Reaching
our Cities with House Churches
Rad Zdero
Copyright © April
2002
This is an open letter to all
individuals, local churches, denominations, and mission organizations in the
Body of Christ who consider themselves ‘Great Commission’ Christians, that is,
believers who take seriously the Lord’s directive to make disciples of all
nations[1]. The motivation for those of us
who consider ourselves such is that as many people as possible in our cities
will have a chance to hear about, receive, and experience the awesome person of
Christ in the context of a local community of believers.
What
follows is a proposal that offers a practical way forward in saturating
neighbourhoods with the good news of Jesus in a long-term, sustainable, and
natural way. Specifically, to accomplish this, it is proposed that a vast
network of house churches and cell groups be planted and multiplied consciously
and strategically in every neighbourhood, apartment complex, institution, and
commercial setting.
The Vision
The Nature
of the Church. Picture if
you will, spread out all over the city, mostly in homes, but also in offices,
coffee shops, apartments, meeting rooms on the local university campus, small
group huddles of 10-30 people committed to getting to know each other and God.
They are called ‘house churches’. They gather to explore issues of faith,
family, the media, culture, suffering, relationships, career, and social
action. They may be working on projects, looking at the Bible, praying, crying,
and playing. They have discovered that the secret of life is to love God and
others and to connect with and become more like Christ. These folks simply want
to rediscover the power and person of Jesus in community, as his early
followers did. No buildings, expensive programs, highly polished worship
services, or professional pastors are required.
The
Mandate of the Church. So
powerful has their experience of relationship with each other and Jesus been,
that many neighbours, co-workers, family members, and friends, who may not even
believe in God and may be suspicious of ‘church’, are chomping at the bit to
get in on the action. These groups continually grow and become so big that they
multiply themselves into new groups that are strategically placed in new
neighbourhoods, commercial and business settings, and educational institutes.
These ‘house churches’ are not led or hosted by traditional clergy but by
average folks, called ‘elders’, who have a deepening love for Christ and other
people. The few high profile leaders with ‘apostolic’ calling do not seek to
exercise control or power over these groups, but rather wish to empower them
with training, resources, and prayers, emphasizing a few essentials rather than
a long list of requirements.
The
Boundary of the Church. To
network together, these house churches meet house-to-house, organize dynamic
citywide large group events for teaching and worship, and/or have a select
group of mobile teachers that circulate from group to group like blood through
veins. In addition, leaders of these groups from across the city and across
denominational and organizational lines meet several times each year. They
pray, exchange resources, and coordinate their efforts to strategically plant
new groups in unreached segments of their city.
The Expansion of the Church. As people are released to follow their calling to
start new groups, without even knowing it, they are swept up into a movement,
their movement, God’s movement, which will touch many generations to come. This
is part of an emerging reformation in their generation, an underground
revolution of faith that will transform their city and blaze across their
region, their nation, and the uttermost parts of the earth. God is asking us to
be a part of his restoration work, his divine revolution, in the world today.
Are you up for it?
If this vision excites you, dear
reader, please read on. Before we examine the steps of getting to where we
could be, let’s take a look at where we are, particularly in
The contemporary strategy in
Large-scale
Evangelism refers to the work of ministries such as the Billy Graham Evangelistic
Association, which travel from city to city to hold meetings in partnership
with local churches. Local church volunteers are trained in techniques to
effectively follow-up people who indicate a decision for Christ and incorporate
them into local churches, neighbourhood discipleship groups, or one-on-one
mentoring relationships. Similarly, television and radio ministries that have
national or international attention, such as
Church
Growth refers to initiatives designed to increase both the qualitative
experience of Christians belonging to a local church and the quantitative
numerical growth of adherents to that local body. Qualitative approaches
include Natural Church Development (Christian Schwartz), a well-known
program that focuses on increasing the overall health of a local church by
self-evaluation and utilizing strengths to offset weaknesses. Quantitative
outreach strategies include neighbourhood distribution of the Jesus
video (Campus Crusade for Christ), Evangelism Explosion (D. James
Kennedy), the Alpha video series (Nicky Gumbel), the use of the small
group meta-model popularized by Willow Creek Community Church (Bill Hybels),
and the large scale men’s movement Promise Keepers (Bill McCartney). As
well, in
Church
Planting refers to the start-up of new local congregations either from scratch
by denominational catalytic church planters and/or by mother churches spawning
daughter churches by sending a team of committed members to start the new
project. These churches may start off in a house or a storefront, but the goal
is eventually to amass numbers to necessitate the rental of a facility or the
purchase of a building. One of the most successful denominations in this regard
has been the Southern Baptist Convention, which currently plants 1500 new
churches each year[5].
