Church Planting by Wynn Derong

Church Planting
By Wynn Derong, Church-Planting Intern

Howdy all! Journeying with you all over the past six months has truly been an amazing time full of growth and transformation. I have learned so much and am truly thankful that the Lord has called me into your family. We know that the Lord is calling Oikos not to just be a church plant, but a church plant that plants churches. But what does that look like?

"The approach of the first Christians was strikingly different ... They learned it from Jesus. He had spent much quality time with three men: Peter, James and John. Beyond that had been the circle of the twelve, then of the seventy, then of the crowds. Jesus had concentrated on getting the center of his little band hot and well informed, and he moved out from there. And that is what the disciples did. They gave attention to their own unity and prayerfulness, obedience and expectancy. And they were able to move out from that hot center onto the streets with enormous effect." - Leading Kingdom Movements by Mike Breen

In Acts we see three red-hot centers: Jerusalem, Antioch and Ephesus. Each served as a center for sending missionaries. If we as an Oikos family believe that the Lord is calling us to be a red-hot center in this world, then we should expect Oikos to be a center for sending missional leaders. That's what I am here to learn and do. In the next six months, I'll be preparing to plant a new community. This will include a lot of prayer, obedience, thankfulness and listening to the Lord. This will also include starting the Specific Ministry Pastor program of Concordia Seminary (distance learning for pastoral leadership), while maintaining my waiting job at Boca2.

With Jesus, people were given access to a household on mission that was still small enough to get close to the fire of the red-hot center. Jesus invited people into his home to share a meal with him so they could gain access to his life. As disciples of Jesus, why would we not want to follow his example? By letting people access your family, you are letting people access Jesus.

As the Lord is moving Oikos to be a sending center of missional leaders, I ask you to join us and me in this journey:
Where do you see the Lord inviting you to pray with someone this week? What's keeping you from doing this?
Do you think that God is using you to invite someone into the red-hot center?
What's holding you back from joining one of our Missional Communities?
Where is God calling you into intimacy with him?