What is church planting?

Church planting means starting new fellowships of believers by telling people about the Gospel and making disciples of those who believe. Church planting is hard work. Prevailing prayer, generous giving to send workers and the preaching of the Gospel are the essential elements of church planting. Training national church planters to start churches with both the vision and the ability to reproduce themselves is another essential ingredient to increase the fruitfulness of these vital elements. In Africa, the Village Church Planting method is used.

The OMS Church Multiplication Strategy

More and more, Every Community for Christ (ECC) teams are functioning as “Church Multiplication Teams.” These teams evangelize and train local men and women to lead worshiping groups of believers. Today, as in Bible times, cell groups and house churches readily multiply. This is true because:

• The structure of cell groups and house churches is simple and easy to reproduce.
• Cell groups and house churches mobilize the entire membership for ministry.
• Cell group and house-church leaders are bi-vocational, so they do not need a salary from ECC.
• Cell group and house-church leaders have a network of family and friends they can lead to Christ.
• Cell groups and house churches don’t rent or buy a building for church. They meet in homes or other available, rent-free buildings just like the churches started by the Apostle Paul and described in the Book of Acts.

This note from Bruce Bennett, OMS International regional director for Africa, exemplifies church multiplication in Africa:

I have just returned from an eventful visit to the Ivory Coast. On January 13, we held our first graduation ceremony for Village Church Planting (VCP) pastors in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Some 750-800 dignitaries and family members attended the joyous graduation of 88 pastors who had met the OMS graduation criteria: successful completion of the Timothy Training Institute and OMEGA programs, planting and pastoring a first generation church, initiating a second generation church and facilitating the training of its leaders.

In just under four years, God has used Pastor Mathieu in the extraordinary expansion of His Kingdom by adding 10,000 villagers to the body of Christ. These believers now meet in 155 first, 96 second, and 9 third generation churches. I also wish to pay tribute to Dr. Emmanuel Tshilenga who tirelessly and lovingly counseled Pastor Mathieu and continues to give visionary leadership to the VCP movement on the African continent.