All
these efforts will undoubtedly continue and need to be applauded and encouraged
because of the harvest that has and is being reaped through them by the Lord of
the harvest. I believe God will continue to affirm any efforts to get back to
biblical faith and practise.
The Current Results
Taking a closer look though, our situation
in
A
recent survey of religious life in the
For those of us
who know about the explosive growth[8] of the church in almost every other part
of the world, these seem meagre outcomes for the amount of time, effort, and
money that’s been expended.
The Current Problem
A number of factors have brought us to this
point. Materialism, secularism, pluralism, and relativism have seeped into the
soil of our society and the church. Others have suggested that we are only
temporarily in the low end of a continual sociological cycle of religious
apathy and religious revival experienced in all societies. Some have
interpreted the Scriptures such that we are seeing the beginning of a great
apostasy from the Christian faith as a sign of the last days before Christ’s
return[9]. Additional factors[10]-[11] recognized by many, and the focus of this
paper, are the twin problems of form and function.
By form is
meant the way churches are organized locally using a ‘cathedral’ model, which
is based on the three myths of a special man running a special service in a
special building. These are elements that many have come to see as
indispensable for the church to function properly. Now, none of these things in
and of themselves are evil or wrong, but they can hinder the Body of Christ
from functioning as effectively and Biblically as it could. Why? Pragmatically,
the identification of ‘church’ with particular activities, places, and people
can easily prevent believers from ever really becoming a part of the fabric of
the city’s neighbourhoods to be a rubber-meets-the-road influence. Biblically,
gatherings in the typical New Testament house church[12] were Spirit-led, open, interactive, and
participatory[13], being much different than today’s highly
programmed Sunday morning services in buildings. Moreover, first century homes
could accommodate at most 35 people at one time[14], thereby nurturing an
up-close-and-personal atmosphere.
By function
is meant the church’s enactment of the Great Commission as ‘join us’ rather
than ‘go to’. Because the form of many local churches is a very centralized ‘cathedral’
model, a sort of ‘temple mentality’ develops. As such, the natural consequence
is that a church begins to function evangelistically with a ‘suck in’ rather
than a ‘reach out’ attitude, i.e. ‘come join our local church’ rather than ‘go
make disciples in the highways and byways’. This, once again, deters believers
from getting into the rhythm of life in a given neighbourhood or other context
as insiders and influencers for Christ. A far deeper impact on a city could be
made if increased numbers of small house churches were proliferated to
geographically saturate a city (‘horizontal growth’), rather than making
existing congregations larger in fewer geographic locations (‘vertical
growth’). This would be like sprinkling salt crystals all over a meal, rather
than placing a few large blocks of salt on just a few spots. Which method would
make the food taste better?
The dilemma is
not that we as the Body of Christ are doing nothing and that God is not in it,
it is rather that we could be even more effective and fruitful and don’t even
realize it. Even if we did realize it and knew what to do, would we have enough
courage to rethink our view and approach to ‘church’ and do what it would take
to reach our cities? A humorous, but true, definition of insanity is doing the
same thing over and over again while expecting different results. This applies
all too well to our current situation. But, I believe, there is indeed a
sensible and Biblical way forward. This requires a paradigm shift in our
thinking.
A picture of what could be was described
earlier in ‘The Vision’. There are three practical steps necessary to see the
picture emerge, namely (a) looking for local ‘men of peace’, (b) training
workers, and (c) transitioning existing ‘cathedral’ church structures.
Biblical Pattern
A man or woman of peace is a local person
who welcomes a mobile ambassador of Christ into their home and receives the
message they bring. They then serve as a local spiritual lighthouse within
their community. Let’s look at the examples of Jesus, Peter, and Paul from
Scripture to see what patterns emerge in seeking out people of peace.
