Serve the Lord's Supper to the New Disciples in New Churches

 

Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

“The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.’” 

These words were recorded in 1 Corinthians 11:23. Our merciful Lord and Savior spoke them as he was anticipating being tortured, crucified, and buried. Jesus’ command shows the depth of his love and compassion for you and me. He wants all of his disciples in all places to obey them.  

First of all, Jesus portrayal of the new covenant with bread and wine shows his love for others. He was not focused on his own problems, his own pain, his own struggle. Jesus, although he was about be killed, turned his focus to his disciples and invited them to celebrate with him his covenant of grace.  What amazing love.

Secondly, Jesus turned his focus to his saving sacrifice. “In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

It is amazing that God would make a new covenant with us sinners. All that our sin deserved was a broken relationship with our heavenly Father. But Jesus made a way by shedding his blood on the cross and rising from the dead. He said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.”

So how is that gracious, glorious new covenant of forgiveness and grace to be recorded and remembered? The new covenant with Jesus that brings us new life is to be remembered by breaking bead and drinking wine. This is what Jesus said on the night he was betrayed. It is not a small thing that Jesus died for us to purchase our salvation.  By comparison, taking time to gather bread and red juice and the followers of Jesus to remember the new covenant is quite simple.  It does not take much effort at all. And yet, just before he suffered for us, this gathering and this eating of bread and drinking of wine is what our Lord commanded us to do.

So why is it that so many newly planted churches find it so hard to celebrate the Lord’s Supper as Jesus’ commanded? And, what are the benefits that new believers miss when church planters fail to make sure the Lord Supper is served to them? Without the Lord’s Supper, new believers miss the simplest and clearest explanation of the Good News. When the Apostle Paul was describing the Gospel to the newly planted church in Corinth, he said, “For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.” This of course is the same message that is proclaimed in the serving of the Lord’s Supper. New believers, even more than others, need to remember, reflect. and embrace this message repeatedly.

Of course, the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus is important for all of us, but it is especially important for new believes in new churches who are just beginning to experience God’s grace. So make sure they receive the Lord’s Supper at least four times per year. It will be life and peace and power for you and for them.

 

This has been “Multiply,” and I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?

 

 

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #TheLord’sSupper #DoThis

The Trademark of God's Leaders Series - Daniel Received Favor

This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters and leaders.

Today we continue to explore some of the leadership characteristics of the Old Testament prophet Daniel.  In Chapter 1, verse 9, we read, “Now God had caused the official to show favor and compassion to Daniel…”

I find it interesting that Daniel’s experience in Babylon resembles that of Joseph in Egypt. Genesis 39:21 records that “the Lord was with him [Joseph]; he showed him kindness and granted him favor in the eyes of the prison warden.” Both these Hebrew leaders were exiled from their home country, and yet the Lord gave them favor in the eyes of those watching over them.  

One definition of favor is “an act of kindness beyond what is due or usual.”

I’ve learned in my life that there have been seasons when I, or a ministry in which I served, have experienced God’s favor, that is, His goodness beyond what might be considered usual. I believe that Village Church Planting is currently enjoying such a season.  

As I study the life of Daniel, I see four results, or outcomes, of God’s favor in his life.

• Provision – Daniel and his three friends spent three years preparing for the king’s service.  During this time, all their meals were provided, and their education in the ways of the Babylonians was entirely free of charge.

• Promotion – at the end of the story about Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, we read in 2:48 that “… the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men.”  Later, in Chapter 5, verse 29, Daniel received further promotion.  “Then at Belshazzar’s command, Daniel … was proclaimed the third highest ruler in the kingdom.
”

• Protection – Chapter 6 is the story of Daniel in the lions’ den. Verse 22 gives evidence of Divine protection.  “My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight...”

• Power and wisdom – Chapter 2, verses 19-20 tell us that Daniel praised the God of heaven and said: “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his. And three verses later he adds, “You have given me wisdom and power...”  [emphasis added]

 

While Daniel was blessed to receive God’s favor in all four of these areas, any of these may be an indication of His favor in our lives. The important thing that I want to leave you with today is to be keen to recognize God’s favor, and like Daniel, give Him praise for His unusual kindness.  

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

Baptize Without Delay in Daughter Churches

 Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that

provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

As you know, I have traveled to many countries on several continents. When I

come back from a trip, I love to tell people about the newly planted churches I

have visited, especially second and third-generation churches. When I show

people pictures of a group of 20 or 30 people listening to the word of God in a

simple structure or 15 or 20 people worshipping Jesus under a tree, my friends

often have questions. Sooner or later they ask, “What is your definition of a

church?” I tell them, a church is a group of people who seek to obey all that

Jesus commanded. A church is a group of people who carry out the nine

activates that the church at Jerusalem began to do on the day of Pentecost.”

Then I tell them that the congregations I am showing them are real churches.

Not cell groups, not extension points, not branches, not Bible studies, but

churches.

