The following is written by a CCWM Ministry Leader whom we will call Jen. Her identity and country of service is hidden in order to protect her family. They are church planters in a closed to the Gospel nation.

Church planting is the ministry of forming or PLANTING a new church.

WHY ARE CHURCHES IMPORTANT?

When we read the book of Acts we see the formation of the early church. Immediately after describing the BAPTISM of about three thousand new believers who were then added to the gathering of old believers.  Acts 2:42 says, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers.” So that’s what we believe, what we practice in our current church, and what we will practice and teach in future church plants. The CHURCH today should function just as it did then which is primarily to TEACH the Word of God, facilitate FELLOWSHIP among believers, serve the LORD’s SUPPER or the breaking of the bread, and PRAY.  We see the church is responsible to teach, fellowship, pray, and perform the two ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s supper.

We also learn from the many commands given in the epistles that the church functions as a place where believers LOVE, do GOOD WORKS, and grow in SANCTIFICATION (2 Tim. 2:22, Heb.10:24). Being in close community with other believers who are also innately sinful, but growing toward Christlikeness by the power of the Holy Spirit means; we have ample opportunity to have our own sins revealed and to honor one another with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentlessnes, and self-control (Galatians5:22). 

ARE THERE ADDITIONAL NEEDS IN YOUR HOST COUNTRY?

Yes!

First, only 3% of our host country is Christian and over 50% of the population is estimated to have never even heard the name of Jesus. Unlike in the US where people may have grown up hearing things about God, Christ, or Christians even in a secular or casual way, many of the people we work with never have heard these words until they heard the Gospel. 

Second, though the Bible has been translated into the dialect of our area, it uses an antiquated vocabulary and there are very few Christian resources/books and no Bible commentaries available. When you add to that low literacy rates throughout our region, it's like expecting a kindergarten student to read, interpret, and understand Shakespeare without a guide.This means that old and new believers alike rely a lot on the sound teaching and preaching of the Word through local churches. 

Third, when people come to believe in Jesus Christ, they are often cast out of their homes, ostracized by their communities, and discriminated against by schools and workplaces. This means the local church becomes their family; we take on the role of caring for them when they're sick, mourning with them in their losses, and celebrating with them in their victories. We house those believers in our church who have been cast out, help find Christian spouses for those who would otherwise be forced to marry unbelievers, we give them food and pay their bills when bank accounts run dry. By the grace given to them through the identity they lost for the sake of Gospel (Mark 10:29-30).That's the function of the church: educate, equip, and encourage believers!

Finally, after the church has acted to teach the Word of God to believers so they may obey the command to come together to act as the family of God, the church functions to guard the gospel from false teachings (2 Tim 1:13-14). People all over the world have a proclivity to twist and manipulate the Good News of Jesus Christ, and it becomes especially dangerous for new believers who are still forced to interact with and live in a culture that is deeply saturated with pagan mythology and practices. Every street corner, every restaurant, office building, and hospital has an altar or temple to an idol. Dozens of government and corporate holidays are taken off per year to celebrate week-long worship of stone and clay. When paganism has seeped into every facet of life, the wisdom of God and the strength of the Holy Spirit are needed constantly to fend off the temptation to become passive or weak in protecting ourselves and our hearts. 

That's the function of the church: educate, equip, and encourage believers, so they can worship the Lord faithfully every day of their lives.

As church planters, daily, we will strive for all of this and more.