My Vision for a Word and Power Church Plant, Part 1

Over the last few years, I have felt the urge to delve into the uncertain world of church planting ebb and flow.  While it has always been in the back of my mind, I have always been a little unsure of myself.  Do I possess the abilities, gifting, and character to pull off a functioning and growing church plant?  What is my overall ministry philosophy?  From where will I find the proper training, financing, preparation, and partnership?

While some of these doubts still linger to varying degrees, I recently made the decision that one way or another, I want to pursue planting and leading a Word and Power church.  I still have a long way to go to make my dream a reality, but I thought it would be good to make my ideas and vision known.

Firstly, the theological and philosophical foundations have to be laid.  In my case, I envision a church that is committed first to the Great Commission of preaching repentance and the forgiveness of sins and making disciples of Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit (Luke 24:46-49; Matthew 28:19,20).  Now that is not original in the least (originality and innovation are overrated in my opinion), but it is biblical.

Theological distinctives however, matter (after all, at some point you need to articulate what you believe about baptism, the Lord's Supper, and church membership for example).  Hopefully by now it is obvious where I stand on the subjects of divine election and the gifts of the Spirit.  These are my primary distinctives.  I certainly possess others such as views on eschatology, but not every personal distinctive needs to be a church distinctive.

Secondly, for my general philosophy of ministry, I describe it as the wedding of Word and Power.  Combining the best of the classical Evangelical emphasis on the Word of God and sound doctrine with the Charismatic emphasis on the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the joy of God's manifest presence.  To this end, I imagine a ministry that consistently seeks the Holy Spirit's presence and transforming power through the expository preaching of the Bible (after all, the Holy Spirit inspired the Bible and gifts preachers to preach it), seeking the manifest presence of God through worshipful singing, spiritual gifts, and the sacraments; and obeys the Scripture's commands concerning church leadership (a plurality of male elders for example) and church membership (the "one anothers" in the New Testament).

In my next post, I'll go into some more depth and detail concerning some of these things, as well as discussing some of the nuts and bolts of church planting that I need to pursue and work through.