http://ComePlantChurchesinAnnArborMichigan.com came about because of the lack of gospel-centered churches and gospel-centered church planting in Ann Arbor. My vision is to see dozens of churches planted here in Ann Arbor that are centered on the gospel in all areas and missional in their practice. For that to happen, local churches, regardless of their size, should be planting churches. There’s really no excuse for a church to not plant a church. A healthy church should plant. An unhealthy church should either let itself die or replant. Ray Ortlund and Immanuel Church in Nashville, while only two years old with 150 people on a Sunday, have already planted a church, which means a 30 year old church with 500 people should be planting churches as well. Ray recently wrote a great post on Ed Stetzer’s blog about Small Churches Planting Churches and I’m reprinting the whole thing because it’s so good.

Immanuel Church is small – growing but small. We’re about two years old and averaging around 150 people on Sunday morning. And we are involved in a church plant. Jeremy Rose is pioneering The Axis Church, another Acts 29 church, in downtown Nashville. Jeremy served with us at Immanuel the second half of 2009, and now we are committed to his new work in prayer, fellowship and money – 10% of our regular offerings. At Immanuel, we’re stoked about this.Why not wait until we’re bigger before committing to another church plant? Well, why not wait on every aspect of obedience? I don’t know about you, but I almost never feel ready to obey the Lord Jesus Christ, except in those routine areas of obedience I already have some handle on, like “Ray, read your Bible and pray each day” – and I’m not even good at them! But real obedience, new risks for the name of Christ – that’s part of the “newness of life” the Bible calls us to (Romans 6:4). If all the obedience I offer the Lord is stuff I’m already okay at, where’s the newness? What am I, what are we, doing in obedience to him that we’ve never done before and that we don’t feel entirely ready for? That’s newness. That’s our real growth. We always want to be out there on that edge. Church planting is one way to stay there. So it doesn’t matter how small or how big our church is. If we believe that church planting is a matter of obedience to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for his greater glory in our time, then right now is when we should start taking steps toward jumping in. He will be with us.

Plus, it’s a joy to help give birth to a new church. It fills our own sails at Immanuel with a larger sense of purpose and fulfillment. Every church has a purpose. The stated purpose is almost always gospel-centered, expansive, outreaching. That’s great. But sometimes churches also have an unstated purpose, a functional purpose not in writing but in routines. The functional purpose is the pattern the members default to without thinking. And the functional purpose always wins out over the formally stated purpose. The real purpose of some churches might be something like, “Your best comfort zone now.” But it isn’t comfortable. It isn’t even alive. It’s death.

But when a church’s stated purpose and functional purpose converge as one, and that church really is reaching out in sacrifice and innovation and solid accomplishment, it’s thrilling! That church starts feeling like God’s kingdom coming and God’s will being done on earth as it is in heaven. An awareness comes over that church, “Wow, by his grace we are involved! We’re not just talking big. We’re actually doing it. What a privilege!” It’s one of the ways a church’s corporate conscience and sense of responsibility ease into a settled happiness. Not complacency, but real happiness in Christ. A small church can get traction for growth when everyone can see they mean business about unselfish kingdom expansion.

We live in such a great time for church planting. Practical guidance is now available to churches of all faithful denominations and non-denominations. Ed’s blog is itself a tremendous resource. Hey brothers and sisters in churches small, medium and large, let’s go for it – now!

This article is a clarion call to church leaders to be faithful to what is clear in Scripture and to lead their people outside of the comfort of their current church body for the kingdom bounty that awaits with the planting of new churches and the conversion of the lost.

Being in a college town means there should always be a desire to reach the next generation, the college students, with the gospel. If you want to hear how to do that, listen to this sermon by Kevin DeYoung. Kevin is a “pretty big deal” in the evangelical world, writing books and speaking at conferences. He’s also the pastor of a local church, in his case University Reformed Church in East Lansing, MI. What Kevin shares in this sermon is a model every church should follow to engage the next generation with the gospel. We should

• Grab them with passion
• Win them with love
• Hold them with holiness
• Challenge them with truth
• Amaze them with God

This is a challenge to us at Grace as we look towards a new chapter at our church with the recent hire of Tyson Lemke. We need to understand that while a Senior Pastor will lead us, he cannot do the work of ministry for us. We individually need to be committed to making and sending disciples and planting churches. This is the model of engagement and connection that the Bible teaches and one that we ignore to our peril and sin.

