wfn.org | Newsline: Church planting goal set by New Church Development Committee

[CoBNews <CoBNews@brethren.org>]

Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service, News Director Cheryl Brumbau gh-Cayford, 800-323-8039 ext. 260, cobnews@brethren.org

CHURCH PLANTING GOAL SET BY NEW CHURCH ADVISORY COMMITTEE OF THE  CHURCH OF  THE BRETHREN

(Aug. 17, 2009) Elgin, IL -- A commitment "to cultivate the networks and in frastructure to support 250 new church starts by 2015" has been announced b y the Church of the Brethren's New Church Advisory Committee and Congregati onal Life Ministries executive director Jonathan Shively.

The committee and Congregational Life Ministries have the role of providing  denominational support to the church planting work initiated by districts  in the Church of the Brethren.

"God is doing a new thing through the Church of the Brethren," said the com mittee in a statement. "A movement of emerging mission points and church pl anting is gaining momentum. Passion is rising. Vision is expanding. Commitm ent is deepening. Networks are developing. People are acting."

The new commitment includes five priorities for the work of the New Church  Advisory Committee: prayer, assessment of potential church planters, traini ng for participants in the new church movement, coaching for church planter s, and cultivating of resources.

"Prayer is the first priority," said the committee. "Not one single mission  or new church will begin without a strong and wide community of prayer." A  yearlong denomination-wide prayer emphasis has been announced to undergird  the new goal for church planting. The prayer emphasis will continue throug h May 2010. Go to www.brethren.org/churchplanting for a list of month-by-mo nth suggestions for prayer and a prayer card that may be printed in English  or Spanish.

In comments on the need to assess potential planters and the training and c oaching that will be provided for church planters, the committee emphasized  that "while all ministry gifts are welcome in the church, there are partic ular qualities, traits, and skills that make it more likely that a church p lanter will thrive in the challenges of new church development."

The committee plans to have an assessment process for new church planters i n place beginning in 2010, and has a goal to make sure every church planter  has the support and expertise of a trained coach.

Future training opportunities in church planting may include webinars and a  variety of workshops and seminars, as well as the biannual conference for  the new church movement. The next such conference is scheduled for May 20-2 2, 2010, on the theme, "Plant Generously, Reap Bountifully" (1 Corinthians  3:6). The event will be held at Bethany Theological Seminary in Richmond, I nd.

For more information contact churchplanting@brethren.org.

The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to continu ing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its faith in  community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith t raditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrated it s 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts some 125,000 members across the Unit ed States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Nigeria,  Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and India.

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>For more information contact:

>Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford
>Director of News Services
>Church of the Brethren
>1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120
>800-323-8039 ext. 260
>cobnews@brethren.org