Winning the World

112 Wi nn i ng the Wor l d: Fac i l i tat i ng Urban Chur ch P l ant i ng Movement s

2. An effective approach to church planting models in America’s inner city must seek to address and meet head on all elements of that context if it hopes to be effective.

3. Uncritical application of church planting models which fail to take into account these factors will only invite real failure in the missionaries and pastors, and real failure in the communities targeted and served by them.

4. Church planting movement insights, in order to be effective, must be contextualized both by the pastors who serve as well as missionaries who evangelize and plant churches.

Acts 14.21-23 (ESV) When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, [22] strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. [23] And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they

III. WHO Will Be the Central Players in Igniting, Sustaining, and Multiplying Vital Church Planting Movements in American Inner-City Contexts?

In sync with all that we hare learned of church planting movements abroad, all efforts toward creating, sustaining, and multiplying vital, healthy church planting movements in America’s inner cities must begin and end with indigenous leadership development. The most effective evangelism, follow-up, discipleship, and church planting will be done by city people on behalf of city people through the resources of city people. All of our attention, planning, and effort must concentrate, therefore, on raising up urban men and women, urban families, and urban young people who will reach their own neighbors and webs with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

A. The God-called cross-cultural missionary: apostolic ministry

committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

1. God the Holy Spirit calls men and women to cross barriers and declare the Good News to the lost, Acts 13.1-3 (ESV) – Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. [2] While they were