THOUGHT - Planting churches

The Spirit showed me that planting churches is like growing a garden. He said there are particular steps to be taken, and that the analogy is complete. Here's the process he set before me.

1. Obtain some seeds.
2. Prepare the ground.
3. Plant the seeds.
4. Water them at intervals.
5. Protect them from birds and mice and insects.
6. Watch them grow.
7. Remove diseased leaves or shoots. If necessary pull out badly damaged plants and remove them.
8. Enjoy the display of life and colour.
9. If they've been encouraged and nurtured in the right way, they will naturally produce and scatter seed for the next generation.

There's also a 'do not'.

• Do not micromanage the plants or try to conform them to your expectations. You will stunt them and they will grow misshapen and may not flower and set seed.

So there you have it, all you need to know in outline about planting churches. But of course there is every need to put some flesh on the bare bones of those steps. Over the next few days I'll explore the area covered by each of those points. The next post will take a look at how to obtain seeds.

Meanwhile I'd love to have your comments - how do you think the points relate to the practical work of planting real churches?

See also: The series on No-till farming by Miguel at Pathways International