in my life and attempt to earn God’s favor through my service. In addition, who I am (or may not yet be) will directly impact what I do. If I am to develop as a leader like I should, I must cultivate my spiritual walk with God; it will affect everything else.

Relationship not Religion. Christianity is not a bunch of rules, tasks and obligations. It is a relationship with the living Lord. Our Father desires to develop intimate communion with His children, but religious responses crowd Him out and make the “forms” more important than the “function.” In other words, relationship makes it personal; religion, impersonal.

Love trumps Duty. What motivates you in your Christ-life? While responsibility rightly ought to move us to behavior in our ministry, the ultimate motivator in our lives should be love. Jesus taught us the importance of such love in our walk with God and in our connections with others (Matt. 22:37-39; John 15:12-13). Love is a relational motivator and thus, nurtures our life in Christ. Duty alone, on the other hand, brings burnout and a judgmental heart.

Priority above Activity. To put this another way, quality is more important than quantity in our lives. Even Jesus didn’t try to do “everything.” He instead chose to do what was most important at all times. He reminded busy, hard-working friend, Martha, that her sister, Mary, who sat at His feet, had “chosen what is better” (Luke 10:42). Doing the right things is always more important than doing more things.

People over Assignment. With so many needs in ministry, it is easy to forget that our assignment is not just checking off everything on our “to do” list. Tasks are not the objective; they are means to an end. The end in our service is always people, God’s choicest creation. Every job and assignment we have is done for the purpose of helping others and the calling God has placed upon their lives. If we forget the objective, our hearts become pharisaical and will harden.

Community rather than Isolation. You can’t be a solitary follower of Christ and grow your soul. The Godhead experiences community; Jesus exemplified it here on earth. We are created for community and need it desperately to thrive spiritually. While leadership in ministry often wars against close “common unity” with others for a variety of reasons (most are self-imposed), the growing disciple will allow “iron to sharpen iron” and will learn the necessity of interdependence in the Body of Christ.

Oswald Chambers reminds us all, “The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service for Him…The one aim of the call of God is the satisfaction of God, not a call to do something for Him” (My Utmost for His Highest, January 18).

In fact, if not careful, we can all too quickly neglect this essential foundation to work on the superstructure. And while superstructures can impress those who view them, the ultimate ability of the building to accomplish its intended purpose depends on what is inside and more specifically, what is unseen.

David Jackson serves the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware as the Team Strategist for Church Multiplication. He can be reached at (410) 977-9867 or at djackson@bcmd.org.

By David Jackson, BCM/D Missionary for Church Multiplication

David Jackson, BMC/D Missionary for Church Multiplication

The last thing a typical church planter wants to talk about is financial stewardship.

Since the early days of Willow Creek’s ministry, planters have been under the impression that talking about money in church is a sure path to extinction. Planters were told By Willow Creek and other churches from the same 1980’s time period that unchurched people in their communities thought churches were “after their money.” As a result, most planters stayed silent on the subject. Or if they did speak it was to offer a disclaimer telling guests they weren’t expected to give. Still other planters determined never to “pass an offering plate” in worship. Attendees, in fact, could visit a church for a full year and never hear a sermon or lesson on the topic or ever be confronted with an opportunity to give.

Times have changed. Willow Creek and other like churches have admitted they erred in this regard. And today most new churches—though they don’t like to do so—recognize that they must talk about stewardship, financial and otherwise.

Why the change? Three reasons quickly come to mind.

People need to know. Jesus talked about money and possessions more than just about any other topic. He knew the reality of life requires individuals to come to grips with God’s teachings on the subject. Most who come to church today are eager, especially in these tough economic times, to know what God has to say about the subject. Education is a part of the solution.

People need to grow. Stewardship of money and possessions is an essential part of discipleship. Following Christ as one’s Lord has to take place in every part of one’s life, not just the familiar or easy parts. Being a steward requires that disciples be found faithful with the things God has placed in our care. Learning to let God be Lord of our finances is a critical lesson in trusting Him.

