When Students Travel For Jesus

You and your two friends walk on to a campus.

You’re nervous.

You’ve never been here before. You just drove overnight to get to a new campus you felt God putting on your heart.

You pray for God to lead you, but you don’t sense anything yet. After you pray again, you decide to walk around. Suddenly you notice an international student sitting on a bench. For no apparent reason you feel like you should talk to him and ask him if He’s thought about Jesus lately. You strike up a conversation with him. He tells you he had a dream last night about Jesus and prayed for God to bring him people to talk to. He’s pretty amazed. You go out for coffee and talk some more and you pray for him at the end. The following night, you and the team get invited to a BBQ at his apartment where you meet some of his friends. You pray for some people there who have been sick. One of them says they feel drastically better. The following week, some of these friends meet again to discuss the teachings of Jesus with you. Three of the students say they want to follow Jesus. They get baptized in their apartment that night. You prophesy over one of them a vision you saw of them going back to their nation and bringing God’s kingdom there. You start encouraging these new believers over the next couple weeks to keep meeting, worshiping, following Jesus together, and inviting others to experience what they have just experienced with Jesus. You tell them you’ll be in touch and come back to see how they’re doing next month.

Got to move on.
Got to go to other campuses.

They need to hear, too.

It’s exhausting and challenging at times. Other times, you realize you’re having the greatest ride of your life.

The movement is spreading and it’s exciting to be on journey with Jesus.

The last few years, God’s been speaking to multiple students and older mobilizers about a movement of traveling teams, demonstrating God’s kingdom from campus to campus, starting student churches, and going to the nations. This summer, recent graduates are stepping out in faith to follow this leading of God’s Spirit.

Throughout history, God’s purposes have been spread through traveling teams. Adam and Eve were told to fill the earth (which I’m guessing would require a bit of travel). When people stopped spreading out and instead gathered together to build a tower for God, He “nudged” them (to put it politely) to travel again. (Genesis 11). Abraham was called to travel. Jonah had to travel to Ninevah (after a slight detour to visit the inside of a fish). Traveling teams were Jesus’ primary means of mobilizing His kingdom message and spreading His power. Paul and Barnabus, after a season of fasting and prayer, were sent out by the Holy Spirit on the first extended missionary journey recorded in scripture. Most of the letters of the New Testament were written to young church communities that were birthed as a result of their obedience. If there were no traveling teams, there would be no Book of Acts (at least it only be a few chapters long).

St. Patrick traveled throughout Celtic Ireland, starting missional, apostolic prayer communities, sparking a movement that would transform the entire island in two generations. John Wesley and an army of common people rode on horseback to preach the gospel and form people into discipleship communities. On and on, God seems to use people when they travel on these apostolic adventures.

What new chapters in history will Jesus write as students step out in faith to travel?

In five years, what do you want to look back and say you got to be a part of seeing God do?

Are you willing to take a risk?

Are you willing to travel?

Do you sense God saying, “Go?”

Will you go?

For those among the student churches and prayer communities who see a strong opening from the Lord to start businesses or embark on other careers, will you support a team of recent graduates from the movement as they spend a year traveling campuses, demonstrating God’s kingdom, building up student churches, and starting new simple church communities on campuses?

Three years ago I was sitting in a prayer room, frustrated with the status quo of “ministry as usual”. I was thinking about quitting the ministry, but desperately praying for God to show me what He was doing. That day I had a vision. I saw a movement of young people traveling from campus to campus and I saw the words, “Student Church.”

The last year, Jen and I and our friends, Ryan and Lindsay, stepped out to take some traveling journeys. We believe this was a simple act of faith to obey what God is starting to say to hundreds if not thousands of young people who will go from campuses to the nations on great adventures with Jesus.

Recently I was talking with Brad McKoy, one of the Student Church national elders. Here is what he told me:

There is such a sense of God’s timing as we pray and begin preparing to send out apostolic teams to travel from campus to campus to make disciples and catalyze student churches.  The Lord has been speaking to students, intercessors and mobilizers about this for a long time.

Almost 5 years ago, Adriane and I were on vacation in Michigan and stopped for lunch in Ann Arbor.  During lunch (at a sweet Mongolian BBQ) I had to run back a few blocks to the car and plug the meter.  As I dropped the coin into the meter, the Holy Spirit started “downloading” a vision/ strategy of sending teams of students to travel through specific regions and around the nation.

These teams of 3 or 4 would go to a campus and find that people had been praying for God to move on their campus.  They would partner with these students in preaching the Good News of Jesus, making disciples and planting new churches on the campus.  Eventually, these initial teams trained others to replace them and a continuos cycle of travling apostolic teams saturated the campuses of the nation.  Within a year of the initial teams starting there was a net of student led curches across the nations.  Soon, teams of musicians, artist, story-tellers formed “specialized teams” that traveled to these churches and took the excellence of the Kingdom into college town bars, clubs and galleries.  There were also teams that focused on equipping these new churches in specific areas like healing and deliverance.

The whole download lasted only 3 to 4 minutes but I have never been able to fully describe the details of it in less than 45 minutes.  I started calling what the Lord had shown me as “The Ann Arbor Initiative” and felt like the Lord told me that our time with the interns in Lawrence was a seed that was a part of bringing that vision about.

My heart is filled with expectation and with the fear of the Lord as consider what it looks like for our student church family to send out these traveling teams.  When the Lord reveals similar things to multiple people, it can help provide a sense of context and connection for what He is about to do.  Let’s press into this together and trust our Father to pour out His Kingdom as sons and daughters spread his love from campus to campus.

– Brad McKoy

I believe now is the hour for this vision to come to pass.

We believe it is of utmost importance for the teams that travel to walk in these guiding values:

• The Father’s Heart

God is our loving Father. He’s a really good daddy who cares about you and your hearts’ desires. We don’t have to travel or give or perform or preach or heal or fast or do any other earthly thing to earn His love. He’s pleased when we obey. But we obey because He’s our father and He loves us… not to earn His love.

He’s in a good mood.

And He not only loves us, He likes us. He enjoys watching us dance and play and dream, and travel and write and sing and pursue the dreams of our heart.

Oh, and He’s also not super-anal about us making mistakes or not getting things right the first time. If we fail and stumble, He’ll pick us up and teach us to do better next time.

