Pioneer, Plow, Plant, Produce

July 2021

I have been feeling the nudging of the Holy Spirit to pioneer, plow, plant, and produce through community in this season as we duplicate and reproduce what God is doing in the body of Christ. Churches, big and small, have implemented different methods for cultivating relationships among believers, evangelizing to the lost and broken, and helping the widows and orphans in various ways according to the Great Commission. Over time, some may have been top heavy in one area or another and therefore may have lacked relational community. In other areas, some may have left gaps in the discipleship and counseling of the believers. One area I feel has been greatly overlooked is the need to multiply. There is a great need in the body of Christ to duplicate by splitting and conquering as the church multiplies to further the Kingdom of God. I, as many others in the body of Christ, need to repent for not seeking to replicate and reproduce community sooner.

The Lord has put an urgency and hunger inside me to highlight the subject of pioneering new land for the purpose of plowing and planting to bring in a greater harvest. I cannot stress enough the need of allowing the Holy Spirit to be our guide in this process. It is time to not only produce a good harvest, but reproduce through like-minded communities in this season.

Galatians 6:9 says that, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

The Lord wants to heal and restore areas where people have been wounded in the past through community. It’s time to once again emerge from hiding and come out from behind the shadows. It’s time to build and cultivate community to strengthen relationships within the body of Christ. I encourage you to start that home group, join that church Bible study, invite that family over for a game night, meet people in the park for prayer and worship, or create a Zoom group to dive deeper into the Word of God together. Whatever the Lord is nudging you to do, I encourage you to pioneer the way by plowing and planting with like-minded people to produce and cultivate a community that will grow and reproduce for the glory of God.

PIONEERING, PLOWING, AND PLANTING

Not only do we need to pioneer uncharted territory in this season, but we need to do the work and plow the field to make it ready for planting. Our focus should not only be within the local church but about seeking a much deeper insight into the Father’s heart and desire for global growth and expansion of His Kingdom for His glory—for community. James H. Feeney explains that we need to be, “Witnessing Christians, sowing the precious seed of the Word of God, facilitating the conversation of additional souls to Christ. By the same token, churches reproduce churches!” He explained the need of the “Great Commission” spoken about in Matthew 28:18-20, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Oftentimes, churches can become top-heavy with an internal focus and not look beyond their four walls out into their cities, states, nations, and throughout all the world. Mark 16:15, Also explains that we, as Christ followers, are to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel news to all creation.” Throughout the Bible, God made His heart very clear for the body of Christ to multiply and spread throughout the whole earth.

The church was never meant to only be in the four walls of a building, but to be spread like seeds throughout all the nations to grow and reap a massive Kingdom harvest. Luke 10:2 says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.” Since the harvesters are few, it’s time for a great awakening in the body of Christ with the awareness of a greater purpose that extends beyond a building and into the world. Mendell Taylor noted that, “Evangelism is the church’s primary task, as it is a fulfillment of the Great Commission. It presupposes the lostness of men, their universal salvability in Christ, and the faithfulness of the Holy Spirit in working through witnessing and preaching to bring awakening and conversation.” In the past, many Protestant reformers mistakenly understood the Great Commission to only address Jesus to His apostles. Some thought that the Great Commission had already been completed. Therefore, they did not see the importance of going out, reaching the world for Christ, and became internally minded in the church. We have obviously since realized that the commission is very much a contemporary mandate for the church.

As the church of today turns their focus outward to the lost and broken, then and only then can the Great Commission be fulfilled in the earth. We must have an awareness of the multitude of hurting and lost souls that compels us to press forward in evangelism. As we reach outside the four walls of the comfort of our church to evangelize to the hurting, church growth happens as a result. Therefore, evangelism and church planting by reproducing community go hand-in-hand. We should not neglect one over the other. Evangelism brings in the lost and a church community gives them a place to heal, learn, grow, and be discipled. Christ followers need to win the lost, but also disciple them to produce a great harvest for the Lord. As we build His Kingdom with a fierce army of discipled warriors, we begin to see the great need to plant churches as a vital necessity in the discipleship of new believers both young and old. Christians are called to reproduce and that includes more than just the ‘new birth’ of which Jesus spoke about in John 3:3-7. Christians must not only lead lost souls to Christ, but nurture them in the faith and disciple them along their journey to healing, wholeness, and maturity. Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:20 that “We are Christ’s ambassadors” and therefore we must reproduce by preaching, teaching, training, cultivating a ministry of reconciliation, and following up with duplicated ministries as unto God and for Him. Not splitting churches in half, but reproducing to reach the multitude through like-minded communities and Kingdom connections.