People need to show. By their example and testimony, believers are able to demonstrate for others the difference that Christ makes in dealing with finances. They give witness to God’s sufficiency for their needs and by their reliance they declare that He will take care of them. As they proclaim their reliance on God with their financial resources, they encourage others to trust Him in handling their own finances, too.

So how do you go about instilling a heart for financial stewardship in the life of the people who attend your new church (or any age church, for that matter)? Well, in order to build stewards you must…

Model stewardship. Stewardship has to be a part of your own life and practice. You testify to the ability to trust God with your paycheck when you, God’s leader, tithe and give generously. You exemplify integrity and obedience when you show others that it is possible to live simply and successfully in “the joy of the Lord.” There may be nothing that enables others to take this necessary step in their own lives like your personal example of stewardship.

Preach and teach. Don’t shy away from proclaiming God’s Word on the stewardship of finances—and all of life—when you preach and teach. Do it consistently, not just when there is a financial need in the congregation’s life. Researchers have shown that preaching “series” on this topic or holding classes like “Financial Peace University” will help followers of Christ mature in their regard as the Bible suggests they should. In addition, it will help them in making biblical decisions involving finances every day of their lives.

Cast vision, not need. People deep down inside want their lives to make a difference. They want their lives to matter. For this to happen, church leaders have to appeal to Christ-followers out of the vision God has for a lost and dying world around them. They have to challenge people to be a part of fulfilling God’s dream for these people to see transformation come to their lives through Jesus Christ. Need is everywhere, but vision captures the heart.

Be accountable. People need to know that you and the church handle their financial gifts with integrity and accountability. Trust is paramount for a willing and obedient congregation. Thus, all financial dealings need to be “above board,” handled with honesty and openness for anyone who needs to know. Such willing transparency engenders goodwill and faith in your leadership. This will result in a greater willingness by the people to give freely.

Afford opportunities. If all your teaching is “book” knowledge and not experientially-based, followers will never learn through life how to implement the processes in their own walk with God. Give believers chances to give biblically, to practice generosity and to worship God through their tithes and offerings. Allow these opportunities to stretch their faith and to grow in their dependence on the Father. It will help them better learn the faithfulness of God.

Share stories and celebrate victories. Tell the stories of the difference generous giving and obedient stewardship are making in and through the new church. Celebrate the successes of families helped and communities assisted. Rejoice in the provision of God and remind people that together we are able to do far more, even in giving, than we could ever do ourselves.

Yes, it really is “more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). From the very beginning in planting your new church, declare it enthusiastically. Rally the people around God and His cause, and then watch Him bring in a harvest that will be wondrous to behold.

David Jackson is the missionary for church multiplication with the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware. He can be reached by phone at (410) 977-9867 or by email at djackson@bcmd.org.

David Jackson

By David Jackson, BCM/D Missionary for Church Multiplication

The last five years have seen the emergence of a new phenomenon in church methodology, known commonly as the “multisite church.” Defined simply as “one church in more than one location,” the multisite church is really a variation on a methodology begun almost 40 or so years ago under the name “satellite church.” While that emphasis never really “caught on,” the modern movement has quickly gained steam and has ardent supporters throughout North America, including here in Maryland/Delaware. Last year alone, the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware saw more multisite congregations start than in the rest of the decade combined.

The goal of the multisite strategy is to reach unreached people with the Good News of Jesus Christ. This, of course, is also the objective of all outreach/evangelism efforts and the goal of church planting, too. So is multisite an evangelism strategy? Almost all would agree it can be (and probably should be), since the multisite—a congregation of the church now meeting elsewhere—is (hopefully) seeking to reach those apart from Christ with the Gospel message. Is multisite a church planting strategy? Some of its advocates suggest this, and eventually over the life of the multisite congregation, I suspect that it will be in many instances. Most, though, see it as a church growth strategy “by extension;” that is, it grows the church not in the same place, but by moving to new locations in order to do so (i.e., thus it “extends” out into the world to share the Good News).

