Planting Churches among the City's Poor - Volume 1

22 • P LANTING C HURCHES AMONG THE C ITY ’ S P OOR : V OLUME 1

new church is guaranteed. In church planting, there are no guarantees of success, and the shock comes to new church planters when their “ideal” methodology does not immediately produce churches. . . . Churches are born as a result of the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit, who uses the skills of his servants, the church planters. And those skills are developed over the course of time, through trial and error and many tears, and there are few shortcuts to their achievement.” 3 We encourage church-planting teams to read this paper with an eye toward innovation and experimentation. Each church-planting team will face the crucial task of discovering how general principles apply to the specific situation they face. The principles and models contained in this paper will not supplant the guidance and work of the Holy Spirit, but will give structure and support to those called to the task of planting new congregations.

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3 Tom Eckblad, “Tips for Church Planters”, Urban Mission 1.3, Jan. 1984, pp. 28-29