REPENTING, REPLICATING, PRODUCING, AND REPRODUCING

As a whole, the church of the past has not made a huge dent on fulfilling the Great Commission, reproducing, replicating, and ministering out of reconciliation in the body of Christ. Therefore, there is a great need for repentance for not obeying the Word of God to plant churches (in homes, buildings, parks, tents, etc.) to create safe communities for the growth of the saints of God. I hope to stir up a hunger in you to reproduce and replicate in a timely manner as to not only save the lost, but train them to be disciples of Christ––the duplication process. McGavran and Arn identify this reproductive process that includes both salvation and discipleship as the church body's basic calling, “It is definitely the purpose of God that His church become an instrument of salvation and discipling for the entire world. We must give light and hope. Let the church be all that it was created capable of becoming. This calls for reproduction, part of the church's basic function.” Because many churches have overlooked the most basic function of reproduction, we must ask for forgiveness and turn back to the Father’s heart to see a shift in the multiplication of the body of Christ. There are many reasons for the failure to multiply in past seasons, but Dr. Ebbie Smith points out that, “Effective church growth depends on vision for growth.” Many past pioneers have either been ill prepared to plow and plant to produce or had a lack of vision for expansion. William Tinsley has stressed the urgency for skilled, effective leaders to rise with clear goals so they know where the Lord is taking them and the risk that comes with not following in obedience. Dr. Elmer Towns gives seven main reasons for failure in attempting to pioneer, plant, and produce a great harvest. He states that, “Lack of financing, lack of biblical training, lack of character, lack of strategy, lack of purity, lack of spiritual maturity, and lack of understanding of ecclesiology” are of the highest potential for failure. We can learn from others' failures as we look toward the future with hope as to not repeat the same mistakes moving forward.

HUNGER FOR HARVEST

Many have an overwhelming hunger for the great end-time harvest, but are not sure where to start. James H. Feeney explains that, “Most evangelical churches are active in soul winning. Relatively few have ever dreamed of actually planting a new church as a viable method of soul winning. Yet as we trace the evangelisitc activities of the apostles in the book of Acts, we see churches sprouting up wherever there was any significant success in evangelism.” As we look to the Word of God we clearly see the need to plant in order to bring in a greater harvest. One without the other will not produce the best fruit. The need to cultivate relationships and grow a community of believers through church planting is vital in the reaching of all nations, every sphere of life, and in all types of people groups. Acts 1:8 explains the need to reach the ends of the earth by stating, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” As the Holy Spirit moves, it moves us into action. When a great wave of the Spirit falls, as explained in Acts, church planting follows as the natural progression of God’s Kingdom through duplication. Where the Spirit of the Lord lands, reproduction automatically happens if the Holy Spirit is allowed to flow the way His heart desires. John 4:35 says,“The fields are indeed ripe for harvest.” Therefore, the process of duplication is the process of the Great Commission which brings forth the process of a great harvest for the Kingdom.

PLANTING WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDING

George W. Peters asserts that the book of Acts does not seem to show apostles going forth with a conscious, preplanned strategy of “church planting.” Rather, he believes they went forth in obedience to Christ’s mandate to preach the gospel and to make disciples and churches were inevitably born. Thus, the correlation between preaching the gospel, church planting, nurturing, and growth is clearly established. The book of Acts is a clear picture of God’s desire to pour out His Spirit on His people to give them power to reproduce and replicate as they impart His Spirit and gospel into others. You can track great moves of God over the years with the correlation of duplication through church growth and expansion into other regions beyond the location in which the Spirit first broke out. Therefore, a true move of God will always make us want to give away what the Lord is pouring out and duplicate instead of hoarding and only keep the great move of God within the walls of our own churches. Church expansion, growth, and reproduction is the aftermath of God’s presence and should be a sign He is present and moving as the ones He has called obey His voice to multiply––giving away what they have been given.

