Winning the World

60 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

1. Reason one: The Book of Acts, from beginning to end, centers on the theme of the Kingdom of God’s arrival in Jesus through the life and work of the church, p. 21.

a. Acts details the advance of the Kingdom from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.

b. To pray “Thy Kingdom come,” is to simultaneously be praying for a church planting movement to occur, for the church is the means by which the Kingdom is advanced (i.e., “To be a part of God’s kingdom encompasses new churches. We have to give our selves wholeheartedly to being involved in new church planting. If we have no interest in Kingdom building through new church planting, can we sincerely keep the words in our spiritual vocabulary, “Thy kingdom come?”), p. 22.

2. Reason two: A new church helps fulfill the Great Commission (see Table on Great Commission passages, p. 23).

a. Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the ends of the earth represent our local community, our broader areas of communities, towns, and cities in our geographical area, and our national and international outreach respectively, p. 24. b. Churches are to emphasize missions in all three areas of responsibility in their burden to participate in reaching the lost: (“Too often, reaching the lost has been replaced by being afraid of losing the reached,”) p. 25.

3. Church planting moves us from comfortable routine and tradition to fulfilling the Great Commission in the place where God has called us, p. 25.