Planting Churches among the City's Poor - Volume 1

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

Poverty accents the danger of creating a relationship of continuous dependency where the new church depends upon mission finances instead of trusting God and their own initiative. Wise use of mission finances is essential to insure that they are doing good, not harm, to the new church. Roger Greenway suggests a guideline when he says, Mission subsidy and outside assistance do less damage to a young congregation when such funds are used to acquire church property. An unhealthy dependency results when financial subsidy is used to support pastors and programs. . . . This is because the delicate, sensitive relationship between pastor and congregation hinges on mutual trust and dependency. When foreign subsidy is introduced in any form that lessens the pastor’s reliance on the congregation, serious damage is done to the pastor-church relationship. But when foreign money buys brick and mortar, or perhaps a city lot on which to erect a building, no long-term dependence is likely to develop; indeed, if a solid congregation is formed, this is frequently a wise use of mission money. 30 Despite poverty-induced obstacles, urban Christians can finance their own churches. It will not look like a middle-class church. It may be housed in a storefront but it will be theirs. It will be built with their faith and sacrifice. This is important. God uses financial need to build faith in the young church. Church planters must keep the goal of a self-sustaining church in mind as they seek God’s wisdom in the use of funds. Self-Propagation The indigenous church accepts the Great Commission as its personal responsibility and conducts evangelistic outreach and church expansion accordingly. From its beginning on the day of Pentecost the church has been a witnessing community. Following Peter’s sermon to the gathered multitude, “Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day”(Acts 2:41). The early Christians witnessed not out of a sense of duty but from a heart of gratitude toward God and love toward people.

This Spirit-created desire to share Christ is a natural outflow of our new life in Christ. “Because it is a law of her being, the church spontaneously

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30 Greenway and Monsma, p. 242