Feb 5, 2012
 |
Anglican 1000 is a Movement to Raise Up New Congregations and Communities of Faith Take a look around - browse church planting resources, check out our blog, see some of the latest church plants, or learn about the Simeon Fellowship of rectors leading church planting churches. |
By: The Rev. Daniel Adkinson
The Acts 29 Network is at the forefront of church planting in North America. Their visionary, Mark Driscoll, is a rock star in the world of church planting with hordes of fanboys and almost as many critics. The director of the Acts 29 Network, Scott Thomas, is prolific. He produces fantastic resources for planters, church planting churches, and those who lead and coach them. In fact, you should be following @acts29 on Twitter for leads on everything he produces. (While you’re at it, you should be following @anglican1000, as well!) If you are unfamiliar with Acts 29, check out this page on their website to understand their vision, values, and methods. Acts 29 is one of the “big boys” in church planting. They are incredibly well-resourced with visible, influential leaders and a cadre of potential planters knocking on their door everyday to become part of the Acts 29 “Band of Brothers.” Believe it or not, they even have an Acts 29 app with information about their network, a church finder, and media resources.
Yesterday, I went to the AT&T store and picked up my pre-ordered iPhone4. I have had a Blackberry that likes to turn itself off for the last two years. So, this is a real treat! The phone - it’s gorgeous! My 4 year old son, Noah, is already in love with the Lightsaber App. I had my first Face Time call last night with @DHRoseberry (which puts Skype to shame). I also downloaded the Acts 29 App. It’s cool ... really cool ... but I was struck by the description of Acts 29 on the App:
Acts 29 Network exists to start churches that plant churches. God is using out network to influence and shape the church planting culture through both solid theology and contextualizing the gospel. We will not waver on either of these commitments. We won’d water down our theology to reach more people and we won’t attack the culture in the name of Christianity. We are planting churches that are missionaries in their respective communities sent by Christ with the gospel (John 20:21). It is our desire to plant 1,000 new churches in the next 10 years. We desire to make your dream of planting a gospel-driven church come true. We count it an honor to partner with you and to serve you.
Did you catch that? Acts 29, one of the leaders in church planting across denominations, has a goal of 1,000 churches in the next 10 years! In fact, over the past 10 years, they have planted over 200 churches with a total of over 300 congregations in their network. In other words, one the biggest of the big boys set a goal of planting 1,000 churches in the next 10 years. They have a goal of planting the same number of churches as Anglican 1000, but are giving themselves twice the amount of time! Furthermore, in the last 10 years they have only planted twice as many congregations as the Anglican Church in North America and Ministry Partners have added in the last year! Now, I understand that Acts 29 “grows them big” and that their churches far outstrip us in terms of ASA, budget, buildings, etc. Furthermore, I think they are doing fantastic work and pray that they reach their goal of 1,000 churches in 10 years. I hope they keep planning fantastic boot camps and publishing church planting resources for the benefit of the wider church. However, seeing their goal of 1,000 churches in 10 years in light of our own target of 1,000 churches in 5 years fascinated me.
We are not known as one of “the big boys.” We are not well-known for being church planters, at all. We’re not as good at it as they are. We are not well-resourced - many are still involved in litigation. We are definitely not as cool as Acts 29 or on the bleeding edge of culture like they are. We don’t have big names like Mark Driscoll. We don’t even have a 10 year track record of successful planting like they do. So, what makes us think we can plant 1,000 churches in 5 years? We serve the same God. We are ambassadors of the same Gospel - indwelled and empowered for mission by the same Spirit. Furthermore, we have been humbled and are utterly dependent on God to bless our work. We do have incredibly faithful men and women, faithful leaders, and faithful churches who have stood for truth and are now willing to learn and embrace the call to plant new congregations. We have our own quirkiness and structural challenges as a new work in North America, but - we are firmly committed to planting, faithful to God’s call, and grateful for the vision and leadership of Archbishop Duncan to call for 1,000 new congregations and communities of faith in the first 5 years of the Anglican Church in North America.
What do Anglican 1000 and Acts 29 have in common?
Anglican 1000 and Acts 29 are both trying to plant 1,000 churches and neither one will do it without a sovereign move of God. May God bless the work of church planters and may God continue to give Anglican 1000 and Acts 29 the grace, favor, and courage to both raise up 1,000 new congregations that will faithfully proclaim the gospel to the glory of God for the sake of others.
Posted on June 25, 2010
My prayer is to plant churches that will endure for the long haul! We must plant Churches that are solid theologically and grounded in truth. My goal is to be part of planting a church that will exist 100 years from now. We must have a faith that is stable enough to pass on to future generations. Go ACNA and AMiA!!
Posted by Dustin Lawrence on 08-17-2010 at 08:06 AM