What If We Woke Up Together?
Rick Snodgrass, Director of Church Planting and Multiplication
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I love the tension of healthy questions. Jesus asked way more questions than made statements. Here are some questions that are rolling around in my mind.
What if everything we ascribed to church planting is not supposed to be about a select group of vetted Church Planters? What if multiplying ourselves, our leaders our small groups and our churches is what matters most to Jesus? What if the church is never supposed to stop being planted? What if being in the Kingdom that Jesus described and walked out, and that the Apostle Paul modeled and lived out, is simply about loving and multiplying? What if Jesus expected the trajectory of our lives to be defined by a need to live out the Great Commission and Great Commandment in the context of community like He did? What if that’s what it means to truly be Christian? What if everything in the way of this life of love and multiplication is our problem to solve?
Years ago, I was talking with a highly effective multiplication pastor and sharing my frustration with church people who were in the grandstands, or at best on the sidelines with few really playing the game. I’ll never forget the look on his face when he said, "There are no grandstands or sidelines in the Kingdom, only the game.” [AGAIN, with the questions.] What if there are no grandstands and no sidelines but only the dangerous acts of the love and multiplication that we are either living or not? Scott Peck, in his book The Road Less Traveled, states, “Love always requires courage and involves risk.” Are we willing?
In his book Church Plantology, author Peyton Jones states, “If we invest everything in a Sunday service at the expense of mission, then everyone loses, particularly outside the church. The church is in its current rut because we’ve learned to “do church” in a way that ensures no one ever really has to engage with the gospel at all.” I agree with Peyton. We need to get uncomfortable with business as usual and determine that we will live out the life of multiplication, despite our comfort, gifts, predispositions, temperament, experience and passions. “On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them” Acts 2. It’s worth noting that when the Holy Spirit came, tongues of fire lit on EVERYONE, not just a select few. Power to love and multiply defined the Spirit-filled and empowered life. Does it still?
In the preamble of the Free Methodist Way, the first sentence clearly positions us alongside those in the upper room, “FREE METHODISTS are first and foremost a Kingdom people”. What does that mean? The simple answer is, we follow Jesus in loving and multiplying. That’s it. We can pull that apart 100 different ways but it really is that simple. However, it is only doable because of the Holy Spirit, and it is only fearful because of the enemy’s lies.
Bishop Keith Cowart pulls back the curtain and with humility and honesty as he explains where we as Kingdom people currently line up with the Great Commandment and the Great Commission.
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Christ-Compelled Multiplication
by Bishop Keith Cowart
A Wake-Up Call
In practical terms, we believe this multiplication principle should impact our movement at every level: the found seeking the lost, disciples making disciples, leaders developing leaders, churches planting churches, and movements birthing movements.
We must confess that of all the values in The Free Methodist Way, this one is the most aspirational. If it is ever to become a genuine value that we live out in meaningful ways, we must begin by telling the truth about our current reality.
A quick review of our most recent annual report reveals that many of our churches have not reported a new convert in years. Very few have seen significant growth from reaching people who are not already following Jesus.
- In terms of the number of churches in our movement, the first Free Methodists planted 500 new churches in the U.S. between 1860 to 1880. Over the next 20 years, that number doubled to more than 1,000. Over the last 120 years, our total number of churches has declined to fewer than 850 churches.
- When it comes to membership, our movement climaxed in 1992 at more than 74,000. Our most recent count (2018) was just under 68,000. (Updated information since the publication of the article - most recent count as of 2021 was 64,863 US membership)
- Our greatest area of growth has come in worship attendance with averages rising to more than 100,000 a few years ago, but even this figure has declined to just under 92,000 in our most recent annual report (2018).
One of the insights of the combined data is that we have reached relatively high numbers in average worship attendance, but in far fewer churches. This suggests that most of our growth is coming through a few larger churches while our overall presence across the U.S. has steadily decreased. We could allow this reality to discourage us or we can let it be a wake-up call that shakes us out of a long, spiritual slumber.
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I am so thankful for the work of our Bishops during the season of Covid shutdowns. I want to be completely invested in this new wakeup call that the Spirit gave them to lead His church. I know now more than ever before that I want to be a part of a mission with a church, not a church with a mission. Scott Peck said, “The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts, and start searching for different ways, or true answers” Honestly, I think we want to live out our finest moments. Will you join me as we determine to live a life of love and multiplication. If you need help, contact me and we will figure out a plan. What if we decide it’s time to wake up together?
t to be our compass!
