Multiply

Church Planters Reject Legalism

What does it mean to have a personal relationship with Christ?  What is the focus of the Christian life?  Is it an argument about rules and regulations?  Is the Christian life a sad, discouraging way of living?  I don’t think so; but the wrong focus can make it miserable

Church Planters Care About Healthy Families

It takes a lot of work at first and then careful attention in to see plants produce as it should. The apostle Paul shares with us the care that we need to practice in order to have heathy families as we see in this little study in Colossians 3:18-21.

Church Planters Make Disciples Who Care

It is not easy to be a good parent.  Good parents, both fathers and mothers, must constantly teach their children. But there comes a time when children grow up and they go away.  When my children were going away from me for the first time, I found that I prayed for them even more than when they were with me.  Why did I pray so much? Because I wanted them to apply well the lessons I had taught them when they were with me.

Good church planters pray for their people when they are away.  IN fact, they wrestle in prayer for them to stand firm in the will of God.  To find out about a church planter who wrestled in prayer for his people, click here to listen to the Multiply podcast.

Church Planters Develop Faith and Love in Others

The life of a farmer is hard, but the life of a farmer is good. He or she cooperates with God who provides the soil and brings the rain for the crops to grow. But is not easy to prepare the ground for planting, or to sow the seeds and protect them from birds and cattle and goats that want to eat the growing crop. 

The life of a church planter is hard, but the life of a church planter is good. It is not easy to go to a new village and find persons of peace.  Its not easy to grow a church.  Sometimes its hard to observe growth.  What do you look for?

Today’s episode of Multiply answers this question with insights from Paul’s letter to the Colossians.

The Prayer For Those In Service To God

Why would the Apostle Paul write this?  Apostle Paul is encouraging the church planter, and followers of Jesus, that prayer is the key ingredient to living out our lives pleasing to the Lord. Praying for one another is a powerful part of how we can serve one another 

Church Planters Build Up Faith To Produce Holiness

The world we live in is broken.  All around us people are giving themselves to more and more sin. As we observe the world around us, it would be easy to believe that no one can live a holy life. 

Paul lived in a world much like our world today.  Even so, Paul had the audacity to believe that God could make people holy. And because he believed that God could change sinful people and make them good and kind and devoted to God, Paul gave his life to work with God to see the people of his day transformed.

Church Planters Want Their People to Please the Lord

In our world today, there are plenty of people who want to be the big man or the big momma.  You know what I mean.  There are plenty of leaders, men and women alike, who want everyone to know that they are in charge.  They love to give orders and expect everyone else to obey without delay.

Sometimes people with the big man delusion or the big momma delusion decide to become church planters. But let me say that there is a way to lead a church without acting like you are the big man or the big momma that everyone needs to fear and obey.

7 Characteristics of a Christian

To say someone has a good character we are meaning; features that make up and distinguish an individual, who most of time are exhibiting moral excellence.

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

I challenge myself and all of us who are chosen and loved by God to put on these characteristics and continue to let them flow through all our lives.

Church Planters Champion Ongoing Transformation

As church planters, you and I have the wonderful privilege of proclaiming the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ.  We confidently tell people that, although the world we live in is broken, Jesus, by his death and resurrection, has made a way for us to be restored to God.  It is our privilege to help men and women, boys and girls put their trust in Christ.  When they do, they experience forgiveness from sins and begin a new life.

As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

As you follow this example of Paul, as you help new believers be transformed by Christ, wonderful change will come to the communities where you plant churches.

Raised With Christ

People in this world have all sorts of rules they think will deliver us from corruption and lead us to a better life.  Some of the rules they live by are mere superstitions.  For example, some people in my country never walk under a ladder.  They think if they do so, it will bring them bad luck.  I have walked under ladders many time.  It never brought me bad luck.  Even so, many people live by that rule.  This rule seems harmless, but when people follow a lot of rules like this they struggle under unnecessary burdens.

As a church planter, Paul wanted to set people free from human superstitions, religious practices, and harsh rules that seemed smart but did nothing to set people free to enjoy their new life in Christ.