This blog post was born from two influential classes in my graduate training: Dr. Kevin Oberlin’s Strategy of Missions and Church Planting with Dr. Jason Ormiston. In Church Planting I read the book For the City, and this extended quote from it is well worth your time.

In this portion of the book, a group of church planters were discussing what church planting model to follow: what kind of church they wanted to plant. The conversation went like this:

“We think you should have a model. Which one will you choose?”

So I gave in. Sort of.

I replied, “You want a model?” Here it is.

“Imagine an urban church so influenced by the power of the gospel that it seized every opportunity to proclaim and live out the gospel for the good of the city. Imagine that this church physically and spiritually served the poorest of the poor, but also lovingly rebuked the wealthy. Imagine this church as the epicenter of straight-up, God-fearing, Spirit-filled revival, leading thousands of people to eternal life in Christ in just a few years. Imagine a church that built elderly housing, housed all the orphans in the city, and taught wealthy business people to have a ‘double bottom line’ so they could run a profitable business in order to support the work of the church and meet the needs of the city. “

“In other words, imagine a church that boldly preached the gospel and lived out the values of the kingdom. Don’t you want to be a part of a church like that?”

“Of course. Who wouldn’t?” they responded.

“What if I told you that the church model I’m describing is as trusted, tried, and true as any you’ll find?” I said.

“What model is it?”

“Metropolitan Tabernacle.” I replied, receiving blank stares in return.

“Where is it? Who’s the pastor?” one team member asked.

A thin smile spread across my face

“London, 1852,” I said. “The pastor is Charles Spurgeon.” [1]

My first reading of page 20 and 21 of that book is still visible with the word “WOW” written in the margin.

In one of my grad school missions classes the matter of finances came up, and we read about the ideas of “Business as Mission” (BAM) and “Great Commission Companies” (GCC) as alternatives to the traditional deputation model. This is no slight on deputation, but the difficulties of the traditional model are abundant. If the average missionary spends three years on deputation (so I’m told), that’s three years that they didn’t spend on the field or in language school. Now Scripture has no prescribed mode of financing missions. There are many different examples given, so it would be arrogant to suggest that there is only one “right” way to raise financial support.

My purpose in this post is to inspire the next generation of S. Truett Cathys and David Greens – gifted business men – to dream a dream bigger than living a financially secure life: Dream a dream bigger than making a living, raising a family, and then teaching them to make a living. I want you, business majors, pre-med students, carpenters, photographers, musicians, web-designers, and all the rest to dream kingdom-sized dreams with the gifts that you have been given. I know you each have a gift, because God says so in 1 Peter 4:10. God gave you a gift, but He did not give it to you to end with you. God gave you the gift you have so that you would use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s various gifts, given by grace. The end to which you are to paint, or do surgeries, or lay tile is that God would receive glory through Jesus Christ. The reason is because all glory and dominion belong to Him, forever and ever. [2]

But let’s stop and think about this for just a moment… There’s a special way in which God receives glory through Jesus Christ. I understand that God receives glory through His children simply doing the things He has created them to be able to do, regardless of their attention or intentions, but that is not my point. My point here is that there is a unique way in which God receives glory through Jesus Christ beyond the smile that is spread on God’s face as He sees His child dunk a basketball. The idea I’m driving at here is that God receives glory through the means of Jesus Christ and His substitutionary death, which was a banner raised up for the whole world to see, and it says to this day: “THIS!!!! THIS is the holiness of God.” “God is so holy that only the death of His Son could reconcile God and man”

There’s one more line there in I Peter 4:11 and it says “To Him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” God deserves the worship of all people. He has sole ownership rights of this concept of glory and dominion.

Why not give your life to send that message to all the peoples of the earth? You don’t have to go to the mission field. You don’t even have to go to the New York Gospel Mission. Not everyone is gifted by God to be a full-time missionary, but for the sake of the whole body of Christ do what God has wired you to do and spread the message of the supremacy of God through Jesus Christ with the fortune that you make on craft supplies and chicken sandwiches. Don’t waste your life by seeing the temporary as ultimate.

I know a church plant on 350 w. 26^th street, Manhattan that would take your gift of any shape or size and put it straight into kingdom work.

Here are links to our needs list and recent sermons:

Needs list: http://www.sermonaudio.com/new_details3.asp?ID=80853

Sermons: http://www.sermonaudio.com/search.asp?SourceOnly=true&currSection=sermonssource&keyword=nygm

---- Yesterday’s outreach service was completely full. Over 120 in attendance, plus 8-10 volunteers working in the back. This is with no advertising or sign on the street. Simply word of mouth and reputation built over time. Galen has begun personally discipling a messianic Jew and encouraging him in the Faith, and I’m still plodding along with MDiv classes, in addition to the many responsibilities that we both share. Some of which includes: preaching, music, correspondence, web stuff, food pickups, working with volunteers, and turning over rocks. We have hopes of getting some promo videos out soon, and continuing to travel to raise support for renovations. If you know anyone who’s serious about the Gospel and willing to work hard, please have them contact us. [email protected] We’re looking for more staff and interns.

Andy Woodard, Director of Ministry Development, NYGM