church plant Archives - TEAM Christian Missions Blog

Making Disciples who Make Disciples

The Church is strengthened when mature Christians take time to mentor fellow believers and live life together.

Jan 14 2022

When Stuvan read the message from a colleague introducing him to Balraj, a church planter asking for discipleship, he paused before answering. It could have been a no brainer. Stuvan, a south Asian TEAM missionary, is passionate about mentoring national workers in foundational Christian beliefs. Instead, he took the time to ask questions, do research and pray for guidance. Was Balraj serious about serving God and about being trained? Was he faithful? Did Balraj have the time for discipleship with Stuvan? Was he available? And was Balraj willing to learn? Was he teachable? “I really wanted to make sure,” Stuvan…

Thanks to CPI's network, dozens of churches like this one in Mangaldan have been planted across the Philippines.

Dec 15 2021

The students at the Church Planting Institute are a mismatched bunch. High school dropouts and college professors. A former gang member and a former aspiring priest. Mature believers and brand new ones. But they’re all attending the CPI because they share two things in common. “It’s basically, do you believe in Christ? Are you passionate about Him enough to invest your life in multiplying for Christ?” says TEAM missionary David Weaver. “And if you are, then … we’ll take you wherever you’re at and disciple you from there.” This easy entry philosophy might not lend the Filipino school much prestige,…

Covid-19 has cost many missionaries access to their host countries. New strategies and perseverance are vital for the work to continue.

Sep 23 2021

As I write this from Asia, we are weary from yet another round of strict restrictions on travel and gatherings. The world entered the third wave in June; Asia is facing some of our hardest days yet. Today, six countries in Asia are in the top 10 countries facing the highest new cases per day. Eighteen months ago, one colleague was out of her host country for the New Year’s break when COVID-19 hit. The borders were closed, and she returned to the States. She’s now been stateside for more than a year. Another colleague was in the United States…

We’ve focused so much on church planting teams and strategies that we’ve forgotten what church planting is really all about: conversions.

Apr 20 2021

Many contemporary church-planting ministries are conceived much like a business. The model centers on administrative, gifted leadership that guides already-committed Christians to organize the birth of a new church. But can I be bold and say this isn‘t a true “birth,“ but rather a reorganization of believers from one location to another? Therein lies the crisis of contemporary church planting in the Western world: organizing churches without birthing them. See if this sounds familiar: A called and gifted leader inspires other Christians to start a new church. They meet regularly to pray, plan and lay out a strategy they’ll use…

Missionaries around the world serve to help the church bloom and grow. Here's how you can pray for church plants this month. Photo by TEAM

Mar 01 2021

Ask a church planter how you can pray for them, and they’ll tell you they need perseverance. Church planters have to learn a whole new culture, while building relationships, organizing services and staying in close connection with God. On top of all that, being a church planter means being available to your new congregation at all hours. “There are times when the people in your young church need you to drop everything and help them,” says Vicki Reyes, a TEAM church planter in Mexico. Vicki shared a few examples: “A woman and her two children show up at the door….

Jeff Ingram sits and plays a game with a child

Over 30 years of planting churches, Jeff Ingram has learned three character traits every church planter needs. Today, he shares his keys to success!

Oct 07 2019

So you’re thinking of planting a church? Perhaps you’re wondering whether you’ve got the right stuff. When my wife and I started planting churches in Europe in 1992, we didn’t know what all we were getting into. But along the way, we’ve learned some key character traits every church planter needs. Today, I’d like to describe just a few. Diligence When we left for Europe in 1992, my dad had just started his own business — an auto-painting and body shop. I heard firsthand how much time, effort and money it cost him. I can assure you, he had to…

Julio and Libia sit together and study the Bible.

You would never guess that Julio and LIbia were once bitter enemies. Keep reading to see the amazing way God worked in their lives!

Aug 21 2019

On Sunday mornings, Libia and Julio don’t look like anything special. Just two close friends worshiping God, maybe imagining their future together. You would never guess that this time last year, they wouldn’t speak to each other — much less be in the same room together. Or that they were bitter enemies for five long years. The fact that they happily sit together at church now? TEAM missionary Dawn Moore says it’s nothing short of a miracle. Peruvian Couple Seeks Better Life in States Libia and Julio’s relationship was complicated from the beginning. They both grew up in Peru as…

People pray together in a church in a different culture

Every missionary has to learn new cultures. But what if those cultural differences go deeper than you imagined? Learn about this and three other missionary lessons!

Apr 10 2019

Recently, I celebrated the five-year anniversary of becoming a TEAM missionary in Taiwan. Each year has been quite different, with its own share of surprises, disappointments and small victories. Today, I’m sharing four missionary lessons I’ve learned along the way. 1. Metacultural differences in thinking can go deeper than we expect. Through years of cross-cultural learning and teamwork in Taiwan, I’ve realized I didn’t simply cross from one culture to another but moved into a whole different neighborhood of national and local cultures. It’s a different metacultural context. We generally understand cultural differences by taking the way we would think…

There are hundreds of books on church planting, so how do you choose between them? One missionary gives his top five picks!

Mar 14 2019

Most of us follow the same pattern when we want to learn about something before we do it: Hop on over to Amazon and we see what books are available. However, if you type “church planting” into the Amazon search bar, it spits back 845 different resources. If you don’t know much about church planting, it can be nearly impossible to decide where to begin. So, let me help! I’ve spent 5 years church planting Guatemala, and in my experience, these are the top five books every church planter should have on their shelf. 1. Apostolic Church Planting: Birthing New…

A TEAM missionaries shares insights on what church planting really means and what it looks like to harvest and bear Gospel-fruit.

Oct 23 2018

Church planting has become cool again. Networks like City to City and Acts 29 are growing exponentially. There are church planting conferences and boot camps, and church planting books being written. Even This American Life, a famous podcast, did an episode about church planting. As a church planter in Guatemala, it’s exciting to see my personal passion receive so much attention. And yet, there are still some key misconceptions lingering about church planting. Maybe you remember the children’s rhyme: Here is the church, here is the steeple, open the doors, see all the people. From childhood, we learn to associate…

Tag - church plant

Making Disciples who Make Disciples

The Church Planting Program That Became a Filipino Movement

COVID is Still Changing Our Ministries — and God is Still Working

Why True Church Planting Must Start with Conversion

3 Ways to Pray for Church Plants

3 Character Traits Every Church Planter Needs

Bitter Enemies Reunited in Christ

4 Lessons from My First 5 Years on the Field

The 5 Best Books on Church Planting

What We Get Wrong About Church Planting