Ripe for Harvest

S ESSION 1: S EEING THE B IG P ICTURE • 107

Charting Your Own Course

If you already have a good idea on the kind of assembly the Spirit wants you to plant, how it will transition, be associated, and led, it might be good for you again to map out practically the dimensions of that call here. As one who already has a sense of what the church will be and how it will function, what expression are you aiming at in your plant? Will it be the Small Church Expression (or “house church,” 20-50 people the small store in a shopping mall ), the Community Church Expression (60-150 people, the grocery or convenience store in a neighborhood or community ), or the Mother Church Expression (200+ people, a Walmart Superstore or Super Target, a store which houses a number of select entities that supply its patrons with many choices and opportunities )? If God has already directed you on what he wants the church to be, use this exercise to script out those elements, highlighting the particular values that will shape the vision God desires for this assembly. Be free to sketch out your ideas, knowing that the Lord will fill in dimensions as time goes on. Please be careful to note the precise kind of plant you are involved in. For instance, if you are involved in a cross-cultural church plant, in the Transition phase you will need to maneuver your work to the release of missionaries to leaders from within the community, i.e., indigenous leaders, who will then take charge of the congregation. How you under stand these phases will depend largely on the vision and commitment your plant has to the church, once it is formed and how you will continue to relate to the church once it is up and going. One helpful exercise might be for you to write a brief narrative testimony of how you came to be here right now, and share that story with your other church planters. Think critically about the vision of the church God has given to you, and map out your values, vision, and goals based on that call.

Context Values/Vision Prepare Launch Assemble Nurture Transition Schedule/Charter