As I look towards the fall and starting an Ann Arbor-focused church planting cooperative called Planting in Tree Town, one of the things that I’m starting to think about is the level of co-operation between the different churches and organizations involved. Of the people on my radar so far, I would categorize them all as broadly Evangelical, but there are differences as far as church polity, Reformed vs. Arminian understanding of salvation, and others. At some level, co-operation may be simply praying together, encouraging one another, and sharing resources. Might there be possibilities for actual co-operation in planting? Possibly, but that will require determining what are the non-negotiable issues that would prevent partnership. Tyler Jones, of Vintage21 in Raleigh, recently talked with Scott Thomas of Acts 29 about Vintage’s level of relationships with other organizations in their city. These are helpful categories and could provide a framework for our work here in Ann Arbor.

1. Family
   • Have the same “DNA” – agree theologically on the authority of Scripture, Jesus’ life, death, resurrection and what that accomplished, etc.
   • Can plant churches together
   • Highest level of sharing resources and interaction
2. Friends
   • Christians who clearly love Jesus.
   • Have differing views on things like church polity, etc., which affect how closely they can work together.
   • Some activities and resource sharing is possible.
3. Partners
   • Ministries that may not be Christians at all.
   • Often social justice groups.
   • Provides an opportunity for evangelism to happen with those who they are serving alongside as well as those they are serving directly.

This is a prayer for awakening that John Piper is praying for his church, Bethlehem Baptist, while he is on leave. I’m committing today to pray this prayer daily for Grace Bible Church and I’ve adjusted it accordingly. Please join me.

O Lord, as you are often accustomed to do, show your great power as we lack a senior pastor. Send a remarkable awakening that results in…

• hundreds of people coming to Christ,
• old animosities being removed,
• marriages being reconciled and renewed,
• wayward children coming home,
• long-standing slavery to sin being conquered,
• spiritual dullness being replaced by vibrant joy,
• weak faith being replaced by bold witness,
• disinterest in prayer being replaced by fervent intercession,
• boring Bible reading being replaced by passion for the Word,
• disinterest in global missions being replaced by energy for Christ’s name among the nations, and
• lukewarm worship being replaced by zeal for the greatness of God’s glory.

Lord, when Gideon had thousands of men you said, “The people with you are too many for me to give the Midianites into their hand, lest Israel boast over me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me’” (Judges 7:2). You stripped his army to 300, and with that you conquered the peoples of the East who covered the ground like locusts and whose camels were like the sand of sea (Judges 7:12).

O Lord, take the mighty 300 of Grace and bless this church beyond anything we have ever dreamed. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen.

#4 on Forbes list of America’s Most Livable Cities

If you’re looking for a great city to live in that is in desperate need of the gospel, look no further.

Now that we’ve started an Engage Group at Grace, I want to start posting items that may be of benefit to the group and that can provide encouragement to start additional groups at church. To kick things off, here is a challenge from John Piper of Bethlehem Baptist in Minneapolis about why churches need small groups and community

Here are 10 tips for Missional Communities from Austin City Life and Jonathan Dodson

1. KNOW GOD
   • cultivate a steady devotional/prayer life
   • participate in a fight club
   • serve with the strength God supplies
2. KNOW YOUR PEOPLE
   • pastor your city group
   • notice when somebody disappears
3. KNOW YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
   • know the culture
   • know your neighbors
4. DON’T GO ALONE
   • share leadership, i.e. host, meals, prayer, mission
   • participate in monthly meetings
   • participate in monthly coaching
5. SAY WHO YOU ARE (AND WHO YOU AREN’T) EVERY WEEK
   • Deconstruct small group/biblestudy/social group
   • Reaffirm our Practices (Engage God, Engage Each Other, Engage Ann Arbor)
6. GET OUT OF THE LIVING ROOM
   • on mission
   • in celebration
7. LIVE THE 8 WAYS TO EASILY BE MISSIONAL
   • Out loud, let gospel talk be ordinary talk. Don’t hide your faith. Here’s the link and below are the 8
   • Eat with Non-Christians.
   • Walk, Don’t Drive.
   • Be a Regular.
   • Hobby with Non-Christians.
   • Talk to Your Co-workers.
   • Volunteer with Non-Profits.
   • Participate in City Events.
   • Serve your Neighbors.
8. EAT, LAUGH, PRAY, and  SERVE TOGETHER
   • a healthy group will do all 4
9. TELL YOUR STORIES
   • In the living room
   • On the blog
   • Use twitter/FB to facilitate community(not replace it)
10. COME TO SERVE (NOT JUST GET) ON SUNDAYS

