As we read through the book of Acts we need to always remember it is a book of history. It gives us a glimpse of how God worked through ordinary men and women to fulfill His purposes and carry out His ongoing mission of redemption. We should look at the book of Acts as a place to glean principles and insights for church planting and church life. It is not a book to look for blueprints or models but rather a book to discover transferable principles which will be shaped by your cultural context.
Here are a few transferable principles that we can glean from the launching of the church in Acts 1-2:
1. Our motives must be great commission driven. Acts 1:4-8
If our only motive is to get butts in the seats at whatever cost we are heading for a world of hurt and disappointment. If all we are doing is to try to increase our revenue stream and meet our church's financial needs, we are just going to be frustrated. If all our efforts are trying to get the "already convinced" into our church, the wheels will fall over very quickly. We must be great commission focused. Our hearts must be broken and burdened for those who are far from God. The only way some churches are going to grow in the consumeristic Christian culture that is being developed is through effective evangelism. My experience is that unchurched people don't need all the bells and whistles of the mega church...Christians do! Those far from God want relationships and meaningful connections.
2. Spiritual dependence is vital. Acts 1:12-14
The disciples gathered constantly for prayer. They reflected on their deep dependence on God, clinging to God not knowing what was next, simply waiting in humble dependence was the posture of the disciples. How will your congregation reflect their prayerful dependence on God? I remember hand labeling 12,000 mailers with our team and praying for each person that God would open their hearts and touch them. Prayer walking your community before and during your growth thrust has a powerful effect. Having your people generate a list of people they would like to see come to Christ during this outreach and then having a special prayer meeting where each name is lifted up before the throne of God is very effective. Here is a post on how to pray for the unchurched in your sphere of influence.
3. Select and build into leaders in preparation for outreach. Acts 1:15-26
Preparing for a growth thrust is a great way to expand and develop your leadership team and volunteer based. Giving people short term specific assignments is a great way to training and identify leaders. In some cases you can double your leadership team and volunteer base with inviting people to fill needs for the short term commitment. The key aspect is to that the more people you have involved in the planning and preparation the more committed they will be in inviting and reaching out their friends and family. We need to see these growth thrust a leadership development opportunities.
4. Pick a good day and time of year for launching the growth thrust. Act 2:1
In Acts 2 we see that God launched the Church on the day of Pentecost. This was no accident! There are theological, historical and sociological implications to this date. Pentecost, which means “50” was the final celebration of the Feast of First Fruits which happened 50 days earlier. At this Feast, God’s people were to give a free-will offering (Deuteronomy 16:9-10) celebrating God’s provision. Theological and historical significance was that the Feast of First Fruits started on the Resurrection Sunday and ended on the Day of Pentecost. So we see that the church was born out of the first fruits of Christ’s sacrifice. The sociological significance was that Pentecost or the Feast of Weeks was one of three annual pilgrim feasts (Deuteronomy 16:16) where God’s people from all over the world came to celebrate. This is why we see such an array of people and languages in Acts 2:5-11. Pentecost was no accident. It was strategic and that is one reason why three thousand were added to the Church that day.
So when is the best time to do growth thrust? Our experience in the midwest has been:
- Fall: Late September-early October
- Lenten Season: February-March
- Easter: Late March-early April
The best time for launching a growth thrust is the fall because you have nine months before you face the summer slump. The second best time for launching a church is February, this is a season when unchurched people come back to church. The third is on Easter Sunday.
5. Launch out in the Spirit's power. Acts 2:1-4
Remember only God can draw people into a relationship with him. It can be tempting to trust your planning but you must teach your people to act in faith and depend fully on the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is the life giving power. Prayer and fasting will be critical for you and your church to express its dependence on God. “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” Psalm 20:7
Join me next week as we continue by looking at five more Principles for Launching a Major Growth Thrust from Acts 2.