I hope I am representing those new churches well. Acts 2:37-47 teaches us that

churches pray, obey God’s word, worship, evangelize, give, train leaders, have

fellowship, serve the Lord’s Supper and baptize. But sometimes when we plant

daughter churches we delay baptisms and the serving of the Lord’s Supper,

even when there are people in the church who have repented and believed the

Good News. There are many reasons why baptism and the serving of the Lord’s

Supper to born again believers is delayed in newly planted churches. But none

of those reasons is a good one. In his Great Commission, Jesus commanded his

disciples to baptize. Why do we delay? On the night he was betrayed, Jesus

broke bread and served wine saying, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Why do

we delay?

You and I are church planters. Yes, we are evangelists and disciple makers. But

we are church planters. Churches baptize and serve the Lord’s Supper. So

whatever responsibility you have for the planting of second and third-

generation churches, do not allow baptism to be delayed. Work with church

leaders so that baptisms are carried out without delay. And be sure Christ

followers in that new church participate in the Lord’s Supper at least four

times per year.

When Christ followers testify through baptism of their death to sin and their 

new life in Christ, God is glorified and the devil is rebuked. When new

 believers are baptized they testify that Christ has given them a new life. As 

followers of the living Christ, we are strengthened by their testimony to the 

goodness of God. When churches obey Christ and baptize those 

who follow Him, everyone is strengthened.

So do whatever is necessary in your church family to celebrate baptisms of born

again people. Don’t accept excuses for the delay of baptism in the churches

you are planting. As new believers are baptized, the church is strengthened

and you yourself will be strengthened in the Lord.

This has been “Multiply,” and I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this

encouraging word with today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #Baptize #TheLord’sSupper

Watch Daughter Church Planters As They Minister

 Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

Talking, teaching and explaining are good ways to help people gain knowledge. And we all need more knowledge. So, we go to schools of all types to gain that knowledge. But, the best way to train others to master a skill is to Model, Assist, Watch, and Leave. Church planting is as set of skills based on knowledge of the word of God and the will of God. Church planter, if you will Model, Assist, Watch, and Leave, you can equip and release many effective church planters!

To be an effective church planter, we must know God’s big story. We must know who Jesus is and why his death and resurrection have power to save.  We must understand the love of God and the grace of God and his power to transform lives. But knowing all this is not enough to make a church member a church planter.

In order to plant a healthy daughter church that can multiply, church members need skills.  They need to know how to find persons of peace. They need to know how to tell God’s big story. They need to know how to tell their own story and testimony.  They need to know how to present the Good News and how to invite men and women, boys and girls to follow Jesus. They need to know how to effectively teach people to obey all that Jesus commanded. They need to know how to pray with faith. Knowing about these activities is helpful, but church planter need more than knowledge. We need skills.  

The best way to develop skills in our disciples, is to Model, Assist, Watch, and Leave. We demonstrate a ministry skill several times while the church planter in training watches. Then the church planter in training assists us with a ministry activity that uses the recently modeled skill. Later, we watch our disciple as he or she uses the newly learned skill to minister to others. Finally, we leave the responsibility and the skill in the hands of the new church planter. Model, Assist, Watch, and Leave.

Sadly, many first generation church planters model new skills and even allow their disciples to assist them in ministry, but they do not go on to watch their disciples as they step out to minister. Sadly, many first generation church planters skip the watch phase because they think it is unnecessary. But it is in the watch phase that the disciple maker can see if the disciple has truly mastered a new skill. For example, if the skill being taught is sharing the Good News using The Three Circles, the disciple maker can see if the young church planter includes and explains each and every element of the drawing. Was anything left out? Was a clear invitation given to crown Jesus as king? If the young church planter does everything well in the watch phase, the senior church planter can leave that skill in the new church planters hands. This is a moment of achievement and celebration.  But until the elder church planter sees the daughter church planter succeed with a new ministry skill, watching continues.

Church planter, if you will Model, Assist, Watch, and Leave, you can equip and release many effective church planters!

This has been “Multiply,” and I’m Dean Davis asking, “Who will you share this encouraging word with today?

 

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #ModelAssistWatchLeave

The Trademark of God's Leaders - Daniel's Wisdom and Tact

 This is Chuck Rapp with Multiply, a podcast to provide a word of encouragement for village church planters and leaders.

Today we continue to explore some of the leadership characteristics of the Old Testament prophet Daniel.

Chapter 2 is the story of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream. In verses 5 and 6 he issues an ultimatum to his astrologers. “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble.” Talk about pressure! These wise men were expected to not only interpret the dream, they were required to describe it to the king.

They rightly answered him in verse 10. “There is not a man on earth who can do what the king asks.” However, their response so infuriated Nebuchadnezzar that he ordered all the wise men of Babylon to be executed. Included in this group was Daniel, and we read his response to the commander of the king’s guard in verse 14. “… Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact.”

