There is more than one way to start a church.
What are God’s dreams for your church? If God is leading your or your church to pursue multiplication, we would love to partner with you. We are here to walk with you. Let’s start a movement!
NorthEastern Indiana District:
Multiply
JOIN THE MOVEMENT:
Multiplication matters! We are shifting from mission to movmeent as followers of Jesus across NEI ultimately ban together to share leads to life-change. We are here to fan those flames (2 Tim. 1:6). We are committed to partnering with you as you pursue what this could mean.
START:
“A church is a group of people who meet regularly for worship and to serve. There is more than one way to start a church or multiply ministry. Not every church fits every community, nor does every new church resource fit every church planter. Let’s work together and find what works best for you, your context, and see where God leads.
Large Launch: Those who launch large have a passion to gather as many people as possible right from the start to begin reaching as many as possible in larger venues. This model typically begins with a church planter that spends many months recruiting a launch team and developing the infrastructure of a full-service church. The goal is to build up to a grand opening or launch day where the church begins to offer public worship gatherings, with an expectation that a couple hundred people will find themselves involved in the new church within the first year.
Fresh Expressions: Those who start Fresh Expressions” are passionate about becoming a part of the ebb and flow of the community, serving and loving the community, and establishing relationships with the people of the community. Fresh Expressions church plants may have people “belong” to the faith community before they “become” a follower of Christ as they serve the community and serve together. The goal is to disciple themselves into being a church (and not necessarily attending a Sunday morning program). These are highly evangelistic expressions of church (often led by lay people) designed to serve people who would never set foot by a brick and mortar church or by those who have suffered hurt as part of their church/faith history. Dinner Churches, sports churches, Micro Church, Home/House Church, etc. are all considered Fresh Expressions.
Common Space Living: Our district has the incredible opportunity to openly minister in common spaces across NorthEastern Indiana. Our vision is for every resident in communal living spaces across N.E.I. to hear the Gospel and become a disciple of Jesus. In order to accomplish that, we are looking for hometown missionaries. These are part-time positions that establish a partnership between a local Nazarene church and an apartment complex, condo development, or modular home community. Common space ministries will move into a common space facility and work to nurture a Christ-like community by loving their neighbors through programming, acts of service, and intentional relationship development.
Multi-Site/Campus: Those who start multisite and campus congregations have a passion to reach more zip codes for Christ by expanding the reach and building on the resources and model and name of an existing church. This model typically incorporates the startup dynamics of the large launch or missional/incarnational model; however, the new work is not an autonomous church (although there might be a plan in place for it to eventually become autonomous). Typically, the new site or campus shares the same mission, name, vision, values, strategy, budget, and governing structure of the parent church. The motto of the multisite church is, “One church in multiple locations.”
Why Multiplication Matters:
Church planting is the most effective evangelistic methodology to reach those missing from Christ and the Church.
Every man, woman, and child should have ready access to a church that is biblically based, doctrinally sound and contextually appropriate.
It will take all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people.
Every Christ-follower is a disciple-maker with a holy calling and vocation.
Prayer and obedience to the Holy Spirit is the bedrock of God’s mission on earth.
There are many ways to start a church, so we celebrate innovative and even atypical expressions of church.
Multiplication movements require local churches to take responsibility for raising up and parenting future church planting teams.
The healthiest church planting will happen in the context of relational networks.
Women and men leading in mission, from different racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds, is a demonstration of the power of the gospel.
The command of Jesus to make disciples of all people is intended for the church today as much as it was intended for the church in the first century.
Ministry Multipliers: Is it in your bones?
Has visionizing capacity: Generates visions, initiates plans, builds significant projects from the ground floor up.
Intrinsic motivation: Demonstrates the ability to be a self‐starter who works with diligence and excellence.
Empowers others to lead: Passes on the baton of ministry so that others can continue the race.
Reaches the unchurched: Consistently reaches out and influences people toward a relationship with Christ and the church.
Has spousal cooperation: If married, has a spouse that is committed to collaborating in marriage and in ministry.
Effectively builds relationships: Evidences the ability to meet new people and engage them in relationships.
Committed to church growth: Embraces growing the church, numerically and spiritually, and implements church growth principles effectively.
Responsive to the community: Understands local communities and implements culturally responsive ministries.
Utilizes the giftedness of others: Assesses, develops, and releases others to serve in their area of giftedness.
Flexible and adaptable: Negotiates change successfully while staying centered on the overall vision.
Builds cohesive groups: Orchestrates widely differing people to function as a unified body.
Resilient: Stays the course in the face of major setbacks, disappointments, and opposition.
Exercises faith: Evidences a strong, vital relationship with God and willingly takes significant faith risks.
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