What do you dream of when you think about throwing your life into church planting? Here is some of the vision that I believe God has birthed in me.
1. The Great Commission is essentially a call to plant churches. As Bible believing Christians, church planting offers us an opportunity to participate in God’s redemptive work. Through church planting, we can be a part of the means by which He brings about His end where all nations, tribes, and tongues will be before the throne of Jesus. Wouldn’t it be awesome to look back over our shoulders and see that our lives were given to God’s mission?
2. I’ve been captivated by what Saju said at our last meeting. Decades ago, NY City was a place no one wanted to go (42nd St, prostitution, crime, poverty, etc). But then, a bunch of churches started coming into the area (Times Square Church, Redeemer Fellowship, etc) and now the city has been transformed. Of course, few credit the planting of churches as the cause of such transformation, but you can be sure God is using the Church in redeeming that city.
Philadelphia seems to be now what NYC was a few decades ago. And now, a bunch of churches are being planted in Philly (City Line, Liberti, Real Life, Epiphany Fellowship, Bridge Church, City Church). What if God is calling us to be swept up in the work that He is doing to redeem the city of Philadelphia? What if God has been mobilizing churches to be planted in various neighborhoods of this great city and we get to be a part of that?
3. There is currently no thriving reformed, evangelical church available for Indians. The options are generally Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy on one end (Roman Catholics, C.S.I., Mar Thoma, Jacobite, Orthodox) or charismatic Pentacostalism on the other (I.P.C., Assemblies of God, Church of God). What if we planted a church in the middle of this spectrum? I think the Indian population is in desperate need of a viable evangelical church.
4. A church plant can bring renewal to existing mainline Indian denominations. Though it might initially be perceived as a threat, our deep prayer is for the blessing and revival of our ‘mother churches.’ Perhaps the ‘threat’ of a church plant would cause the mainline Indian denominations to rethink their vision and mission. What if we approached the leaders of each of the mainline Indian denominations and asked for their blessing and support as we launched a new church? Even if our hand is slapped away, it might be good to extend our hand to them. What if our church could bring renewal to hundreds of Indian churches?
5. We can reach South Indians like no one else can. In talking with one of the Acts 29 planters in Philly, I expressed our desire to target Indians but be very multi-ethnic. He applauded that desire but told me not to be afraid of heavily targeting Indians. He was saying that the idea in Philly is to have multiple churches in multiple areas reaching different people. If we think about this in a kingdom perspective and not just through one church, how can the churches in the area maximally reach Philly for Jesus. Basically he was saying – I can get white people to my church, this other church can get black hip-hop folks…but we can’t get Indians. So you get the Indians! By no means does that pigeon hole us to just Indians, but does free us to reach who we are naturally gifted to reach. Ultimately, our desire is to be incredibly multi-ethnic reflecting the kingdom of God. If God would allow that to happen in our generation – awesome! However, perhaps we might have to pave the way so that our kids will plant multi-ethnic churches.
6. A church plant could lead to a national, perhaps even international movement. (We’re still young enough to be naive enough to think we can change the world…aren’t we?) If there was a thriving, growing church plant in one of the major cities in America, it might lead to a movement of similar church plants across the country. Sam George told me that there are 7-8 similar conversations going on about church planting from NY to LA. Further, this struggle within the Indian church is not just happening in the U.S., but in Malaysia, London, Singapore, etc. Perhaps we are on the cusp of a much larger movement.
7. It might encourage more Indians to go to seminary in the U.S. Seminaries are packed, overflowing with Korean Americans. However, you can count on your hands the numer of Indian Americans in seminary. Why is that? Is it cause God hasn’t given Indians a call to ministry? I don’t think so. I think there are lots of Indian folks who feel a call to ministry but see no outlet for that call. The only real option is to become a priest, something many do not want to do, or leave the church for para-church ministries. However, a church planting movement might encourage many more to go to seminary as now a new and viable option is presented to them. Perhaps a ton of guys who feel a call to church planting and pastoral ministry can be freed to get training and run with that call.
Anyway, that’s some of the stuff I think about.
Here’s this great quote I read recently – “I want to be a kite in God’s hurricane.”
Me too.
by Ajay Thomas
Ajay lives in Philadelphia with his wife Shainu and their kids Hannah and Micah. He is responsible for preaching and vision as a pastor at Seven Mile Road.