Lessons from an Urban Church Planter
May 7, 2010 – 1:54 pmIan McConnell, a church-planter in Philadephia and pastor of Grace Bible Church, has shared some of the lessons he’s learned as an urban church planter in a 2 part series at Sovereign Grace. In part 1, he expounds on the following lessons:
- I’ve learned that there is no such thing as a “one size fits all” urban church-planting model.
- I have learned that I must think neighborhood and not whole city.
In part 2, he shares more lessons:
- I have learned that incarnational ministry is not an option. ["let me define it the way I'm talking about it. It simply means that when planting an urban church, dwelling among the people we serve is, in my opinion, a serious 'must.'"]
- I have learned that the value of the church-planting team cannot be underestimated.
- I am learning that even though the urban setting is very different, without exception every person has the same need-the message of the gospel!
I think the last lesson was one of the most encouraging to me, especially his closing thoughts:
“I’m afraid that some, without meaning to, act like the gospel isn’t enough. It’s a temptation to think that the various challenges of the urban setting call for such a radically different approach to ministry that we become susceptible to not believing that the gospel is enough or that the proclamation of the gospel isn’t our main responsibility…Practical needs can scream out in ways that make the fundamental problem of rebellion against God seem small by comparison. And when the gospel seems like a secondary consideration for us, we will never be able to communicate it as the primary consideration to lost and dying people. It really is a challenge to find ways to connect with people in our city neighborhoods, but once we do, they need the same thing that every sinner needs-the sin-forgiving, wrath-removing, life-transforming message of the gospel.
Many things are different in the city, but one thing is always the same-people need the gospel more than anything. And that’s where the city and the church planter always find common ground.”
Read the whole posts here: Part 1; Part 2