It is reported that Jesus
sent out a group of his disciples to travel and preach from village to village.
He gave very detailed instructions for the mission, which are worth quoting in
full:
After
this the Lord appointed seventy-two
others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and
place where he was about to go. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but
the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out
workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among
wolves. Do not take a purse or bag or sandals; and do not greet anyone on the
road. When you enter a house, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ If a man of
peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you.
Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you, for the worker
deserves his wages. Do not move around from house to house. When you enter a
town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you. Heal the sick who are there
and tell them, ‘The
A look at the New Testament
reveals that Jesus followed his own advice by traveling from town to town[16], staying and eating with those who were
receptive to him[17], instructing some people to stay as
‘local’ fixtures in their community[18], while on occasion calling certain
individuals to follow him and become ‘mobile’ workers as he and his twelve
disciples were[19].
Later, the apostles could do
no better than to imitate their Master. Peter received a vision to visit
Cornelius[20], an influential Roman officer who had been
seeking after God but had yet to hear the message about Jesus. By the time
Peter and his companions had arrived, Cornelius had invited a houseful of
friends and relatives to hear what the apostle and companions had to stay. The
message about Christ was eagerly received by all those gathered as evidenced by
their baptism by God’s Spirit and in water. On another occasion Paul and his team
visited a riverside[21], knowing people gathered there to pray.
They engaged a group of women in conversation about Christ, after which they
were invited home. The entire household was baptized. Moreover, Paul’s team
also had the habit of appointing local elders for the church in each town,
while the apostolic team continued to travel[22].
Several interesting strands
emerge from these examples. First, Jesus and the apostles organized themselves
into teams, most likely for the sake of mutual accountability and support.
Second, they were to rely on God to meet their physical needs while they stayed
focused on the task of looking for a house of peace. Third, if they found such
a person, they were to enjoy the hospitality of their host and see this as
God’s provision for them. Fourth, they were to stay in that home and build a
base of operations there. This ‘house of peace’ would act as the spiritual
outpost within that particular town or village. Fifth, Jesus and the apostles
were ‘mobile’ workers, whose job it was to start house churches that remained
‘local’ within a given community. Sixth, they never spent an undue amount of
time in a given community that resisted their message, but moved on in search
of a more receptive audience.
Although we should not simply blindly
follow what the early church did in a different socio-cultural context a long
time ago, there are principles we can employ. So, how could this kind of
scenario unfold in our modern-day context? It may look something like the
following.
In a particular
city, there exists a fledgling house church network. Three or four Christians,
perhaps each from a different house church, know they have been called by God
to be foundation layers and mobile workers and decide to band together. Each
one has a particular skill and expertise, i.e. spiritual gift, which is highly
developed and empowered by the Spirit. The band gathers one Saturday afternoon
for prayer and discussion, trying to understand where God would have them go to
look for a man of peace. They divide the city into zones along obvious
geographical and demographic lines. It’s decided to focus on a zone that is of
average size, being five by five blocks square. They determine to frequent a
popular tavern in one of the neighbourhoods every Friday night to get to know
the regulars and perhaps have a few beers and play some darts.
Over the next few
weeks they get to know some of the regulars and start developing some
friendships. Conversations include everything from work to family to sports to
the news to religion. One of the tavern regulars appears particularly open to
conversations about faith and God. Over the next couple of weeks, a few of the
Christians are invited home for dinner and conversation. Although the host
still has some questions, he would be willing to get together once a week to
have an introductory look into the life of Jesus from the Bible. He is
encouraged to invite family members, neighbours, friends, and coworkers. The
following weeks see a small group of six begin to meet at the host home.
Genuine friendships develop, as does a desire to keep wrestling through
barriers to faith. There’s lots of food, folks, and fun.
