Title: Church planting is âdoable,â Brethren conference lear ns Subject: Church of the Brethren Newsline Date: May 25, 2006 From: Church of the Brethren News Services Contact: Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, 800-323-8039 ext. 260, _cobnews@brethren.org_ (mailto:cobnews@brethren.org)
CHURCH PLANTING IS âDOABLE,â PARTICIPANTS LEARN AT CHURCH OF THE BRETHREN CONFERENCE
May 25, 2006 (Elgin, IL) -- This week brought the conclusion of the Church of the Brethrenâs annual Church Planting Conference May 20-23, the t hird to be held at Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, Ind.
The theme was âScissors, Paper, Rock: Tools, Textures, and Testimoni es in Church Planting.â Attendees included novice and experienced church p lanters as well as those just exploring what it means to plant a church, according to a report provided by Tasha Hornbacker, summer intern at the Brethren Academy f or Ministerial Leadership.
The event was sponsored by the Congregational Life Ministries of the Church of the Brethren General Board and developed with the New Church Development Advisory Committee and the Brethren Academy. Funding was provided through th e Emerging Global Mission Fund of the General Board. Jen Sanders was the conference coordinator.
Keynote speaker was Michael Cox, former staff for church planting for the American Baptist Churches USA and pastor of St. Paul Baptist Church in Montclair, N.J. Preachers for the event included Marcos Inhauser, national director for Igreja da Irmandade (Church of the Brethren in Brazil), and Chris Bunch , founding pastor of the Jar Community Church.
As well as the keynote addresses, the conference also included a variety of workshops led by pastors who are currently planting churches and others in t he Church of the Brethren faith community. Attendees also enjoyed energetic worship and daily small group meetings that allowed time and space to proce ss the events of the conference.
The conference kicked off with a lively worship service and message brought by Cox, who gave the participants a list of 10 key elements to church planti ng including prayer, abundant gospel sowing, and intentional church planting. Church planting, Cox said, has to be done out of a sense of call, not out of a survival mode. It has to be done intentionally because âchurches do nât just happen,â he said.
Cox also spoke from James 2 in another address about faith and works, advising the conference that church planting is not an âeither/or, â but rather a â this and that.â Unaware of the Church of the Brethrenâs hist ory with the book of James, he referred to the passage as an obscure text, to the amusement o f the audience. He went on to talk about measuring success, giving three main reasons for the failure of a church plant: the wrong person is doing the planting, it is being done in the wrong location, or the wrong strategies a re being used.
âMichael Cox reminded us that reaching out begins with each of us as individuals,â said Jonathan Shively, director of the Brethren Academ y. âThe change that we need first is not institutional, structural, or congregational; it' s personal.â
When asked why a conference about church planting is important, one participant commented, âIf weâre going to do it, we better l earn how to do it right!â Another said simply, âThis is doable.â
The conference ended with worship. After reflecting on what had been learne d over the weekend, participants were sent forth with prayer and song to do G od âs work, find the lost, and bring them home.
The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its fa ith in community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrates it s 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts about 130,000 members across the United States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Nigeria.
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For more information contact:
Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford Director of News Services Church of the Brethren General Board 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120 800-323-8039 ext. 260 _cobnews@brethren.org_ (mailto:cobnews@brethren.org)
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