Planting Churches among the City's Poor - Volume 1

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

mission-planted churches to also include any agreements that define the relationship between the mission and the new church. This will help to avoid misunderstanding or embarrassment later. 122 During the Celebration stage of church planting the church is legally considered an outreach of the mission agency. The church does not have formal legal status until the final stage when it constitutes by submitting legal forms to the state. It is important that church members understand their identity in relation to the founding mission at each stage of the church-planting process. Church planters should work with the church on the financial and leadership phase-out schedule. This will help the church take ownership of the church-planting goals and vision. Church planters need to exercise care in using many written documents in the congregation. Inner-city people often prefer verbal communication to formal written guidelines. It is valuable to have the guidelines in written form for occasional reference, but it is best to also verbally present written documents. Mobilize Your Nucleus A second step is to define the roles needed to begin Celebration. Two roles are essential: pastor/teacher and worship leader. Other roles might include music, counseling, child care, administration and holistic-care ministry. The church-planting team together with the indigenous leadership will normally form a “Celebration leadership team” which will share responsibility for these roles. The focus of the church planting team is “indirect leadership” which trains and equips indigenous leaders to fill these roles. Mobilizing the nucleus also means increasing community cultivation activity prior to the first Celebration. Redford advocates, “A new schedule of choir concerts, backyard-Bible clubs, ministries, and evangelistic visitation programs should immediately precede the formal Sunday services.” 123 Such activity helps to galvanize the commitment of the discipling groups as they approach the move to formal large-group services. Prepare for the Initial Service A third step includes the details of determining a site for Celebration, setting the starting date, preparing the inaugural service, and training

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122 See Ezra Earl Jones, Strategies for New Churches , (San Francisco: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1976), p. 100

123 Redford, p. 75