When the Ann Arbor News became AnnArbor.com, I was worried that any religion coverage would be gone since there doesn’t seem to be a big audience for it in town. Needless to say, I was encouraged to see some articles about faith appearing online, and in print in the Thursday paper.

Since there was still going to be some religion reporting in the paper, I decided to submit a story idea. Twp months ago, I wrote an email to a writer for AnnArbor.com suggesting a story about church planting in Ann Arbor. Here’s the email

I noticed that you’ve written the last two religion articles for AnnArbor.com and I wanted to suggest a story for you. Church planting, starting  new churches, has been a growing trend in evangelical Christianity  over the past few years and there are a number of church plants in  Ann Arbor and Ypsi now or coming soon. 

• University Reformed Church replanted as Grace Ann Arbor, official re-launch Sept 13
• Mosaic Church, a plant of Oak Pointe church in Novi, official launch Sept 13
• The Greenroom, a church focused on reaching the arts community in Ann Arbor, is being planted by The River Community Church in Hartland
• Connections Community Church was planted last April in Ypsi

The sudden increase is in stark contrast to the previous 20 years which has seen very few (maybe 3) churches planted in Ann Arbor in that are not mainly student focused. For full disclosure, I’m part of Grace Ann Arbor, serving as the Church Planting resident and  looking to plant a church in Ann Arbor most likely in 2011.

I didn’t see any articles in the paper relating to this topic, so I figured the editors decided that this wasn’t a good story.

I was pretty surprised, then, that on Monday, October 6, Janet Miller of the AnnArbor.com called to interview me for an article related to the story idea that I submitted. We talked for about 30 minutes, about church planting, its presence in the Bible, its necessity, etc. She asked me if only evangelical churches plan (no), how it works, if when I plant I plan to target specific demographics or niches (no), thinks like that. I thought it went pretty well, although I realized after the fact that I need a clearer, more concise definition of gospel-centered church for the next time I’m in that situation.

When today came, I went outside to get the paper (Brrrr) and found the article, which online is entitled New churches planted to reach special niches, new members but in print the headline has something to do with technology (not entirely sure why there are such different headlines). All in all, the article seemed pretty fair. I would have loved to have heard from Shannon Nielsen at Mosaic Church or Dexter Hardy at Connections Community Church to get the perspective of churches that were starting more from scratch, but I realize that every article can’t cover everything. I’m praying that God will be glorified through this article, that people will be transformed through the regeneration available through the Holy Spirit’s work in us and that Christ and His cross will be proclaimed by these, and all, churches in Ann Arbor.

A church in a college town that doesn’t minister to college students falls short of all that the local church is called to be. This doesn’t mean that a church needs to specifically target college students to the exclusion or slighting of non-students, but it should seek, as Paul did, to be all things to all people that some might be saved for the sake of the gospel. (1 Corinthians 9:22-23). One of the challenges at Ambassador will be our willingness to invest in, and minister to, college students while not catering to them.

Justin Holcomb, our dean at Re:Train, has written a list of “the top six things you need to know if you’re doing college ministry.” I pray that churches in college towns would take up the challenge to reach college students for Christ and that lives would be transformed by the gospel.

