Only well-planned, healthy babies wanted..?

It's a beautiful thing when a healthy young couple plans carefully, saves money, and prepares well for a wonderful new child. Baby things are gathered, the financial cost is counted and prepared for, and the extended family is carefully informed.

But for whatever reason(s), babies don't often come that way. Some come unplanned, even to the c couple who plans carefully. Some come when many things are not right and maybe even the parents did not prepare even a healthy parental relationship (marriage) for the new child to be born into.

But however they come, all children are a heritage of the Lord, and a blessing. As believers we celebrate the little life and rejoice that God sent them into the world to care for it and make it better, as Genesis tells us we were created to do. As we know from simple life experience that many who were "unplanned" by the parents, are nevertheless huge blessing to their world!

Maybe churches are like that too. Some are well-planned, beautifully orchestrated, and well put together. Baby things are gathered, and finances are well prepared. The extended family is carefully informed and everyone is happy about the birth. Right?

But then there are those churches that came about the wrong way. Not so well planned, without enough finances and a shock to many people around them.

Yet God uses them.

Acts has all kinds of examples. The Bereans studied, the Jerusalem church exploded, and so many others seemed so well done. Then along comes Ephesus, born out of a riot, lies about the founding Pastor, and all kinds of ugliness.

But each one, however they come, have potential to become a house of great repute, and a recycling station for hurting lives. They are God's idea to rock the world, and create new disciples.

Outreach magazine last month quoted Ed Stetzer: The American Church is on birth control". It is unnatural and wrong, Stetzer went on say, that most church do not procreate. He said they seem to worry too much about doing it right and making every effort a success.

I like his way of thinking. Maybe we should be more desperate about being barren, than we are about doing everything perfect.

Discipleship Dare

Fellow A/G pastor (Potomac District) and VFCC grad Jess Bousa has written "The Discipleship Dare" - a great way to activate yourself and your people in following Jesus. It is unusual in that it actually works, and can be used for new believers as well as more mature believers.

Jess provides video intros, and sermon outlines for your church as well as the ability to read the book online for free. www.thediscipleshipdare.com

There are currently some bloggers posting everyday for 40 days as they go through the Dare. Follow Jess on Facebook or visit the website to find out more.

I began posting on this today. www.goodground.blogspot.com

Have a great new year of ministry!

20 in 10

We are targeting 20 areas for church planting in 2010.
If you have a passion for one of these areas, please contact the leader listed or give me a call.

• Bethany Beach/Ocean View, Delaware (Tim Satryan)
• Braddock (Brian Bolt) *
• Cranberry, Venango County (Chris Clark)
• Downingtown (Sam Masteller) *
• DuBois (Chris Clark)
• Elsmere Hispanic, Delaware (Tim Satryan)
• Fogalsville (Mark Caston)
• Frackville (Richard Earl)
• Gettysburg (Gerry Stoltzfoos) *
• Greensburg (Don Immel) *
• Hanover (Gerry Stoltzfoos)
• Inner city/South Side Wilmington, Delaware (Tim Satryan)
• Lewisburg (Paul Grabill)
• Marshall’s Creek (Jim Rugg)
• Milton (Jon Baker)
• New Castle/Minquadale, Delaware (Tim Satryan)
• Philadelphia (Dan Clark)
• Pottstown (Steve DeFrain)
• Southside Pittsburgh (Jeff Leake) *
• Three Springs (Dan Fox) *
• York (Gerry Stoltzfoos)

* Church Planter has been identified and in process.

boot camp registration is open

Church Planter's Boot camp at Freedom Valley

The first week of November is less than 1 month away, and registration is open! You can go to www.freedomvalley.org to find the link on our home page, and register.

Penn-Del is offering scholarships for credential holders. You can pay online. After you have registered, order your boot camp materials and start the exciting journey toward planting a church.

We are encouraging church planters to bring whatever team that is being developed around you. If finances are a problem for you, call me personally (717-398-9033) for plans to help- such as a home opener to stay with, or a reduced registration fee if needed.

A few weeks ago, I did a church planting seminar for a couple of sections in the western part of the state (the sections led by Ken Martin and Christ Clark). At lunch afterward, a retired Pastor told me about "the good old days" where it was generally expected, he said that EVERY Bible college worth his salt planted a church! He said it was a standard expectation!

Ironically, those were also the days just before the Assemblies of God was named "the fastest growing denomination" in the country.

The old timer told me when he heard the seminar, that he hoped maybe it could happen again, where the AG became the aggressive church planting movement that it once was.

Maybe it could...

Kingdom synergy- boundless

This is a follow up post about the need for a church plant in the Lower Anthracite Coal Region between Hazleton and Shamokin:

I was on my way to Bethlehem today and met Todd Dewire for breakfast. He pastors the Foursquare church in Frackville. There is a young man in Teen Challenge right now who I met this weekend and he is from Todd's church.
Todd is a former missionary to Honduras, 50 years old. He has an older Pentecostal church of about 30 faithful saints, and is looking to open a church plant in the Frackville Mall. Sounds like a stretch, but his heart is right. He just needs resources.
Is this an answer to our prayers concerning the tremendous need for healthy churches in the small coal towns of this region? Is this an opportunity for selfless kingdom synergy?
I invited him to our Catalyst group since we had been on a prayer journey through that area. He will share his heart with our guys and we will pray for kingdom growth there.

Bootcamp at Freedom Valley Nov 2-6

Friends,

I have just solidified a November boot camp at Freedom Valley, November 2-6. If you know anyone who is wanting to plant, and this is the right time for them, have them call me at 717-398-9033, or write me at gerry@freedomvalley.org. The event costs me the same whether many come, or few, so I would love for it to count for more than my teams.

Brian Bolt plans to send a few. several others have expressed interest. I hope you and/or your teams can come too!

Gerry Stoltzfoos

Freedom Valley Worship Center

Gettysburg, PA.

Trans Geo disapointment

Yes, I went to General Council last week, hoping to see progress in the area of resolution #19, about Trans-Geographical Districts.

No, it did not pass. If I recall correctly, some 700 voted against it while about 500 voted for it.

I am disappointed about it, but possibly not for the reasons you might think.

My disappointment is simple; this was the only tiny idea I ever really heard or was part of that has potential to create a new wine skin. I had hoped that something could make us more effective at making disciples of Christ. I wasn't sure that this idea would work. All I was sure of, is that our current system is a sad failure.

I and my fellow Pastors have a dismal record of failure in the past 20 years that I have been in ministry. During that period, church attendance in America has dropped to about half of what it was in the early 80's when I started out in ministry. Today, 80% of my culture does not attend church.

I have no real plan for how to fix that. This little trans-geo thing, was the only glimmer of hope I had, small and pathetic as it was.

My heart is not bursting with ideas about how to reach my nation in my day. And the famine of my heart is my real disappointment.