PhD Professor of Minission and Intercultural Studies Director
The subject of church planting has received much attention in recent years and yet one-third of the residents of Planet Earth are still without a local church. An experienced church planter, a professor of mission and intercultural studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Craig Ott combines sound biblical principles with the best practices around the world and provides a practical guidance for church planters. The task of planting and reproducing churches involves a comprehensive array of topics. Craig Ott examines the biblical mandate for church planting, discusses the role and qualities of a church planter, describes the models and approaches to church planting, shares practical guidelines for leading the church and considers factors that undergird effective church planting. We hope that this course will be another tool in your toolbox of what God has called you to do to help spread His kingdom.
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1. Introduction. What is the Church?
Defining the church is the first obvious step in understanding church planting. Our natural tendency is to envision planting congregations that look and act like our home church, even though the church may be planted in another culture or under very different circumstances. One tacitly assumes that this is the best or only biblical form of the church. But what is the essential nature of the church? In this section of the lecture Craig Ott shares the theological and practical definitions of the church and highlights the most important points. He takes the definition of the church and turns it into the definition of church planting ministry. - 2
2. Introduction. Goals and Contexts of Church Planting.
How does the church planter know when his or her job is done? When should the church be considered 'planted'? At what point does the church planter move on and entrust the church fully to the local leaders? The achievement of short-term goals can be used as an indicator that the church might be considered 'planted', but the church also needs long-term goals. In this section of the lecture Graig Ott: explains what the short and long term goals in church planting are;talks about three self definition of indigenous churches; looks at contexts of church planting and examines four different kinds of situations in which churches are planted; raises the question, 'How many churches does a city need?' and shares his experience of church planting in Munich; gives some recommendations on how to relate to other chuches in the area. - 3
3. Introduction. Practical Reasons for Church Planting. Part I.
The need for church planting is obvious in regions where no churches exist. Some critics often argue that fewer large churches would be more effective for evangelism and ministry than numerous small churches. But the impact of small churches shouldn't be underestimated. There is a growing statistical evidence that new churches not only grow faster than established churches but also grow more through evangelism. In this section of the lecture Craig Ott :explains how God's mathematics work; presents practical reasons for church planting and supports them with examples and statistics;explains why new churches grow faster than established churches; uses a chart to illustrate that every church is going to plateau. - 4
4. Introduction. Practical Reasons for Church Planting. Part II.
If we are going to reach more people for Christ. We have to have more new churches saturating the region with the Gospel. New churches are necessary for long-term growth and discipleship. New churches reach people for Christ using creative methods. In a church plant everyone knows that he must contribute and serve, develop new skills and take responsibilities. In this section of the lecture about practical reasons for church planting Craig Ott :gives real-life examples to illustrate the practical reasons for church planting;explains how new churches stimulate established churches to greater evangelistic activity;gives examples when a competetion can be a positive thing;explains how a new church can impact the community and make the difference. - 5
5. Biblical Foundations of Church Planting. Church Planting and the Purpose of Mission.
The Church is God's instrument in mission. А missionless church is no church, and a churchless mission is not biblical mission. In this section of the lecture 'Biblical Foundations of Church Planting' Craig Ott: talks about the development of the missio Dei concept; quotes David L. Bosh, who is convinced that mission is based on God's love; emphasizes that the church is central to God's mission in the world; quotes Leslie Newbigin's statement about the character and nature of the church; defines the tasks of missions;speaks about three dimensions of kingdom communities. - 6
6. Biblical Foundations of Church Planting. The Biblical Mandate for Church Planting.
Some people say that there is a command to make disciples in the Bible, but there is no command to go and plant churches. Is really church planting that important? Though there is no explicit command in the Bible to go and plant churches, biblical record leaves no mistake that church planting is essential to God's salvation purposes and the fullfilment of the Great Commission.In this section of the lecture 'Biblical Foundations of Church Planting' Craig Ott: explains the role of church planting in the salvation history and the continuity of God's purposes; quotes biblical passages where Christ states his explicit will regarding the church;shows how the Book of Acts demonstrates that new churches are the normal and necessary result of biblical evangelism and mission;looks at two aspects of the Great Commission as formulated in Matthew 28:18-20;explains the grammar in Acts 2:47 and the meaning of the word 'added'. - 7
