An Iowa farm kid…sent to the city?...sent to the CityChurch/BILD?...are you serious?

My Timeline

0-16 years1.Father was mentor from beginning – I knew stability of family2.Church conflict was constant. Leaders were never united. Church was stale and felt “very closed”. Church family was unstable.3.Key message - Work hard, follow the laws of the land and the Bible. Your life will be blessed

Why couldn’t church-time be more like the time ‘after church’?

17-22 years1.Really disliked my early days of college. It was a very structure environment with many “fake” people which made me crazy. I didn’t like ‘churchy” people. So I yelled at them and then quit.2.Nunc Dimitis was etched in my mind3.Key Passage - He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.

22-Present

1.Received first paid-job with no resume’. 12 years later helped build a worldwide dealer network.2.Elder in large DSM church. Church struggled being a family, no plan for establishing people or leaders. 3.I found out my leadership abilities.

Started Antioch school. Desire grew to start churches that organized like a family. Impacting the world.

Clearer restated questions emerged again.

Could the world know the gospel through the church?

Many have created a specific purpose to live for, subordinating all of life to a specific cause, such as the cure for AIDS, animal rights, or protecting the environment. World peace, relief and development, and human rights are among the most engaging global purposes…Yet the problem with all of these purposes is that they are not big enough to encompass the “whole” of a person’s life.

From Participating in the Mission of the Church

Quote from our South African partner:•…feeding 2000 children daily and treating HIV…This however, only addresses the after effects of a pre-existing fallible lifestyle, and the Lord has revealed in our hearts that to truly address the social degradation we have to turn back to Him. And the only effective way to do this is through the church. Hence, the spirit of God has led us to establish a church by partnering with BILD International which will change society from the core of the person to the community at large.

As Christians, we are given the ultimate purpose, the ultimate mission – fulfilling the mission of Jesus Christ. Christ is building His kingdom for all of eternity. It is our job to help make disciples of Jesus Christ throughout the world…the heart of that plan is carried out through a community of purpose, the church.

From Participating in the Mission of the Church

Convergence – many of the key items in my life began to have clear purpose

– Why couldn’t church-time be more like the time ‘after church’?– Nunc Dimitis was etched in my mind– He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion.– Elder in large DSM church. – Leader in paidwork, building a network– Church struggled being a family, no plan for establishing. I found

out my leadership abilities.– Could the world know the gospel through the church?

The people of Des Moines are seeking purpose. Their purpose is found through belonging to a community that functions as a family. This is the church. This is the Biblical model. It will change Ames, Des Moines and the world.

The Western, individual, Sunday morning, pastor driven model does not build strong relationships and will not last for generations. It can gather people, but it is not sustainable for generations. We do not want to build perpetual orphanages with a few leaders with no expansion.

We want to build strong church families that will impact their communities and last for generations.

Central hub for Iowa as approximately 780,000, 24% of the state's population live within sixty minutes.

If you going to impact Iowa, you will need to impact Des Moines.

Vision for Des Moines:To see thousands of churches gathering as families, celebrating their new life in Christ, living a renewed life, being productive members of their communities, being established in the faith, reflecting the image of Christ, reaching every city, neighborhood, and district in Des Moines.

Is this vision large enough for what God is actually going to do in Des Moines?

The Western, individual, Sunday morning, pastor driven model does not build strong relationships and will not last for generations. It can gather people, but it is not sustainable for generations. We do not want to build perpetual orphanages with a few leaders with no expansion.

Yet, some of these churches in Des Moines will be partners in moving leaders into the expansion in Des Moines.

Jaysson – young guy wanting to plant churches in DSM. Currently Associate Pastor in Earlham. Met him while in South Africa.

“I started planting a church 2 years ago but we were not sure how to go about it. I think we need a network to be part of our work here.”

Scott – wayward life for many years. Known him for a couple of years, he has now joined an Antioch School. He has oversight of “The Life Center” in East Village– If we are going to reach DSM, we must reach

downtown area

Gus – Hope Lutheran - 20,000 person church in Des Moines. Gus is CEO of Transformation and Chief Ministry Officer (former Director at US Cellular)

“We want to partner with someone that will equip us to train leaders for/in our church.”

Barry – Johnston church – 1200 – Director of Missions

“Is it possible to train my leaders and earn a degree at the same time? I have a couple young guys that hang out with my son that all desire this type of training, but I think they really want a degree. Plus our church wants to put more trained missionaries in the field.”

Barron – Pastor – previous missionary in Brazil – Altoona

I am interested in BILD as we have young bi-vocational pastor type men who are in need of a structured development plan within their church with the intention of starting many new small churches.

Jon – Radiant Church – Pleasant Hill - PastorJon learned about us initially through Christianity Today. Jon remains very interested. He likes the idea of church-based theological education and resonates with the idea of building it into the DNA of a church plant from the beginning.

Lutheran Church of the Cross – Altoona – 700

Hopefully they will begin another Antioch School cohort.

“no matter what happens we want to be part of the expansion in Des Moines”

LCMC – 600+ member denomination of churches, led by our former Antioch school leader, Mark.

Steve has negotiated to get Antioch School as an official school that LCMC can/will recommend.

Motiv

Expect the students that will emerge from these Antioch School programs to desire to plant churches.

They will be asking similar questions to James and I.

We know what we don’t want do, but how do we do what we feel called to do…how do you actually plant churches?

As the students embrace the material, they will come to the realization that the New Testament church model can change their communities. They will emerge with two main questions:

1.How do you get a NT church in today’s world?2.Is there anyone actually doing church according to the NT?

Are our churches prepared to model a first century church?

Do we each understand our unique giftedness, in preparation to assist in the expansion?

What is occurring in 2012•DSM leaders united and established•Establishment strategies for each of the two churches in place. Everyone understanding their unique giftedness, being a productive member of the body•DSM cluster gatherings to encourage each other and Seek the Welfare of City Initiatives

Des Moines Cluster Gathering Tonight

5pm at East Village in downtown DSM1.Building a network that will last for generations2.What does it mean to be the CityChurch in DSM3.Everyone needed for expansion

Think through what you think God is doing through the expansion in Des Moines. •What is your reaction to this understanding? Do we really believe that the gospel, through the church family, can change our city?•What does this mean for yourself, your church family, your immediate family? How will you participate in this work?•How you uniquely gifted? Do you have a sense of the purpose for which you were created? How are you going to better understand your purpose?•What is unique about our current churches? How are our church families going to reach this city?

Des Moines is a significant city.

God is doing significant things in DSM.

Am I going to be part of what God is doing? How can I place myself and family to be part of this significance?