January Meeting Reflections: Jonathan Dodson

January 29, 2010 | 0 Comments

While much has come from PlantR in the last few years, there is great hope for what God has yet to do in Austin. PlantR’s prayer is to be in the middle of that by helping to shape a movement of church planting.

In a meeting this month, the PlantR board felt that there were two things that could happen in 2010 for PlantR. We could plateau as a network focused on connecting relationships, or we could continue moving forward to shape a movement of church planting. Without hesitation the board felt led to emphasize the latter.

With that emphasis in mind, Jonathan Dodson shared some thoughts on what needs to happen in PlantR in 2010 and beyond. Notes from his outline are below. We’ll follow up early next week with some action steps you can take immediately to help shape this movement.

The Vision of PlantR

• To catalyze a Christ-centered, context-sensitive church planting movement for social and spiritual renewal of Austin and beyond.
• None of us can plant a church that can change the city on it’s own. The renewal of a city requires a movement, not a single church.

Our strategy
What do we need to include in our strategy?

• faith in God — and not in our practices and experience
• a stirring of the Spirit
• we need the gifts of church planters — are you participating in a lead team?
• partnership between churches

What do we need to remove from our strategy?

• a misplaced sense of identity — each of us is a disciple/Christian first, and a pastor/planter second
• a searching for personal glory

The Nuts and Bolts of a Strategic Partnership

• identify areas of need for the city — John Herrington and HCBC are partnering with Ed Stetzer to conduct an exhaustive survey of metro Austin
• partnering in the community — relationships with established churches and organizations planting churches in the city
• become an informational hub via the website, twitter, etc.

What Does a Movement Require

• it happens through community
• it happens through prayer
• it happens through your local context

Categories: Reflections