7. Biblical Foundations of Church Planting. The Biblical Mandate for Church Planting.
Biblical evangelism cannot be separated from the church, and where churches do not exist they should be planted. In the Book of Acts we see Paul gathering new believers into churches. Church planting is essential to the fulfillment of the biblical mission. In this section of the lecture 'Biblical Foundations of Church Planting' Craig Ott: quotes Howard A. Snyder's statement to emphasize that the goal of evangelism is the formation of the Christian community;looks at the way apostle Paul worked to prove that church planting was central to Pauline's understanding of mission; points out Paul's working principle in Romans 15:18-25 and explains his remarkable claim that his pioneer work in those regions was completed; shows where ecclesiology and missiology intersect. - 8
8. Biblical Foundations of Church Planting. Biblical Texts and Examples. Part I.
When we plant churches we want to plant reproducing churches. This is the way to reach the whole community with the Gospel. In this section of the lecture 'Biblical Foundations of Church Planting' Craig Ott: explains the development of the church in Gospels, Acts and Epistles; reflects on Paul's practice of church planting; looks at some biblical texts and examples of church multiplication in Paul's ministry;looks at what happened in Ephesus. - 9
9. Biblical Foundations of Church Planting. Biblical Texts and Examples. Part II.
One of the remarkable features of Paul's ministry was the way he developed leaders in church plants. He also recruited missionaries out of the churches he had planted. In this section of the lecture 'Biblical Foundations of Church Planting' Craig Ott continues to share his thoughts about Pauline practice of church planting and : shows the list of churches Paul planted and coworkers these churches produced;raises the question if we need to do everything the way Paul did;quotes Roland Allen, who was convinced that we need to go back to the methods of apostle Paul; quotes Eckhard Schnabel, who thinks that Paul had no grand strategy, but followed the leading of the Spirit;offers the key to effective ministry. - 10
10. Biblical Foundations of Church Planting. Spiritual Dynamics and Church Planting.
No matter what methods you adopt to plant a church, we need to remember that it is a spiritual ministry. And it must be done in dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit and should be based on preaching the Word of God. Church planting will face spiritual and human opposition. In this section of the lecture 'Biblical Foundations of Church Planting' Craig Ott:highlights a couple of important points; explains the spiritual dynamics in church planting; talks about the importance of prayer in church planting and reads from Colossians 1:9-10;explains the tension between God’s responsibility and human responsibility;gives some application questions on biblical foundations of church planting. - 11
11. Biblical Foundations of Church Planting. Questions & Answers.
In this section Craig Ott answers questions and offers helpful reflections on the initial stage of the church planting, when people have different ideas about ministries and other things. He emphasized the importance of the common vision. The teacher also sheds more light on the idea of sectarian church planting. He explains what can be done if people complain about the negative experience they had with the church. - 12
12. Church Planter. C. Ridley's List.
Because of the special challenges involved in planting a church, the team leader needs special kinds of gifts and talents. In this section of the lecture 'Church Planter' Craig Ott: discusses some of the findings of the research that has been done to determine the characteristics of effective church planter; shares Charles Ridley's list of qualities that has been used by many organizations to discern if a person has the gifting that is needed. - 13
13. Church Planter. J.Thompson's List.
In this section of the lecture 'Characteristics of Effective Church Planters' you are going to look at two more lists of qualities. The first one gives priority to spiritual dimention, skill dimentions and personal characteristics of the chuch planter's character. The second list is the result of research done by studying missionary churches. So Craig Ott:talks about ten identifying dimentions of effective church planters developed by J.A.Thompson;looks at Dick Crady and Glenn Kendall's list of seven qualities of effective church planters. - 14
14. Church Planter. Church Planter Assessment and Effectiveness.
In North America and elsewhere, attention is being increasingly given to church planters selection and training. Not everyone who volunteers to become a church planter is necessarily gifted for such ministry. The selection process often begins with an assessment of potential church planters. Church planter assessment seeks to discern the readiness and giftedness of the potential candidates. In this section of the lecture 'Church Planter' Craig Ott:shows the graphic with the results of studying how fast the churches in the USA grew based on whether the church planter received assessment or not; talks about different ways to conduct assessment. - 15
