Hello Everyone.
The year has begun… and it’s time for another update.
Already we’ve had a few people stay, gone out on the jet ski, played tennis, biked, been swimming, I’ve spoken a few times in church and zoom and had an interview with Radio Rhema; Yip it was about the new second edition book… you guessed it – multiplication.
Books are selling, over 60 books have gone out the door so far this year.
A book goes where you can’t;
a book is personal;
it’s a seed sown;
it tells the whole story and can be referred to later;
it gives clarity to an idea;
the book can be passed on to others;
we can interact with the book by underlining or highlighting.
So many powerful positive results.
Police chaplaincy is going well, as I loiter around the stations in Bay of Plenty.
In March, Karen and I are going on our first Cruise with friends around NZ and three cities in Australia.
I’m speaking at a missions’ conference at Easter, plus other churches in the top half of the North Island.
We will both head off to Europe mid-June til mid-July. It will be so good to catch up with ministry friends and my niece and other wonderful people. Then back to NZ for more travel to churches including some time in the lower South Island. I love the South. I aim to be in Europe again in Oct-November, just me.
Throw in a bunch of trust meetings and significant birthdays, looking after grandies and of course regular tennis and hello - it’s Christmas again!! Yay!
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A thought…Does church planting really work?
If we plant churches like much of the Western church; for example - advertise with posters, newspaper adds, bill boards and posts on social media; hire a building, get a music team together and have a part or full-time pastor, a youth leader and maybe a children's worker all sorted. Raise anywhere from $25k to $100k, sometimes more. Then have pre-launch services that (let’s be honest) often pulls in 90-95% of its attendance from other churches. Does that increase the total number of Christians in a country? I don’t think so. It can be fun, but there’s not much Kingdom benefit at all.
So in that case church planting is simply shifting Christians from one church to another. Then I say - church planting doesn’t work, it’s not fit for purpose.
I think it’s HOW we plant churches.
How about this for a scenario… we could find 2-4 people who aren’t following Jesus and invite them to your home for a meal and discuss a passage from the Bible. Simply ask them to invite their friends and you keep inviting people.
It’s slower, as discipleship is require; it’s not sexy, it’s low key, there’s no social media or marketing involved, no buildings needed, no performance to rehearse and no cash required.
Another brilliant way to begin is simply run an Alpha course in your home and invite people. It’s a great way to begin a church.
Remember most Christians, worldwide go to a small church regardless if it’s in the West, Asia or Africa. Small multiplies easier and faster. Maybe God loves the small church as well as the large? I say small is the new BIG!
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Thank you again for those who encourage, pray and support us and thank you for taking the time to read this. Have a great day! And I'll leave you with this profound observation below :)
Blessing,
Nick & Karen
