Latest Update:  The Table,  Kearney, NE  December 4, 2011

An Awesome Problem To Have          

Children are a blessing...right?  With all the young families and single moms we have attending The Table's Sunday gatherings, it can seem more like a kids carnival than church.  Up until this point I have been the one responsible for recruiting volunteers, organizing classes, getting supplies, and choosing curriculum.  I have been praying for someone to show up who has a passion for children's ministry and time to invest in volunteers, parents, and children.  God has answered that prayer in a woman named Traci.  Traci and her family recently moved to Kearney from Kansas City.  Please pray for her in this task she has volunteered for! 

Some of our goals for Table kids are:

• Teach volunteers and leaders how to minister to kids rather than do spiritual babysitting
• Establish a biblical curriculum
• Partner with parents for the discipleship of their children

5 Ways Established Churches Should Think Like Plants  by Brandon Levering

I have no significant church planting experience. I helped with the launch team of a recent plant in the Chicago area for just a couple months before being called to my present role last spring. Though quite young by New England standards, the church I serve is established. It began a little more than 35 years ago when several young adults from Park Street Church caught a vision for reaching the MetroWest suburbs of Boston. And we enjoy many of the benefits common to established churches: nice facility, stable financial base, variety of ministries, and breadth of generational wisdom and participation.

But there are several key values established churches can and should glean from those just getting started.

1. Church plants clearly define their mission and keep it before them in everything they do.

When you're starting from scratch, almost everything is intentional. The feel of the Web page, the flow of the nursery system, the types of ministries, the shape of the worship service---everything is painstakingly considered and prayed over to retain focus and clarity for staying on mission.

But the longer churches have been doing something, the harder it is to remember why they do it. It's easy to lose focus and become cluttered and fragmented in programs and ministries. This lack of clarity and focus can lead to passionate resistance to strategic changes. We can learn from church plants about recapturing the focus of your mission and holding it clearly and consistently before the congregation.

2. Church plants feel an acute sense of urgency to engage in evangelism.

This is the simple fact of planting a church: if it doesn't grow, it will die. And most church planters are not interested in transfer growth; they want to see conversion growth. So urgency for congregation-wide evangelism is woven into the church's DNA from the beginning.

But the longer a church does its thing and the larger it gets, the greater the pressure to divert attention to the needs of the church itself. We need more programs for families, programs for children, programs for teens, programs for singles. We might have a program for outreach, but the idea that every member is called to be a missionary in his or her own sphere of influence has long since dissipated. Established churches need to think like church plants in regaining the urgency of life on mission.

3. Church plants tend to better understand the culture they're engaging.

Researching the target culture is an important part of every missionary endeavor; church plants are no exception. A lot of work goes into understanding the history and spiritual climate of the area, not least identifying the prevailing cultural idols. When ministries are shaped, hospitality is a key virtue. Everything is done with awareness and love for newcomers and nonbelievers, who are often unfamiliar with church lingo and culture.

Just as established churches tend to increasingly focus inward, they also tend to become isolated from the surrounding culture. Routines that were once strategic and meaningful become rote. Elements of church life and worship that were initially shaped for the sake of mission become part of a cherished heritage that must be guarded at all costs. To even speak of engaging culture can invite an eye of suspicion. And yet God has given us his timeless truths to be proclaimed and applied in ever-changing times and places. Revitalizing our awareness of the surrounding culture and engaging people who live and breathe that cultural air (inside and outside the church) is crucial to our faithfulness in gospel mission.

4. Church plants use a wider portion of the congregation in service.

An experienced friend once commented that planting a church is like trying to build a boat from scratch...when you're already in the water. It's not just all hands on deck---you don't even have the deck yet to lay hands on. The context of urgency and camaraderie that comes from working so closely together at those early stages often creates a more pervasive culture of service in a church plant.

Established churches tend to embody the classic 80-20 rule: 20 percent of the people do 80 percent of the work. When the focus and clarity of the mission dissipate and urgency wanes, it's a lot easier to participate in church as a spectator rather than as a partner in gospel ministry. As established churches work on recapturing focus in mission, that focus should translate into congregation-wide service.