Regardless, many churches should consider this option, especially those who:
•    Have a desire to reach lost people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ
•    Are seeking to grow in order to maximize their impact on a lost and dying world
•    Have many members who commute from great distances to their facilities
•    Are landlocked and can’t build where they are OR can’t afford to go into a building project…yet
•    Are considering closing the doors because they are unsure they can continue in the future

If any (or all) of these characteristics describe your church and you are mulling the multisite option, then ask yourself the following:

1.    Is our church willing to meet in separate locations in order to reach more people for Jesus? This may mean locating your multisite in a more distant community where a number of your members currently live. By doing so they will have the ability to reach their friends and neighbors more effectively, since the new location will be in their own community (a place where unchurched people are more likely to attend and get involved).

2.    Is our church willing to consider a merger with a struggling church, through which the struggling church becomes a multisite congregation of our stronger, healthier church? Such a decision could keep the more feeble church from dying, but only you and the church will be able to determine “at what cost” this merger could potentially take place.

3.    Is our church considering a future relocation for ministry to another town or community? If so, starting a multisite congregation in that community may serve as a bridge to the future, a future in which you are able ultimately down the road to make the multisite become the beachhead to a new permanent location, while the former site you leave behind remains as a multisite congregation.

4.    Is our church willing to share its resources (people and funds), in order to make a greater impact for the Kingdom? While multisite options usually don’t cost as much as church planting in terms of money, it may require a larger investment of people resources…at least at first. Churches that go this route have many options on the “preaching strategies” employed, but all require adequate volunteers to assist in the other areas of ministry for the congregation, as well.

The multisite option for churches offers greater flexibility at lower costs for those who are willing to go this route. Moreover, it affords any church a quicker return on their investment and more control over the congregation than church planting. If these things are important to your outreach and extension strategies, perhaps multisite is for you.

We on the BCM/D Church Multiplication Team stand ready to assist you in seeing God’s dream become reality.

For more information about multisite churches, contact David Jackson, missionary for church multiplication, at (410) 977-9867 or by email at djackson@bcmd.org.

By Shannon Baker, BCM/D National Correspondent

COLUMBIA, Md.—The North American Mission Board recently recognized the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware with an award at the 2009 Summer State Leadership Meeting.

In this meeting, NAMB’s church planting group recognized several state conventions for outstanding church planting in 2008: Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware (first in enlistment); Illinois Baptist State Association (first in readiness/awareness); Georgia Baptist Convention (first in equipping); and the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina (first in multiplication).

Presented on July 29, 2009, the award recognizes “excellence in enlisting planters and churches for a commitment to church planting among every people group in North America.”

“I am proud to be part of a team so committed to church planters and church planting churches. I’ve never known an organization so passionate, so dedicated to the church planting enterprise as the BCM/D,” shared David Jackson, BCM/D missionary for church multiplication. “Thanks, everyone, for letting me be a part of this journey.”

The North American Mission Board’s Church Planting Process’s four key components, readiness, enlistment, equipping and multiplication, are guided by both theological and missiological truths, and each has unique functions.

Defining the stages and components helps association directors of missions, state conventions, missionary staff, national missionaries, church planter missionaries, church planters, pastors, and laypeople understand their roles in each stage of development.

According to the North American Mission Board, the Readiness component builds awareness of lostness and the need to plant churches contextualized for each specific people group with our partners. Readiness includes items such as spiritual preparation, understanding the place or context of the plant, a discovery of people groups, climate building, and measuring and developing receptivity among the identified audience for the gospel.

The Enlistment component of the Church Planting Process engages individuals and churches through church planting activity. The enlistment focus is around discovering individuals, developing church planting teams, sponsoring churches who plant churches, and other partners such as associations and conventions.

The Equipping component of the Church Planting Process provides training, skill development, and nurture needed by churches, planters, planting teams, and other partners who work with them. Equipping includes items such as development of personal character, expansion of church planting knowledge, new skill development, and evaluation of missionary giftedness.

The final component of the Church Planting Process, Multiplication, is designed to foster church health, life, and growth in the newly planted churches. Multiplication includes items such as gospel saturation in new areas in order to plant churches, development of new disciples, creation of small groups with the emphasis towards them becoming a new church, leadership identification and discovery, and the birthing of healthy, New Testament churches.