• Jesus’ Passion for God’s house to be a house of prayer for all nations

This is about the lost. It’s about the nations. It’s about going to those who probably won’t come to Christian meetings and churches, not attracting Christians who already go to church. It’s about loving God and others. It’s about seeing every corner of the earth experience God’s love, from the temporary back alleys of the working class neighborhoods of Dubai to the trash dumps orphaned children in India call home; from the halls of Wall Street to the dorms of Ivy League universities, the name of Jesus will be known and glorified and His freedom, healing, forgiveness, dominion, and love experienced in all nations.

• The Power of the Holy Spirit.

“You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be My witnesses…”

“Eagerly desire the gifts of the Holy Spirit…”

You might notice something interesting if you read the book of Acts. It’s the only narrative account of what the early Jesus movement (the church) looked like. And there were lots of miracles and crazy–sounding Holy Spirit encounters going on. People got healed. People got demons cast out of them. Churches started next to pagan temples. People traveled and got dreams and visions from God to lead them. If Paul and Peter and Barnabus (and Jesus, for that matter) were traveling today, they’d maybe get labeled by religious people as heretics or discounted as crazy charismatics. We hunger for the power of God’s Spirit more than we’re afraid of looking silly. We eagerly desire for God to do more and more of these things today. And we’re not afraid to step out in faith and try. And try again. And try again.

• We’re a Family, not just a movement.

We are not just a movement; we’re growing as a family. A movement without spiritual moms and dads would leave behind spiritual orphans. Church planting isn’t just a bunch of theories and principles. There must be spiritual moms and dads ready to love and serve a generation of youth taking on the Goliath’s of our age; ready to cry with you if things go badly; ready to celebrate with you as you encounter God and eternally transform lives on your journeys. God is into family. His plan for filling the earth started with a family. As the movement grows, and as you travel and support your friends who do, we must love each other like family.

We live in one of the most exciting hours in human history. I pray what God is doing on the campuses and the youth will spread to every nation in our generation!

For those who are sensing God’s call to travel, we’re going to start praying weekly. I’m recommending we gather together in the summer for a time of prayer, fun, and seeking God together before we hit the road in the Fall.

Start talking and praying about what God is calling you to after graduation. Who knows, you might end up leading a team of students on a backpacking trip in the next year through the Himalayas, healing the sick, finding persons of peace, and writing a “book of Acts-type” chapter for a people group that is yet to hear the name of Jesus.

You may one day look back and say it all started with you answering that burning desire in your heart to “go”.

Jesus may your kingdom come to every campus, city and nation in our lifetime!

- Erik Fish

5 Step Strategy for Student Church Planting

After returning last week from a month-long trip in Central America, I noticed the above ad at the top of the mountain of mail awaiting our attention.  It was advertising a “new church” was starting in town. (I covered up the church’s name at the top).

The print quality was high. The layout had a good marketing appeal. The words on the back advertised that the pastor would tell jokes in his sermon. The wording appealed to disenfranchised former church goers.

This ad struck me as a great example of the contrast between consumer-oriented church planting in the States (Great services…Great advertising…Come be with us on Sunday morning!) and some basic principles we see laid out in scripture for going to non-Christians, preaching the gospel, looking for persons of peace, and making disciples among the lost (with new churches the result of making new disciples).

To be clear, I believe God uses everything, and he will use almost any well-meaning act of faith to bring the gospel to a city. However, there’s got to be a simpler way for everyday people to bring the gospel and grow Christian communities in the areas where non-Christians do life together.

As a reminder, I’m posting a simple 5 Step Church Planting Strategy given by my good friend, Dr. Pam, from All Nations Family.

Dr. Pam has planted multiple reproducing churches in, let’s just say, “some not so safe environments” over the last 15 years. She has become a mentor and coach to several students who are now growing simple churches on university campuses in the States and overseas. May this encourage you to reach your campus, neighborhood, or marketplace with the gospel!

A successful strategy for those starting simple churches should be biblical and simple.

We have formulated it in five easy to follow steps:

Pray – Meet – Make – Gather – Multiply

Pray. Pray fervently with God’s heart for the people you are reaching out to. Pray to meet people by “divine appointments.” Pray until you can weep over people. Pray fervently. Fast and pray. Walk and pray. Ask God to let you see what he sees and feel what he feels. It is in the place of prayer that God will reveal the unfulfilled purposes and broken covenants for the people you are reaching. Pray for a man or woman of peace to open the door the hearts and minds of people you are reaching. Pray for understanding and love of the culture. Pray for the word of the Lord to guide you and give you specific strategies to make disciples, train leaders and plant a church planting movement.

Meet. Meet people where they are. Hang out with those who don’t know Jesus. Get outside the Christian bubble. Resist the temptation and emotional need to focus on teams issues that absorb your time and energy. As you pray, trust God to give you strategies for meeting people. Begin to build a network of relationships, what the Bible calls an oikos (literally a household). This network is the beginning of your future church plant. This network of relationships will become the future support system for those who accept Christ if they are disenfranchised by their family and friends. Build this network in faith that it will become a church for God in that place.

Make. Make Disciples. Invest in people’s lives. Don’t wait for them to pray a prayer to accept Jesus or say they want to follow Jesus to invest in them as people. Disciple making is another way of describing evangelism, and of building meaningful relationships. As you build those relationships, seek to discern what God has in his heart for each person.

Jesus commanded us to make disciples. Disciple making is about introducing people to Jesus in such a way that they get to know him personally, and then learn to love and obey him. When it’s the right time, teach people the seven commands of Jesus:

repent and believe
be baptized
forgive
give
pray
gather with others
make disciples of all nations
Do not hesitate to tell new believers the cost of following Jesus. Emphasize the privilege of going to other nations so God’s mission is part of their spiritual DNA.

Gather. Gather those you meet who are spiritually open with other seekers for fun, hanging out, enjoying common interests, prayer, and study of God’s word. Focus on the words and stories of Jesus. Don’t wait for them to say they want to become a follower of Jesus to gather people into a community of friends. Gathering around a meal with others is one of the best ways to build community. Jesus said that where two or three gather in his name, he is with them. This is “church” in it’s simplest, most essential form. Nothing more is needed to “be church.” There is more that can be done to contribute to growing a healthy, vibrant church (see Acts 2:42-47), but gathering people together is the beginning of planting that church.

Multiply. Plan for growth. From the beginning, train new believers to take responsibility for your meetings and outreaches. Stay in the background as much as possible to encourage others to grow and exercise their spiritual gifts. As soon as you reach 15-20 people, multiply. Start a new gathering. Give those you have been investing in assignments that will help you discern their giftings, strengths, and weaknesses. Build the community from the beginning, just like Paul did, by facilitating the development of indigenous leadership.

