Planting Churches among the City's Poor - Volume 1

P ART III: P LANTING U RBAN C HURCHES • 287

Respect the dominance of the receiving culture • Seek to discover how things are done in the culture. • Defer to the wishes of indigenous people in regard to methods (What and Why are unchanging principles, How is a culturally determined application). Pauline Model: Paul’s circumcision of Timothy, Acts 16.1-3. Avoid dependence • Tell people that they have leadership gifts and potential. • Tell people that you are not going to always be in charge. • Plan absences. • Point people to the Word and the Spirit. Pauline Model: Ephesian Elders, Acts 20.24-32. Think reproducibility • Don’t use things just because they are there. Ask, “Is this likely to continue when the missionary team is gone?” • Always ask “What person can work with me on this?” • Do things the same way each time whenever possible (establish habits) because it will be easier to train people when this is true. • Structured is more reproducible than unstructured (assuming that the structure is not overly complex and that it is culturally conducive). Pauline Model: All things to all people, 1 Cor. 9.19-23.

This type of church planting demands certain things from a team leader: • Evangelistic

• Pastoral • Flexible • Called by God