Anabaptist church planting: a proposal

[mike]

I think the fact that we have to literally give up everything and people born into Anabaptist’s settings don’t have to give up anything should really make those born into stop and think about their perspective in how they present themselves. I even found myself seeing that my 15 year old daughter is far detached from relating to me. I’ve only been a member three years yet that’s enough for her to fail to relate to an unchurch background person.

I think I can relate to this in a way. We joined a conservative Mennonite church a couple of years ago, and it felt like we "lost" our children in a sense. Because they instantly gained a much larger social circle of friends and acquaintances, and it felt like we didn't relate as closely to them as before. However I think this has more to do with social factors than what background we came from (also conservative Mennonite).

[Josh]

I think the fact that we have to literally give up everything and people born into Anabaptist’s settings don’t have to give up anything should really make those born into stop and think about their perspective in how they present themselves. I even found myself seeing that my 15 year old daughter is far detached from relating to me. I’ve only been a member three years yet that’s enough for her to fail to relate to an unchurch background person.

I think I can relate to this in a way. We joined a conservative Mennonite church a couple of years ago, and it felt like we "lost" our children in a sense. Because they instantly gained a much larger social circle of friends and acquaintances, and it felt like we didn't relate as closely to them as before. However I think this has more to do with social factors than what background we came from (also conservative Mennonite).

I think the experience of moving to a same or more conservative church is one more MBs should go through and would help them relate to seekers better. Suffice to say that very, very few MBs ever choose to go down this path.

[NedFlanders]

I think the fact that we have to literally give up everything and people born into Anabaptist’s settings don’t have to give up anything should really make those born into stop and think about their perspective in how they present themselves. I even found myself seeing that my 15 year old daughter is far detached from relating to me. I’ve only been a member three years yet that’s enough for her to fail to relate to an unchurch background person.

I think I can relate to this in a way. We joined a conservative Mennonite church a couple of years ago, and it felt like we "lost" our children in a sense. Because they instantly gained a much larger social circle of friends and acquaintances, and it felt like we didn't relate as closely to them as before. However I think this has more to do with social factors than what background we came from (also conservative Mennonite).

The other day two of our daughters were singing and I asked to record them. They got upset and said they didn’t like getting recorded…. I replied that I never grew up singing, I grew up with country and rock and roll worldly music. And neither did I learn how to read music or hold a tune. I can maybe start and sing about 5 or 6 songs by myself after 10 years of acapella hymns…. I NEED recorded music - they simply don’t they are growing up with it. My 15 year that looked at me disturbed for wanting to record them can start, lead singing, and hold a tune very well when we sing as a family to most songs we pick from the hymn book while she is thumbing through a different book or looking for the next song….
I just wanted to have it recorded so I could learn it maybe…
When a song leader picks a song in church service not in a song book and just from memory - I can listen but it sure isn’t in my memory.

[Sudsy]

I don’t think focusing on different people groups is all that helpful. Just get to know people personally. Love them like Jesus and then all this ethnic, culture, and etc stuff is seen rightly - as useless. At least as a person who grew up in the world I had to give up everything and literally do that. I don’t want for you to focus on what I gave up. I want to focus on Christ. If you keep coming back to backgrounds and etc - then you are the problem and heightening the awareness of a newcomer being different.

Nothing overrides Christlike hospitality in making others feel welcome - they won’t hardly pay attention to what you wear or have. And when they notice they will be more encouraged to do. So stop worrying about culture, culture might be where someone comes from but it isn’t who they are.

I'm just catching up on reading through this thread and this post jumps out at me as being the most spot on. I was raised in a church of folks from various ethnic backgrounds and most coming to know Christ from no church background whatsoever. We truly viewed ourselves as brothers and sisters in Christ and all part of the same family, the family of God.

Our current local MB church has dropped the Mennonite name and is trying to be a welcoming church to everyone. When I first began attending this church I was welcomed but questioned quite quickly on what my Mennonite background is by older saints. The last name 'Sudds' was quite puzzling. That sort of thing just doesn't happen now. With this 'less Mennonite distinction' many younger people, raised Mennonite in other non-MB churches, last Sunday where immersed and joined the church. Last names such as Bergen, Fehr, Klassen, Friesen, Hamm and Froese shows that this church still has many teens from Mennonite backgrounds. Others baptised had names such as Nickart (no Christian background), Church, (broken home), Louangasombath (born in Laos), Wongsuna (from Laos brought to Canada thru MB). And last week the church voted in a second lead pastor from a Pentecostal background, very soul winning focused, making the last 3 pastors all from other Christian backgrounds. Just saying that if a church is keen on reaching lost people, they will not allow race or colour or any background get in the way of that mission, imo.

It can be done if a church believes Jesus came to save sinners and He did not let these earthly distinctions get in the way. Even though Jesus selected Jewish disciples, spoke in Jewish synagogues and the Jewish temple, traveled mostly in Jewish areas as His mission was to the Jewish people still Jesus did not limit His ministry exclusively to the Jews. One example was His dealing with the Canaanite woman Matthew 15.