15. Church Planter. Pastoral and Catalytic Church Planters.
There are different types of church planters and different approaches to the way people go about planting churches. In many parts of the world the pastoral church planter is the most familiar and common variety of church planter. There is also the catalytic church planter who focuses his energy on equipping, motivating and releasing workers for church multiplication. In this section of the lecture 'Church Planter' Craig Ott:talks about the pastoral church planter who plants a church and pastors the church until it is able to call and pay a national pastor; talks about the catalytic church planter who plants a church and remains in a large central church which becomes the mother for numerous daughter churches; explains strengths and weaknesses of both types of church planters. - 16
16. Church Planter. Apostolic Church Planters.
Though the apostolic approach to church planting is not necessarily the best approach in every setting, it is the approach that has been most often blessed by God in launching locally sustainable and reproducing church-planting movements. The approach of the apostolic church planter is radically different from that of pastoral and catalytic church planter. He seeks to follow the model of apostle Paul, who as far as we know never became the pastor of a church he planted. In this section of the lecture 'Church Planter' Craig Ott: explains strengths and weaknesses of apostolic church planters;gives examples of apostolic church planters in different parts of the world; shares his experience of church planting in Munich. - 17
17. Church Planter. The Changing Role of the Church Planter.
Apostolic church planters have the goal of equipping local believers to lead the church and to become the next generation of church planters. The role of the apostolic church planter must intentionally evolve during the process, moving from the pioneering phase to the establishing, strengthening and reproducing phases of the church plant. In this section of the lecture 'Church Planter' Craig Ott suggests a '6-M' approach to the changing role of the apostolic church planter, progressing from motor to model, mobilizer, mentor, multiplier and, finally, memory. While many church planters agree with this approach in principle, difficulties arise when local believers seem to lag in their willingness or ability to bear the responsibility of ministry. - 18
18. Church Planter. Bivocational Church Planting.
The expression bivocational work refers not to a church-planting method per se but to the way some missionaries and church planters financially sustain themselves. Bivocational workers, sometimes called tentmakers, have a secular job or business to supplement or fully finance their church-planting endeavors. They must be competent in both roles, integrate them and manage them along with family responsibilties. In this section of the lecture 'Church Planter' Craig Ott: looks at the advantages of tentmaking; explains the disadvantages of church planting with a bivocational team; gives examples from his personal experience; reads application questions which you may think about. - 19
19. Church Planter. Questions and Answers.
In this section of questions and answers Craig Ott talks about who the unbelievers or non-Christians are. He shares the biblical understanding of who the true Christian is. He also explains that the apostolic church planting method is more common than we hear about and gives examples of countries where this model has developed. Craig Ott also talks about the post-Christian culture. - 20
20. Church Structures. Overview.
The type of church structure that we are going to try to develop is going to make a big difference in the way we actually go about planting this church. The methods we choose will need to fit the model of the church. In this section of the lecture 'Church structures' Craig Ott :gives a quick overview of basic forms that church life can take;talks about two factors which will be the key in determening the appropriate church structure; shares important principles we need to keep in mind; explains the fundamental difference between the cell church and traditional western church with small groups. - 21
21. Church Structures. Traditional Western Church vs House Church.
In this section of the lecture 'Church Structures' Craig Ott looks at the main features of the traditional western church and explains how it tends to operate. This type of churches are called 'elephant type church' because they are large, strong and solid. There are also 'rabbit type churches' which are small but quick to reproduce. So what if we took the best of both? What would happen if we mated an elephant with a rabbit? Is it really possible to have the best of both? Craig Ott thinks that everything is possible with God. Such churches are called cell churches or networked house churches. - 22
22. Church Structures. Examples of House Church network.
One of the questions which often comes up in regard to cell churches is whether there will be loss of control and other problems such as bad teaching, conflict and bad leadership. In this section of the lecture 'Church Structures' Craig Ott: gives some examples of how the cell churches might look; talks about the key to making the cell church model work well; shares the unique example of Xenos Christian Fellowship, which is a house church network in Columbus, OH; answers the questions, 'Is it 'church multiplication' if cells multiply, but not celebrations?';gives an example of a multiplying hybrid church in Japan. - 23
23. Church Structures. The Impact on the Church Planting Method.
So how does the desired church structure impact the church planting method? In this section of the lecture 'Church Structures' Craig Ott looks at two scenarios: 'Launch large' and 'Grow grassroots'. He compares two types of churches using the categories of structure, focus, location, evangelism, discipleship, ministry, leadership, governance, costs, growth, goal, reproduction, stability and vulnerability. - 24