After one year,
more people have joined and a few have made commitments to Christ. The
apostolic team appoints two people as ‘elders’ and baptizes several others. The
group is about ten strong now. They are not invited to ‘go to church’ anywhere,
but are challenged to see their group, indeed, as the church and their home as
a local ‘house of peace’ which reaches out in word and deed to their immediate
neighbourhood. They are persuaded to multiply into a second home if their group
gets too big. They begin to meet others that are plugged into the house church
network in the city for support and accountability. The new ‘elders’ start to
participate in monthly training sessions with others in the network (including
the mobile ‘apostolic’ team) for resourcing, training, prayer, and
relationship. The team is now ready to move on to the next zone to repeat the
process.
The key people
involved in this work of establishing and leading ‘houses of peace’ that
penetrate our neighbourhoods and blanket our city will need to have adequate
ministry training. Let’s examine the New Testament in search of any patterns
regarding how such training occurred in the early church.
Jesus and the
Twelve
The approach of
Christ will be examined first. Although he knew his divine identity, he
nevertheless recognized that the only way his work would endure after he left
the scene would be if he left a legacy of followers who would follow in his
footsteps and teach others to do the same[23]. The Scripture
reports that Jesus “appointed twelve, that they might be with him, and that he
might send them out to preach”[24]. In other words,
he would spend intimate time with, carefully train, and later send out these
men on his behalf. His job, in short, was not just to become the leader of a
movement, but it was also to make these same twelve men capable leaders in their
own right. He spent quantity and quality
time with this small band, pouring his life into them. They were by his side as
he taught, healed, forgave, prayed, confronted, and wept. He also gave them
practical hands-on assignments to baptize, preach, and heal[25]. Jesus’ approach is well described by Robert Coleman
in his classic book The Master Plan of Evangelism:
The time which Jesus invested in these few
disciples was so much more by comparison to that given to others that it can
only be regarded as a deliberate strategy. He actually spent more time with his
disciples than with everybody else in the world put together. He ate with them,
slept with them, and talked with them for the most part of his entire active
ministry. They walked together along the lonely roads; they visited together in
the crowded cities; they sailed and fished together on the
This
was not only Jesus’ primary strategy but, in fact, it was his only strategy;
there was no backup plan. It has been said that “but for the twelve, the
doctrine, the works, and the image of Jesus might have perished from human
remembrance, nothing remaining but a vague mythical tradition, of no historical
value, and of little practical influence.”[27] So much depended on the proper training of the
twelve that Jesus took it upon himself
personally to do so in an up-close-and-personal way.
Paul and the Posse
The apostle Paul
took a similar approach by investing in a small group of young emerging leaders
who worked closely alongside him as mobile apostolic
workers. They included at one time or another the likes of Timothy, Titus,
Silas, Mark, and Luke, and less well known men such as Sopater, Aristarchus,
Secundus, Gaius, Tychicus, Trophimus, Clement, and Epaphroditus[28]. It seems that no more than two or three of these
gents accompanied Paul at any given time. They traveled the dusty Roman roads
together, preached together, spent jail time together, started churches
together, shared their lives as a team with their new converts, and ensured the
proper training and qualification of local church leaders[29].
Paul’s specific advice to Timothy gives
some insight into his idea of the adequate schooling and moral qualifications
of leaders:
If anyone sets his
heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be
above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled,
respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent
but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own
family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone
does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's
church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall
under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with
outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap.
Deacons, likewise, are to be men worthy of respect, sincere, not indulging in
much wine, and not pursuing dishonest gain. They must keep hold of the deep
truths of the faith with a clear conscience. They must first be tested; and
then if there is nothing against them, let them serve as deacons.[30]
And the things you have heard me say in the presence
of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach
others.[31]
You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of
life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings -
what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the
persecutions I endured.[32]
From this brief examination, we can see
several important themes emerge.
First, the small group
concept was employed to ensure an up-close-and-personal type of training.
This meant that potential leaders would receive adequate individual attention
from their coach, as well as have the opportunity to learn the necessary group
dynamics of working together as a team.
Second, the apprenticeship
model was employed. This meant that preparation of leaders consisted of
practical on-the-job learning experiences as they laboured side-by-side with
each other and their mentor.
Third, a multiplying
discipleship chain mentality was evident. Jesus and Paul saw their jobs not
simply as gaining followers and doing the work themselves, but in making
capable leaders of their trainees. They were well aware that the impact made on
their mentorees would be felt several generations down the line.