1. Don’t confuse the gospel with religion
   To prevent doing this, talk about Jesus (who he is and what he has done) all the time. If you don’t, students will think Christianity is really about something else, like morality, philosophy, piety, social justice, or a religious experience. If you start talking more about what they should do instead of what Jesus has done, you’re preaching another gospel (Gal. 1:6-9), which is to put heavy burdens on them (Matt. 23:2-4).
2. Learn about sexual assault
   The prevalence of sexual assault is staggering. At least 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men are or will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime. And the numbers are much worse for college students. These young women and men feel crippling shame, deep guilt, and painfully alone because of what has been done to them.
3. Teach students how to read and interpret the Bible for themselves
   This means being clear on the relationship between the law and the gospel. The law is “perfect, true, and righteous altogether” (Psalm 19:7-9) and “holy, just, and good” (Rom. 7:12), but it does not effect what it demands (Gal. 3:21). The good news is that on the cross Jesus took our penalty of law-breaking and fulfilled the law, so he could give us his righteousness. God then works in us to will and to do his good pleasure (Phil. 2:13). The very law that condemns us becomes the very thing that God fulfills in us through the power of his Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:18-23), not through our effort (Gal. 3:1-3).>
4. Be prepared to comfort students because of divorce and death
   College students are at a phase in life where their parents seem to get divorced, if they aren’t already, now that their children are leaving home. This is also the age when grandparents begin to die.
5. Study apologetics
   Many students still have brain cells left, and they’ve been reading and thinking about their world. They have legitimate questions about who Jesus is and what he did and why he isn’t just a good example. They want to know why they should trust the Bible as reliable. The immense suffering in the world makes them doubt either the goodness or power of God or both. They think Christians are hypocrites and bigots, so why should they become one?
6. Be prepared to counsel students about what they’re really facing
   You must be prepared to counsel about eating disorders, pornography, cutting, abusive relationships, and the lingering damage of sexual sin. College students tend to be the shock-absorbers of the myths our cultural sells. Idols are brutal slave masters.

Yesterday was a pretty big day for church launches in the area. Mosaic Ann Arbor, a church plant out of Oak Pointe Church in Novi, MI, had their launch service. NorthRidge Saline had their first services at Saline High School. Grace Ann Arbor, where Julie and I attend and where I am the Church Planting Resident, had it’s official relaunch service. It’s been a long time since Ann Arbor, much less Washtenaw County, had so many church starts. I’ve been praying for all three churches, that God would be glorified, that there would be a commitment to preach the Word without regard for social approval, and that our communities would be impacted by our imitation of Christ.

I have been a little surprised, though, that none of the churches have posted anything on their sites about how yesterday went. Because Malachi was sick yesterday, I can’t even post here about gathered worship at Grace Ann Arbor. It seems like the best way to build on the momentum of a launch service would be to write about it and share your thoughts and gather other people’s thoughts. Maybe create a live feed of any Twitter hash tags (#northridgesaline). Maybe post pictures. Maybe just a “thank you” to the visitors and volunteers who gathered and worshipped. Reflecting on the momentous day that just passed reminds people of just how important church planting is and provides an opportunity to edify and educate. It can also serve to remind people of past, present, and future challenges that come when we are committed to being Wholly In, Of, and For God.

Praise God that churches are rising up in Ann Arbor and the surrounding area. It’s my hope that all the churches in the area will pray for God to work through both these new bodies of believers and through their own churches. We aren’t competing against each other, we are cooperating for the Kingdom.

Update: As of 10-13-2009, I’m no longer the Church Planting Resident at Grace Ann Arbor

From Michael Mckinley at the 9Marks blog. This list of how a sending church can serve a church planter is especially helpful as we look to the day that Grace Ann Arbor sends us out as a plant.

1. People — You can plant a church without a team of people.  You can also build a house by yourself.  But there’s a reason that people usually do things like this in groups.  Help the church planter put together a team of people that includes at least some who are very mission minded and sacrificially committed.  I would strongly encourage you to send an elder/leader with the planter.  It will help alleviate a tremendous burden.
2. Money — Money can’t solve your problems, but it can make a lot of things a lot easier.  Again, this is a burden that you can take off the planter’s back so that he can focus on spreading the gospel.
3. Connection — Church planting can be lonely and difficult on the family.  Appoint an elder that can remain connected and involved in making sure the planter and his family are OK.
4. Encouragement — View the plant as a mission of your church, not a would-be competitor.  Refer visitors to your church to the church plant if they live close to it.  Help with evangelism programs or projects.  Pray for them and do everything you can to see them succeed.