24. Church Planting Models. Pioneer Church Planting.
There are different approaches to church planting. In this section of the lecture 'Church Planting Models' Craig Ott looks at the approaches to pioneer church planting and the ways it happens. Pioneer church planting means that you are going to places where there is no church and you start it from scratch. In this section the teacher discusses the advantages and disadvantages of paratrooper church planter, church planting team, short-term church planting, international church planting and indirect church planting. - 25
25. Church Planting Models. Cell Division.
When we talk about church reproduction, we are talking about the existent church, which wants to take part in starting another church. So how does an existent church move toward planting another church? There are different ways it can happen. What could be more natural than having a baby? The mother church births a daughter church by sending off some of its members to form the core of a new church. In this section of the lecture 'Church Planting Models' Craig Ott looks at cell division method or mother-daughter approach to reproduction and shares the principles emphasized by Hill Country Bible Church in Texas and also shares his own experience in Munich. - 26
26. Church Planting Models. Multi-Site.
The approach that has become very popular in the USA is the so called multi-site or satellite church plant. Usually a strong central church starts another venue where they have worship services, but it remains the part of central church. This approach is comparable to a planet with satellites that orbit and remain within its gravitational pull, with the central church venue being the planet. The model has been developed with many variations. In this section of the lecture 'Church Planting Models' Craig Ott talks about Community Christian Church in Naperville and how they empower local people and train them for ministry. - 27
27. Church Planting Models. Adopted Daughter and Multi-Mother.
Occasionally a group of Christians has formed in a locality apart from the direct assistance of an established church. When its members decide that they want to become a more formal church, they seek assistance from an established church that can provide guidance or pastoral care. In this section of the lecture 'Church Planting Models' Craig Ott talks about advantages and disadvantages of adopted daughter church planting method. He also talks about the approach when two or more mother churches hive off members who combine to form one new church. This is called multi-mother or partnership church planting. What should be done for these approaches to succeed? - 28
28. Strategic Beachhead. Cluster Church Planting.
As church planter enters a new region, the question is, where to begin? In the early years of mission work, missionaries evangelized from village to village and then focused church-planting efforts on those locations where people were most receptive to the Gospel. This approach is in keeping with the harvest priority principle. The strategic beachhead approach seeks to establish a spiritual foothold in several political, commercial, or educational centers. Cluster church planting is opposite to the strategic beachhead approach: the intial goal is to plant several churches in a more limited geographical area. In this section of the lecture about regional strategies Craig Ott discusses strengths and weaknesses of these approaches. - 29
29. Church Planting Models. Spreading Vine. Dandelion.
Church-planting movements can also grow like vines, by planting one church after another, from one town to the next. Each church planted becomes the launching point for another daughter church in the next city down the road. In this section of the lecture Craig Ott gives examples of how this approach was used in Romania and Africa. Another strategy is called dandelion approach. The seeds of dadelion float on their fluffy parachutes, and randomly land wherever they find a foothold to sprout and become another plant. So two churches may be planted at almost random locations as Christians move about. Sudan is a good example of how war made refugees move to other countries and the Gospel was preached in those refugee camps. - 30
30. Church Planting Movements
What are some of the factors that seem to contribute to more rapid planting of churches? In this lecture Craig Ott:talks about books written by David Garrison about church movements and discipleship; emphasizes universal elements and common factors which characterize church planting movements; explains how the key to the movements, multiplication, works; talks about development of lay bi-vocational church planters; answers the question about the health of the rapidly growing movements; gives application questions to think about. - 31
31. Development Phases of Church Planting. Overview.
What are the typical phases a new church will go through and the process a church planter has to be aware of? There are certain things that need to be done at different points along the road of planting the church. And there are different ways to look at this process with its potential pitfalls and problems. In this section of the lecture 'Development Phases of Church Planting' Craig Ott:shares D. Hesselgrave's 'Pauline Cycle', a framework based on the church-planting ministry of apostle Paul as described in the Book of Acts; talks about R. Logan's Church Planting Life-Cycle based on the analogy of a biological life cycle from conception to reproduction; explains how Developmental Phases of Pioneer Missionary Church Planting is different from the other cycles. - 32