5. Church plants are more likely to think strategically about planting more churches.

Church plants naturally understand the importance of continually planting newer congregations. As Tim Keller suggests, planting "is one of the best ways to renew the existing churches of a city, as well as the best single way to grow the whole body of Christ in a city." Several leading church planting networks hold out this expectation of ongoing involvement from the start.

It's a lot harder for established churches to think about sending away some of their resources, or even some of their best people, for this kind of ministry. Few established churches have a thoughtful plan to keep this strategic investment close to their mission and vision. Passion and commitment to planting new churches is more crucial to the health and vitality of established churches than many of us realize.

The point in all of this is not to foster a "grass is greener" mentality for established churches. Neither is it to romanticize church planting---any planter will testify to the vast difficulties he faces, not least the potential drift toward the very challenges discussed here. Rather, the simple exhortation is for established churches to keep learning and thinking about why we do what we do and to recognize that some of our best tutors will be those who come behind us.

Soul Search

2 Pillars Church                         

We are a gospel-centered, missionally-focused church located in the downtown heart of Lincoln.  This page and the corresponding pages located on the right sidebar are geared to introduce you to the mission and vision that God has given this body to advance the gospel in this city.

We hope you will take some time to check out our vision video, learn more about our mission and why we named the church the way we did, as well as check out our statement of faith and our service times and locations.

You can also keep up with us by becoming a fan of 2 Pillars on Facebook, by following 2 Pillars on Twitter or by getting connected with us through The City.

Video of the vision

Visit 2 Pillars website

Manhattan, KS 

Pastor Matt Zodrow

We are a church built on truth and relationships.  The truth that we adhere to is contained in the inerrant, infallible, sufficient, and trustworthy Word of God (the Bible).  We believe that in order to be reconciled to God people must hear and understand God's Word, and respond in faith (which is a gift) and with repentance. The preeminent relationship we proclaim is with Jesus Christ as Lord! We believe that Jesus was crucified, died, was buried, and he rose again. His propitiatory work on the cross is the only hope that we have to know God, be forgiven, and live for eternity with God in heaven. We believe the church is people (not a building), who are called out to live for God. God’s people, the church, are to live in relationship with one another and work together in worship, service, and evangelism for the glory of God and the good of others. We believe that God is sovereign over all people, places, and events. God alone is worthy of our worship, praise, and life. If you would like to know more about this church, the Bible, or Jesus Christ we would love to talk with you.

Zao Community Church        

Brandon, SD

Pastor Zach Summerlot

Zao is a Greek word meaning "living" or "alive". Zao Community Church is a gathering of people strengthening each other as we live the Great Commandment and the Great Commission (LOVING GOD with all our heart, soul and mind and LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR as we MAKE DISCIPLES).

Interested in church planting

Join a group of churches with a passion to glorify God by following the great commission and great commandment.

We are a group of churches with the following values:

• We are Evangelical Christians, as opposed to evangelical, legalistic, fundamentalists.
• We hold scripture as inerrant and inspired, but don't hold to one sole translation.
• We do not deny the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but sign gifts are not the primary means of sharing or growing our faith.
• Church planting is for the express purpose of reaching the unchurched.
• Multiplication movement mindset
• Freedom of vision while connected with others through teams and coaching accountability.
• Always training others for ministry looking toward the next place God opens the door for a new church for his glory

How to join

1. Initial interview: Call, e-mail or text message to share your vision, hear about church planting and allow yourself to be known by the Director of Church Planting at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 605-254-3092
2. Assessment process: Not everyone is called to lead in the planting of a church, so we invite you to enter an assessment process that will help you know your giftedness and how it fits with church planting.
3. Training: Church planter receives meaningful and practical training which allows them to be most fulfilled in doing what God has called them to do.
4. Expectation interview: This is a period where you express what you expect of the Director of Church Planting, and he states what he expects of you.
5. Formal call: Affirmed by a team that you are called to plant a church
6. Proposal: A written plan defining what, how, where, and when you want to plant a new church
7. Start church plant

Want more information about church planting

E-mail or call with questions.

Walt Moser
e-mail - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
call or txt - 605-254-3092

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