Zambia Hunt

At the risk of seeming too simplistic, let me offer to you the church planting outline I memorized from my sending church pastor, Larry Clouse.

Pastor Larry was a missionary church planter in Hawaii from 1968-77, and established several churches that are still thriving today. He moved from Hawaii to pastor in Michigan until 1982 when he moved to New Hampshire as a church planter and began Merrimack Valley Baptist Church.

The roots of the gospel dug into the hardened soil of the “Granite State” and MVBC grew to be one of the larger churches in New Hampshire. Pastor Larry had an insatiable desire to reach the world with the gospel and plant churches leading the church to be a strong supporter of world evangelism, and eventually establishing IBMGlobal as a sending agency to serve other local churches. Lori and I became members of Merrimack Valley in 1996, and they continue to serve as our sending church.

Here is Pastor Larry’s outline for planting a church. We have used this outline over and over in Zambia, and now graduates of CABU are following this planting churches across Africa:

1. Make friends
2. Lead them to Christ
3. Disciple them
4. Start a Bible study
5. Move the Bible Study to Sunday Morning
6. Train people for the work of ministry – organize
7. Reproduce – do it again

Church Planting Goals: Indigenous Ministry

It is vital to have a clear view of the endgoal for the church you are planting. These four goals for indigenous ministry are not original or new, but they do describe the desired outcome for every church planter:

1. Self-governing – it is the expectation, mandate and right of the mature church to appoing its own elders and deacons with a heart to serve.
2. Self-supporting – it is the responsibility of the maturing congregation to support their own ministry, and pastor in the means, manner and methods that reflect joyful sacrifice, and obedient love for Jesus Christ.
3. Self-propagating  – it is the natural outcome of maturity and health to reproduce. From the very first Bible study, the expectation should be clearly laid out and repeated often – we exist to glorify God and reproduce our Christian life in others, and reproduce our church in other needy communities.
4. Self-Theologizing – it is the reponsibilty of every local congregation to apply the Scriptures to their unique context recognizing that the principles (elements) do not change, but the applications (forms) of the principles in the local context do.

Pastor Larry’s simple church planting outline, combined with the four goals of indigenous ministry, provides a robust framework for establishing thriving, self-sustaining churches. This approach, rooted in biblical principles and proven through experience, has shown its effectiveness not only in the United States but also across Africa. As we continue to spread the Gospel and plant churches worldwide, let us remember that our ultimate aim is to create mature, independent congregations that can govern themselves, support their own ministries, reproduce their faith, and apply Scripture to their unique contexts. By following these guidelines, we can ensure that the seeds of faith we plant today will grow into strong, enduring communities of believers tomorrow, continuing the vital work of planting healthy reproducing churches.