32. Development Phases of Church Planting. Preparing.
Preparing is the time of great anticipation. The groundwork is laid so that when the church plant is actually launched, it will be built by a crew of artisans who possess both the necessary skills and an acurate understanding of the task. Preparing is broken down to two subphases: targeting & commissioning and understanding & strategizing. Neither should be neglected. So what tasks should be accomplished on these phases of preparing? What is the role of a church planter? In this section of the lecture 'Development Phases of Church Planting' Craig Ott focuses on these two subphases, when it is necessary to focus on team building and learning more about people and culture. - 33
33. Development Phases of Church Planting. Launching and Establishing.
Launching is the most exciting phase. This phase consists primarily of the pioneering ministries of evangelizing and discipling. In this section of the lecture 'Development Phases of Church Planting' Craig Ott emphasizes how important it is for the church planters to use methods that are easily imitated and reproduced by the local people. During the establishing phase the first fruit of progress are experienced as the local believers are formed into a functioning congregation of worshippers increasingly living out kingdom purposes. The teacher thinks that it is the most critical phase, because the DNA of the church is determined, and patterns for ministry are formed. - 34
34. Development Phases of Church Planting. Structuring and Multiplying.
As God opens up the opportunities you begin to expand the ministries of the church and empower the local people to lead those ministries. The structuring phase becomes a time of great satisfaction as the hard labor begins to pay off. And a church planter's joy comes when the church plant had reproduced itself by planting another church. In this section of the lecture 'Development Phases of Church Planting' Craig Ott: talks about the tasks of expanding and empowering during the phase of structuring; looks at the biblical text in the Book of Acts to show how the church addresses the needs and finds new ways to meet these needs; talks about the task of stengthening and sending during the phase of reproduction or multiplying. In conclusion of this section Craig Ott emphasizes different spiritual gifts that are necessary during the phases of launching, establishing, structuring and multiplying. - 35
35. Planning and Research. Introduction. Focus Group.
Can we really make plans or we should follow the leading of the Holy Spirit? In this section of the lecture Craig Ott:shares a couple of important biblical reminders about planning from The Epistle of James, the Book of Acts and Proverbs; gives some quideliness on good planning; explains how to answer the question of where to plant the church and how to determine the focus group. - 36
36. Planning and Research. Methods and Opportunities.
What are some of the research methods that will be helpful to planting a church? In this section of the lecture 'Planning and Research' Craig Ott: talks about different types of information we may gather; explains the difference between quantitative and qualitative research;gives a list of questions you can ask when discerning opportunities. - 37
37. Planning and Research. Church Planting in Munich.
In this section of the lecture 'Planning and Research' Craig Ott gives a specific example of how different types of information and planning were used while planting churches in Germany. He explains how they used the map and demographic information to get some helpful insights to discover good ways to enter the social network of the community. He shares the summary of the study that was done when they wanted to saturate the city of Munich. A lot of graphics, statistics and practical applications will be interesting for those who look for some ideas on how to engage with a new people group. - 38
38. Evangelism and Discipleship. Dangers on the Way.
Sometimes the church can be isolated from the world. Christians live in their own sub-culture on an island and it seems that the world they are trying to reach is on another island. How can the church build the bridge to the people outside the church? In this section of the lecture 'Evangelism and Discipleship' Craig Ott talks about the challenges of evangelism and potential dangers on the way. He draws a diagram to emphasize the fact that evangelism and discipleship is a process.Though regeneration occurs at a particular time, there is a process leading up to that point and a process leading onward in Christian growth. - 39
39. Evangelism and Discipleship. Loving People.
Evangelism is first and foremost about loving people the way God loves them and then sharing the message of God's redeeming love with them. In terms of church planting Craig Ott emphasizes that loving people means understanding them and their belief systems and also developing relationship with them. People are not objects or targets. They are people worthy of love, respect and time. In this section of the lecture Craig Ott also answers the question about the time a person is born again. Some people have dramatic conversion experiences, but for many people it is not so clear cut. - 40
40. Evangelism and Discipleship. Principles for Compassion Ministry.
Kingdom communities have three dimentions: worship, evangelism&discipleship and compassion. It is good for a church plant to have compassion ministry and yet you need some priniciples to follow to do it right. In this section of the lecture 'Evangelism and Discipleship' Craig Ott shares some important guidelines from the article 'Compassion Pre-Evangelism: The Master Key to the Town'. - 41