It took awhile for the early church to recognize that salvation was available to the Gentiles also. But they did Romans 3:29. Our mission is to the world to bring whosoever will into Kingdom life.

[Ken]

In my church mission terms are 3 years long, with a 3 month furlough after that and then an option to return for 2 years. Occasionally, a missionary decides to transfer their membership and moves overseas permanently. (They aren't supported by the mission anymore then tho.)

Young people who go and serve will serve for 1 year (teachers) or 2 years (alternative service). There isn't really an option for short term service other than disaster-relief work when larger work crews may be needed.

What you are describing is my definition of "short-term"

Going somewhere for 3 weeks is little more than tourism.

I have not seen much in the way of conservative Anabaptist "church plants" here in the US. But I have seen how Baptists do it in the South and I have had friends and co-workers do that sort of thing. The lengths of time are similar. A couple of years at best. And often they aren't even moving to a new location. They just commute there on weekends and don't even leave their old lives behind. Which means they are even less invested in their "new" community. Perhaps my opinions are influenced by that. I fully support people moving and spreading across this country and the world. I just think people should be invested in building new communities for their children and grandchildren and beyond like our Menno forefathers did. We should be thinking in terms of generations. Not dropping in for a couple of years in some new community with the full intent of returning back to their actual homes when their term is up.

[Szdfan]

In my church mission terms are 3 years long, with a 3 month furlough after that and then an option to return for 2 years. Occasionally, a missionary decides to transfer their membership and moves overseas permanently. (They aren't supported by the mission anymore then tho.)

Young people who go and serve will serve for 1 year (teachers) or 2 years (alternative service). There isn't really an option for short term service other than disaster-relief work when larger work crews may be needed.

What you are describing is my definition of "short-term"

Going somewhere for 3 weeks is little more than tourism.

I have not seen much in the way of conservative Anabaptist "church plants" here in the US. But I have seen how Baptists do it in the South and I have had friends and co-workers do that sort of thing. The lengths of time are similar. A couple of years at best. And often they aren't even moving to a new location. They just commute there on weekends and don't even leave their old lives behind. Which means they are even less invested in their "new" community. Perhaps my opinions are influenced by that. I fully support people moving and spreading across this country and the world. I just think people should be invested in building new communities for their children and grandchildren and beyond like our Menno forefathers did. We should be thinking in terms of generations. Not dropping in for a couple of years in some new community with the full intent of returning back to their actual homes when their term is up.

When I lived in Baltimore, there was a conservative Mennonite church plant and they seemed dedicated to outreach. As far as I know, they're still there.

[Ernie]

I fully support people moving and spreading across this country and the world. I just think people should be invested in building new communities for their children and grandchildren and beyond like our Menno forefathers did. We should be thinking in terms of generations. Not dropping in for a couple of years in some new community with the full intent of returning back to their actual homes when their term is up.

There are at least two kinds of church planting that were utilized in the book of Acts, and in the centuries since then.
1. Evangelists/apostles/church planters going from place-to-place starting churches.
2. Families moving to new areas and starting churches.
Early Anabaptists used both of these models as well.

I think both models are good and valid.

[Ken]

I fully support people moving and spreading across this country and the world. I just think people should be invested in building new communities for their children and grandchildren and beyond like our Menno forefathers did. We should be thinking in terms of generations. Not dropping in for a couple of years in some new community with the full intent of returning back to their actual homes when their term is up.

There are at least two kinds of church planting that were utilized in the book of Acts, and in the centuries since then.
1. Evangelists/apostles/church planters going from place-to-place starting churches.
2. Families moving to new areas and starting churches.
Early Anabaptists used both of these models as well.

I think both models are good and valid.

You can find Biblical support for either approach.

The question is, which approach produces more sustainable long-term church communities? That is something we can actually measure and evaluate if we care to. My opinions are obviously only my own and based only on the small sampling that I have seen. It's not something I have tried to measure in any sort of systematic way.

But if I was going to guess as to which ones will still be around 100 years from now like the Mennonite communities our forefathers built. I know which I would pick.

[Ernie]

But if I was going to guess as to which ones will still be around 100 years from now like the Mennonite communities our forefathers built. I know which I would pick.

Are you attempting to plant such a community? Why or why not?

[Neto]

The model put forth by WBT is that you go, planning to "work yourself out of a job". The objective is to implant the Church among a people group, and let them take over everything as soon as possible. Then visit, yes, encourage yes. but don't stay there your whole life, like some sort of "spiritual sugar daddy". I think that the idea that a church plant "cannot survive if we do not stay there" is condescending.

There are, however, two interpretations for the command to "GO" in the "great commission". One, the common one, puts the emphasis on GO as the main command. Of course you cannot do the other parts if you don't do that, and there's a lot of room for that command in today's Western church. The other interpretation is more like "as you go" MAKE DISCIPLES!