Church Planting
A long day. I need sleep.
Today has been a long day. We got up around 6:15 to get ready for breakfast. We had a quick team meeting around 7:45, and then headed to the site. Once there we gathered everyone and had some introductions and prayer. Then we went in groups of 3 to pray for the neighborhood and invite people to the evening´s activities. Each group was assigned one block. We had a chance to share the gospel with one girl while we were handing out invitations. Rebecca said she had to go to school in the afternoon, so she wouldn´t be there when we came back. At the end, she prayed for Christ to forgive her sins.
After lunch and a relaxing siesta, we went out in groups of 3 to share the gospel and invite people. We spoke with people at 8 houses. We were able to share the gospel at 7 houses. In all, a couple of people were not interested, one said that he already agreed with us, and 4 adults and 6 kids asked Christ for forgiveness.
I am wiped out. We got back to the hotel around 10pm. Then, we ate dinner. It is almost midnight, and I need sleep. We need to be up earlier tomorrow because we are going to a Christian school.
I will have to just give quick reports while I am here in Paraguay, and then fill in more details when I get back. I am trying to journal more details, so I don´t forget. I will probably not even journal fully tonight, so I can get some sleep.
Church Planting - Intentionality in the Face of Attack
I am starting to enjoy Eric Taylor’s blog, even if he is an Auburn fan. Eric is a church planting pastor in Auburn, AL. His church appears to be one of those “purpose driven” churches that is all the rage right now. I am not sure that it is the sort of church that I want to attend, be he has a passion for reaching people who do not know Christ, and that is great!
In a recent post, Eric talks about being attacked. No, not by Alabama fans, but by the Devil.
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Church Planting - The Pain of Fairwell
As I have posted in the past, I am part of a young church. We have been meeting for Sunday worship for a little over 2 years. We brought in our first pastor at the end of January. I am an active volunteer with the church and am very emotionally invested in what is going on.
In the past month, we have said goodbye to two families. It is never easy to say goodbye. I think that this is especially true in a church plant.
Missions: Why a Short Term Missions Trip?
In browsing the web the other day, I came across a post in which Bill the Reasoner claims Short Term Missions is No Missions. The author relies, in part, on an article about Band-Aid Approaches to Complex Problems from a site recruiting military personnel into full-time missions. While I agree with some of the premises to the article that he relies on, I still believe that there is a purpose to short term missions, with the right emphasis.
In short, Bill states that short term missions is a drain on funding, and that the primary effect of short-term missions is to entertain those who go on the trips. He concludes by claiming that because the people on those trips are not committed to the long-term effort and to church planting, that they are largely ineffective.
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Church Planting - Encouragement in the Trenches
What is it about pastors and football analogies? Eric Taylor, a church planter in Auburn, AL has written a post comparing Tommy Tuberville to church planting.
Among his thoughts:
It’s amazing the difference a few weeks can make. Just a few weeks ago, Nick Saban was the second coming of Bear Bryant, now, listening to Sports talk shows… some folks are questioning his coaching ability. Of course when Auburn lost to South Florida and Mississippi State, people were ready to gas up the plane to go look for another coach. Now, after beating Florida, Tommy Tuberville is popular with the fans again. . . .
If you’re a church planter, you can approach what you’re doing in one of two ways: Like the fans do…or like good coaches do.
His advice is good whether you are a church planter, or just a member of a church plant. Check it out all of Eric’s thoughts here.
It’s just a shame that he is an Auburn fan.
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