As I mentioned before, I’d like to use westcoastwitness.com to archive resources dealing with the topic of church revitalization.
I ran across a good series of blog posts over at TheResurgence.com from Scott Thomas, director of Acts 29 Church Planting Network.
Here’s a tidbit from Scott’s second post, Replanting: The Story:
I dreamed of a body that loved the Lord, loved his word, loved the church, and loved the calling from God to be instruments of righteousness in their community. I dreamed of a people who practiced spiritual holiness, rather than judging others for their lack of adherence to man-made rules. I dreamed of marriages that visibly demonstrated the relationship of Christ and the church. I dreamed of homes that were led by the Holy Spirit, by godly heads of households and by the Scriptures.
I dreamed of a church that had influence in its community: spiritually, morally, evangelistically, and socially. I dreamed of a church that served willingly and enthusiastically according to their spiritual gifts, passions, and God-given abilities.
I dreamed of a church body that had a burning passion to share the gospel in their city, their state, their nation, and their world and to be a vital link for the establishment of churches all across the world. I dreamed of a body that had an insatiable thirst to encounter God in a real, personal, and intimate way.
But was it just a dream? Could it be realized?
No, it wasn’t, and yes, it could (and can)!
Here are the links to all of the posts in this series:
- Replanting: Living by Dying
- Replanting: The Story
- Envisioning a Replant
- Envisioning a Replant: Leadership, Mission, Values
- Envisioning a Replant: Practical Issues
Here are a couple of other posts Scott made that are related, but not formally included in the five part series:
- Replanting a Missional Church <– tells of Scott’s ministerial experience with replants.
- What is Replanting? <– very practical article (i.e. steps are listed) for any leader involved in anything resembling a replant.
For more westcoastwitness.com content on the topic of church revitalization, go here and here.
The Overflow 