Planting Churches among the City's Poor - Volume 1

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

The information obtained will help the church planters to anticipate the needs they will face and plan possible responses in advance. Taking this information seriously may influence the composition of the church planting team, reveal the need for strategies that focus on certain age levels, suggest the inclusion of certain languages in worship services or ministry outreaches, or reveal specific residential complexes to visit. . . . It may even suggest the need to alter the geographical boundaries of the target church-planting area. Data about the make-up of the community is a critical starting point but it is only a starting point. Church planters must move from a theoretical knowledge of the community to a knowledge based on actual human relationships. Networking To insure that this happens, urban missions specialist Ray Bakke suggests that pastors invest one day a week in “networking” their communities. 81 This networking involves several components. My first move was to meet all the other pastors. I started out to visit eighty-three churches, getting to forty-four in the first nine months. Fifty-three of them had services in languages other than English. I did not trouble myself with whether they were “sound” theologically or not and always used the opening speech. “My brother, my name is Ray Bakke. I am the new pastor of Fairfield Baptist Church and I want your help. I’m new to this community and I wonder if you could tell me the most important lesson you’ve learned about being a pastor here.” I went to affirm my colleagues and learn from them. 82 A letter may be used for contacting community churches. It provides a starting point for introducing them to your church-planting efforts. However, a visit should also eventually be made since the point is to create relational networks within the community. “Assurance should be given that the new churches do not desire to proselyte but want only to join hands with existing churches in seeking to reach the unchurched and to give a more adequate ministry to the community.” 83 If the initial First, there is the need for networking with other pastors. Bakke recounts the way in which he approached the problem.

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81 See Bakke, pp. 100-11

82 Bakke, p. 111

83 Redford, p. 58