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REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR
2023 LEADERSHIP SUMMITS
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PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR REGIONAL LEADERSHIP SUMMITS
District / Location / Date
Spokane / Opportunity Fellowship / September 16, 2023
Boise / Deer Flat Church / September 23, 2023
Colorado / Meadowood Church / October 7, 2023
North Texas / Lighthouse Fellowship / October 21, 2023
South Texas / Essential Church / November 4, 2023
Arizona / Renuevo Church / November 11, 2023
LOCAL CHURCH BOARD TRAINING
As a part of our 2023 Regional Summits, we are offering Board training for all the local churches in the region. This training will take place the Friday prior to the Regional Summit.
All LBOA members and Delegates are encouraged to attend.
For more information, please visit our website.
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The River Conference has a PODCAST! |
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Each month we will send you the link to our most recent podcast. We aptly named it
THE FLOW
To listen, click HERE which will take you to the available podcasts.
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We just completed our fourth installment of THE FLOW. Listen and let us know what you think. |
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ANNUAL CONFERENCE INFORMATION |
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TRC's 2023 Annual Conference will be held virtually.
JUNE 24, 2023
8am-11am Pacific Time
9am-12pm Mountain Time
10am-1pm Central Time
All lead pastors and delegates are required to attend. Please reserve this date and time.
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Safety 101: A Church Leader's Guide to Risk Management
Brotherhood Mutual
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When a child custody dispute erupted after a nursery school graduation ceremony at the Grabill Missionary Church many years ago, teachers at the school were caught squarely between the battling parents. “At the time, we didn't have a clear policy in place,” former Pastor David Sjoberg said, “and our staff even disagreed among themselves how to handle the situation.”
In the wake of that incident, church leaders realized that they needed to develop more comprehensive risk management policies. “We want to make our church the safest place we possibly can for the children in our care,” Sjoberg explained.
Like an increasing number of churches, Grabill Missionary saw the need to take steps to prevent problems before they happen—the very essence of risk management. Many churches are working on comprehensive risk management plans that thoughtfully consider and address the exposures involved in their ministries.
Reducing risks for your ministry comes down to identifying your risks and choosing staff to help develop, implement, and carry out a risk management plan.
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July 24-28, 2023
Orlando, FL
REGISTRATION
Opens on January 1, 2023
for event tickets and hotel reservations
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We invite you to attend WHWC’s E2024 Conference, coming March 7-9, 2024. We are excited to announce that we will be going back to Dallas, Texas. This central location has helped us keep costs down and make travel as easy as possible for attendees. We will gather at the Hyatt Regency DFW, which is located right outside the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.
In Dallas, you’ll get to worship and network with 800 other women clergy and faith leaders during an inspiring 3-day conference. E2024 is designed to engage, equip and empower women clergy, emphasizing the distinction of leading as Wesleyan-Holiness women. Our group will enjoy the luxury of a Hyatt Regency hotel at a great value conference rate. The fantastic facility provides the opportunity for on-site meals, convenient airport access, free parking and ADA-accessible facilities. Registration for the super early bird rate opens on April 13, 2023. Remember to register for the conference at womenclergyconference.com, reserve your hotel room and join our E2024 Facebook group.
The official conference sessions will begin March 7, 2024 at 7pm and end on March 9, 2024 at 9pm. Optimal travel days will be March 7 and March 10, 2024. We are excited to offer a discounted rate for groups of 10 or more who register together as well as a special discounted rate for students and first time attendees.
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Are you a part of our Regional LGL3 teams?
Contact your District Leader to get more information on joining.
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TRC DISTRICT LEADERS
ARIZONA
BOISE
COLORADO
NORTH TEXAS
SOUTH TEXAS
SPOKANE
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Upcoming TRC Committee Meetings
Tuesday, May 2, 2023
MAC Video Conference
Thursday, May 4, 2023
MEG Video Conference
Monday, May 8, 2023
Conference Multiplication Team Video Conference
Tuesday, May 9, 2023
Conference Advancement Team Video Conference
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
General Conference Delegate Video Conference
Thursday, May 11, 2023
Property Team Video Conference
Thursday, May 30, 2023
Board of Directors Video Conference
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