Let’s practice these five simple steps  (pray-meet-make-gather-multiply) to see the gospel transform the lives of students and spread from campuses to the nations!

P.S. check out the new student church online community at www.studentchurch.org

Traveling Teams

“GO” are the first two letters of God’s name!

Since the beginning of history, God’s purposes for the earth have been spread through traveling teams.

Abraham, Jonah, Isaiah, the apostles, the 72 others, Paul and Barnabus… oh yeah, and Jesus. They all traveled on God’s mission and saw God’s power and providence show up in their travels.

This last year, my wife and I sensed this call to travel. People thought we were nuts. We thought, “Hey, let’s give it a shot!” We can always go back home if we need to!” We logged tens of thousands of miles together with our four children (all under 8 years old). We preached the gospel. We prayed for the sick. We encouraged churches. We tried to start a few new ones along the way. We slept in hotels, dormitories, floors of apartments – wherever people provided a place to stay. Sometimes it was luxurious, sometimes it was six of us crammed into three single beds, shining flashlights under the bed, looking for scorpions.

Through it all, we sensed God’s power in new ways as we responded to his prompting to travel. And we grew closer together as a family.

Now numerous young people are picking up this baton and beginning to travel the campuses of this nation and to the ends of the earth, proclaiming and demonstrating God’s kingdom …

Searching for Bear

“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost…won’t he leave the 99 others in the wilderness and go search for the one that is lost until he finds it?”

Sometimes stories happen that remind us of God’s amazing commitment to track down those He loves and bring His sons and daughters home.

Two summers ago at the very first Student CPx event, two Native American students named Bear and Tabosh had powerful encounters with Jesus. They prayed to give their lives to Jesus. They encountered the power of the Holy Spirit. They were baptized that night.

When people who don’t know Jesus are coming out of great sin, it sometimes takes time for them to walk differently. The book of Corinthians was written to a young movement of churches in a city with rampant crime and immorality and demonic activity. Sometimes these are the areas where massive awakening can happen when the gospel is planted … but it takes time, love and patience.

Here’s what happened to Bear and Tabosh.

Bear immediately backslid. A short time later he was in jail for armed robbery.

Tabosh met for discipleship a couple times with me. Tabosh was one of 13 brothers and sisters. I dreamed and prayed for a move of God in his family and among his tribal nation. Then Tabosh disappeared. The last day we were supposed to meet, I had a nice Bible ready to give him as a gift. He didn’t show up and I never gave it to him. It was painful to call and text him to only have these attempts to meet with him repeatedly ignored. Making disciples is sometimes painful because you put your heart on the line for people.

But God was still seeking for Bear and Tabosh. The scripture says, “The gifts and callings of God are irrevocable.” Isn’t that encouraging? Our decisions and choices can delay what God wants to do. Our sins can hinder us from walking in our destiny – but God’s character is that His gifts and callings are not taken away from us.

God’s calling would work it’s way even through Bear and Tabosh’s poor choices to bring them around to encounter Him again.

While in jail, Bear encountered the mercy of God. He picked up a Bible and began to read it. He cried out to God. He experienced grace. He led others in the jail to the Lord.

When Bear got out of jail, he enrolled in college again, earning almost a 4.0 his first semester. Someone in his community began discipling him. A friend he met at Student CPx began praying for him and encouraging him to stay strong in the Lord.

This last summer, Bear was trained to be a student missionary at a Student CPx event in Austin. The first person to begin following Jesus as a result of Student CPx was now being trained and sent as a missionary from another Student CPx event.

He would eventually be sent back to Haskell to help his brother Tabosh.

Last weekend, Bear came to spend the weekend at my house with our family. We talked, prayed, hung out, and dreamed about the future.

One night, we woke up to hear Bear pouring out his heart to God. I asked him the following morning,
“What were you praying about so passionately in the middle of the night?”
“God woke me up and started talking to me about Tabosh,” he said. “I have to find him and give him a message.”

That night, Bear went into the Haskell dorms with other simple church planters. He ‘happened’ to see Tabosh immediately upon walking into the dorms.

Bear spoke the message God had given him for Tabosh, this young warrior from the Prairie Band Pottawatomie tribe.

Tabosh was visibly touched. He opened up to the Lord and prayed again with Bear. He told the Lord he was sorry for running from him and from others who loved him and wanted to help him.

The next morning, Bear, Tabosh, and I all went out to breakfast. Tabosh told us what God was doing in his life and that he wanted to follow Jesus but he was scared.

“After Bear spoke the words of truth to me, I felt weight falling off of me and I felt lighter. I went out on a walk with God later that night. I walked for two miles and talked with God. I told Him, ‘God, I want to learn your ways and bring your name and your words of truth to my people. But my people are angry with the ways Christianity was brought to them. God, I don’t know how to do this but I want to.’ ”

As we spoke over breakfast, I asked Tabosh, “What can I do for you to help you?”

He pondered for a moment then asked, “Would you meet with me and teach me God’s ways?”

I said, “I will on one condition. If you will read the Bible and spend time alone praying with God every day, I will teach you God’s ways.”

“I will do this.”

“Ok,” I said. “Do you have a Bible?”
“No.”
“Tabosh, I have a gift I would like to give you that I wanted to give you a long time ago.”

The next morning, I presented a Bible to Tabosh, the precious gift I had wanted to give him over a year ago. He received it with great joy and expectation. We read Matthew 28:18-20 together, the scriptures I had written on the inside of the cover for him.

“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Tabosh sat and pondered these words. He wrote notes of what God was showing him from these verses. Then he prayed,

“God make me strong so I can help open peoples eyes to you, Jesus.”

This week, my children memorized Psalm 23:6: “Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life.”

It’s encouraging for me to picture God’s mercy and goodness actually following us around, looking for us. Beckoning us to Him when we fail. Searching long and hard for those we have discipled who have strayed from Him. God’s goodness and mercy followed Bear and Tabosh. His goodness and mercy follow me. He is a good and merciful God.

I want you to realize how powerful God’s love works with those we are reaching with the message of Jesus. He is the great shepherd who watches out for His sheep. 

Pray for Bear and Tabosh. Pray for the blessing of God to come to the 130 Tribal Nations’ whose future leaders are represented at Haskell University. We can reach the nations if we will!

Keep reaching the world with Jesus,

Erik

Student Churches Loving Muslims

Native Americans reaching out to Muslim students in their city?

These are the kinds of stories I imagine Jesus smiles about.

Below is a story from three student church planters (two of them are Native American) who were trained at one of our summer Student CPx training experiences:

Over the summer the team I was with and I met [name omitted], a Muslim student at KU who lived next to us in our apartments.  Everywhere we went he was there.  Through him we met his friend [name omitted], another Muslim at KU.  Neither of them have many international friends, which means all their friends are Muslims from Saudi Arabia, the wealthiest of the families who send their kids to school for petroleum engineering ect to become the future leaders of the country!  After two months of ending the summer and not seeing these friends of ours, I ran into one of them at a coffee shop who then proceeded to invite us to his new apartment to visit!

So my friends Robert, Tyler, and I had this amazing opportunity to pass the evening with an incredible group of people in their own home!  They were the most incredible hosts, catering to us like kings!  They prepared a Saudi Arabian meal of chicken and rice, plus banana juices and cheese cakes until I feel like I won’t be able to eat for days again.  Simple dinner, conversation, movie, and then hours of conversation sharing pictures of Medina and Mecca and what we like to do in our free time.  

[Name], who has seen me more than once on the curb or outside reading my Bible on nice summer days replies, “She likes to read her Bible in her spare time.”  A roommate then replies, “I’ve read the first couple pages before.”  And then a discussion embarks on the difference between Islam and Christianity.  

 

Did Jesus really die or was there a substitute person?  

 

I got to share of evidence of the crucifixion, soldiers’ testimonies when the earth shook and the sky grew dark at the hour of his death, and the factuality of it even in history books.  They asked questions about Isaac and Ishmael wondering if they were the same stories.  They say, “Tell us your story of it, we haven’t heard your side.  We want to see if they are the same.”  And so I get to tell them of Abraham’s faith and willingness to give “His one and only son whom he loves” and how it points to Jesus.  It’s where God gets his name Jehova Jireh, “The Lord Himself Will Provide”.  He has provided a sacrifice apart from our own efforts.  And this amazing new group of friends sat intently like kids at story time, not to amuse us or give us a turn to talk, but intently listening to stories they have never heard.  Not just the one friend we met , but now one friend bringing us like the Samaritan woman to her family and friends in her community. 

 

It still baffles me.  How I got into such an incredible position to bring the presence of God into their own home, a whole community, sitting in a circle with the eyes of 5 Muslims locked on mine listening to words of life that will linger in the atmosphere long after I go home and go to sleep.  I have had opportunity before to share with Muslims and there were many Muslims in Malawi as well that I had a chance to share with.  But I have never been as passionate for them as I am with this group, friends, whom I have grown to love, that I would rather die for then see them perish.   

Pray for life. – Jessie

Imagine thousands of students like Jessie, Robert, and Tyler on universities around North America starting simple church communities in apartments, residence halls, and every place students do life together. They eat meals with students who would probably never walk into a church, make friendships, share stories of Jesus, pray for the sick, follow up with those who are open to the greatest news ever heard on earth.

God is sending student church planters to reach the lost and reach the nations for Jesus.

Pray for Muslim students all over America to discover who Jesus is and how much He loves them!

Story from a Student Church at Haskell

Last week, my father in law and I took my 7 year old son Ethan on a wilderness camping and fly fishing trip in the Colorado mountains. It was a challenge for me personally, because I saw so many pressing ministry needs happening at Haskell University, a Native American college where we have been mentoring student church planters for the last year. The needs of our young student leaders seemed really great. At the same time, this seemed like a really critical time in my son’s life, where some time away with dad was really important. It was a key marker in my life to realize this,

“If we love our wives and family as Jesus loved the church, Jesus will show us that He is truly the one who builds His church.”

Among our numerous adventures, we survived the steering going out on our truck and almost driving off the mountain. We caught trout. We photographed elk, antelope, and mule deer.

We had a powerful time together.

And the student churches grew more while I was away then they had the entire semester.

Here is one story that happened while we were away, as told by Jessie, a student church planter who has been living with us the last several months:

Yeah!!! Haskell student enters into the Kingdom!

So two nights ago Robert and I were in OK Hall in our endeavors to have simple church. We were randomly inviting people. One student returned from football practice and replied as he passed, “Is this a church thing? God knows I need it!” He returned and we proceeded to talk to him afterwards. This guy has had dreams. He described one,

“There was a fire and my people were dancing around it in a circle. Out of this group of people one figure stood out. There was Satan amongst them pointing his finger mocking and laughing at them. They couldn’t see him, but I could. He turned and looked right at me.”

 He’s always felt like a protector. So I get to share with him what his people need protected from and why Satan was laughing in his dream. We talked about Jesus and why Jesus is so important in the equation and how it is only through him that we can be delivered from the grasp of Satan and sin. By the end of the night he repented, named people he had to ask forgiveness from and prayed and committed to serving Jesus!

I laugh in how God had called him and spoke to him and how minimal my end really was in just connecting the dots in his life. I wonder how many people are in that same spot where one conversation is all they need. So many people could be so close!

So this kid, your now brother, is so excited about fighting. I laugh in telling him that it is not flesh and blood that we fight. He is so eager to be trained in spiritual warfare. In telling him about the Holy Spirit and healing ect, he was like, “Wow! That is a lot of power!” As Robert and I were sitting outside talking with him about all these questions he had that I thought may have been too much for someone who just got saved, a student walks by saying hello. This new follower of Jesus says, “I wonder if he needs Jesus. I should have asked him, huh? Should I chase after him?”

 

I think I could afford to be just a little bit more like him.

 

To support the work of Erik and Jen Fish:

 

Student Church Movements

PO Box 4068

Overland Park, KS 66204

 

All gifts are income tax deductible

Complicating Simple Church

Complicating Simple Church

 

There’s an emperor with no clothes on running around the simple church movement! 

 

We’re making “simple” church complicated. Let’s admit it and talk about it.

 

There are some really, really stellar examples of student churches producing some amazing fruit. But for those of us who might be feeling a wee bit confused and frustrated, I hope this encourages you.

 

Maybe some of you experience in simple church planting what I experienced with a hefty piece of machinery I recently purchased.

 

I bought a used riding lawnmower a few weeks ago (excuse me, I mean lawn TRACTOR). I was so excited. I admit I felt manly riding it around my yard. It felt like the suppressed, untamed pioneer farmer in my soul was finally unleashed. Alas, one trip around my .02 acre yard and it breaks down. Ugh.

 

After a lengthy examination over several cigarettes with my neighbor (my neighbor smoking the cigs, haha), I discover: 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. my neighbor is a recovering backslidden fundamentalist Baptist whose teachers used to smack his knuckles with rulers, and 
2. my lawn tractor has got condensation in the carburetor. 

 

Evidently, I have to download diagnostic charts and an engine schemata for a Briggs and Stratton 20HP engine on the internet, then take the carburetor apart and dry it out. I couldn’t point out a carburetor right now if my life depended on it. (Is the carburetor next to the carotid artery?) 

 

I started thinking, 

 

“If students planting simple churches feel like I do looking at this engine in my riding lawnmower, (I mean lawntractor), we need some encouragement for how we can really live this missional life on our campuses – and enjoy it!”

 

Here are three challenges to those planting simple churches I see at work. Student church planters feel:

1. It’s Complicated  - We view simple church like an engineering manual. You know, lots of complicated CPM steps to follow. Students get overwhelmed, confused and frustrated. 
2. It’s Mystical – Things get so mystical and hyper-spiritual, people don’t simply gather with non-Christians around the scriptures unless they see a miracle, word of knowledge, or angelic intervention first. YES, we should pray for these things, but we can also get “emo”, weird, and, sadly, unfruitful.
3. Alone. This may be the biggest challenge many of us are facing. At this stage of the movement, most students are pioneering the idea of students leading churches on their campus. Pioneering is sometimes hard. You get to see new things others don’t see, but you also have to blaze trails where others have not yet gone. 

 

Remember, it can be simple and FUN to journey with God to bring the church into the dark places of our campus. There are certainly burdens and moments of stress in what God has called us to do, but remember, Jesus gives a burden that is supposed to feel light.  

 

Waterlogged Soap

 

Have you ever had a bar of soap sit alone in the corner of your shower where it gets so soggy and waterlogged you can’t use it anymore? Some of us have become like that bar of soap!

 

We feel alone and so waterlogged with principles, formulas and weird, overly mystical beliefs about church planting, we struggle to simply use the tools God gave us for reaching non-Christians on our campus. We’re saturated by books and theories where we can analyze all 86 principles of how CPM’s spread, what barriers to cpm exist in conventional churches, etc. – while students who have been trained in these principles often get burned out and frustrated when they don’t produce any simple churches. 

 

Let’s “dry out” a bit, get back to some basics, have fun, and get this thing working the rest of this semester!

 

Following Jesus is not like following an engineering manual. Nor does starting simple churches always have to flow around miracle stories so remarkable they’re sure to make it into the yet-to-be-written,The Blueprint II. It can be simple.

 

For those called and sent as a student missionary, your assignment is not to rush off to get deeply immersed in another church or campus ministry program and then add simple church planting on the side. You are a full-time student and you are a student missionary. Your goal is goal is to go to the lost WITH A PARTNER (so you are not alone), make disciples, and grow a simple church community around you where a church community wasn’t being expressed before (like a dormitory, apartment complex, non-Christian student group, etc). Through the year, you stay networked with your church planting mentor and other student church planting friends so you can gather together to pray for each other and encourage each other. The idea is lots of students branch out across the campuses in our nation and start lots of little churches for those who don’t go to church. Often times, people aren’t fruitful right away. But — sometimes — God shows up in a major way. 

 

I want to restore some sense of “chill” to anyone who’s been sent out from a Student CPx or anyone who reads this who is pursuing student church planting.

 

When students go to start student churches and come back exhausted, confused, and feeling like failures, some adjustment and encouragement is needed. (Ok, there’s definitely a spiritual resistance component coming against us, too, but often I think we give the devil way to much credit. Jesus has got way more power than His defeated foe. I think trying to get us so confused and complicating things is part of satan’s distractions for this movement.)

 

See if you can relate to the thoughts of this frustrated simple church planter. 

 

“Who is my person of peace?!! I can’t find them! OMG! I’m failing! Where do I start? I haven’t seen any miracles yet, so nothing is happening. Man, I miss big church. What’s wrong with me just attending another church anyway? Oh yeah, I’d be attractional, not missional. I just forgot for a second. Lord forgive me for backsliding and almost going back to conventional church. Whew, that was a close one. Gotta confess that at the LTG this week. [I'm joking here]. Alright. How am I gonna start a church? Oh yeah, pray for sick people. When someone gets healed, I’m supposed to go back to their apartment and start a church there. Crap, I just prayed for that guy and he says he feels worse. He definitely doesn’t want me back at his apartment. Oh well, I guess he wasn’t good soil. Yeah, that’s it. Bad soil. Ok, back to my person of peace. It’s been three months since my SCPx training. I can’t find one yet. I haven’t had the courage or boldness to open air preach. I wish I were more like Jaeson. Or Brian. Man if I could heal people and make people laugh like him, then I’d really be a good church planter. Or Aaron, ‘cause he has tatooes and looks so cool. Or Brad, man can that guy love people. Or Pam. She is so smart. She started CPM’s in China, and I’m pretty sure she raised some people from the dead, too… I’ve read The Blueprint. I’ve read Organic Church. I’ve been praying. I’ve been to SCPx. I see the cpm movements in the book of Acts. I get the concept. I can define a CPM. I blog about it. But I’ve tried and tried and no simple churches started. Maybe I have an ungodly belief holding me back. Or sin, yeah, maybe I’m just too sinful, so God is resisting me. I need to fast and pray more…I guess I don’t really have what it takes to be a student church planter.”

 

Dude, (yes, there are times when use of the word dude is entirely appropriate.) Seriously, if you don’t plant churches, it’s ok. This isn’t a performance thing. 

But the thing is, many of us want to. And many of us feel called to.

 

COMPASSION

I’m pretty sure Jesus likes the idea, too. He wants the church to grow on your campus so people can get help, hear His words and follow Him. When Jesus looked out at the crowds of people, He felt compassion for them – they were like sheep, weary and scattered, not knowing where to go for help. Jesus loves students SO much! This is why God inspired the idea to grow His church in every area of the campus. They are a way to “seed” the church in every place on the campus where people don’t yet experience Jesus yet in their daily life. This is His movement. He inspired the idea. 

 

We can do this together!  God is with us!

 

SIMPLE + FUN + GOING TOGETHER

!!!!!

 

Here’s a story that may not seem so complicated or supernatural. But it illustrates – simply – how some significant spiritual breakthrough can start to happen in dark places on our campuses. It shows how the three problems I mentioned above (Complicated, Mystical, and Feeling Alone) can be overcome. 

 

Last week, Robert and I went into a new dorm at Haskell to seed the beginnings of a simple church. We just wanted to go there. It just seemed good to go. Heck, an entire book of the Bible was written (Luke) because he said it “seemed good.” Can the Holy Spirit actually be leading us when it “seems good” to do something?

 

First, Robert and I gathered with Chris and Jessie. We prayed and worshipped together for an hour. We prayed for each other and encouraged each other. It was like our own little simple church meeting to encourage each other and focus on Jesus prior to going out together to start new ones. We were together. We didn’t feel alone. It was awesome!

 

Anyway, Robert had met some people from this particular dorm we wanted to go to, but he didn’t have any solid contacts. He’d just had a few conversations with people. We had no prophetic dreams leading us there. No signs from heaven pointing to the mystical person of peace. We just felt like we wanted to try something there and see what happened. We think it’s God’s will for the church to fill the entire campus, so maybe it doesn’t matter too terribly much where we start.  I guess God will close the door if He wants to!

 

Robert bought some milk and some donuts. He printed out some sheets of paper with a story about Jesus and how he treated the woman caught in adultery. After our prayer and worship meeting, we split up and went to different dorms. Robert and I went into the dorm lobby about 7:30. 

 

I was nervous. Yes, nervous. I’m 34 and I still get nervous around 18 year olds. So I’m insecure – big deal. I’m ok with that. I don’t know if I’ve ever done anything missional with Jesus where I haven’t been nervous. Have you ever used your insecurities and fears to avoid being courageous and trying what God’s put in your heart? We all have! So you’re a little insecure – welcome to reality. So was Gideon. So was the Apostle Paul. Paul said when he first came to the Corinthians, he was “timid and afraid.” (I Corinthians 2:3) Haha! We are in good company when we admit we’re afraid and timid to bring the gospel to people. We all get insecure!

 

Anyway, we overcame our insecurities and went into the dorm. Robert and I sat down in the TV room and asked if anyone would like to eat donuts and discuss a story about Jesus. Three people sat down. Whoopdy-do. Three people. 

 

But the Holy Spirit came. We simply discussed three questions: 

 

What does this tell us about what people are like? 

What does this tell us about what Jesus is like? 

How can we apply this to our lives? 

 

You could see one freshman football player’s eyes come alive as he learned about Jesus. One girl there said how encouraging it was. Another guy came who I’d been praying for for a year who got saved at last years’ SCPx. 

 

After about 20 minutes, Robert said a quick prayer for everyone. We asked them, “Was this encouraging? Would you like to do this again next Sunday night?” They all said, “Yes” that they would. Robert ended up hanging out watching TV and playing phoosball with them the rest of the night. 

 

It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but we got our foot in the door. You may say, “but that story from the group in the TV room isn’t really a church yet.” Well guess what – it’s a SEED! That’s the closest thing to an encounter with God in ‘church’ some of those people have ever had. It was a group of people just taking the very first step together to follow Jesus. 

 

A year or so ago, some guy impregnated five different girls in one year in that dorm. Five different girls.

A church starting in that dorm is a really, really big deal. Jesus has the answers to make people’s lives better, and we owe it to people to give them a chance to experience Jesus. He loves them and feels compassion for them! We’re gonna start some really simple forms of church, and let them grow from there. Jesus is using us to bring church where there is no church. 

 

So, here’s a couple practical ideas. 

 

Buy a cake. Yes buy a cake (or whatever, you get the idea.) Invite 10 people on your dorm floor to come to your room to eat the cake while discussing a Jesus story. (No, it’s not a “CPM sin” to invite people back to your room instead of going to theirs. If you live in the dorms, YOU might be the person of peace!) Add the presence of Jesus and you’ve got the early seeds of a simple church starting. Hey, Jesus fed people. He said some of them came just for the food, and he seemed to be ok with that. So what if no one comes? Try again, and keep trying.  

 

You say you don’t live in a dorm? You commute or something? OK, try to find one nonChristian from your classes who you can start conversations about Jesus with. Ask them about their spiritual journey and if they’ve ever had an experience with God. Tell them your story. Ask him/her if they would want to read and discuss a Jesus story at lunch together. Afterward, ask if they’d like to get together again. 

 

Try to make one disciple this semester. One. If every Christian in the world made one disciple, the Christian population of the world would double (yep, that’s brilliant.) 

 

I once led a guy to the Lord that I met with twice a week to read the Bible, encourage each other, and pray together (like an LTG). Five months later, he brought me to another friend of his who got saved. They led another guy to the Lord together. All three are walking with Jesus today. Start with one nonChristian and encourage them to read the Bible with you. Start with one disciple.

 

As for feeling alone, we must serve each other and encourage each other as a family of student churches on our campuses. (The National Gathering January 1-4th will be a great opportunity to nurture this). Don’t wait for someone to come to you – use the different SCPx google group email lists. Tell stories, send encouragement. Share (briefly) prayer requests. If you don’t have one, find a partner on your campus who you can do an LTG with, or meet with other simple church planters for prayer, worship, and encouraging each other.  Call or facebook a friend to ask for prayer. Remember, it’s church planting, not church panting. We are building a spiritual family together as we continue to love and encourage each other.  

 

 

So, let’s stop being so complicated. Let’s stop being so weird. Let’s build a sense of family with others.

 

As we do, we will bring Jesus to people – in simple forms of church for those who don’t go to church. We owe it to people to give them the chance to know and experience what Jesus has done for each one of us. 

 

If you’ve felt like a failure, or frustrated, or whatever, now is a GREAT time to get back up and try again. Whether you fail or are successful, God is SO PROUD of each one of you whenever you speak up for His name.

 

Let’s stop complicating simple church. Let’s return to making it simple, fun, and doing it together with others who have a passion to grow churches on their campus!

 

Ask God to show you one step you can this week take to adjust your thinking and renew your passion for growing churches on your campus.  Let me know how it goes!

 

Erik Fish

www.studentchurch.org

A Global Youth Awakening – here come the Student Churches

http://www.encountersnetwork.com/email_blasts/sept_2009_prayerstorm91.htm

 

A Global Youth Awakening – Students Doing the Work of Ministry!

The Story of the Student Churches

In the book of Acts, a prayer meeting in Antioch produced apostolic sending. An apostolic team was sent out to travel, make disciples, and start new church communities. Today, the prayer movement is fostering a rediscovery of this type of apostolic ministry –students are starting churches among the unreached on college campuses around the world.

