Disciples of All Nations? Colonization or Indigenous Churches?

When the Lord Jesus Christ gave the Great Commission at the end of his ministry, he charged the Apostles with "making disciples of all nations". It is interesting that he chose the word nations, instead of world. The word nation is "ethnos" which means ethnicities, people groups, cultures, or nations. He could have chose the word "cosmos" which would be a generic, "Make disciples of all the world." But Jesus chose "ethnos". He wanted disciples to be made of the ethos; not just in the cosmos.

This is significant in my own ecclesiastical context because at our last Synod, our global missions agency reported that the mission work in Southern Sudan has been released from the oversight of the RPCNA and has been organized as the RPCSS (Reformed Presbyterian Church of Southern Sudan). They are part of the Reformed Presbyterian global community; but they are an indigenous church. They are not a church that is colonized; but one that was made out of discipling the ethnos of the Dinka. Praise God!

Of course, this creating an indigenous presbytery (RPCSS) was not without controversy. We have a precedence of keeping oversight for much longer. We have a presbytery of the RPCNA in Japan, which is the result of missionary endeavor. Why not follow that same model in Sudan? WIth much love and respect for my brothers in Japan, the model that Jesus gave us was disciples of all ethnos; not disciples in all cosmos.

As early as 1919 the RPCNA was wrestling with the questions of colonization versus indigenous churches. The Foreign Mission Board reported to Synod in 1919, "In recent years there has been a growing conviction that the Chinese have been, to their hurt, allowed to think that Christianity is the foreigner's religion and not their own; that the foreign religion should be supported from without, and that they, at most, are to favor it with the patronage of accepting it, and helping to spread it merely as paid employees of a foreign organization. The missionaries have been gravely and prayerfully studying this problem." (Report of Synod, 1919).

May the Lord continue to have His Church wrestle with the issues of culture and church planting. And may the Church truly understand how Jesus wants indigenous churches made up of all the ethnos of the cosmos.

Lord, build your Church!

Church Planter Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles

"One thing is certain, unless we see visions, dream dreams, and make plans, there will be no great steps forward in the work of the Gospel." -James Montgomery Boice

What is your congregation's and denomination's vision and strategy for church planting? It is worth thinking about. In Romans 15 Paul spends some time discussing his strategy with the Roman Christians. He begins with telling the Romans that Jesus Christ is the hope of the nations and gives some of the biblical background for why he does missions. He then goes on to tell them that his role is one that reflects the offices of Christ as he does the work of Christ. Paul describes himself as a priest, prophet, and kingdom builder. Paul then tells the Romans what his strategy includes and the places that he plans on visiting on his last missionary journey.

As pastors and church planters we can learn a lot from the strategy of Paul in Romans 15.

Here are some thoughts on Paul's vision for church planting:

Christ is the Hope of the Nations

Paul is a Priest, Prophet and Kingdom Builder

Paul Plans on Visting Rome, Jerusalem, and Spain

20/20 Vision and Open Pulpits

The RPCNA Home Mission Board has a goal to see 100 congregations by the year 2020. We are currently at 88 congregations and/or mission churches in North America. Please pray that the Lord would raise up 12 new church plants over the next 10 years.

Currently there are a few open pulpits in the RP Church. May the Lord also raise up men to labor in these areas of the country as well. (These are organized by presbytery.)

Open Pulpits in Organized Congregations

College Hill (Beaver Falls, PA) (Looking for a head pastor. They have an associate.)

Cambridge, MA

Westminster (Prairie View, IL) (They currently have stated supply.)

Hetherton, MI (They currently have stated supply.)

Orlando, FL

Second Indianapolis, IN (Looking for a head pastor. They have an associate.)

Mineola, KS

Washington, IA

Walton, NY (Will be open in June.)

Rochester, NY

Owego, NY (They currently have stated supply.)

Open Pulpits in Church Plants

Aurora, OH

Terre Haute, IN

Lafayette, IN (Looking for a resident in training.)

Saint Louis, MO

Christian Heritage (Endicott, NY) (Looking for a resident in training.)

Berkshire, MA (Currently have stated supply.)

Hutchinson, KS

Manhattan, KS

Bryan, TX (In the exploratory phase.)

Two Daughter Churches That May Be On the Horizon

Colorado Springs, CO

Shawnee, KS

Please pray for these pulpits, plants, and possibilities. Also consider where God may be calling your congregation to begin a church plant. May the Lord Jesus build up his Church.