Fourth, they employed both mobile
and local elements in their movement. The arena of service of a worker
would depend on their availability, willingness, spiritual gifting, and sense
of calling. Local workers (i.e. men of peace, elders, deacons) would lead the
work from the spiritual beachheads that were established by mobile teams (i.e.
apostles).
Fifth, moral integrity and
maturity must not be exceeded by ministry competence. These must be kept in
balance. Paul knew that new converts and those struggling with lifestyle
issues, no matter how sincere, could not carry the weight of responsibility
that labouring for the kingdom required.
The question now arises whether it is
possible for New Testament-style house churches to partner with and/or
transition existing ‘cathedral’ churches organized along more traditional lines
-- church buildings, professional clergy, and Sunday morning services -- to
implement this vision of houses of peace strategically planted in all our
neighbourhoods. I believe it is not only possible, but also necessary. This
kind of far reaching impact on our cities requires the entire Body of Christ.
Currently, there are
denominations and ministries working within or alongside local churches that
have a similar vision to the one proposed here. The Lighthouse Movement[33] has helped mobilize 8000 local churches to
deliberately establish 1 million neighbourhood and workplace evangelistic
units.
The cell-group movement, in which
local ‘cathedral’ churches place equal emphasis on Sunday morning ‘celebration’
services and evangelistic ‘cell groups’, is exploding numerically worldwide, as
discussed earlier[34]. Cell churches typically rely on some
combination of strategically targeting specific areas in their city and tapping
into relational networks. DAWN (Discipling A Whole Nation) has as its mandate
the saturation church planting of some form of Christian church for every
500-1000 people[35].
Although these efforts should
be applauded and encouraged, there are additional steps that will need to be
taken if a city is to be reached.
First, we will need to start
thinking like the citywide church. The word ‘church’ in popular discourse
has come to mean a local ‘congregation’ of believers that meets primarily in a
building. Furthermore, each city is separated into numerous ‘congregations’,
functioning quite independently of one another. What I would like to suggest
here is that we begin seeing each city or town as having only one church, namely
the entire Body of Christ, regardless of denominational or organizational
affiliation. Everyone that has a deep and personal connection with Christ is
part of this citywide church. If we are to reach our cities for Christ in the
broadest and deepest ways, we must get back to the New Testament in which each
city or region was recognized as having only one church.[36]
Third,
we will need to release small groups and cell groups to be the church.
Instead of seeing small groups as peripheral add-ons to the real church on
Sunday morning and cell groups as only one half of a two-winged cell church, we
will need to release these ‘little churches’ to act like the church. What I am suggesting
is a prioritization of little churches over and above any large group worship
services that continue to occur weekly on the congregational level. This will
mean that mother churches give their little churches the freedom and authority
to baptize, marry, bury, administer the Lord’s Supper, and exercise church
discipline. This will mean that the evangelistic mandate for each of these
little churches will be focused on the neighbourhood, workplace, or educational
setting in which it gathers. This will also mean that these little churches are
strategically placed in areas of the city that are considered untouched by the
Body of Christ. The result is the emergence of a massive army of so-called lay
people ministering by using the vehicle of ‘houses of peace’ in hitherto
unreached areas of the city. Although not ideal, this will be a good step
closer to the citywide house church networks established by the apostles.
Fourth,
we will need to transition existing church structures closer to the house
church network model. It’s always difficult to run before you can walk.
It’s also tough to walk before you can crawl. Attempts to do so can cause a
sort of trauma. During this revolution, there will be some local congregations
participating in the city reaching coalition who have never even had a small
group ministry. They’ve heard of small groups but never tried them. They will
need to be encouraged and assisted in beginning a small groups ministry, in
which their small groups are comprised mostly of members of their congregation
and are not necessarily evangelistic at all. Furthermore, some congregations
who have had years of experience with small groups may want to take the next
step of moving towards a cell group model, in which the cell groups enjoy an
emphasis equal to the Sunday morning large group. Even further along the line,
there will be some congregations that are cell churches but who want to take
the next step of dropping their building and reorganizing as a tight network of
house churches. In his research into some of the most rapidly growing and
multiplying church planting movements on the planet, David Garrison points out
that one of the key ingredients is lay led house churches and/or cell groups of
10-30 people[37]. As such, each of
these efforts in transitioning existing church structures somewhere further
along the spectrum will go a long way towards reaching our cities with house
churches.
