The following article is written by Jack Rager, our Church Planting Strategist: Meeting the Needs of our Customers: I have been very fortunate to serve churches in over 25 different countries. In some of these locations the churches are alive, vibrant and growing. In other locations they are struggling and even in some cases struggling for survival. The reason why some churches grow and others do not is a question we need to try and understand. According to CNNMoney.com, the top ten fastest growing small businesses in America are:
Rank Company 1 Life Partners Holdings 2 Universal Insurance Holdings 3 HMS Holding Corp. 4 Ebix Inc. 5 D.G. Fastchanel 6 American Physicians 7 Transcend Services 8 Female Health 9 Bankrate Inc. 10 Royal Gold Inc. The reason these companies performed so well according to Ted Zoller, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at If a church approached disciple making in the same way what would “solves a genuine problem for our customers mean?” The commission that the Lord gave His church was to make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). In the early days of the church this was the primary reason for the expansion of the church. Disciple making was not a program but a way of life. “And day by day continuing with one mind in the temple and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart.” (Acts 2:46) We see for example right after Saul met the resurrected Lord on the road to We learn about the disciple making process after Barnabas went to This process described in Acts is evident in every place I know of where extraordinary church growth is taking place. The process is intense, relevant and necessary, because like the first century church persecution is still a factor of making disciples. In one Islamic country disciple making is simply a matter of survival. Issues that are addressed are: do you tell your family that you are a follower of Jesus Christ? Do you marry the woman (or man) that your family has already arranged for you to marry? Do you go to the Mosque to pray? Do you share in Ramadan? How do you survive when your family and community disowned you? Where do you get water because the community will not let infidels drink from the public well? How do you survive financially? We forget sometimes the culture that the first century disciples came out of, especially the Gentiles was completely amoral and the issues they faced were similar to our brothers and sisters in the country I mentioned above. People who come to faith in Christ Jesus out of the pagan culture in the 21st century face similar issues the first century disciples faced. The first century believers knew the new disciples could not face the challenges of a life in Christ alone; they needed a community of support, encouragement and understanding. They needed a community that understood their problems and through the study of scripture together find the answers. It should be noted that the commission the Lord Jesus gave the church was not to plant new churches, but make disciples. The reason for this I believe is that the church is the environment where disciples are made. What is the church? It is simply a group of baptized believers who fellowship (break bread), practice the teaching of the Scriptures, share in communion and baptism, and take up an offering for the ministry of reconciliation. This process of making disciples includes the sending out of disciples to make new disciples. One thing is clearly evident concerning the disciple making process in the first century it required someone willing to invest their time and energy in another, just as Barnabas did with Paul. Jack Rager Church Strategist |
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