41. Evangelism and Discipleship. Finding Prepared People.
In this section of the lecture 'Evangelism and Discipleship' Craig Ott talks about finding prepared people to share the Gospel with. Some people are more open and ready to hear the Gospel and discuss spiritual problems because God has prepared their hearts already. So one of the keys in church planting is finding these people. Craig Ott shares some ideas how to cast the net and cooperate with other ministries. - 42
42. Evangelism and Discipleship. Communicating the Gospel.
The Gospel must be shared broadly, constantly and powerfully. However, not all communication of the Gospel has the same results. How do we actually communicate the Gospel message? There are a lot of different methods to do it. And there are different aspects of the Gospel one might choose to emphasize. In this section of the lecture 'Evangelism and Discipleship' Craig Ott talks about personal evangelism, proclamation evangelism, evangelistic visitation, small group evangelism and bible storying. He presents principles that can be used to develop an effective evangelism approach or to assess existing evangelistic efforts. - 43
43. Evangelism and Discipleship. Film, Media and Advertising.
Another way of communicating the Gospel is using media in the form of DVDs or public media campaigns when films are shown. In this section of the lecture Craig Ott discusses the strengths and limitations of the 'Jesus' Film and shares some interesting illustrations. In conclusion he emphasizes that any approach to evangelism should always need to be complemented with personal follow-up and discipleship. - 44
44. Evangelism and Discipleship. Case Study.
In this section of the lecture 'Evangelism and Discipleship' Craig Ott talks about disciple-making churches and gives an example of what was used when a church was planted in Munich. He speaks about the importance of being intentional about leading people through all growth phases, from indifference to being a faithful follower of Christ. Jesus gave us the command to make disciples and Craig Ott shares from his experience of a church planter what can be done to obey the Lord's command. - 45
45. Planting Healthy Reproducing Churches. Leadership and Ministry.
In this section of the lecture 'Planting Healthy Reproducing Churches' Craig Ott shares some important principles to keep in mind. The first principle has to do with the spiritual health of the leadership. A church is not healthier than the spiritual health of its leaders. The second principle deals with the importance of structuring the church ministry according to biblical values and purposes. - 46
46. Planting Healthy Reproducing Churches. Assimilation.
In this section of the lecture 'Planting Healthy Reproducing Churches' Craig Ott continues to share some important principles for healthy development. The third guideline emphasizes the importance of assimilating new people into the ministry and leadership. He uses a diagram to show what happens if this assimilation is unhealthy and what should happen at different stages of healthy assimilation. - 47
47. Planting Healthy Reproducing Churches. Change and Steps of Faith.
It is very important for the core group not to think that they are privileged because they were there from the beginning and be prepared for change surprises. This is the fourth guideline for healthy development of churches. In this section of the lecture 'Planting Healthy Reproducing Churches' Craig Ott also mentions creating appropriate structures and talks about remaining flexible and encouraging steps of faith. - 48
48. Planting Healthy Reproducing Churches. Measures of Church Health.
What are the marks of a healthy and growing church? In this section of the lecture 'Planting Healthy Reproducing Churches' Craig Ott shares some marks of a healthy church and EFCA's ten indicators of church health. These lists are based on principles we find in the Scripture which are important to those who want to follow Christ. The teacher encourages the students to put together their own list of what they think are the most important signs of health and gives an example of how he worked with other groups to do this. - 49
49. Resources for Church Planting. Biblical Guideliness and Worldview.
It is important to know what the Bible says about money, but it is also essential to know how culture views the nature of the resouces and the role of the resources in relationship. In this section of the lecture 'Resources for Church Planting' Craig Ott:shares biblical guidelines on resource sharing in God's mission; discusses some worldview factors that come to play when we think about resources. - 50
50. Resources for Church Planting. Indigenous Movements.
When we talk about resources for church planting, we need to talk about the concept of indigeneity. It is an old concept that was developed in the 19th century mission development movement. How can we plant churches that fit into the cultural context? In this section of the lecture 'Resources for Church Planting' Craig Ott:explains the concept of indigeneity using trees to illustrate the point; recalls the original idea which is called 'The Three Self-Goal of Mission'; talks about six keys to local sustainability of church multiplication. - 51
