When we live under the authority of Jesus, we commit to obey all his commands. Therefore, we go, making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Triune God and teaching them to imitate us and obey all the commands of Jesus (Matt. 28:19-20).
We do this immersed in the presence of Jesus, who is always with us on earth and into eternity. We do what Jesus calls us to do: We practice evangelism and discipleship and establish these new believers in churches. We live the mission.
Consequently, followers of Jesus are in the business of evangelism and discipleship—E&D. One of the best ways to see E&D is in the context of church planting. E&D happens in the context of pioneer church planting, like what we did at Mountain View Church and what Brad and Elfie Klassen did in Phoenix, Arizona, Paul and Jini Robie in Salt Lake City, Utah, Christian and Erica Kohs in Owatonna, Minnesota, Jon and Michele Fiester in Rapid City, South Dakota, and Phil and Melissa Wiebe in Stansbury Park, Utah.
E&D also happens as churches plant satellites, daughter churches, campuses or free-standing churches. We lead people to Jesus. They become part of the family of God and join the global universal family of God and a local family of God, the church. Thus, we plant churches where they don’t exist.
Why new churches?
Multiple articles and books make the claim that new churches are more effective in E&D. Why is this? I believe the answer is multifaceted.
New churches generally don’t attract older Christians who are looking for a large list of programs. New churches must grow through E&D and through young looking for something new. So, there are salvations, baptisms and an army of new believers inviting their friends to come and meet Christ, the one who changed their lives.
Often new churches are planted by faith-filled, risk-taking, apostolic/evangelistic leaders. Often older churches have moved to be led by pastors/teachers who can be more administrative than apostolic/evangelistic.
The community in new churches is more connected as a family and that is attractive to those who need Jesus. There are no distractions and one’s whole life is radically committed to Jesus and the mission of E&D.
The mission of church planting is worth giving your life to, making any needed sacrifice for and dying for. There is a singular focus on joining Jesus in building the church over all else. This is centered on E&D.
The return on investment (ROI) is eternally amazing. The church plant is full of followers of Jesus who are planting a church that will plant more churches.
In church plants that are often short of resources of money, people and permanent buildings, there is a radical passion to see God do miracles in all these areas as they walk by faith and not by sight. God comes through or nothing will happen. This faith is translated into passion, expectation, risk and an all in mentality, etc., that results in E&D.
Taking risks
In this milieu, I partner with pastors and others across USMB to plant churches. These partners quietly fund salaries, rent, evangelism, sound systems, new staff and even church building purchases. They do it because they love E&D. They do it for an eternal reward.
The ROI is massive in church planting. The lost are saved, grow in their faith, are baptized and plant new churches. The return is compounded. Church planters and their ministry partners are in the 2.5 percent of the population who are entrepreneurial risk takers or in the 13.5 percent of the population considered “early adopters.”
At worst, they are the 34 percent of the “early majority” who are frustrated they didn’t get in earlier. They are taking a risk for the kingdom, but even if it fails, the eternal ROI is amazing. I thank God for these people.
Without an overwhelming passion for E&D we can become risk averse. This affects a person’s willingness to take risks with resources of people, money or time to reach the lost. By the time a decision is made, the opportunity has often passed by. There may be a lot of money in reserves but not a lot of celebration in heaven when the lost are found or water is needed in the baptismal tank.
Why do we need to take risks for the kingdom, regardless of the tendency some of us have to avoid risks? We take risks for the glory of God. We believe that Jesus is the Savior of the world, and that lost people need Jesus (Rom. 3:23, 6:23, John 14:6). We want to join Jesus, who came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10). We are looking to see God receive glory as more and more people come to faith in Jesus (2 Cor. 4:15).
Our gospel “why”
This should be the “why” for each of us. So, what do we do? The Bible is full of passages that answer this question. Consider Romans 10:9-15. Paul gives us a five-point road map, in reverse order, with a wonderful result in our lives.
5) Call on Jesus Christ for salvation.
4) Believe in Jesus Christ
3) Hear the gospel of Jesus Christ
2) Tell others the gospel of Jesus Christ
1) Sent by Jesus Christ
The reverse order calls attention to the critical nature of the process. As churches and individuals, we must take the clear responsibility that if we refuse to be sent, we won’t tell, and people won’t hear. Consequently, they won’t believe and tragically won’t call on the name of Jesus Christ for salvation.
When we stand before the Lord, we will have to face the reality that we are the weakest link in the chain of peoples’ salvation. If we refuse to be sent, the process of church planting and the resulting salvation will never take flight. People will never met Jesus. When we don’t stand in the gap, people perish (Ezek. 22:30-31)
As individuals and churches, we must accept the responsibility that the call has our name on it. That the call is for all of us to become disciples who see new life in individuals and churches. We are never too old to see new life
The result? We have beautiful feet. Beautiful feet are not tanned, smooth and soft. Beautiful feet are the feet of Tony and Roxy planting a campus in East Clovis, Calif., Kevin and Kate and Dieter and Inara planting in East Germany, Sajmir and Irma in Albania, Misael and Dyrly in Spain, Mario and Stephanie in Pueblo, Colo., and Timurlan and Irina in Kyrgyzstan.
They have feet that are bloodied and battered, rough and callused, cut and painful. They have feet that have suffered and carried them to the lost. Their eternal ROI for planting churches in the hard places is E&D that they will enjoy forever as people will come to them for all eternity and thank them.
You can join this eternal ROI by giving your life to E&D. Live the mission by joining a church plant or by going across the street, office, classroom, gym or store and telling people about Jesus. You can live this mission by funding church planting in our family of churches. You can live the mission by praying for church planters and for your lost friends each day by name.
We can all live the mission and be a part of church planting. It’s not complicated, it’s just hard.
An invitation
Join Mountain View Church for our third annual LIVE THE MISSION Conference, where passion for global outreach meets powerful inspiration.
Prayer, Holy Spirit empowerment and time together with others who are passionate about seeing God’s kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven are some of the aspects that make this event phenomenal and unique. With dynamic speakers, engaging workshops, powerful testimonies, and building new relationships, this conference will equip you with the tools and vision to take part in God’s mission to reach your neighborhood and every nation, through evangelism and church planting.
Our theme for this year is “Not Ashamed” coming from Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes—the Jew first and also the Gentile.”
God is on the move and we want to celebrate, learn and be encouraged by how he is working in our world. So, whether you’re looking to get involved in missions or deepen your understanding of God’s heart for the world, this conference is for you. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to grow, connect and be inspired to make a difference in the world for Christ. —FL
Fred Leonard is the lead pastor at Mountain View Community Church in Fresno, California. He wants to see God’s kingdom come and to be a world-changing, risk-taker for Jesus. He loves serving Jesus and the church with his wife, Esther, and their four children. Leonard has a doctorate of ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary and continues to have a passion to learn and is always reading, meeting people, asking questions and pushing the envelope.
