It is very difficult to change major strategies in the middle of the stream. Someone has said, “Elephants don’t jump high fences or make any hard right turns.” It points out the obvious—large, massive, ponderous bodies are difficult to change, especially after they are already in motion. That is one reason it is so critical to get it right at the beginning. 

I have found myself in this kind of situation. In the first church I planted in the USA there was not an immediate context of traditionalism, although the new converts had preconceived ideas of “church”. Only a few miles away, my home church had no concept of how to start a new church and was not very interested in what was happening—especially at the hand of an eighteen year old kid. Fortunately I was free. And the “splash” was so small, no one on the outside knew what was going on until a church was born. (After I left the scene the association stepped in and traditionalized the church.)

If there is an association of traditional churches in place and your goal is to plant an indigenous church, there will be some reaction—sometimes positive and sometimes negative. Some may find the indigenous principled approach refreshing and liberating. I have had so many people, primarily pastors, say, “ I wish I had known this a fifty years ago.” A common reaction at the Missionary Learning Center in Richmond, Virginia was, “How come we have not heard this before?” or “Now I know why I am here.” The latter often coming from women who just realized that they too can be successful church planters. 

I have experienced negative reactions when going to an area where the planting was marching as fast as money would allow. There were a few churches in existence that were weak in number and quality of discipleship. Outsiders had reduced them to beggar-hood. A person going into such areas to plant indigenous churches faces three options:

One, go to another area to work—if a pioneering area can be found.

Two, work with the few weak churches and try to revive them. Once, when I went into an area where the traditional method of church planting had been employed, there were three or four churches in existence. Outsiders had bought the land, built the church building and paid a pastor. For one year I tried this approach, thinking surely I could get them to grow out of the deadness and become living church planting churches. After one year, I realized that ten years of working with them would, by and large, be a waste of time.

Third, maintain a friendship with the few traditional subsidized churches and quietly go into unchurched communities and start Bible studies. In places where people are hungry for the gospel, it is normal for new believers in a Bible study group to want to become a church. Three to five of these studies could be going on simultaneously. In my church planting in the Philippines I sometimes led Bible studies up to five nights a week. Some of these groups became churches. As this pattern continued, these newly born churches began to hunger for fellowship with other Christians of like mind. This led to quarterly fellowship meetings. The primary reason for the meetings was fellowship, encouragement, teaching, and eventually joint projects.

In the beginning we did not tell the old churches about the new fellowship of churches. We did not want the new churches to be polluted by the old way. When we felt the new believers were strong enough, we invited the old churches to attend the quarterly meetings. Sure enough, it happened. A member of one of the subsidized churches told one of the self-supporting church members, “The missionaries bought property for us, built us a new building and paid my husband to be the pastor.” This was what we were afraid would happen. Later, the lady from the indigenous church plant came to me and asked me why “they” did that for the other church but did not do it for them. I told her, “That church was weak and dependent on the Americans. You are strong and depend on God. They are to be pitied. You are wise enough to depend on God.” Nothing else was said to me about it.

While we were in the USA, we received a letter from the new coordinator of the work, stating that she thought surely the two strategies could blend together. Her conclusion: “It’s like mixing oil with water.”

Eventually the blend was made, but the old traditional churches never were able to cast off their welfare mentality.

So, how do I advise church planters? First, you are fortunate if you can go to remote, untouched areas. 

If you minister in an area where the churches have always depended on outside financial support and personnel, go to unchurched pockets of people and start Bible studies that may result in churches. Just do it quietly and let the fruit speak for itself. You will be blessed if some church leaders in the area understand and sympathize with your indigenous philosophy.

It will not always be easy. There may be critics, but we have only one to please—Jesus Christ, and we must live with how we have treated the truth. 

Humbly and quietly – go for it!

Submitted by Charles Brock