Planting Churches among the City's Poor - Volume 1

P ART III: P LANTING U RBAN C HURCHES • 317

2. God has raised up the Church in order to demonstrate his glory to the principalities and powers.

3. We simply cannot claim to be loyal to the Church with the big “C” if we are willing to ignore the church with the little “c.”

4. We must recognize we will not be effective in planting churches if we in our hearts hold both disdain and disgust for the Church. 5. All strategies for vital spirituality and dynamic ministry must interface and intersect with the church in order to be both biblically credible and spiritually vital. C. Vital church plant movements in urban America will be ignited when missionary efforts turn from seeking to do the entire work to becoming “fire-starters,” “facilitators,” and “gadflies” for authentic spiritual momentum. 1. The axiom of missions: Missionaries do not win nations; missionaries win and disciple people group champions who win their communities, their people, and their nations to the Lord. 3. All authentic transformation of indigenous communities must be left to the Holy Spirit, who alone can and must raise up a new generation of believers to identify their gifts, and do the work of the ministry. 4. Missionary activity in urban America must determine to learn and emulate missionary activity in foreign contexts: Missionaries coordinate strategies with indigenous laborers in order to maximize their ability to advance the gospel in their communities and cities. D. Vital church plant movements in urban America will be ignited when the churches that are planted are authentically indigenous, with full authority, oversight, and stewardship transferred to indigenous leaders who make the decisions and determine the directions. 2. Missionary activity must shift from doing the work to training indigenous people to do the work.