Jackson explained that the Enlistment Award was given to the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware for 2008 because of multiple factors, including the strength of its indigenous recruitment, the use of BaptistLIFE, the Strategic Focus Cities efforts of EMBRACE Baltimore, church multiplication’s social media presence and its video recruitment tools on e-quip.net.

“We are convinced that it is important to communicate with potential church planters in the most up to date, innovative ways possible—in ways which are natural for them and their world,” says Jackson. “We attempt to help potential planters learn about what God is doing here in Maryland and Delaware through ‘24/7’ methods whenever possible, so that it is always accessible to them as they may need it. As a result, we have three blogs, two podcasts and two websites, along with multiple other online venues for potential planters to explore God’s calling to church planting.”

He adds, “Who knows when the Holy Spirit may prompt someone to consider partnering with us in the ministry of church planting? BCM/D can’t call them; we can only inform them. Being good stewards of this ministry requires we do what we can to allow the Spirit of God to do what only He can do.”

Under the leadership of Jackson, BCM/D’s Mid-Atlantic Church Multiplication specifically follows a seven-step process to help potential church planters:

First, there is preparation. This includes prayer efforts and site location, which is usually determined by Associational Directors of Missions or Parent Churches.

The second step is partnership, where a parent church, along with the association and even potentially other congregations or organizations, joins the new church planting efforts.

Third, there is recruitment of potential church planters, through the use of e-quip.net, Discovery Days and more of the above. Assessments help evaluate potential planters.

Fourth, the BCM/D provides comprehensive training, beginning with Focused Living and a basic training experiences for planters and their spouses.

The fifth step is nurture and support for the planter and his family.  This includes a coach and mentor, peer learning clusters known as “New Church Incubators,” one-on-one and group interactions for spouses along with joint fellowship opportunities.

Sixth, the BCM/D focuses on evaluation through “pediatric check ups” over the course of the foundational development of the new church.

Finally, there is reproduction, in which church plants are prepared to become “parent churches” themselves.

For more information, contact Jackson at (800) 466-5290, ext. 225, djackson@bcmd.org, or visit online at  www.bcmddavid.wordpress.com; www.plantchurches.com; or www.bcmd.org/churchmultiplication.

David Jackson

By David Jackson, BCM/D missionary for church multiplication

My cousin celebrated the birth of newborn Gabrielle Grace Jackson last week. We, along with all the family, rejoiced in this wondrous occasion. New life is one of the greatest miracles of all and with it should come the recognition of God creative work. Each of us is “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14).

Unfortunately with Gabbi, she had some physical complications that made her health precarious. Doctors and technicians watched over her 24/7, but more than that, our Heavenly Father and an army of believers watched over her spiritually. Many of you prayed for her and for that, our family is eternally grateful.

This experience got me thinking: what if Gabbi did not have doctors and technicians to assist her in her short journey in life? What if she and her parents did not have so many people in the family of God surrounding them with prayer and support through these days? I can’t help but believe that her situation would have been markedly different.

The most neglected part of the church planting journey for almost every new church start is the time AFTER the plant has had its “birth.” These formative months and years are critical to the health and development of the infant church. And just like a newborn child, there are needful things that should be done to ensure its growth. We at the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware do our best to provide the essentials for an infant church to thrive during this early period in the church’s young life.

Food, Rest and Play. These essentials for life are needed by all human organisms. Proper training provides the nourishment needed to fuel the fledgling church. With it, though, are needed adequate seasons of rest and “play,” found in the focused efforts to streamline “busy-ness” in the plants by helping planters get away for renewal and opportunities to have fun together with each other and as families.

Love and Attention. Crossing the major milestone “of birth” doesn’t end our support for the plant and its leaders. On the contrary, we seek to become a listening ear and a cheerleading advocate to encourage them on as they look to the future. We do our best to “brag on them” and even pull out the pictures and show others, given the chance. We want to be ready and available when they sense a need.

Prayer. We are constantly aware that this is a spiritual endeavor, not a business enterprise. As such, like parents and other loved ones, we recognize there are limitations to our abilities and even our insight into what needs to happen. Because of this we are earnestly and often in deep and passionate prayer for God to work in the plant’s life. We pray for God to reveal more of Himself to that new child in His kingdom work and for Him to do for His new church what only God can do.

