The Process
The Goal is to produce a "3-Self Church" (indigenous) This concept is detailed in Melvin Hodges' book, The Indigenous Church. The goal is to produce a church that is 1.) Self-Supporting; not dependent on outside support. 2.) Self-Governing; they are not directed (day to day) by outside influences; they make their own decisions. 3.) Self-Propagating; they are able to grow their own church through ongoing evangelism and later starting their own churches (missions).
The Selection of Place and Planter: We look at several thing before taking on a new church plant. The most important aspect here (Russia) is the Planter. Most important, is the Planter's calling. Does he/she feel that God has called him/her to this ministry and, sometimes, city? From personal experience it is the calling that will sustain them through hard times. Those are guaranteed here. Then we look to Bishops and Senior Pastors. Did they recommend them? We also look closely at the church the Planter came from, because they will reproduce what they know. Another method is to find places and planters through the Pentecostal Union
Our Involvement: Because of indigenous principles I am more "hands-off" than many of my counter-parts. I want the Planters with whom I am partnering to have room to grow and make mistakes. I go to visit them and stay with them for days at a time. When they are in Moscow they often stay at my home or at least stop by. We have fellowship, pray, discuss the Word, consider needs, problems and ideas. Often as much is learned as is taught. They are very helpful in language learning. Our financial sponsorship is usually a given amount for one year. Nothing extravagant or they won't work at growing the church, nor so little that they starve. A second year of reduced support may be considered in hardship areas. We then help them with equipment such as sound systems, overhead projectors, musical instruments through STL, LFTL, BGMC, ministry teams (AIM); encouragement, fellowship, and funds.
Click on a link to learn more about our Church Plants and Planters:
~~~~School of Hard Knocks~~~~
Things that didn't go well:
Lubitino 2001: This city is in the Novgorod region. It turned out to be a very hard place. The young man who was sent there was a strong evangelist (and still is). He was never able to get a sustainable work going. I think a big part of the problem was that he was alone. Jesus sent them by twos, and Paul never went anywhere alone. We only sponsor couples or teams now. (We recently learned (2005) he was not being paid by his Bishop).
Semezerya 2003: I was excited about this one. The planter was a graduate of Moscow Theological Institute. I later learned that this was not a new start and that there were controlling forces in the church that made things impossible for the pastor. Lesson: trust, yes; investigate anyway. It was also close to the end of our term, and so supervision wasn't possible.
Vsevelozhsk 2002: The first planters were excellent material, almost too talented. They were busy with their business and their schooling. Later they decided that pastoring wasn't for them. Lesson: I should have been more sure of their calling. The church they came from is one of the best. They may have felt this was the right thing because they were from this community. They are now an active part of the re-start with Yura.
~~~~Cultural Issues~~~~
Western association: we have found that there can be a backlash on the local church if they are associated with Americans or Westerners. They become labeled as an American church, something foreign and a sect.
Ethics: Russian understanding of ethics is different. While Christian ethics are Biblical and fairly clear-cut to the American mind, Russians are a product of their culture. In the Russian mind there is a separation of personal moral ethos and obeying the law. The law has been viewed as corrupt and a tool to control people. So while a Russian may not cheat a friend, he may circumvent the law.
Finances: One of our big problems is the understanding of fiscal responsibility and accountability. In Russia the pastor is one step below God, above reproach and questioning. Control is a big part of Russian culture. For ages they had no resources and then someone hands them a bundle of money for a project. How do they handle it? Who tracks it? A great deal of money has disappeared or been misspent. Building trust and accountability is one of our tasks.
We try not to give large sums all at once but in stages. IE: A $10k building project. Give $1k for foundation, when it is complete give the needed funds for the next step, until it is done. In this way we also teach financial responsibility & accountability.Promises: We have learned, the hard way, that our Russian brothers may read a commitment into what was just a discussion. As optimistic Americans we tend to discuss the possibilities, we like to explore the options. Russians will hear the same conversation and come to the conclusion that this is what we ARE going to do for them. We are the rich Americans, everything is possible for us. We have learned to play our cards close and only discuss what we can and will do.
