“This is the Church. This is the steeple. Open the doors and here are the people.” I was taught this little jingle in Sunday School over 45 years ago in the basement of the church my folks attended. I would interlock my fingers inwardly so they faced my palms, lift my two pointing fingers upward and touch the tips together to make it look like the steeple of a church, bring my thumbs together side-by-side to make them look like a door, and then say the jingle. When you opened your thumbs of the door you would twist your wrists so your fingers would point upward and presto! There were all the people of the church.
Last month we held our first Evangel School of Urban Church Planting on the East Coast at the World Impact Christian Transformation Center. Teams and individuals gathered together to worship, pray and strategically set a course of action to plant churches in targeted urban poor communities for the glory of God. We had sixteen participants made up of five teams – Bravo Team (Community Transformation Church), Charlie Team (Gate of Heaven International Worship Center), Alpha Team (Crosswinds Church), Golf Team (Observation team), and Fox Trot Team (Observation team). All five teams completed the five phases of our church plant training: Prepare, Launch, Assemble, Nurture, and Transition (P.L.A.N.T.).
Three of these teams (Bravo, Alpha and Charlie) were chartered for three years to aggressively engage in the vision the Lord gave to the church plant team leader. The teams plan to faithfully work through the strategic plan they crafted from our long hours doing the exercises of the Evangel School of Urban Church Planting.
The other two teams (Fox Trot and Golf) eagerly participated in the training. The Fox Trot team is about 4-5 years out from launching but wanted to experience the process knowing they would not be chartered at this time. Team Golf is an established church with Converge Worldwide. They came for observation but decided to use the excellent training as a reboot for their church.
I love our Global Ends Statement at World Impact: “The empowered urban poor advancing God’s Kingdom in every city through the local church.” It is the local church where the fruit of the Great Commission, disciples, are gathered together in the three “wards” of ministry: upward ministry in worship and adoration, the inward ministry of growth in the grace and knowledge of Christ and the outward ministry in extending His Kingdom reign through the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is out of obedience to the Great Commission that we “go and make disciples” and facilitate the planting of churches. It is these local churches where the empowered urban poor will advance God’s Kingdom in every city. The Spirit of the Lord is working through our efforts to identify, equip and release urban leaders to plant churches.
There is nothing in this world like the Church. The gates of hell itself cannot prevail against her. Yes, she is more than a steeple and a door. Wherever she gathers and no matter her numbers, she calls out the community of faith to honor and obey the Lord of all Creation – Jesus Christ.
