Church Planting

The Mission of a Church - Planting More New Testament Churches

Titus 1:5

July 24th  2011 PM

Pastor Craig Ledbetter

Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland

www.biblebc.com

 

I.       Introduction (2Tim 4:5; Titus 1:5)

 

A.    The New Testament Church

 

1.      Something new!

 

a.       There already were synagogues

b.      A Temple

c.       A congregation

 

2.      A Church!

 

a.       A group of believers in Jesus Christ, tightly knit together like a body is

b.      Represent the body of Jesus in their town!

 

3.      Problem: Not every town has such a Church!

 

B.     Ireland

 

1.      4.7 million people

2.      6 large cities (Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford, Galway, Kilkenny)

3.      1,270 Towns small towns and villages

4.      7,616 Pubs

5.      There are more Four Star Pizza Restaurants, Cinemas, Shopping Centres, Tescos, Dunnes, and even Tattoo Shops than there are Bible believing Churches!

 

C.     Evangelism = Church Planting (2Tim 4:5; Titus 1:5)

 

1.      More than Soul-Winning, Preaching, Praying, Fellowshipping, Giving, and Growing,
God gave us Christians the awesome task of Church-Planting

2.      Evangelism in its simplest form is

 

a.       winning individual souls to faith in Jesus Christ.

b.      In its fullest form, (i.e., when it is in full operation), evangelism is the starting of strong, vibrant, New Testament Baptist-type churches throughout a city and nation!

 

3.      There are not many good churches! Most are dead, ritualistic, superstitious. Others are entertainment centres

 

D.    It is the task of every preacher to be involved in church-planting, in EVERY city, village, county and nation (Titus 1:5)

 

1.      Timothy was the pastor of a very large church called the Church at Ephesus.

2.      And yet Paul said he needed to make sure he was not only pastoring, but also doing the work of an Evangelist – a soul-winner, who was determined to group those new believers into Churches – a church starter

3.      Timothy was to be busy starting more churches than just the one in Ephesus

 

a.       THAT is what our Lord commanded us to be doing

b.      THAT is what the apostle Paul spent his Christian life doing – planting churches throughout Europe!

c.       THAT is what WE need to be doing as well

d.      It is MY calling, and our task together as a church

 

II.    Background

 

A.    The Historical Path of Evangelism - churches, churches, everywhere (Mark 1:38)!

 

1.      Acts 1:8                       Our command to GO is given

2.      Acts 8:1                       The Christians had only gone as far as Samaria

3.      Acts 8:4                       Persecution by Saul drove the Christians into the surrounding areas like they should have been doing

4.      Acts 8:5                       Philip went to Samaria

5.      Acts 8:25-27,39,40     Philip is lead away from Samaria to win the Ethiopian, who then goes home to win his nation!

6.      Acts 10:1,44-48          Caesarean church started

7.      Acts 11:26                   Antiochan church started

8.      Acts 13:1-3                 The Calling out of the first official Missionaries (Church-Starters)

9.      Acts 13:14,42              Pisidian church started

10.  Acts 13:44-52             Persecution hits again, and just moved them on!

11.  Acts 14:1                     Iconium church started

12.  Acts 14:2-7                 Lystra and Derby churches started

13.  Acts 15                        A Break – back to Jerusalem

14.  Acts 16:1                     Back to where they left off - Derby and Lystra

15.  Acts 16:4,5                  Strengthening the local churches

16.  Acts 16:29-34             Philippian Jailor – Philippian church started

17.  Acts 17:1-4                 Thessalonican church started

18.  Acts 17:10-12             Berean church started

19.  Acts 17:13-15,32-34   Athens church started

20.  Acts 18                        Corinthian church started

21.  Acts 19:8-10               Ephesus – three years in total (Acts 20:31)

22.  Titus 1:5                      Titus was supposed to be starting churches

23.  Acts 20:26;
Col 1:3-6, 23               The world heard the Gospel in the first century

 

B.     Now you see the beginnings of all the churches started in the first century

C.     Churches get started when Christians… (It was the result of the following actions on the part of very determined believers)

 

1.      Christians hear God’s call to go (Isa 6:8)

2.      OBEY God’s call to go

3.      Get trained and experienced in their local church (2Tim 2:2)

4.      Go to nearby cities and villages (Mark 1:38)

5.      Preach the resurrection – the power of a changed life (Acts 17:18)

6.      Accept good and bad reactions

7.      Group the believers together

8.      Teach them all things Christ commanded (Matt 28:19)

9.      Go on to the next town when lead (or forced) – into all the world!

 