51. Resources for Church Planting. Finances.
Strong arguments have been made representing various extremes regarding the use of outside resources in missionary church planting. Some advocate that no financial assistance should be given from the outset, so that the church doesn't become dependent on outside finances and learns to sustain and reproduce itself based on local resources. Others assert that the sharing of wealth between congregations is a Christian obligation. In this section of the lecture 'Resources for Church Planting' Craig Ott talks about practical issues connected with finances and he: gives the list of seven ways that outside funding can hinder church multiplication; gives the list of seven ways that outside funding can help church planting; uses examples from his experience to show how to share resources in a meaningful way. - 52
52. Resources for Church Planting. Short-Term Teams.
In this section of the lecture 'Resources for Church Planting' Craig Ott shares some dos and don't on short-term teams and church planting. Many church plants are not very excited about short-term teams, others are ready to have them even if they are not helpful. How to find the right balance and find the ways of using short team missionaries effectively? - 53
53. Resources for Church Planting. Effective Partnerships.
This is the last topic in the lecture 'Resources for Church Planting'. There are a lot of different types of partnerships, but Craig Ott will focus on direct congregation to congregation partnership. Church-planting partnerships have great potential but they can be complicated. So what are some of the important guidelines for healthy and effective partnership? Every partnership is unique, however certain common criticism emerge, so it is wise to learn about these stumbling blocks. - 54
54. Leadership Development. Lay Mobilization.
Lay mobilization is the key to church health, growth and reproduction. In this section of the lecture 'Leadership Development' Craig Ott doesn't speak about highly professional, sophisticated theological training. The idea of mobilization at every level is a biblical principle we can find in Ephesians 4 :11-13. Craig Ott tells an interesting parable to emphasize the logic and importance of training lay people for the ministry. - 55
55. Leadership Development. The Spiritual Dynamic.
Developing leaders is a spiritual undertaking. There is a spiritual dynamic in developing leaders. If you look at your church you might not find enough workers, but Jesus also didn't have enough workers and asked his disciples to pray. In this section of the lecture 'Leadership Development' Craig Ott:speaks about the importance of prayer; explains how to identify faithful, gifted and teachable people. - 56
56. Leadership Development. Servant Leadership.
One of the ways we develop servant leaders is by developing servants. It may be dangerous to say to someone that he has leadership potential and can be developed into a leader. We need to help that person to become a better servant. In this section of the lecture 'Leadership Development' Craig Ott: quotes George Patterson who thinks that we shouldn't focus on educating a man, but seek to edify the church; explains the idea that you teach what you know, but reproduce who you are;answers the question about becoming a servant. - 57
57. Leadership Development. Levels of Lay Mobilization.
Lay mobilization is the key to church multiplication. If we want to reproduce churches we must reproduce lay leaders. In this section of the lecture 'Leadership development' Craig Ott:briefly talks about different levels of lay mobilization as you can not use one-size-fits-all approach; helps to visualize the needs of new believers, members and workers, cell group leaders and pastors with a leadership development pyramid. - 58
58. Leadership Development. Apprenticeship vs School Models.
The purpose of this section of the lecture 'Leadership Development' is to emphasize apprenticeship over school models. Craig Ott talks about the differences between learning in school with its abstract knowledge and apprenticeship model which is focused on practical skills and abilities. We need to have different training approaches in the church. - 59
59. Leadership Development. Three Approaches to Ministry Equipping.
We must move beyond the formal school approach to equipping. In this section of the lecture 'Leadership Developnent' Craig Ott describes very briefly three approaches to ministry equipping: worskshops which is a great way to teach basic skills, equipping in ministry teams, and individual instruction (mentoring and coaching). Each has its strengths, weaknesses, and appropriate application. Selection of the best methods will depend on the equipping goals, the participants, and the available resources. - 60
60. Leadership Development. Equipping workers in the EFC of Munich.
In this section of the lecture 'Leadership Developnent' Craig Ott gives a specific example of the way they developed workers in the evangelical free church plant in North Munich a number of years ago. That model of equipping workers includes:ongoing training of cell group leaders;mentoring a newer believer for future leadership or promoting the spiritual growth of an elder; training workshops for special ministry skills; coaching ministry team leader. Craig Ott also explains the goals and objectives for all approaches and gives a few points of application. - 61
61. Conclusion
In conclusion of the course Craig Ott tells 'The Parable of the Apple Trees'. If you want to grow apples and feed more people, don't merely grow more apples, bigger apples and sweeter apples; rather plant more apple trees that in turn can reproduce yet more apple trees to grow exponentially more fruit. And if you want to feed a spiritually hungry world, don't just grow one big church, grow a movement. And this happens when ordinary churches release people to start new churches.