I Predict the Future (Or At Least Offer Some Encouragement About Where To Go)

The other day I was talking with another church planter here in Portland and the topic came up in which we both see a fairly major shift in church philosophy looming on the horizon.  For the past 20 years the goal of most evangelical congregations has been to get as big as they possibly can.  Many in my generation have this pervasive feeling that that mindset is evidence of the church buying in to the “bigger-is-better” attitudes of most of America.

The trend among 20-somethings in most places in America is a desire to be a part of smaller, more organic/natural, communities that emphasize simplicity over big production worship services.  When I was in Grand Rapids, I attend Mars Hill Bible Church several times.  Each time, attendance was drastically lower, resulting in an announcement the last time I was there that they would be ending 1 of their 3 services.  I suspect a number of mega-churches around the nation are experiencing similar struggles in keeping the current college and young-adult group around.  Much has been said about this.  Conversely, the house-church movement is growing and more small church plants are thriving and doing a better job of producing disciples than the big churches with their big budgets.

I have to admit that I frequently find myself wishing for a large congregation; day-dreaming about what it would be like to start a church and become the next Rob Bell or Francis Chan.  We have to admire these men who are able to pull together just the right mix of people who go out and take their communities by storm.  I have no doubts that God has worked through these men and that lives have been transformed by their preaching of the Gospel.

Filed under: Church, Church Planting, Discipleship, Leadership, Ministry

How To Plant a Church

I’ve had several conversations over the past few weeks in which I’ve been asked, How do you start a church? There are a lot of ideas about how to start a church with virtually every well-known church planter writing a book or two about the process they went through.  I’ve read enough of these books to know that nobody has the right answer.  The reason is that there’s no such thing as a single right and most effective way to plant churches.  Some church planters never intended to start a new church, it just happened; other have tried several different models in several different places but have repeatedly come up short.  Church planting requires a different strategy for different people in different places.

But in any case, it seems necessary to me to have at least the basic framework of a strategy/process in place within the first few months.  The first year of a church plant is vital to creating the DNA of a church.  Exactly like DNA in the biological sense, the DNA of a congregation determines everything about that congregation: what will it look like, how will it function, how will it deal with changes and trials, who will be a part of it, etc.  I’m inexperienced, but I suspect that most church plant attempts greatly underestimate the influence and importance of a church’s DNA.  So in planting a new church here in Portland, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about DNA and how best to proceed so that this future congregation will be set-up for success and effectively minister to the community.

Filed under: Church, Church Planting, Discipleship, Leadership, Ministry

lifeStream Church is…

This is our vision statement for lifeStream Church:

lifeStream Church is a gathering of messy people who creatively strive to love God, love others, and follow Jesus every day, in every possible way.

So far I’ve tried to make everything about lifeStream Church rooted in a solid theological, yet relevant, foundation.  That includes the name: lifeStream Church.  I’ve discussed the theological implications of the name in more general terms here, so I’ll skip right to walking through our vision statement.

First, we are a gathering.  I’m intentionally avoiding the term “community” because gathering has a more temporary nuance to it.  The point is, lifeStream Church is not intended to be a place where people come and spend hours per week at.  In fact, we’re hesitant to let lifeStream Church ever be a “place” to begin with.  lifeStream Church is about the people of Portland and their relationship with God.  We want to be a place where people come for a short period of time, and then disperse, going back and out into their communities.  The last thing we want is for people to replace the communities they’re already a part of with new ones created by the church.  Instead, as a church we will gather together once a week for fellowship, singing, prayer, sacraments, and studying God’s Word.  In this way, we are more effectively “salt and light.”

Second, we are messy.  We are imperfect people who need a savior.  We don’t expect people to have everything together before they come.  Anyone and everyone is welcome just as they are , any time, anywhere.  Recognizing our brokenness helps us to appreciate God’s grace all the better.  We are all growing and striving to learn what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

Third, we do what we do creatively.  God created all people with their own unique set of gifts, skills, and abilities.  Worshipping and serving God looks different for different people.  As long as it’s not prohibited in Scripture, we want people to do the next three things in a way that uses those gifts to their full extent.

Fourth, the three things we creatively strive to do are:

1. Love God
2. Love Others
3. Follow Jesus

We get this list from two key passages: Jesus’ summary of the Law (Matthew 22:34-39), and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).  When it comes to how we are supposed to live, this seems like the most concise description we can come up with.

• By “love God” we mean that service and devotion to him is our top priority.  Everything we do, we want it to give glory to God and to point others to him as the reason we’re doing what we’re doing.
• By “love others” we’re saying that all people are worthy of love and respect.  We believe that all people are created in God’s image and should be treated accordingly.  It doesn’t matter if they share our individual political opinions, religious beliefs, or if we even like them.  Jesus doesn’t give any conditions or exclude anyone.  When we say “all people” we mean all people.
• By “follow Jesus” we are referring to what is usually called “discipleship.”  This is what distinguishes us from every other world religion.  Everything we do, we do because that’s the model/example Jesus left for us.  We seek to imitate Jesus in everything from our actions and interactions to our spiritual beliefs.