Roy Thomas makes a strong appeal to new local churches in the United States of America. He correctly notes that to have a strong missionary outreach around the world, we need a strong base of solid local churches at home. Throughout the book of Acts, we see the importance of local and worldwide growth as Christians reproduce after their own kind. It’s time for tribes of like-minded, Godly believers to join, spread the gospel first in their local area, and then multiply into other regions—ultimately throughout the whole world to spread the good news of the love of God.

James H. Feeney explains that, “There is still a vast number of the population, even in America, that is totally separated from the truth of the gospel, and an even larger number who are familiar with it but do not have a dynamic experience with Jesus Christ in their lives.” Church planters face the fact that many lives are yet untouched by the amazing, transforming love of Jesus and therefore must continue to plow forward and plant to reach the lost and broken. Feeney further notes that, “We will not reach the lost of the United States only by the expansion of existing churches. That strategy has been tried, and those millions are still lost. We need to return to the biblical pattern of both expanding existing churches and establishing new ones in larger numbers.” He states that church planting is not only biblical, but practical and it works. Church planting and evangelism should never be seen as separate pieces of a pie, but as a whole. Church duplication, in its proper order, is evangelistic effectiveness at work. Research shows that newer, smaller churches tend to evangelize more effectively than older, more established or larger churches therefore making church planting and reproduction that much more effective. As churches plant, they grow because of the greater emphasis on outreach to their community and evangelism of the gospel. William Tinsley explains that churches reach their potential for growth within the first five years of existence. The first five years then become a vital time in a church’s growth and proves the need for outreach and planting to go hand-in-hand. Feeney also explains, “When churches fail to reproduce themselves, growth reaches a plateau. Or even worse, the failure to reproduce can lead to serious decline.” Church planting is inseparable from the Great Commission. The smaller church combination method, with proper leadership teams in place, tends to evangelize more and also proves that resources a larger church provides is not necessarily needed in growing and multiplying the body of Christ. It’s the power of the Holy Spirit that is needed above the financial security a larger church or group may be able to provide. It boils down to creating teams that go out into all the world to create and cultivate community and relationships in God's love instead of worrying about finances, flashy big buildings, or prominent leaders.

The book of Acts church grasped the revelation that it was about His presence more than anything. They had a deep desire to share God's love with the world. New churches, like the book of Acts church, are not primarily focused on the members of a church, but on souls. New churches have people coming together, not for the popular programs or large resources, but based out of a love for the Lord, a commission to the call, and to establish relationships. Just like in Acts, their end goal and intent is salvation and an in-filling of the Holy Spirit to encounter God and change lives forever. The book of Acts church was not focused on building a name or personal agenda, but on the method of God’s eternal Kingdom by creating an atmosphere for the Holy Spirit to dwell.

No matter what methodology is chosen by the leadership to plant and grow, whether it's the mother-daughter model, the mission Sunday school model, the Bible study group model, through the local association, through church splits, the pioneer church planter model, outpost preaching points, a second congregation in the same building, a church of another language in the same building, the satellite congregation model, or the spontaneous church model, the method must never supersede the Holy Spirit. No matter what model is followed, the Holy Spirit’s Guidance must always be superior to any other plan. The Lord has called the body of Christ to plant in unity and as a whole team working together with one vision and purpose—to bring glory to His name. Pastor Iberian says that, “When you have men with different ministries and roles working together, you have a complete ministry. The team concept model facilitates growth, provides the greatest potential, and enables the leadership to handle pressure better.” Apostolic planting teams are God’s model for the end times. A one-man show is no longer going to cross over into the new end-time model. In Luke 8:1-3, we can see records of the very first apostolic company arising. Derek Prince saw the need for apostolic church-planting ministry to arise in which an apostle enters an area, lays a foundation, raises up local churches with local leaders, and then moves on to repeat the process elsewhere. Author Larry Tomczak has explained that, “Apostolic teams (or an apostolic company) are ‘sent ones’ to carry out God’s endtime model and include proven faithful believers sent forth from an existing fellowship, in the timing of God, to assist in the emergence of others fellowships.” Communities reproducing are God’s end-time models and we would be wise to put these practices into place in our own lives and communities. Tomczak also said, “United action increases effectiveness.” With the help of the Holy Spirit, we will be empowered to pioneer, plow, plant, and produce in this season as we multiply within the body of Christ and work together in unity with like-minded believers of the five-fold ministry. As churches plant and grow, it is important to implement a solid foundation of unified teams that provide solid biblical training and Christian counseling to facilitate discipleship and growth.

