World Missions & Evangelism, Inc.

Church Planting Movements are occuring all over the world. CPM and Insider movements to Christ, are advancing the gospel throughout the Muslim and Hindu worlds especially, and WME is working to see such a movement take place in Honduras in Central America. In a future blog, I plan to share a new potential project in Indonesia that WME hopes to facilitate. But the question on which I am focusing in this series of 3 blogs, is whether such a movement is possible in the United States or the West in general. My answer: a resounding Yes! In fact there are groups that may be in the early stages of experiencing this right now. But where it is happening, it is outside of the organized church in the West. There is only 1 Body of Christ, and it meets in many ways, in many churches, and many fellowships and denominations and without those structures as well. The church is comprised of those who are connected to the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Meanwhile, the local expressions of

In the previous blog we started looking at Obstacles to Church Planting Movements in the West (North America and Europe). I am in the process of addressing 3 specific "Stones in the Field" that will have to be dealt with if cpm is going to happen. The specific point that I am making is that the stones are not so much in the field of Western Culture, but actually in the field of the Western Church. I don't think that American or European culture will be impossible for cpm. Actually, the West is extremely needy of and ready for a church planting movement (or a gospel planting/church multiplying movement, or a discipling movement, or a revival, or whatever you want to call it!). The greater difficulty is the traditionally structured and functioning church in the West. In making that statement, let me say 2 things: 1st, I love the church in the West. I am not even suggesting that the existing churches should make changes based on what I will be discussing in this arti

A Couple of blogs ago, on March 9, I wrote an article on Keys and Obstacles. At the end of the blog, I promised further discussion of the Obstacles to CPM, especially in the American context. In that last blog, I shared some things that came from David Garrison's important book, "Church Planting Movements" (2004). In this blog, I want to move into some new territory on this issue. The basic concept that I am espousing here is that, church multiplication is natural and organic, and really should not be that complicated. I am suggesting that the church is a living thing (alive with the Spirit of God) and as such should naturally grow and multiply. The book of Acts tells of a growing, spreading, and multiplying church that moved from Jerusalem to Rome in about 30 years, and which literally shook the Roman Empire. In the midst of 10 persecutions, and without cars, trains, planes, phones, TV, or internet, the church experienced the greatest church planting movement in history

Dear Reader, This week I'm going to interrupt the series of blogs on CPM principles to give you an update from one of WME's partners in the Haiti Relief and Recovery project. I want to thank you all very much for helping WME channel relief funds to Haiti during this time. Through your help, WME has been able to work with several relief projects. In this blog I want to share a letter I just received from missionary Don Jones of Lifelines ministry. We have been partners with Lifelines and their ministries in Haiti and Mexico for over 20 years. In February, Brother Jones and others reentered Haiti and have begun work on recovery. In his letter, that follows, he describes his reaction to the devastation and the specific needs with which they are working. Let me allow Bro. Jones to give this report in his own words: “My Precious friend of Haiti: Words simply cannot tell you the damage that the earthquake has caused in Haiti, it is totally unbelievable, but it is FACT. I was right

I Corinthians 3:9b-"you are God's field, God's building." KEYS TO CPM I had a great weekend in Lexington, KY with some great believers. On Saturday night I spoke to the men of a network of 3 churches on the subject of the 21 Critical Elements of Church Planting Movements (The notes of that talk are last week's blog). Then on Sunday morning, I spoke on Hearing, Understanding, and Obeying the Word (my current favorite sermon) to a great church of wonderfully receptive people. But one of my absolute highlights was Saturday night after the meeting. I had the opportunity to eat with and interact with an amazing group of college students from UK. (And others, not all were students). They sure knew how to probe and ask questions that kept me on my toes about church planting movements. For about an hour and a half (9:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.) we talked about CPM and the critical elements and what that might look like in the US. At one point I explained the critical elements thi

This week I will be speaking to a group in Lexington, Ky. on the subject of church planting movements. The leader has specifically asked me to talk to the group about the critical elements of church planting movements. This is a subject that has been addressed in this blog on several occasions, but as I have been putting a short outline together for this group, I thought I would share it on the blog again. Let me make a couple of points at the beginning and then just give the outline I will be using with very little editing. 1. The concept of critical elements is that these characteristics are present in every known CPM. 2. The list of critical elements is constantly evolving, and the one I am sharing comes from David Watson's blog, and is the list that I think is the best at this time. INTRODUCTION TO CHURCH PLANTING MOVEMENTS: THE 21 CRITICAL ELEMENTS I. Definition: A Church Planting Movement is defined as a rapid multiplication of indigenous churches planting churches that sweep