This paper has attempted to paint a picture
of a way forward in reaching our cities for Christ beyond the traditional
approaches being applied. It is a call to continue reforming the church to more
strategic and biblical practices. The tools proposed are:
§
Strategic Placement of a vast network of house
churches (and cell groups) in unreached areas of the city
§
Leadership Training using the Biblical small
group apprenticeship model
§
§
Transitioning Existing ‘Cathedral’ Structures by increased
implementation of small groups, cell groups, and house churches. This will move
us closer to the New Testament house church network model.
If this paper has struck a resonant chord with you, dear reader,
please contact me if you wish to discuss the matter further. May the Lord bring
about ever-increasing cooperation among believers for his increased fame and
for the sake of the harvest. Breathe
Deep Rad Zdero
§
Bunton, Peter
(2001). What History Teaches Us: Cell Groups and
§
Fitts, Robert
(2001). The Church in the House (free online book at www.robertfitts.com).
§
Garrison, David
(1999). Church Planting Movements, International Mission Board, Southern
Baptist Convention, download free: www.dawnministries.org/general/freedownloads.html
§
House 2 House
Magazine: www.house2house.tv
§
Kreider, Larry
(2001).
§
Simson, Wolfgang
(1998). Houses that Change the World: The Return of the House Churches,
Paternoster Publishing.
§
Viola, Frank
(1998). Rethinking the Wineskin: The Practice of the New Testament Church.
§
Rad Zdero (2004),
The Global House Church Movement,
available from William Carey Library, www.WCLbooks.com
.
Rad Zdero, Ph.D., earned his doctorate in
Mechanical Engineering from Queen’s University in
Mail:
Phone: 905-820-8846
Website: www.housechurch.ca
Email: rad@housechurch.ca
[1] Matthew 28:18-20
[2] “
[3] Proponents
include Paul Yonggi Cho (
[4] Joel Comiskey, Home Cell
Group Explosion, Touch, 1998. (The International Charismatic Mission in
[5] North American Missionary Board (Southern Baptist Convention), www.namb.net/root/cp
[6] Barna Research Online,
“Annual Survey of America’s Faith shows no Significant Changes in Past Year”,
[7] Barna Research Online,
“American Faith is Diverse as shown among Five Faith-Based Segments”,
[8]
[9] Matthew 24:9-14,
24;
[10] Wolfgang Simson, Houses
that Change the World, Paternoster Publishing, 1998.
[11] W.A. Beckham, The Second
Reformation, Touch, 1997.
[12] Acts
[13] 1 Cor
[14] Del Birkey, The House
Church, Herald Press, 1988, p.55.
[15] Luke 10:1-11
[16] Luke 8:1-3,
[17] Luke 10:38-41, 14:1-6,
19:2-9
[18] Luke 8:38-39
[19] Matthew 4:19-22,
[20] Acts 10:1-48
[21] Acts 16:13-15
[22] Acts 14:23, Titus 1:5
[23] Matthew 28:18-20
[24] Mark
[25] Matthew 10:1; Luke 10:1-11;
John 4:1-2, 8:1-11, 11:1-45
[26]
Robert Coleman, The Master Plan of Evangelism, Revell,
p.45, 1994.
[27] AB Bruce, The Training
of the Twelve, Kregel, p.13, 1988.
[28] Acts 20:4; 1 Cor
[29] Acts 16:3-5, 22-36; 2 Cor
[30] 1 Tim 3:1-10
[31] 2 Tim 2:2
[32] 2 Tim 3:10-11
[33] Lighthouse Movement, www.lighthousemovement.com
[34] Joel Comiskey, Home Cell Group Explosion, Touch, 1998.
[35]
[36] Romans 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2; 2 Cor
1:1; Gal 1:2; Eph 1:1; Philip 1:1; Col 1:1; 1 Thes 1:1
[37] David Garrison (1999), Church
Planting Movements, International
free
booklet download from www.dawnministries.org/general/freedownloads.html