500 years and Now What?

Time and again, I hear Mennonite pastors in Christian congregations complaining about the entrenched structures, inflexibility, and traditional ineffectiveness of their congregations. “If only I could start all over again,” I soon hear the quiet sigh.

“That’s done all the time these days,” I reply, “it’s called re-planting or re-founding.”[1] In the meantime, entire networks have been founded that do nothing less than exactly that. Especially in the West. In Europe and the USA, thousands of church congregations die every year. They have proven to be outdated, unattractive, and incapable of missionary work. And replanting networks want to reverse this trend. And it is possible.

No one can understand these processes better than the heirs of the sixteenth-century Anabaptists. Their communities have been on the brink of extinction more than once. The rapid growth during the Reformation and the subsequent persecution, flight, and expulsion weakened the community. And the internal encrustations of the structure have created the famous Mennonite culture, causing rigidity. At times, our forefathers could only survive by completely shutting themself off from the world. But this isolation also undermined the missionary penetration of society. Soon the church only survived through its own biological growth. Many complaining pastors lead exactly these kind of congregations. They complain of stagnation and decay.

What is the way out? Are we able to give an answer after 500 years of our history? Do models of re-planting also work for us? I think so and my own experience in forty years of Church work is proving me right.

 

“If I could start all over again…”

According to the basic insight of practitioners, replanting requires restoration of vision and strategy. I therefore always ask my troubled pastor colleagues: “And what would the church look like that you would start from scratch? And how would you approach it strategically?” Very rarely do I get a comprehensible answer. Obviously there is an understanding that everything would have to change somehow, but the most important information and insights are missing.

Mennonites have been good in keeping identity, but often don’t think about their basic vision, mission, and strategy. We seem to know what a church is and how it is supposed to function? All Mennonites know! Really? In recent years I conducted numerous seminars on church mission and strategy all over the Mennonite word. It is frightening how little basic knowledge on the issue is available in those churches.

In this article, I will outline some of the key principles that must be considered in any new church plant. These include a clear vision of the nature, structure, and mission of the church and its leadership as described in the New Testament. Inadequate ideas in one area or another always lead in the long term to the incrustation and fundamental uselessness of the church model in society.

Church as God Wants It to Be.

Jesus said to His disciples: “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt 16:18, ESV). In doing so, he promised them that he would be personally present at the building of the church and defined what he understood by the church.

Jesus is both the architect and the master builder. