Church Planters Don't Show Favoritism

 

Hello my brother, hello my sister, my name is Dean Davis and this is Multiply, a podcast that provides a word of encouragement for village church planters.

When we first see people we have never met before, almost without thinking we quickly observe what kind of person we are talking to.  Are we talking to a man or a woman, a boy or a girl?  Based on appearances, are we talking to an educated person or a person with little schooling?  Based on appearance, are we talking to a rich man or a poor man?  Are we talking to someone from my country, my tribe, my clan, or are we talking to a person from a different ethnic group?  There is nothing wrong with such observations.  They are perfectly normal.  But if we are not careful, our accurate observations can lead to poor decisions about how we relate to the new person we have recently met.

James, the brother of Jesus warned us about bad decisions based on appearances in chapter 2 of his letter to believers living in many nations. He said,

“My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.  Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in.  If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?”

James’ instruction was very clear. Believers in the Lord Jesus must not show favoritism.

The apostle Paul was a church planter.  He said,

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.  On account of these, the wrath of God is coming… Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.”

Paul had learned not to show favoritism based on what people look like, where they come from, or what language they speak.  He understood that all people have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. Paul the church planter knew that only Christ could save people and that every person needs to turn from sin and trust Christ.  He said, “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.”

When I started planting churches, we had many more men in the church than women.  Why? It seemed that women believed that men were sinners who needed to be saved, but they were good enough already.  Paul says we all need to repent of sin and be sanctified by Christ. Paul understood that Jesus loves people from every ethnic group. And he loves all men, women, boys, and girls.  He loves us so much that he wants to transform us all. So when Paul looked at people, he did not make distinctions based on outward appearances.

What about you?  Who are the people you have met that are different from you, but like you need to be transformed by the power of the Gospel?  Who are the people in your village who are from a different tribe or a different religious background who need Jesus?  How do you see them?  How do you treat them?  Do you by faith see Christ in all of them as Paul did?

Take care my brother, take care my sister how you view people.  Jesus wants to use you to bring transformation to all sorts of people who may not be like you at all.

This has been Multiply, a podcast that provides a word of encouragement for village church planters.

If you have found this message to be helpful, please forward it to fellow church planters and disciple-makers who may need encouragement.  Feel free to share it on What’s App, Facebook, and other platforms you use to connect with others.

And be encouraged, God is with us!

#EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters #Colossians #NoFavoritism

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Church Planters Identify With The People

 

Hello my brother, hello my sister, my name is Dean Davis and this is Multiply, a podcast that provides a word of encouragement for village church planters.

Most people think that God is far away and unconcerned about the problems they are going through. Animists spend a lot of time trying to protect themselves from evil spirits. Some try to cause evil spirits to harm others.  They use charms and curses to try to influence the spirit world because they believe that God the creator is very far away and won’t protect them.

Muslims believe that God is transcendent and unknowable. Even many people who take the name Christian think that God is far away.

But when God sent his only Son, Jesus, to live among us, Jesus identified with the people.  He let the people know him and trust him. Though he was holy and without sin, Jesus spent his days with people who had experienced all sorts of brokenness.  Jesus made friends with corrupt tax collectors, and with rebel soldiers who were fighting the rule of Rome. Jesus even made friends with prostitutes.  One of the strongest ways Jesus showed that he identified with the people around him was by being baptized.  Many, many people went out to see John, to hear him preach, and to be baptized as a sign of repentance from sin.

So it’s interesting to note that Jesus too was baptized.  Why did he do that? Why did Jesus go see John and ask to be baptized?  We know that Jesus committed no sin.  He didn’t need to repent.  So why did he get baptized?  I think one reason Jesus got baptized was because he wanted to identify with the people.

As a church planter, some of the most important steps you can take are the steps you take to identify with the people you know outside your church and inside your church.  When you spend time with them, listen to their stories, eat meals together, work together, and play sports together, you identify with them.  You say without words, “I know you, I like you, I respect you, I want what is best for you.”

So let me encourage you to spend time with the people of the villages where you are planting churches.  This time is not wasted time.  It is valuable time.  As people get to know you, they will also get to know the God whom you serve.  By knowing you, people will come to understand that God is not far away, He is with us and he is good.

Another way you can identify with the people, especially with sinful people is to remember that it was not only the sin of your neighbors that sent Jesus to the cross, it was your sin and my sin as well.  The Apostle Paul says in Colossians 1:13, 14,  “For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Did you hear what that great church planter said?  He said God rescued us from the dominion of darkness so we have redemption.  Paul, in spite of his religious upbringing, recognizes that he, like all of his neighbors, lived in the dominion of darkness.  He glorifies God that he together with the Colossian believers were rescued from that dark, sinful way of living.  When he says this, Paul is saying ever so clearly, “I am one of you.  I was a sinner, just as you were.  You needed to be rescued from sin and so did I.”  Paul identified with the people of the churches he planted.  He saw himself as an object of the love of God.  He saw the Colossian believers the same way.  Paul did not emphasize the difference between himself and the people. No! Instead Paul did all that he could to identify with the people.

Paul was a great church planter.  The good news is, you can follow his great example by identifying strongly with the people you serve and by clearly pointing them to the Savior just as Paul did.  You can do it. I know you can!

This has been Multiply, a podcast that offers a word of encouragement for village church planters.

Be encouraged, God is with us!              EC-12

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The Character Of A Leader- An Encourager

 

This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters.”

Today, I’d like to share some lessons from one of my favorite Bible characters, Barnabas.

We’re first introduced to this man in Acts 4:36-37 where we learn that “Barnabas” was not his birth name. Rather, it’s recorded that “Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means "son of encouragement"), sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.”

Apparently, this man was such an encourager of people that the apostles re-named him Barnabas or “Son of Encouragement”. This is the character trait for which Barnabas was known … and is remembered to this day.

Briefly, I’d like to first share three lessons from Barnabas’ life … three things we should seek to duplicate.

1) He was generous with his finances (Acts 4:32-37). As we read, ”He sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.”

2) He spoke up on behalf of Paul when everyone else was skeptical about him. In Acts 9:26-31 it’s recorded that “When he [Paul] came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles.” Apparently, Barnabas was so well-respected and trusted by the apostles that they were willing to accept his testimony on behalf of Paul.

3) He spent time with Mark when he had failed. In an earlier message in which I addressed “Three Positions of Leadership” I spoke of the leader who stands behind the fallen one to restore him. Barnabas did exactly that in Acts 15:36-39. “Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, "Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the LORD and see how they are doing." Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus.” I’m amazed that Barnabas was willing to part ways with the great Apostle Paul so he could restore John Mark. What an encourager he was!

In closing, I’d like to point us to the results of Barnabas’ encouragement. If it were not for Barnabas, we would not have (1) Paul’s epistles nor (2) Mark’s gospel; nor the (3) the rapid spread of the gospel in the early church.

Be like Barnabas. Be an Encourager.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

#Multiply #EncouragementforVillageChurchPlanters

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Church Planters Spread the Gospel through Multiplication

Hello my brother, hello my sister, my name is Dean Davis and this is Multiply, a podcast that gives a word of encouragement to village church planters.

Good News is for sharing.  Jesus entrusted the Good News of salvation to eleven of his followers just before he ascended into heaven.  He commanded them to proclaim the Gospel to all creation and to every person.  What an impossible task!  How were 11 Jewish men from Palestine going to spread the Good News to two or three hundred million people all over the world?

But in the very instructions Jesus gave to his 11 apostles, he provided the secret to spreading the Good News of salvation to all people everywhere.  He told his disciples to make disciples.  And Jesus told his disciples to teach their disciples to obey everything Jesus had taught them. 

Now, here is the secret to spreading the Good News across the whole globe:  If each generation of disciples of Jesus teaches their disciples to also make disciples, the number of followers of Jesus will multiply exponentially.  That’s right! Disciple makers must teach their disciples to also make disciples.

As a new church planter, you love preaching the Gospel.  You love telling the Good News.  You love preparing new believers for baptism.  You love to minister to people who are hungry to know God.  I am so happy you find such joy in serving the Lord in so many ways.  When I first started planting churches I too delighted in this work. And in fact, I still do.  It's great to help people experience the new birth and begin to follow Jesus!  But if we want to spread the Gospel across Africa, we dare not be content with just this kind of ministry.  We need to move on to empowering disciples to make disciples and churches to plant churches.

This is exactly what the apostle Paul did.  One of Paul’s disciples was named Timothy. It seems likely that Epaphras was a disciple of Timothy.  Listen to what Paul says about Epaphras in Colossians 1:

 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people—  the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.  You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Epaphras planted the church in Colossae, which in turn planted the church at Hierapolis.  The Apostle Paul made disciples who could make disciples.  He planted churches that in turn planted churches.  You can too. 

The vision of Village Church Planting is a church in every African village by 2050.  How can we achieve this goal?  Only by making disciples who teach others to follow Jesus.  Only by starting churches that effectively equip and release their members to start more churches in villages without churches.

You love sharing the Good News and preparing new believers for baptism. I hope you love to equip them to share the Gospel and baptize as much as you love doing it yourself.

New disciples will make all kinds of excuses about why they are not ready to pass on the Good News.  Listen respectfully.  But keep encouraging, keep loving, keep believing in your disciples.  Keep empowering them and continue to release them to make disciples and start new churches. That's what the Apostle Paul, the master church planter did.  That is what we should do as well!  You can do it; God is with you.

This has been Multiply, a podcast that provides a word of encouragement for village church planters.

If you have found this message to be helpful, please forward it to fellow church planters and disciple-makers who may need encouragement.  Feel free to share it on What’s App, Facebook, and other platforms you use to connect with others.

Be encouraged, God is with us!  EC-09

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We Proclaim Him!

 

Hello this is Brad & Daneille Snowden and this is Multiply; a podcast that provides a word of encouragement to village church planters.

Do you remember when you first heard about the love of Jesus for you? I was a child when I clearly understood the Gospel; the preacher (who was my father) was proclaiming Christ’s Love for all people.

It took a called servant of God to speak boldly the Word in result; my life was changed!

Today we are going to look at Colossians 1:28-29; that will help us understand our call of God to our lives.

Colossians 1:28-29

²⁸ We proclaim Him, warning and instructing everyone in all wisdom [that is, with comprehensive insight into the word and purposes of God],

As church planters the most important goal is, to point people to Jesus, not to others or ourselves but the focus is on the Savior of the World.

We proclaim His teachings, His love, His glory which is unto God.

"Proclaim" is complementary to the more specific term "evangelize" or the phrase "announce the good news, "

One very important responsibility of a church planter is to warn and caution against any thing that may prove harmful to their spiritual walk as a Christian.

 Bible Commentator David Guzik explains what it means in the Greek: “To impart understanding” which helps influence a person’s character.

As we warn and instruct, this is when we teach the scriptures. We must be sure to teach the truths of God’s Word in clarity, so it is easily understood.

In my younger years I led a few children’s ministries.

As I would teach children the Bible, it had to be broken down into small pieces so they could digest simply according to their maturity and age.

As they grew, I would give them more to learn, that challenged their growth in God.

As church planters, our goal is to lead others into a COMPLETION of the purpose God has for each life.

Reading on in Colossians 1:28b it says;

 “…so that we may present every person complete in Christ [mature, fully trained, and perfect in Him—the Anointed].” 

This comes by simply teaching people His Word.

And the End Result will be that they grow complete, fully trained and ready to in turn do the work of God leading others to Jesus. As this is our vision to multiply God’s Kingdom.

Colossians 1:29  ^“For this I labor [often to the point of exhaustion], striving with His power and energy, which so greatly works within me.”

This is the reason we labor and why we do what we do, as a church planter this is why we GO, doing the work of an evangelist; God’s Power as it did for Paul will work within each of us.

This is Multiply; a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

EC-08

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Church Planters Need Teammates

 

Hello my brother, hello my sister, my name is Dean Davis and this is Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters.

We have a saying in English; it goes like this: “It’s lonely at the top.”  We say, “It’s lonely at the top” when we see a leader who is struggling to make hard decisions and take difficult action.  At that point, many times his friends, co-workers, and associates leave the leader at the top alone to struggle to make a decision or confirm a plan.

We say, “It’s lonely at the top” when a leader is faced with a hundred small challenges that followers bring to the leader.  The leader gets tired and frustrated and feels like the weight of the world is on his shoulders.  If Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law had been a modern English speaker, when He saw Moses trying to be the judge for millions of disputes between the children of Israel, he might have said to Moses, “Son, it’s lonely at the top.”

You are a village church planter.  Church members, new believers, and the families you relate to in the village look to you as a leader.  You may feel at times, “It’s lonely at the top.”

The Apostle Paul was a church planter too.  When he wrote letters to the churches he had started and that his disciples started, he often told about the challenges he faced and the interpersonal conflicts he tried to help resolve.  But Paul found a way to avoid the loneliness that top leaders often struggle with.  Paul found a way to be with trusted colleagues, and so can you.

Here’s the thing.  Church planting is hard work, so church planters need teammates.  When Paul wrote to the church at Colossae, he was in prison.  I’ve visited prisons many times.  Prisons can be very, very lonely places.  But listen to what Paul, the imprisoned church planter said at the end of his letter to the Colossians, starting at chapter 4, verse 10:

My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. 13 I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. 14 Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house.

Church planters need teammates. The burdens of church planting are too big to carry alone.  Church planters need trusted friends who believe in them, pray for them, support them and gently challenge them from time to time.  When I started planting churches among the Saraguros, I was a part of a team. Tom and Susan, my wife Gail, Pedro, and Anna were teammates who prayed for me, encouraged me, gently challenged me, and believed in me.  If it weren’t for their faithful friendship and support, I would not be speaking to you today about church planting.  The church planter Paul needed teammates, I need teammates, and you do too.  Don’t let it get lonely at the top, strengthen the bond of trust with those who believe in you and your church multiplication vision.

This has been Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters.

If you have found this message to be helpful, please forward it to fellow church planters and disciple-makers who may need encouragement.  Feel free to share it on What’s App, Facebook, and other platforms you use to connect with others.

Be encouraged, God is with us!                                           EC-07

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www.vcpoencouragement.org

The Character of a Leader – 3 Things to Avoid

This is Chuck Rapp with a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

Thus far this year I’ve been sharing a series of messages regarding the character of a leader. We began with three positive attributes: integrity, diligence and faithfulness.  Today I want to offer a different perspective by looking at three attitudes and behaviors that Godly leaders must avoid.

1 John 2:15-16 warns us to “not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world.”

Godly Christian leaders are warned to avoid these three things:

The lust of the flesh – Matthew Henry, in his commentary, describes this as “wrong desires of the heart, the appetite of indulging all things that excite and inflame sensual pleasures.” On every continent of the world, we have seen or heard stories of Christian leaders falling due to sexual sin.  I first witnessed this 45 years ago in my local church youth group, and already in 2021, we have seen famous pastors destroy their ministry due to extramarital affairs.  Hebrews 13:4 says it very plainly, “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”

The lust of the eyes - Once again Matthew Henry helps us understand this warning.  “The eyes are delighted with riches and rich possessions; this is the lust of covetousness.” In 1 Timothy 6:6, Paul shares that the antidote for this condition of fallen human nature is “godliness with contentment is great gain.” Here, “godliness” relates to a leader’s character, and “contentment” is an attitude of his or her heart. 

The pride of life – Once more from Matthew Henry’s commentary.  “A vain man … thirst[s] after honor and applause.” A good and godly leader avoids the trap of seeking personal honor and applause.  In a message last year, I referred to these men and women as “legends in their own minds”.  They think more highly of themselves than is appropriate, and they crave the praise of others.  Jesus had some strong advice to the apostles about this in Mark 10:42-44 where He called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.“  A posture of servant leadership is the antidote for this sin of the “pride of life”. 

This has been a word of encouragement – and a word of warning - for Village Church Planters.

CHURCH PLANTERS NEED PRAYER

 

Hello my brother; hello my sister, my name is Dean Davis, and this is a word of encouragement for village church planters.

The Apostle Paul was a powerful man of God.  In Lystra, he saw a man who had been lame from birth.  He saw the man’s faith and called  out to him, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. Another time in Philippi he spoke to a servant girl who was influenced by evil spirits to predict the future. One day Paul had had enough.  He turned to the girl, cast out the evil spirit. and kept on walking. Paul was a man of strong faith. He demonstrated his faith by obeying our Lord Jesus. He set out to make disciples of all nations, just as Jesus had commanded.  And he kept on going, kept on obeying, kept on preaching the word of God when it was easy and when he was horribly mistreated.  Paul was a powerful man of God who showed his faith by obeying Christ no matter what.

You would think that a man like that would not really need the prayers of other people.  But if you thought that, you would be wrong. 

Church planter Paul knew how much he needed the prayers of others.  Paul needed prayer so much, he asked people he had never even met to pray for him. In Colossians 4:3,4 Paul asked his disciples’ disciples to pray for him. He called on them saying “Pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains.  Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should.”  Paul needed prayer and he wasn’t afraid to ask for it. 

When I first started planting churches, I went out full of faith.  In obedience to Christ, I left my home and moved not only to a different country but to a different continent. I learned a second international language, Spanish, and began to learn a local language, Quichua. I got so sick with Hepatitis A that I lost more than 10 kilograms of weight.  I did all this out of obedience to Christ who called me to plant churches among an unreached people group.  Most people thought I was a strong man of God, full of faith. But here’s the thing.  Church planters have so many challenges they must face, spiritual and physical, and cultural challenges. Challenges on the outside and challenges on the inside. Who is strong enough by himself to face all of these challenges?  

After three and a half years of church planting, I just about quit.  I was so discouraged.  There was very little fruit to show for all that had been done. As I prayed, I asked the Lord what I should do.  He made it very clear to me that I should not quit but that I should mobilize 200 people to pray for a breakthrough in disciple making and church planting. I did just that. Not long after all those people began to pray, God opened hearts to respond to the Good News like never before. And he changed me too.  What had been a huge struggle became a huge joy for me. Thirty years later, I’m still working to plant churches.

So today, as I speak to you, I am speaking to my fellow church planters.  I rejoice in your great faith and in your obedience to Christ.  But you need people praying for you too.  The Apostle Paul needed prayer, I need prayer and you do too. Who is praying for you?  Who knows your hopes and dreams, your hardship and struggles?  Who is praying for you?  If you do not have at least 12 faithful men and women of God who are praying for you, you probably need to stop what you are doing and find them.  Keep them informed of your prayer requests and how God answers their prayers.  You can tell them in person or by What’s App. But whatever you do, make sure you have people praying for you and for your church planting ministry.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

If you have found this message to be helpful, please forward it to fellow church planters and disciple-makers who may need encouragement.  Feel free to share it on What’s App, Facebook, and other platforms you use to connect with others.

Be encouraged, God is with us!                                              EC-05

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www.vcpoencouragement.org

Knitted Together

 

Brad: Hello, this is Brad & Daneille Snowden; and we greet you today in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Daneille: We are here together as a pastor couple to encourage all spiritual leaders. Brad & I have been in the ministry for over 33 years. We pastored a long time, and just want to fill you with HOPE that you are not alone. 

    --- One of the many challenges we face in the ministry is a feeling of isolation and loneliness.

Daneille: This is so true. I recall many times dealing with hurts either from the feeling no one will understand what I am going through. And this comes from gossip in the church, criticisms, financial struggles, balancing a side job, raising children, all with pastoring a church.

Brad: I am reminded in Colossians 1:23 the Apostle Paul encourages us to be grounded and settled, not moved away from the Hope of the Gospel.

These things that happen are difficulties and they will pull us away from depending upon God’s Word.

Ang again in Colossians 2:2, the Apostle Paul’s message is victory: “That our hearts would be comforted and knit together in love, we are not alone. But knitted, woven together as one, we are knitted together in RELATIONSHIP.

Daneille: One way the Lord also encourages us is through the husband-and-wife relationship. As there have been times God has used Brad to pray with me. And then myself to encourage Brad as I would feel led to share God’s Word with him. And always, an especially important strength, is just listening to one another.

Brad: Another way God has encouraged to help us to realize we are not alone; was by being in fellowship with fellow Pastors, and Church Leaders. We along with our fellow ministers, found how important it was to be humble and open to share our heart struggles with one another.                              

Daneille: I also think it is important to acknowledge anytime a husband and wife step out and answer God’s Call upon their lives; that our enemy Satan will fight against what God has led us to do. When he does, he will stir up attacks on many fronts.

   --- This is because we are moving into his territory bringing light in the darkness.

Brad: This brings us to the importance of praying together. Pray with your spouse, and as well as a fellow pastor and or spiritual leader to agree in prayer with you. We can do this: TOGETHER!

1 Corinthians 12:26-27 “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.”

Daneille: Thank you Lord for this encouragement realizing we are not alone.

And Thank you Church planter and Pastor for joining us today!

This has been a Word of Encouragement for Village Church Planters. If you have found this message to be helpful, please share with your fellow Pastors and church planters.

Brad:  God Bless you all!

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The Suffering Church Planter

 

Hello my brother; hello my sister, my name is Dean Davis, and this is a word of encouragement for village church planters.

I have shared with you many times that it is not easy being a church planter.  If you have been working to plant a church for more than 2 or 3 weeks, you know this is true.  In the beginning, it seems like being a church planter will be glorious, and it is.  But after a while that glory gets mixed up with real suffering.  At first when this happens we are surprised.  We ask, “God, if you are with me and if I am doing your will, why am I suffering? 

There are many ways church planters suffer.  The church planter we call the Apostle Paul suffered by being beaten, arrested, and imprisoned. He suffered crossing rivers and at the hands of bandits. Both Jews and Gentile mistreated him. 2 Corinthians 11:26 tells us that pretty much everywhere he went, he was in danger.

I am a church planter, I have not suffered at all what Paul suffered, but I have been mistreated, I have had stones thrown at me. I have been in danger crossing rivers and danger in villages.  I have been insulted. I’ve had people lie about me and the ministry I tried to carry out.  I have been misunderstood when I tried to do good and seen family members suffer illnesses that others did not suffer. And my sufferings have been light in comparison to so many other church planters whose lives I deeply respect.

Church planters suffer.  Paul, the church planter, says to the Colossians in verse 1:24, “Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.”

Paul believed that his suffering had a purpose.  Paul willingly suffered for the body of Christ which is the church.  Jesus teaches us to count the cost before we start a new enterprise.  But it is impossible to know how much glory and how much suffering you will experience as a church planter.  It may be little or it may be much.  But this I can assure you.  Church planting is full of both glory and of suffering.  Just like the cross of Christ.  So as church planters, our task is to take up our cross daily, ready to suffer so that others may know Jesus and live in the light as he is in the light.  It is not easy, but Paul has shown us the way.

You may be asking yourself, “I thought this message was supposed to be a word of encouragement.  But Dean has just told me that in spite of all I am sacrificing to start a church in a village where there has been no church, I can expect to suffer. How is that encouraging?”

You have asked a fair question.  Let me try to answer.  Many, many people live selfish lives with very small and insignificant goals.  You have chosen to identify with Jesus Christ. You are a church planter.  Jesus suffered in this world, yet his life was full of glory.  As you identify with him, you too will suffer, but you will experience the glory of God in ways that would not be possible if you were not a church planter.

So go forward in the strength God provides you. The Lord is with you and he will show you the way.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

If you have found this message to be helpful, please forward it to fellow church planters and disciple-makers who may need encouragement.  Feel free to share it on What’s App, Facebook, and other platforms you use to connect with others.

Be encouraged, God is with us! EC-03

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