It is important that as we feel the pull to pioneer, plant, and build that we get prepared, study to show ourselves approved (2 Timothy 2:15), and stay in the timeline of God through complete obedience. It’s one thing to build and it’s another to disciple and spiritually grow a community of believers. I have learned through my many years in ministry that evangelism and church planting are one in the same, but building and cultivating a relationship based on discipleship and growth are not. Anyone can build a building, but it is vital to build where the Holy Spirit remains so He can cultivate an atmosphere where discipleship flourishes and unity grows––a field of ripe harvest.

Many end-time model churches are arising in this season. It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that they are being planted and through the Holy Spirit that lives will continually transformed within these communities. Roman 8:14 tells us that, “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Holy Spirit led teaching and vocational counseling are what will strengthen and grow what is being built right now. It is what will take these buildings from four walls and turn them into training centers. Proverbs 15:22 declares that, “Without counsel, purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counselors they are established.” James H. Feeney explains that churches need to become a safe place for people to learn and heal as they chase the heartbeat of God, step into their God given identity, and build and plant what God is birthing in them. He says that, “Godly and sincere men, aware of a call of God in their lives, but without wise counsel, very often miss the actual direction of the Lord and go off in wrong directions.” He also explained that, “Counseling pastors must be careful to discern when a man or woman is reasonably ready to enter his or her calling, and not restrain them beyond that point of God-appointed timing.” Church buildings need to offer wise counsel, a safe place to heal, and become training centers instead of hyped social clubs filled with glory seekers––people not looking for growth and maturity, but only seeking a feel-good experience that enables them to remain stagnant in their walk with the Lord.

As churches, through wise counsel, help believers find where the grace of God has enabled them to have ease in their life and begin to train them to flow in their giftings, they become launching pads instead of spiritual vacuums, quick sand traps, or spinning merry-go-rounds. We must identify the importance of planting, discipleship through wise counsel and training, and the necessity to send out trained leaders to replicate the process.

Dick Benjamin is a man who has experience in counseling hundreds of men preparing for ministry. Through his experience, he illustrates the necessity of church leaders providing in-depth counsel to those seeking the Lord’s will for their lives as not to let them flounder about without proper spiritual oversight in that crucial quest. To grow a healthy body of believers, ministers and church planters need to be aware that building is just the first step in the duplication process. Wise, Holy Spirit led counsel and training is what propels the body of believers into their God-given destiny and therefore expands the multiplication process to touch many beyond what they can reach on their own. It is about leaders raising up leaders, church planters planting church planters, vocational counselors counseling the next generation of counselors, and so forth.

All churches, no matter the size or location, need to implement God’s methods for building, cultivating relationships among the body of believers within their care, evangelizing in their communities as well to all nations, and ministering to the lost and broken according to the Great Commission. As evangelism flows in the body of Christ, discipleship of the believers should follow as the reproduction of God’s Kingdom expands into every region of the world and in all group types. The Holy Spirit showed me the need for the body of Christ to awaken to the importance of reproducing in this season––splitting, conquering, and expanding to further the Kingdom of God. This revelation caused me to evaluate myself, repent, and gave me a hunger for more of God’s Spirit that enables us to bring in a greater, more plentiful harvest for Him. He showed me that the body of Christ will grow as each member does it’s part to function as a whole in unity and through community. I encourage you to pioneer, plow, plant, and produce in this season as we reproduce God’s end-time model in the body of Christ in order to gather a plentiful harvest of souls.

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SUPPORT TEAM

GROUP LESSON NOTES

GROUP ACTIVITY

“Building Community”

DIRECTIONS:

(This activity can be done online or in-person)

ITEMS NEEDED:

- Graham crackers and icing

(Alternative Option: Pieces of cardboard and tape)

IN-PERSON – Give each person a whole graham cracker

ONLINE – Each person will need their own items or the Team Leader can demonstrate for the group.