As leaders, we need to speak with both wisdom and tact. And we need to do so not only when the situation is going well but also when it is not. In this instance, Daniel’s very life and the lives of many others were at stake. I would suggest that speaking with “wisdom and tact” is a joint venture between us, as Christ-followers, and the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.

Daniel knew his Source of wisdom. Verse 20 tells us that he said, “praise be to the name of God for ever and ever, wisdom and power are His.” And in verse 27 and the beginning of 28, we read that Daniel replied to the king, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, but there is a God in heaven …” Oh, but God!

As Christ-followers and leaders, we must know that wisdom comes from God and that we can confidently request it of Him. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5)

While wisdom comes from God, I propose that speaking with tact is largely a human responsibility. Tact is defined as “sensitivity in dealing with others or with difficult issues.” Colossians 4:6 instructs us “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”

Tact requires thinking before we speak, not reacting too quickly. It requires consideration for how the other party will receive what we say. I need to be more like Daniel. We all need to speak with wisdom and tact.

This has been a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

Assist with Daughter Church Planting

 Hello everybody, my name is Dean Davis and this is “Multiply,” the podcast that

provides a word of encouragement for Village Church Planters.

Jesus believed in the multiplication of disciples and workers. He modeled the

way to do ministry. When Jesus appointed his apostles, “He appointed twelve,

so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach

(Mark 3:14). Jesus spent time with those whom he would send out. He served

as their model for ministry. They saw how Jesus approached people, how he

healed the sick and cast out demons. They observed his prayer life and his

interactions with men and women, boys and girls. So when the 12 apostles

went out to minister, and later the 72 went out two by two, they knew what to

do because they had seen Jesus in action.

Church planter, do your disciples know how to minister? Have they observed

your prayer life? Do they know how you approach people and how you turn the

conversation to Jesus? Do they know how and when you share your 15-second

testimony and how you present the Gospel using three circles? Have they seen

you teach the Seven Basic Commands of Christ? Your disciples have probably

observed some of these things. But if you were to ask them they might say they

would like to see more.

As a church planter you always have your eyes open to look for and find unsown

fields where you can sow the good seed of the Gospel. As a church planter,

you know villages where there is no church. Why don’t you take one or two of

your timid disciples with you to one of these villages without a church? Show

them how you prayer walk. Tell them about praying on site with insight. But

don’t spend too much time teaching with words. Let your actions do the

teaching. Let your disciples know that you want to assist them as they take the

first steps in planting a church.

One of the best ways you can assist a disciple as he or she begins to plant a

church is to go with them and do ministry together. Of course, you have many

more ministry experiences than your disciples do. So they will often defer to

you and try to make you do the hard parts. At first this is OK. But soon you will

tell them that they will pray, they will teach, they will lead worship.

You will let your disciple know that you are present to assist, but that they are

present to lead the ministry.

This seems crazy at first. They will resist. But you must be strong. If you do

not step back so that your disciple can lead ministry in your presence, they will

struggle unnecessarily. But if you step back and say “I am here to assist you;

you lead the way” your disciple will grow strong in the Lord and develop great

ministry skills.

As you go, perhaps together you will find a man or woman of peace. When you

do, gently push your disciple to the forefront. Tell the man of peace that your

disciple will come back to pray with him and teach him the Word of God. By

doing so you will provide a new worker who can make disciples and start a new

church.

This has been Multiply and I’m Dean Davis asking, “who will you share this

encouraging word with today?

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #AssistInMinistry #PrayerWalk

Daughter Church Planters Make Disciples

 Hello this is Multiply a podcast to encourage village church planters and leaders I am Brad Snowden. When I was a pastor one of my most treasured events came about when parents wanted to dedicate their lives to raising a baby after God’s word. It was exciting to know that if the parents followed through with what they were saying that another generation would be devoted to following Christ and His word. These parents were not out there on their own but the body of believers would help hold them accountable for the pouring into these young hearts the truth that would help them to grow. When we look back at the Old Testament generational thought was very important to the community. It is the same when we are talking about daughter churches a generation and the activity of the daughter church should incorporate the same teachings and the first generation church plant. One of the greatest models for a church planter to follow is the 7 basic commands of Christ.  Repent and believe, Baptize new believers, Love God and neighbor, Partake of the Lord’s supper, Pray and meditate on God’s word daily, Give, Make disciples

One of the core pieces to God’s road map for every church planter is to disciple- disciple makers. I believe as we allow God to help us our focus can be on the hearts in whom we disciple so they can experience the passion for disciple making. This is so needed in our daughter churches as the work grows so that there is a healthy church body. We must learn that what God has given for us to use in every church planted no matter what generation it is.  The 7 basic commands of Christ is a proven blessing for all church planters and making disciples is a command from Christ. 

Matthew 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ..." 

It is my prayer that we rejoice with the church planters who are planting daughter churches as they realize the joys of a new generational church plant founded upon tools God gives and truth in His word. We rejoice with you as you make disciples in the next generation church plants that will change lives. This has been a word of encouragement for village church planters. Who will you share this with today?