Advent Christians are Planting:
There's a Path Forward
Blog post by Adrian Dixon
Every movement begins with trailblazers and pioneers who believed in a cause, were willing to risk comfort and familiarity for something greater and, ultimately, were willing to risk failure as a possible outcome. In the early days of the Advent Christian church, pastors and leaders spread out over the United States and Canada planting churches. Somewhere along the way, we lost that passion for church planting but now we have a plan and vision for reclaiming it. For the first time in decades, we have a clear vision, a plan and dedicated resources.
Why church planting hasn't worked in the past
Every single church of which you and I have been a part began as a church plant. The early years of a church plant often bring a heightened sense of mission, excitement and willingness to risk. As years go by, it’s easy to settle into a rhythm and opt for what works or what feels safe and less risky. The same is true for denominations. As we have gotten further and further away from what organized us (the belief in the imminent return of Jesus), it’s been easy to find what works and stick with it. And if you have been part of the denomination for any extended period, you know that church planting hasn’t been working.
In prior years, we have lacked a unified vision and approach to church planting. We have largely attempted to plant churches with little understanding or investigation into the prospective planter’s gift set and often signed on to prospective planters because of their belief and excitement that they have been called to plant a church. Unfortunately, this has led to many, many church planting attempts that resulted in our denomination’s feeling that we’re unable to plant churches.
What's happening NOW
Our renewed focus on church planting began in May 2022. Since that time and for the first time, we have developed a defined set of pathways for prospective church planters, churches, conferences and regions to assist in the church planting process. We believe these pathways, along with our partnership with Converge, will position us to recognize called and gifted individuals who are being led to plant a church. You can see these pathways outlined on our new webpage.
Since our renewed focus on church planting, we have witnessed the launching of Refuge Church in Auburn, Massachusetts. We are currently working with the Western and Central regions on church planting opportunities and work is being done on a replant opportunity in Clayton, North Carolina. There are also ongoing conversations with specific conferences in the Eastern and Appalachian Regions about church planting. It does feel like there’s growing excitement about the prospect of seeing churches planted across our denomination.
We know church planting involves risks and taking steps of faith. As we begin to work the pathways and see individuals complete the church planting assessment, keep this department in your prayers. Many of us believe the Lord is working; I have no doubt this is because people have not given up on praying for a mighty move of God regarding church planting.