GROUP DISCUSSION:

As we examine our crackers, we can see that the whole cracker can be divided into smaller pieces (demonstrate by breaking one apart).

We each are like the whole cracker. We are a whole person, but inside each of us we have many gifts, talents, and callings that can be represented as the smaller pieces within the whole cracker. We each can use our individual smaller pieces to build our own houses, but if we will join together as a group, then we can build a much larger and stronger house in unity.

When we take two or more whole crackers and lean them on one another, they stabilize and hold each other up (demonstrate with two or more crackers). The whole pieces come together to create a stronger, more stable house that can hold more weight and withstand greater pressure than the smaller pieces can alone. If we use icing to connect the whole pieces, the house becomes more likely to remain strong. Jesus is like the icing (hold up and show the icing). He is the glue that bonds us all together and takes the smaller separate pieces and seals them up as one whole house.

IN-PERSON:

We are now going to create a plan on how to best build a house using all of the group’s crackers. We must work together as a team and use a lot of icing as the “Glue” that holds our house together. Begin building by using all the crackers.

ONLINE:

The group leader will demonstrate building the house by using one cracker for each person in the online group. The online leader will allow the group to discuss and create a building plan as a team and follow the directions and ideas of the participants. Be sure to use a lot of icing as the “Glue” that holds our house together.

RECAP

Just like we worked together as a team to build a house out of graham crackers, so we can come together and build a community founded on the Word of God, Kingdom connections, and divine alignments. As we allow Jesus to be the glue that holds us together, we can function as a whole body. As we commune with God and others, we are then able to pioneer, plow, plant, and produce more effectively in this season.

GROUP QUESTIONS

1. Did you find it difficult to work together as a team in order to build the graham cracker “Building Community” house? If so, why do you feel it was difficult and how can you improve?

2. In what areas do you feel the body of Christ is lacking in relational community, discipleship and the counseling of the believers? Why do you feel those areas are lacking?

3. Have you personally been wounded through Christian community in the past?

- What happened?

- How did you feel?

- What was the hardest part for you?

- How did you cope with it?

4. What practical ways can you personally fill in the gaps where there may be a lack in Christian community among believers?

5. How can we build and cultivate a strong community to strengthen relationships within the body of Christ and throughout the world?

6. In what ways are you/would you like to personally fulfill the Great Commission in the earth today?

7. What is one thing that you would like to take away from this lesson and how can you apply it to your life?

GROUP BIBLE STUDY

READ THE SCRIPTURES BELOW

Matthew 18:20, “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”

Matthew 28:18-20, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

John 4:35, “The fields are indeed ripe for harvest.”

Luke 10:2, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.”

Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

2 Corinthians 5:20, “We are Christ’s ambassadors.”

Roman 8:14, “Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

Proverbs 15:22, “Without counsel, purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counselors they are established.”

ACTIVATION DISCUSSION

• How can we as a group pioneer, plow, plant, and produce in this season to reproduce God’s end-time model in the body of Christ in order to gather a plentiful harvest of souls?

• What can we do as a group to further the Great Commission in our local community?

• How can we personally grow through community as we each do our part to function as a whole in unity?

• What are some practical ways we can live a life pleasing to the Lord and sustain His presence over time?

• How can we walk in greater levels of purity, Godly character, and integrity in our everyday lives?

PERSONAL SELF-STUDY

Read: John 3:3-7, Luke 8:1-3, 2 Timothy 2:15

GROUP PRAYER POINTS

ITEMS NEEDED:

- Communion elements

- Paper and pen

• Write down the prayer requests of those in the group on a piece of paper (or slide/document if the group is held online). Pray over the list in agreement, believing that God will do the impossible and meet every single need and desire. Your group may want to add to the list each week.

• Pray for and forgive any leaders, groups, or communities who may have wounded you in the past, lay them at the feet of Jesus, and ask the Lord to heal those wounded areas in your life.

• Take a few moments to worship and focus on Jesus as you evaluate yourself, repent where needed, and ask the Lord to show you His heart concerning the need to further the Great Commission and produce community for His glory.

(Play some soft worship music)

• Take communion together as a group

Pioneer, Plow, Plant, Produce Printable Support Group Notes.pdf

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