Finally, we don’t do these things for only an hour or two, one day a week.  We want to do these things every day in every possible way.  We see our faith as far more than just a set of beliefs; it’s a lifestyle.  And we believe that this lifestyle is the best kind of lifestyle a person could possibly live.  Therefore, this vision statement guides everything we do from our personal lives to what happens during our weekly gatherings to the way we structure lifeStream Church.

Our vision statement is intended to emphasize simplicity.  As an institution, lifeStream Church will create as few programs as possible.  We don’t want to create something that will be competing with another organization.  Instead, we believe that the best way to be followers of Jesus is to get involved with the numerous organizations and services that already exist within our community.  If there is an additional need, then we will develop something to meet that need.  We believe that the heart of Portland can be more effectively transformed when we spread out and work to apply the gospel where ever God has already placed us for his purposes (ya, we’re Calvinists ).

If you would like more information or would like to subscribe to our monthly newsletter, you can send me an email at jason.devries[at]att.net.

Filed under: Church Planting, Ministry

Should Churches Really Try to Create Community?

Yes, I’m being antagonistic.  And yes, I want lots of people to read this post and think hard about this question.

As a church planter, I’m constantly thinking about and mulling ways to apply God’s Word.  Specifically, with LifeSTREAM Church we adopted an three-fold desire to “Love God, love others, follow Jesus.”  And even though we haven’t gotten ourselves to the point of actually holding a church service, I have been especially pre-occupied with the question of what will our church look like.

At this point, the identity statement of LifeSTREAM Church states that we are “a gathering of messy people who strive to creatively love God, love others, and follow Jesus every day in every way possible.”  There are a few words that were intentionally selected that most people would probably skim right over the top of.  Perhaps the most important of these words is “gathering.”

We’re using “gathering” over “community” for the simple reason that we’re not sure churches really should be in the business of creating community.  I will admit that in certain areas the church may be in the best position to create a sense of community within a particular context, but at least in the neighborhood where we work, play and live community is hardly lacking.

Community has become a bit of a catch-phrase within the North American church.  By my estimate, it came into common parlance first within the emergent church and their emphasis on “authentic community.”  Non-emergents rightly challenged what was meant by “authentic” and “community.”  But over time, even the more general evangelical congregations began to adopt community as a primary value.  Again, in certain places community may be a legitimate need, but I’d be willing to bet that it’s not nearly as immediate a need as many congregations believe it is.

Filed under: Christian Living, Christianity, Church, Church Planting, Culture, Discipleship, Evangelism, Leadership, Ministry

Most Important Post I’ve Ever Written

Long-time readers of this blog should be familiar with the events of my life over the past several months.  I graduated from Calvin Seminary this past May with a Master of Divinity in pursuit of a call to plant a church in Portland, OR.  Portland is a city in desperate need of healthy, thriving faith communities and gatherings.  This call that Mishaela and I each sense, has been affirmed/confirmed by a variety of sources ranging from personal experiences to trusted advisors to denominational officials.

This past Feburary I attended a church planting Assessment Center for the Christian Reformed Church of North America (CRC).  Mishaela and I were challenged and encouraged as we were confronted with the realities of church planting.  But in the end, we were affirmed and recommended for starting a new faith gathering in Portland.  For that we praise God!

Around that same time, the CRC asked me to complete a Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program as further preparation for ordained ministry.  In the CRC, I cannot be recognized nor receive official denominational support until I have been ordained.  Because of the timing of this request, I found myself in a difficult position: all Portland-area CPE programs are filled for the next year to year and a half, I’m either over- or under-qualified for anything outside of ministry and the job market is extremely grim in Portland, and I cannot be paid through official means until ordination.  The result is that I find myself in an odd limbo in which all I can do is sit and wait.

However, despite my lack of official status, regional representatives for the CRC have encouraged me to begin “laying the groundwork” for this new church plant.  As it stands, the amount of time I can devote to this calling is extremely limited since my attention is having to be split between “church planting,” job search/work, and CPE.  Therefore, I have decided to begin some minor fundraising as a means of supplementing the work I am doing and allowing me to focus more intently on my call.

Today I have launched a new blog.  PJ’s Story is an online autobiography of the life of a Portland church planter.  The purpose of PJ’s Story is to give people an inside look into the struggles and successes of church planting, a world that most people know very little about.  However, PJ’s Story is not your typical newsletter-type blog; PJ’s Story reads much like a book.  To read it’s posts gives you a sense of picking up a good book written from first person perspective.

When you visit PJ’s Story, you’ll have the opportunity to make a donation.  You can donate as much or as little as you like.  I ask that you consider donating just $1 per month as a show of support for the ministry taking place in Portland.  Of course you’re welcome to donate more if you feel led.

I also ask that show your support by subscribing either to PJ’s Story, The Follower, or both, and to pass the word on to all your friends.  In the world of church planting, the more support, encouragement, and “buzz” the better.  But most importantly, I encourage you to add Mishaela and I to your prayer list as we strive to further God’s Kingdom in Portland.

For more specifics regarding the vision God has placed on our hearts, take a look at the [missio] page on either The Follower, or at PJ’s Story.  If you have any questions or would like more information, feel free to contact me at (503) 781-7347 or email at jason.devries@att.net.

Thank-you, and God bless!

Jason & Mishaela De Vries

Filed under: Church Planting, Ministry