By Stu Streeter
VP of Church Multiplication and Ministry Advancement
Back in early 2022, a group of more than forty church planting and multiplication denominational leaders began to gather online and in person to discuss the potential need for a new way of doing church multiplication. I was honored to be part of this group, which focused on creating a new operating system for church planters seeking to plant vibrant, multiplying churches.
Much of the time when we talk about an operating system, we are referring to the systems built into our computers and phones that allow us to work in a digital environment. When talking about church multiplication, the operating system is the framework behind how we do ministry in our churches. Within the NAB, we have been on a missional journey together for more than a decade, which has helped inform some of the foundation principals of our new operating system: beginning first with who God is, followed by where he is at work and discerning in community how we can join that work.
(You can read about the NAB’s own recalibration in the fall 2021 Onward: The New Math to Multiplication.)
In one of the documents we share with NAB planters and revitalizers, it says,
In the age of Christendom, a church planter sought to start a Christ-centered and inspiring weekend gathering in hopes that community, mission, and discipleship would develop. Put crassly, attract people with Sunday morning and over time you’ll get a church out of the deal. In this philosophy of ministry, once Sunday’s worship gathering reached critical mass, programs were built around Sunday designed to resource the individual or household with religious goods and services in the hopes that disciples would be made. And make no mistake, disciples were indeed made. But as the age of Christendom ended in many corners of the world, including many regions of North America, leaders began to realize a few things . . .
If you would like to keep up to date with the latest happenings within the NAB surrounding multiplication and revitalization efforts, you can sign up for the monthly church multiplication email at the link below.
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One of the ways we celebrate church planters, as well as international missionaries, is through the Missionary of the Week. This document is published four times a year and includes pictures of church planters and international missionaries, synopses of their ministries, and prayer requests. The most recent edition is now available to download on the NAB website. Simply follow the link below.