III. Message – Evangelism is The Work of Every Church

 

A.    Modern Irish Missions

 

1.      Currently Thirty Fundamental Baptist Pastors here in Ireland

2.      Eighteen Churches started in the last 20 years

3.      A dozen New Missionaries are “on their way” - Coming anytime from 2011 to 2015

4.      Most are working the Dublin area (1.5 million)

5.      So few reaching the other 3 million Irish elsewhere!

6.      Don’t leave the work to Foreigners/Americans – you do it too!

 

B.     What Should We Be Doing?

 

1.      Grow our Church - the Lighthouse Principle The light that shines farthest, shines brightest at home

 

a.       Are we committed to this group growing with souls saved, and discipled? Do we endeavor to be here every meeting? AM, PM, AND Wednesday evening?

b.      Or are we only committed to what we can get out of Church?

 

2.      Train our People - Ready to answer God’s call

 

a.       Discipleship

b.      Soul-winning class

c.       Taking notes in church

d.      Personal study time

e.       Obeying what we learn every week?

 

3.      Help Start More Churches in Ireland – see this country in need of pastors and Christians located throughout this island, preaching and teaching the truths of the Bible, every week, every where!

 

a.       Help start 20 churches by 2020

b.      Church planters are on the way – Andrew and Jennifer Day

 

4.      Support more missionaries as they go to far-away people and places

5.      Make sure we bathe every endeavor in prayer (Luke 10:2)

 

C.     Where to Focus Our Efforts (Acts 1:8)

 

1.      Nearby Areas Include (not an exhaustive list):

 

a.       Carrigaline

b.      Cork City – it could use TEN new Bible believing churches!

c.       Macroom

d.      Kinsale

e.       Fermoy

f.       Youghal

g.      Middleton

h.      Killarney

i.        Tralee

 

2.      Methods in each area involve:

 

a.       Going to an area and just putting tracts in doors

b.      Hold a week long meeting in a community centre

c.       Starting-up a regular Bible Study

 

3.      Ultimately starting a weekly Sunday preaching Meeting there!

 

D.    Europe Missions (Isa 6:9,10)

 

1.      459 million people!!! Unbelievable number of people on our doorstep, with people from all nations coming to Ireland every year

2.      Post-Christian Catholics is the dominant religion

3.      CHURCH OF ENGLAND “WILL BE DEAD IN 20 YEARS” The following is excerpted from “Ageing Church of England,” London Telegraph, July 12, 2011: “The average age of its members is now 61 and by 2020 a ‘crisis’ of ‘natural wastage’ will lead to their numbers falling ‘through the floor’, the Church’s national assembly was told. The Church was compared to a company ‘impeccably’ managing itself into failure, during exchanges at the General Synod in York. The warnings follow an internal report calling for an urgent national recruitment drive to attract more members. In the past 40 years, the number of adult churchgoers has halved, while the number of children attending regular worship has declined by four fifths. The Rev Dr Patrick Richmond, a Synod member from Norwich, told the meeting that some projections suggested that the Church would no longer be ‘functionally extinct’ in 20 years’ time.”

4.      Post-Communist atheists is the dominate mind-set

5.      The Seat of Satan – we are working in the empire of the anti-christ

6.      Few Church-Starters in place – Europe is easily overlooked as a region that really needs the Gospel!

7.      Europe SHOULD be sending out missionaries to the rest of the world

 

E.     What modern Christianity needs to be doing

 

1.      See the need – with biblical eyes – with heaven’s viewpoint (Mt 9:36)

2.      Soften your heart – quit hardening it to the real need of today!

3.      Supply the finances for others to go

4.      Surrender to God’s will yourself

5.      Seek training and confidence – first here

6.      Settle your course… to go anywhere!

7.      Soul-win and disciple new believers now

8.      Sell-out and Go when ready

9.      Start a Church of your own!

 

F.      Don’t let Satan hinder us (1Thes 3:3-5)

 

1.      Afflictions should not move us away from accomplishing these goals

2.      Afflictions are part of the deal – they are appointed to us

3.      But temptations will ruin our efforts

 

a.       Temptation to quit

b.      Temptation to carry a bad attitude and bitter spirit

c.       Temptation to backslide and do things the world’s way

d.      Temptation to go an easier way – follow a more popular “gospel”

 

4.      Don’t let Satan have any advantage over us (2Cor 2:11)