The Beginnings of A Student Church Movement

In the Bible, Joshua and Caleb saw things differently than others. God said they had “a different spirit.” The story of the student churches began with that same spirit.

Two students named Joshua and Caleb (yes, that was really their names) started to dream of a move of God across the UCLA campus. They began praying 24/7. As they prayed, they dreamed of forming students into simple house church communities that could meet across the campus. They went out to preach in the center of campus with towels in their backpack, believing that students afterward would baptize other students in the university fountains. The story that followed at UCLA is told in The Blueprint, by Jaeson Ma.

Today, students are baptizing students on universities all over the place. The seed of Joshua and Caleb’s prayers and dreams are beginning to spread across many universities.

In Western Pennsylvania at this same time, another student named Lee Myers and mentor friend Brad McCoy were contending for spiritual awakening at Allegheny College. As Lee would read the stories of Jesus, he began to meditate on a thought that kept coming back to him, “If Jesus could heal the sick, why couldn’t I at least try?”

Lee began to pray for people with illnesses. At first, there were very few healings. They kept praying.

Then strange things started happening. As they were faithful to keep praying for the sick and injured, the frequency of the healings started increasing.

In one semester, 40 healings were reported on the Allegheny campus. Injured athletes and others would come ask them for prayer. Lee began to organize the students into smaller gatherings led by students. Students from other campuses in the university-dense atmosphere of Western Pennsylvania began coming to Allegheny College to experience what God was doing and spread it elsewhere. The beginnings of a student church movement were happening.

When Lee tragically died a short time later, his testimony didn’t. It began spreading to universities all over the nation.

Heard it in the Prayer Room

The first time I heard of “student churches,” I was in a prayer room, desperate to hear from the Lord about where He was leading our family. I heard the words, “student church.” I saw a vision in my spirit of students leading small churches that multiplied and spread across campuses. I saw students and young people traveling from campus to campus, spreading the movement in the power of the Holy Spirit. Within a few months, I discovered God had been speaking the same vision to leaders across the world. This was God’s doing, not the idea or vision of men.

Spiritual Moms and Dads

As God is speaking to students, God simultaneously is stirring the hearts of spiritual moms and dads to support them. Where there are healthy, growing student churches, there are usually spiritual fathers and mothers that bless and serve those student leaders.

Many local church leaders have also come alongside what they see God doing among the youth. They started asking, “How can I train and send the youth of my church to start new churches among the unreached?” One SE Asian pastor recently said, “I don’t care about having a mega church anymore. I want to see a movement across my nation. I’m willing to take a risk and send out the youth to plant churches.”

Yea, God! Do this everywhere!

---

Student Church Characteristics

1. Student churches are actual expressions of church. They are not just Bible studies, campus meetings, small groups, or evangelistic outreaches. The students see their experience of following Jesus together with other students their primary experience of what it means to “be the church of Jesus.”

2. Student churches are led by students. The students lead the churches. Mentors serve a support role only.

3. Student churches practice interdependent leadership. They are not characterized by one charismatic personality or leader. Gatherings are not small versions of a conventional church meeting. They usually gather in a circle to interact with the scriptures, apply principles to their lives, and exhort each other to live out the teachings of Jesus. They listen for the Holy Spirit, worship, pray, and focus on reaching other students with the message of the gospel.

4. Student churches are motivated by a love for the nations. When you spend time with student church leaders, they talk about fulfilling the Great Commission. They dream about going to the nations after college, or helping to send their friends. The seeds start on campuses, but spread to the cities and the nations.

5. Student churches are fueled by prayer. The student churches are birthed, sustained, and multiplied through praying students.

From Campuses to Nations

A short time after God called us to serve the student church movement, God reminded me, “Erik, remember, it is not about campuses, it is about nations.”

This has become a guiding mantra for how we perceive what God is doing on the campuses. He’s sending youth to the campuses to reach the nations. What a great way to reach the world for Jesus — send thousands and thousands of youth to be church planters in the university systems across the world. Students live in the dorms. They take classes with the future leaders of the nations. When they leave, they’re equipped with experience in church planting. The church can multiply at every university in the world if we will send the youth to do it!

Prayer + Student Churches = Global Student Missions Movement

The prayer and student church planting movement is part of a divine blueprint for a global spiritual awakening among the youth of the world. Here is a glimpse of what God is doing:

• A graduate student baptizes five students and starts a student church with the new converts. 
• A student starts an international student church on his campus with visiting PhD scholars from SE Asian nations — all who previously had never read a Bible before.
• A student baptizes another first year student in a dorm shower. They soon begin sharing the good news of Jesus with Muslim students.
• Students are stopped by university administration from baptizing international students in a campus fountain – so they improvise and use buckets to baptize them.
• People are miraculously healed as students go out demonstrating power evangelism on their campus and city. 
• A mission agency working in the Middle and Near East strategizes that university students are the most receptive to the gospel. They start efforts to plant student churches on the college campus.
• A student at an American university leads three Asian students to Christ, baptizes them and starts a church on their campus. They travel that summer to a SE Asian nation and spread the gospel together to other students there.
• Students begin indigenous-led student churches on a Native American college campus — believing for a church planting movement to spread from the campus to the 500+ tribal nations scattered across North America (many which do not yet have an evangelical church among them).

Across the world, students are moving in a rhythm of prayer and mission unlike has been seen in decades. Are we at the beginning of a global youth awakening? We believe, “Yes!”

“God let your kingdom come on campuses and in the nations!”

---

Let’s pray in faith!

• Pray for the student churches to walk in love, power, and humility
• Pray that a student church planting movement will spread to every university in the world; that God would send forth laborers to these harvest fields. 
• Pray for spiritual fathers and mothers to love and serve the student churches. 
• Pray for a global youth movement to bring transformation to the marketplace and the influential spheres of society.
• Pray for a united effort among churches, youth ministries, and mission agencies to send a global tribe of student church planters to universities across the world. 
• Pray for an outpouring of the Holy Spirit among First Nations youth (indigenous people) across the world. They are hidden treasures God is raising up to be leaders and messengers in this next global youth awakening.
• Pray for a global youth awakening in every nation and the fulfillment of the Great Commission in this generation!

