Viral Churches

At EXPONENTIAL ’10, I had the privilege of hearing Ed Stetzer in his workshop entitled Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers, also the title of his and Warren Bird’s new book. Based on a study that was commissioned by the Leadership Network, Ed reveals the best practices in church planting and uncovers the common threads among them. Be inspired to plant churches that create a multiplication movement. Discover what to do next in your church planting strategies, in light of research on what's actually working best.

My notes from the workshop: NEW CHURCHES PLANT NEW CHURCHES! Be an "Antioch" Church; we have enough "Jerusalem Churches!" Don’t just plant a tree, plant an orchard! Movement Makers do these eight things: 1) MULTIPLY EVERYTHING! Disciples, Home Groups, Ministries, Churches. Everything must be reproducible! What’s alive gets multiplied! i.e. Multi-site: easy to add sites, need more of Lead Pastors; 2) MODEL MULTIPLICATION! Godly leaders produce Godly leaders! Real MISSIONAL ministry is messy because it involves marginalized people! Bad people make good soil; 3) BE BORN PREGNANT! Plant within one year! Plant when you grow by 25%! Send your BEST people out; 4) OPEN MORE LANES! Can’t pay your way to a Church Multiplication Movement! Bi-Vocational is an option. House churches. Ethnic works. There are different approaches; 5) GIVE PERMISSION! Tools not rules! Systems. Structures. There are planters among the people of your church; 6) OVERCOME FEAR! Have it? Yes! But God’s love casts out all fear! Do not consider it a success unless it multiplies; 7) DEFINE MISSIONAL WELL! New Testament missional multiplies! Join God on His mission: locally, nationally & globally. Faithfully engage culture; 8) PLANT BY MULTIPLICATION & NOT ONLY BY FUNDING! Don’t “tip” multiplication and say it’s the Great Commission.

Planting is like having a baby; it’s bloody, messy & painful, but you want to do it over and over again! Now reading the book. Get it! :o) Randy