In the first segment of this series, the focus was on the daughter church concept. However, the isolated endeavor of planting daughter churches does not, in itself, assure continued Apostolic quality as the web of congregations spread.
That is the reason why, early on, the Apostolic ...
That is the reason why, early on, the Apostolic ...
... Churches of Brazil changed the concept and definitions of the “Mother Church”.
(Again, this is another good reason to support successful missionaries: as they fine-tune new models and ideas, the supporting pastor benefits from the final spiritual results.)
We now understand that the “Mother Church” CANNOT just be a title given to denote the “original” church group… the connection between the mother church and daughter congregations must be MUCH STRONGER than that in order to survive the quality test of time!
In reality, we have learned that the “Mother Church” must truly be the HUB of the WHEEL SPOKES (daughter churches). After all, the daughter churches are the EXTENSION of the HOME MINISTERIALVISION.
(Forgive the capital lettered wording throughout this mini-study; however, they denote KEY thoughts that require full understanding in order to successfully implant the mother church/daughter congregation concept.)
Our laboratory work has shown that the Mother Church cannot merely be another one of the connected churches! That is the huge mistake that many pastors make when implanting a mother-church/daughter-congregation project: unwittingly, they allow (foster?) a daughter-congregation mentality inside the mother church. The vision, the functions and even the structure of services of the mother-church must be completely “REENGINEERED” (spiritually speaking) in order to launch into the new world of citywide (even regional) outreach.
A major connecting point between daughter-congregations and the mother-church is REGULAR LINK-UP SERVICES. Once a week (in worst case scenario: twice a month), ALL daughter-congregations should gather in to the mother-church for a weekly MEGA-SERVICE. These regular LINK-UP mega-services CONNECT the daughter-congregation to the mother-church, which, in turn, also reduces the possibility of “let’s spin off” thoughts in the mind of some vain lay minister (who thinks he is “better” and “wiser” than his elder!). Been there…
The key word in the above paragraph is MEGA-SERVICES. That means HIGH CHURCH… that means, “let’s gather to shout together”! There is something special that happens where congregations of ONE ACCORD gather together! The MEGA-SERVICES helps the daughter-congregation saints know that they are not just a small storefront church isolated on a downtown skid row street, but, rather, they are part of a BIGGER CHURCH! Such spiritual identification with the mother-church is fundamentally important to the success of the daughter-congregation concept!
Over the years our spiritual laboratory work has shown the extreme importance of mother-church MEGA-SERVICES. These weekly (or bi-weekly) services should never be “run” using the regular Wednesday structure… and not even the regular Sunday format! These MEGA-SERVICES must have a completely different type of spiritual direction! We have learned that there is great impact when qualified ministers and saints of the various daughter-congregations are used to lead songs, worship and choir activities. But there is more to that than meets the eye:
MEGA-SERVICES front line participants should NOT be chosen on a ROTATION basis (another HUGE mistake), but rather on their spiritual impact and qualifications! MEGA-SERVICES should be the BEST of the BEST services. There should be a COLLECTIVE effort to make the gathering of the saints (from all congregations) a SPIRITUAL FESTIVE DAY!
I am aware that these ideas are fraught (full) of POSSIBLE dangers and in the mind of others these are stupid or even anti-Bible concepts: forgive me for being a naïve missionary! So, as a disclaimer I must warn all my readers that these concepts MAY NOT be the ideal type for your church outreach plans.
Yet, I feel compelled to offer our help (I have Cleveland Lambeth as my brother, he is even more creative with his concepts). I will share our spiritual laboratory work with you, if you are willing to allow me to learn over your shoulder as you launch out into the unknown. There is so much to do in the short time that remains. Let’s work together!
Rev. John Bradley Lambeth
“Uniquely Missions Minded”
(Again, this is another good reason to support successful missionaries: as they fine-tune new models and ideas, the supporting pastor benefits from the final spiritual results.)
We now understand that the “Mother Church” CANNOT just be a title given to denote the “original” church group… the connection between the mother church and daughter congregations must be MUCH STRONGER than that in order to survive the quality test of time!
In reality, we have learned that the “Mother Church” must truly be the HUB of the WHEEL SPOKES (daughter churches). After all, the daughter churches are the EXTENSION of the HOME MINISTERIALVISION.
(Forgive the capital lettered wording throughout this mini-study; however, they denote KEY thoughts that require full understanding in order to successfully implant the mother church/daughter congregation concept.)
Our laboratory work has shown that the Mother Church cannot merely be another one of the connected churches! That is the huge mistake that many pastors make when implanting a mother-church/daughter-congregation project: unwittingly, they allow (foster?) a daughter-congregation mentality inside the mother church. The vision, the functions and even the structure of services of the mother-church must be completely “REENGINEERED” (spiritually speaking) in order to launch into the new world of citywide (even regional) outreach.
A major connecting point between daughter-congregations and the mother-church is REGULAR LINK-UP SERVICES. Once a week (in worst case scenario: twice a month), ALL daughter-congregations should gather in to the mother-church for a weekly MEGA-SERVICE. These regular LINK-UP mega-services CONNECT the daughter-congregation to the mother-church, which, in turn, also reduces the possibility of “let’s spin off” thoughts in the mind of some vain lay minister (who thinks he is “better” and “wiser” than his elder!). Been there…
The key word in the above paragraph is MEGA-SERVICES. That means HIGH CHURCH… that means, “let’s gather to shout together”! There is something special that happens where congregations of ONE ACCORD gather together! The MEGA-SERVICES helps the daughter-congregation saints know that they are not just a small storefront church isolated on a downtown skid row street, but, rather, they are part of a BIGGER CHURCH! Such spiritual identification with the mother-church is fundamentally important to the success of the daughter-congregation concept!
Over the years our spiritual laboratory work has shown the extreme importance of mother-church MEGA-SERVICES. These weekly (or bi-weekly) services should never be “run” using the regular Wednesday structure… and not even the regular Sunday format! These MEGA-SERVICES must have a completely different type of spiritual direction! We have learned that there is great impact when qualified ministers and saints of the various daughter-congregations are used to lead songs, worship and choir activities. But there is more to that than meets the eye:
MEGA-SERVICES front line participants should NOT be chosen on a ROTATION basis (another HUGE mistake), but rather on their spiritual impact and qualifications! MEGA-SERVICES should be the BEST of the BEST services. There should be a COLLECTIVE effort to make the gathering of the saints (from all congregations) a SPIRITUAL FESTIVE DAY!
I am aware that these ideas are fraught (full) of POSSIBLE dangers and in the mind of others these are stupid or even anti-Bible concepts: forgive me for being a naïve missionary! So, as a disclaimer I must warn all my readers that these concepts MAY NOT be the ideal type for your church outreach plans.
Yet, I feel compelled to offer our help (I have Cleveland Lambeth as my brother, he is even more creative with his concepts). I will share our spiritual laboratory work with you, if you are willing to allow me to learn over your shoulder as you launch out into the unknown. There is so much to do in the short time that remains. Let’s work together!
Rev. John Bradley Lambeth
“Uniquely Missions Minded”
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