 

By Erik and Jen Fish
Student Church Movements
www.studentchurch.org

Student Account of Student CPx Austin

 

Serving a movement of student churches

 

A student movement is growing on college campuses around the world. Students in love with Jesus and inspired by His love are going as missionaries to their campus. They join with Jesus to seek and save the lost, and they endeavor to start simple churches on campus in every place there is darkness.  The vision is simple:

No student would leave university without experiencing the gospel, as it’s lived out in simple church communities all over each campus.

That every nation on earth would be reached with the gospel in this generation as an overflow of a worldwide student movement.

One way we serve  the movement is through Student CPx, a two-week training experience we host with a diverse team of student leaders and ministries.

The thoughts below are written by Lauren Nanson, a University of Texas student who hosted a Student CPx event in Austin, TX. She shares her feelings and experiences at SCPx as she prepares to reach her campus with the gospel this fall.

“I must say Student CPx Austin far surpassed my expectations. I always
hear people say, “If you’re vision seems possible to accomplish, than
you’re not dreaming big enough.” Real visions should be so extreme, so
ridiculous, so unlikely, that only God could do it. What happened at
SCPx was so extreme, so ridiculous, and so unlikely, that looking back
I know it was all God who did it. I’m like, God I couldn’t even dream
that up if I tried.

So this is how I measure fruit- not by how powerful the worship was,
not by a number count of how many people came to Christ, nor by how
many people came to the training…. real fruit = personal
transformation. And that’s exactly what we saw.

Short memories pass through my mind of moments that are hard to think
about without crying. The tears that came from a simple prayer
breaking off generational curses. The intense freedom and joy that
released God’s children into dancing as two students got baptized, not
as a ceremony like the first time, but as a celebration. Guys, yes
guys, weeping at the effects of the church coming together in genuine
care, relationship, and fellowship; the profound contrast between
being used in order to advance someone’s ministry… and being
loved… in order to be loved. I remember Jesus baptizing some
students in ways that we couldn’t… with the Holy Spirit and with
fire. And the grateful response to being healed… by the One whose
favorite activity is to heal every type of sickness and disease.
Students leaving with new outlooks on life, with testimonies bound to
be repeated, with a vision that chills the flesh, and a hunger that
cannot be satisfied. Three teams forming, one that will shake and
transform Joplin, Missouri, one that will fill TCU with God’s glory,
and one that will usher in the long-due revival at UT. And we will
never forget that night of prayer when we lingered in the presence of
Jesus together till our bodies demanded sleep. “His presence is life.
His absence is death.” We heard it from Brian, but we learned it from
experience.

I can’t handle the history [of this movement]. I just freak out. Two students named
Joshua and Caleb begin to pray and preach, longing for a move of God
they never saw with their eyes… but something was shifting the
spiritual realm. Simultaneously Lee Myers begins to bring the kingdom
of God to earth, walking in faith and healing the sick… before
disease attacks back and takes his life. God marks the students. And
then He calls forth fathers and mothers. They all begin to see the
vision that was in His eyes… all at the same time… and by destiny
they find each other and start the first Student CPx. One year later,
there are three Student CPx’s. And two of those who attended were the
firstfruits of the first SCPx.

The story continues.

The weave of divine appointments continues to tangle, and the tree that started as a tiny seed continues to grow, until soon all the birds of the air will find shelter there. Sam Lee said at the first SCPx, “If we were to witness the glory of God’s plan, we would die.” Just a glance into a fragment of it, and I’m feeling sick. All I can say is, prepare the way of the Lord.

There is nobody who can do what our Jesus just did. I can hear Kirk Franklin calling…”Can I get a witness in the house!”

(- Lauren)

 

Yes, Jesus, may your church grow on every campus to reach every city and nation in this generation!

Reach the world for Jesus!

Erik

Scooters, Megachurch, and CPM in Taiwan

 

At the oldest Confucian temple in Taiwan

 

 

I’m riding on the back of a scooter the wrong way down an alley, running red lights, and cutting in and out of congested traffic. Traffic lights are more like “traffic suggestions” here. This was part of my cultural experience in Taiwan. 

 

 

Dominating the streets of Taiwan with scooter studliness. Experiences like these help me be humble.

 

We just finished the first half of a Student CPx (Student Church Planting eXperience) training with 50 students. 

 

I’m sitting here flying over the Pacific thinking what a privilege it has been to work with these Asian students. They were the most faith-filled, passionate, ready to obey students I have ever had the privilege of working with. 

 

Students hit the streets with the Gospel in Tainan

 

The first day I taught on evangelism, we sent students out into the city to preach the gospel. When I said, “Go!” they practically shot out of the room, full of passion to go tell others about Jesus. What a strategic opportunity to train the future leaders of a nation that is 97% non-Christian!  I kept feeling the entire time that these students were the first domino that could spark a church planting movement in Taiwan. Several came back with stories of healings as they preached the gospel and prayed for the sick.

 

There are over 200 universities in Taiwan. I did not hear of a single campus ministry there working on campuses (I’m certain there are some good ministries working on campus, but I didn’t hear of any. The need is huge.)  

 

By the way, here’s a couple quick questions I just started pondering -

 

1) Why are there thousands and thousands of campus ministers working on U.S. campuses, yet the statistical percentage of Christians on American college campuses keeps decreasing? 

 

2) Why do we send so few church planters to work on foreign universities? We talk a lot about fulfilling the Great Commission to disciple every nation. How can we disciple every nation without bringing transformation to the university systems of those nations? This is why I love the student church movement – it treats college campuses like a mini, concentrated mission field where you can start small discipling communities (simple churches) which can reproduce on campus and beyond. 

 

OK, back to Taiwan. If every church building in the nation were full to capacity, I estimate they would hold less than 5% of the population. So we encouraged the church leadership to send out multiple student church planters to reach the universities and grow small, reproducible student churches. This last week, my friend Pam and I met with the church leadership to help them devise a strategy for sending out student church planters, mentoring the student leaders monthly, and continuing to grow a student church movement in the nation of Taiwan. 

 

This pastor told our team, 

 

“I don’t care about having a mega church. I want to see a church planting movement of small groups all over the nation, and we are ready to take a risk and send out students to do it.”

 

His words made me think of one of the tenets of our movement:

 

We believe “Anyone can plant a church” – from 18 year old students believing God to change their campus for Jesus, to experienced pastors willing to send out their youth to start simple church communities across their cities.  With spiritual fathers and mothers to love them and coach them, we believe God is using students mightily to grow movements of student churches.

 

It is an exciting time to be alive and move with Jesus to reach universities and the nations!

 

Erik