Check-ups. At regular intervals in the life of the new church, we evaluate the health and development of the fledging congregation. Our attempt is to be prescriptive in our diagnosis, in order to keep the “child” healthy while very young, when it is often most vulnerable. These check-ups are an attempt to help the new church value the process of reflection and evaluation and learn how to make the adjustments necessary to keep growing, qualitatively as well as quantitatively.

Booster “Shots.” As the new work grows in a healthy manner, we initiate contact with those who need these injections to (1) protect it from outside threats and/or (2) to catalyze it so that it can grow faster and stronger. Like all injections, there is a process to follow for one’s safety and strength, but when followed, it can result in meaningful and significant development beyond whatever level the plant currently is experiencing.

Parental Support. Babies don’t come into this world alone; they have parents who also need support and encouragement on the journey. Churches who parent new works finds coaches and trainers to assist them in knowing what and how they should go about helping this new church plant grow and develop, as it should. Cautions against over-protectiveness and negligence are both addressed. More than anything, though, parent churches find friends for life, who will celebrate and serve them in whatever way possible to make the parenting experience a joyful one that will be repeated often.

Ultimately, Gabbi’s eternal well-being rested in the hands of our Lord; the same is true of every church plant. But like any good parent and friend, we seek to be good stewards over the gift of life that God has shared with us in these new “children.” Our hope and dream is that they too will become trophies of His grace and will, in turn, share His love with generations yet to come.

David Jackson serves as the Missionary for Church Multiplication with the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware. He can be reached at djackson@bcmd.org or (410) 290-5290, extension 225.

David Jackson

By David Jackson, BCM/D Missionary for Church Multiplication

This past weekend brought the tragic news of Michael Jackson’s sudden and untimely death. Like many others from my generation, his music impacted my life. One of the songs that made a marked impression upon me personally was the song “Man in the Mirror.” In that song, which went to number one on the pop music charts in March of 1988, Jackson wrote,

I’m starting with the man in the mirror

I’m asking him to change his ways

And no message could have been any clearer

If you wanna make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself, and then make a change.

In the past few days, we have had three church planting candidates come through our church planting assessment process. This is an opportunity for us as a partnering entity to get to know them and look for evidence of calling, character and competency for church planting in their lives. For the candidates, it is an opportunity for self-discovery, confirmation and clarification in atheir life regarding their future in church planting.

Why is this so important?

I had been a church planter for about two years and, by all accounts, we were off to a great start. The church was growing and lost people were being reached with the Gospel. But one Monday morning as I reflected upon where our new church was “at,” God revealed to me a startling discovery: this new church plant had become a “mirror-image” of me! My values had become their values, my lifestyle had become their lifestyle, and so on. I remember shuddering at the responsibility and significance of the example of my life daily before them. “The Man in the Mirror” had come to stay.

Three years ago I had the privilege of serving as the interim pastor at Montrose Church in Rockville, Md. That same year, at their Christian school’s commencement the speaker made one of the most profound statements I’ve ever heard at such as event. “You teach what you know,” he said, “but you reproduce who you are.”

How right he is! My research and observation since that personal “light bulb” church planting experience has confirmed that this reality takes place over and over and over again in the life of church planters (and to some degree, in all churches where a pastor has a longer tenure, but that’s another story for another day). It is a telling reminder that who we are impacts what others become. Paul understood this and that’s why he is able to say, “You became imitators of us and of the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 1:6).

This is why assessment for our church planters is so important. By helping us and planters “see” better who they are, all of us will understand what that church will one day likely become, as well. As a result, it helps all of us plan intentionally to stay healthy, spiritually as well as physically, and to nurture others as we ourselves are nurtured and coached to the extent of our God-given potential.

So the next time you stop and look at the “man in the mirror,” ask yourself this…is what I see reflected back to me the same thing I want to see in the lives of those whom I lead?  And if not, what are you going to do about it?

David Jackson is the Missionary for Church Multiplication with the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware. He can be reached at (800) 466-5290, extension 225 or by email at djackson@bcmd.org.