1. As the District Evangelism and Church Growth “guy” what are your responsibilities?

The role of the District Director of Evangelism and Church Growth is outlined in The Wesleyan Discipline 2004 (par. 1426). I will not review that document here, for I do not wish to rob our readers of that exciting material! Practically speaking, I am charged with assisting our District Superintendent, Dr. Wilson, in fulfilling the mandate of the Denomination and District for expanding the Kingdom of God by planting healthy, reproducing churches, and equipping local church leaders to complete the call of Jesus given to us in Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8.
 

2. Over the past decade church planting has received a lot of attention. Will active church planting continue to be a part of the Atlantic District vision?

The District went through a period of a few years where we did not plant any new churches. I can assure you that we are now actively engaged in planting new Wesleyan churches in the District. I have received training and inspiration through attending conferences, by interacting with our General Director of Evangelism and Church Growth, and through consultation with the DS and a church planting consultant to help strengthen our hand at church multiplication. We have also been in dialogue with several persons who are interested in planting churches in the Atlantic District and even held a planter assessment day at Beulah Camp last fall. I look forward to sharing more information with our District family very soon. We have enlisted the expertise and passion of Dr. Eric Hallett to lead in the development of a new church planter assessment tool to help us assess potential church planters in the District. This is a significant step forward for us and one that will result in more and better-equipped church planters in the future.
 

3. What are some ways the local church can be involved in church planting?

This is a great question that I will address in a seminar at Beulah Camp 2006. Without giving you the whole bale of hay now, let me summarize my thoughts by saying that our churches can be involved in church planting; 1) by praying for workers to be called to multiplication ministry in the District; 2) by encouraging the youth and young adults of the church to consider attending Bethany Bible College (for even one year) to become exposed to ministry in general and church planting specifically; 3) by become aware of geographic areas surrounding our churches that may need a new Wesleyan Church planted there; 4) by asking the senior/solo pastor if he/she has ever considered planting a new church from within the local congregation and releasing people and resources to plant a new church; 5) by staying in touch with our church planters and their children by phone, mail, email, and even by cheque! This kind of proactive interest will let our planters know that they are not serving alone and that they are loved, supported, and prayed for by their District family; 6) by encouraging retired persons to take a leave of absence from their local church by moving to a new planting site and supporting the planter and his/her family for three, six, or even twelve months; 7) by encouraging youth, young adults and adult groups to do weekend mission trips to one or more of our church planting locations, doing whatever it is the planter may require of them.

These are just a few ways in which our local churches can get involved in the multiplication ministry of our District!
 

4. Do you need to be an ordained minister to be involved in church planting? What type of people are you looking for to be church planters?

There are thirteen characteristics of a potential church planter that are instructive:
visionary capacity, intrinsically motivated, creates ownership of ministry, relates to the unchurched, manages family well, effectively builds relationships, committed to the Church, responsive to the community, utilises the giftedness of others, flexible and adaptable, builds a cohesive church body, resilient and determined, and exercises faith. These are the kind of people we are looking for to plant successful, reproducing churches. While there are many models being tested by a number of planting agencies, at present we are using people who are licensed or ordained to be lead and/or assistant planters in our new plants.
 

5. Is there just one way to plant a church?

I love this question because it calls us all to think outside the box! No, there is not just one way to plant a church. I envision the day when we plant churches with retired people who can pour themselves into gathering a core group and then releasing the group to a trained pastor. I envision churches being planted on our university campuses by students who sense God’s call to make a difference right where they are. I would be thrilled to see three or four of our churches join together to plant new churches in spiritually-needy areas of their region. I would be moved if three or four struggling churches would join together to plant one strong church so that the resulting church could witness the love of Christ to the community. I also see the day where we embrace the need to plant multi-cultural churches that look and sound quite different from anything we have in the district now but that will become the norm as God brings more and more people to our welcoming shores. We will not be able to look to the District alone to be responsible for funding new and emerging churches, either. The bottom line is that there are as many ways to plant churches as there are people called and gifted to plant them!
 

6. Does planting a church mean leaving behind the stability of a steady income? If so, how are finances secured to achieve the goal?

Funding church planting is an exciting and faith-producing exercise. Historically, the district and denomination have partnered with planters to help secure a sustainable income by visiting churches and raising funds from interested persons. But in order for us to plant more churches in less time, we will need new planters to become like Greg and Shera Hanson and Darren and Janel Clark who became part- or full-time tentmakers, working secular jobs in order to fund their calling. My dream is to one day raise $1 million for church multiplication and local church evangelism.
 

7. How is an area to plant a church decided?

There are some pretty interesting methodologies out there to help with this. Doing demographic research is a prime tool for determining where to plant a church. We have used this in the past with good success. Other times we have worked in tandem with the Holy Spirit and the planter to discern where a church should be planted in the district. Sometimes there is a general consensus among all the “players” that “we need a church there!” and that has motivated us to pray for someone to respond in obedience to His call. Established churches, sensing the spiritual needs of their geographical area, can also help us decide where God may be calling us to plant new churches.
 

8. If you could share just two thoughts about church planting what would they be?

First, I want our people to become aware that the world is no longer “over there” across the ocean, but it is right here in the places where we live, work, play and worship. Atlantic Wesleyans must now consider missions to be something we live out in the streets, roadways, and shopping centres of our region before the ever-changing face of our once-insular culture. If God is bringing the world to our doorstep, we need to open the door and let them in so that Jesus can become their Saviour and Sanctifier, too.

Secondly, I would encourage every person under the banner of the Atlantic District to sincerely ask the Father: “Is there some way I can become involved in church planting in our district this year?” The need is great for prayer partners, short-term volunteers, generous financial contributors, encouragers, letter-writers, and lead and assistant tentmakers to hear the call of Jesus to “Look at the fields!” and understand that “They are ripe for harvest.” (John 4: 35). We need people to be willing to leave the comfort of established church ministry for the embrace of planting new and thriving communities of faith in the far and near reaches of the District. This has been one of the most exciting and transforming steps our family has ever taken and we look forward to many more of you joining the cadre of leaders who accept this defining call for your lives.
 

9. Does the Atlantic District partner with Bethany Bible College regarding church planting? If so how?

I spoke with President Medders in December 2005 and he has invited me to come to the campus and share church planting with interested students. I look forward to that happening sometime soon.