KINGDOM SEEDS
Jeff Christopherson
Start Team Leader
“Jesus said, ‘What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden’...” Luke 13:18–19 (NLT).
Let my first words be how grateful to God that I am to be leading such an incredible team in our CNBC family. From our national start advocates, to regional/people group advocates, to gutsy church planters across this nation, we have a team like no other in our country. I am constantly humbled in their presence. I pray that with all CNBC churches working together in God’s strength we will reach our goal of 1000 churches in the next ten years.
But what is the value of 1000 churches?
If you hang around me, you’ll soon learn that I’m a really big believer in DNA. The genetic coding with which something starts is the way that it generally continues. An apple seed has the DNA to become only one thing—an apple tree. What if I prefer corn? Can I collect a handful of apple seeds and put them in an envelope marked “corn” and expect to have a corn roast in the fall? Not too likely. That pesky DNA trumps all my wishful thinking.
At the CNBC, we’ve been thinking a lot about the DNA of a church plant, because the way a church starts is the way that it generally continues. What a church prizes on day one is what it usually drives toward in the following years. What it talks about on its first day is what it usually talks about five years later. If your highest value is creativity, excellence and relevance when you begin a church, it is not likely to morph into a social justice community, or a missionary community, or a deeper-life community. You just can’t fight DNA.
In future issues of the Horizon, we will be highlighting two exciting aspects of the CNBC Start Team’s strategy – biblical genetics (our CNBC Seed Definition), and its results (new churches being started).
First, over the next eight issues, we will drill down into eight core components of what defines a CNBC Seed. I’ll give practical illustrations of this genetic coding being fleshed out in congregations across Canada. You will soon see that we are not primarily concerned with what a church looks (models) like but what a church does. That is why I’ve chosen the title “Kingdom Seeds” for this column.
Second, we will be introducing you to new CNBC congregations that are springing up all across Canada. You will meet their courageous leaders and learn about their number one prayer request as they are ask their CNBC family to pray with them. This will be inspiring.
What is a CNBC Seed? In the definition shown here you will clearly see the eternal value of our goal of 1000 churches by 2020.
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Defining a “New Church Plant”
Developing an evangelistic church-planting strategy that results in reproduction and community transformation Growing in character and competency by participating in a coaching network Giving sacrificially to missions through the Cooperative Program
Following the vision of the recognized leader |
So, what is the value of 1000 churches? If it is 1000 worship services across Canada—maybe the value isn’t great. But if, by God’s grace, He allows us to be a convention of 1000 faith communities preloaded with the biblical genetics of community transformation and reproduction; then, that would be of incredible value to Canada. To me, this is something worth spending my life on.