Time to Explain CPM

Jerry Rankin, the president of our International Mission Board, compared CPM (Church Planting Movement) to a loosing team during the last two minutes of a football game. Why loosing? Because the worldwide church growth rate has not kept up with the population growth rate. We are lagging behind. And, because we believe Christ’s return is fast approaching, time is precious.

So what does a loosing football team do at the two minute warning? They usually throw away their game plan and put in place a risk taking defense and a hurry-up offense. A new strategy is implemented with unconventional, out-of-the-box plays. The goal is to do whatever it takes to win!

So why has our traditional way of doing church not kept up? One major reason is because it is not easily reproducible. Imagine a missionary coming into a remote mountain village with plans to start a church. “OK,” he says, “you need to buy a piece of land and build a church building. Elect some deacons, formulate a Constitution and Bylaws, hire a pastor, train a choir, figure out a budget, and conduct business meetings according to Robert’s Rules of Order (who was Robert?).”

Needless to say, all of this is quite foreign to our foreign village. It’s the way we Westerners have learned to do church. But imagine that there was no missionary; that the only idea of church these villagers had was what the Bible said. What would their church look like? Well, let’s see…

One, there would be no church building. Early Christian churches gathered in homes (for example: Romans 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Philemon 1:2). Second, there would probably be no sermon. In New Testament times, preaching was proclaiming the gospel to the lost. But in their churches, indications are that they read the Scriptures and discussed their teachings among themselves – like a participatory Bible study. Thirdly, you wouldn’t have a full-time paid pastor. Church leaders were chosen for their character; their on-the-job training was practical, and they were always bi-vocational.

In short, church structure was simple, making it easily reproducible. Every house was a church, and every church was a training center. Rather than aiming to build one big church, each member was challenged to witness to their neighbors and friends who could then start churches in their own homes. And the Church grew rapidly.

CPM is returning to the church it’s basic priority of reaching the lost. Evangelism is the responsibility and joy of every member. Starting new house churches can become a goal for every Christian. Any Christian can plant a house church because it’s structure is simple. And it’s working. In the past ten years, we’ve seen tens of thousands of new churches planted in countries like Cambodia, Central America, Indonesia, and Thailand. We’ve seen hundreds of thousands planted in China and India.

Last week, several believers gathered on the beach under the shade of some palm trees. I watched as one of our house church leaders baptized eight new believers that he had witnessed to over a period of several weeks. They will form a new church. He will lead them through a few months of training using our CPM materials that will help each of them know how to start new churches. He will then leave them to the leadership of the Holy Spirit so he can go plant another church. The two minute warning has sounded. We are still behind. But with this new game plan, we’re catching up!