Z Thinking God’s Plan for the World

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

Many people have said, “Begin with the end in mind.” Builders begin with the end in mind when they build a house. Before he moves the first shovel full of dirt to lay the foundation for a new house, the careful builder knows how long and how wide the house will be. He knows how many rooms it will have and how tall it will be. Before a careful builder lays the first foundation stone, he has a picture in his mind’s eye of what the finished house will look like. Wise builders begin with the end in mind. Everything they construct from foundation to roof is put into place so that their end goal, a wonderful house, can be constructed.

As a church planter, you, too, need to begin with the end in mind. You need to ask the Lord, “What should this church become. Lord, how should we worship you? What languages should we use? How should we evangelize? What shall we do to make disciples, Lord? How will this church demonstrate your love to our neighbors?” Just like home builders, church planters need a picture in their mind of what the church will become. And that plan must come from God.

But it is not enough for us to have a good plan for what, by the grace of God, our church should become. We serve a living God. And He has a plan for our world. He knows what he wants, and He has told us what He wants for our world:

* He is not willing that any should perish. He wants all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9).

* He says that the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea (Habakkuk 2:14). 

* He is planning a day when a great multitude from every tongue and tribe, every people group, and every nation will worship him (Revelation 7:9).

This is what God wants, and we should want it too.

The last letter of the Roman alphabet is Zed, or as people in my country say, Zee. When we begin with the end in mind, we are practicing Zed thinking. Zed thinking means that we envision the future that God wants, and we join him in working to make his goals a reality.

In Village Church Planting, our vision is a church in every African Village by 2050. The founders of VCP accepted that vision because they wanted to align themselves with God’s purpose for his creation. They knew that God wants the earth to be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. They knew that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. They know that it is God’s will that he should present every man complete in Christ. (Colossians 1:28) And so they chose to make Christ known by planting churches in villages where no church exists. They practiced Zed thinking. First, they understood God’s will for his creation. Then they chose to join him in accomplishing his end vision.

You, too, are a part of VCP. I hope you, too, embrace the vision of a church in every African village by 2050. Close your eyes to imagine for a moment a church in every village. Imagine well, so the vision becomes clear. Then get up and do your part to make it a reality!

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

 

#EncouragementForVillageChurchPlanters #ZThinking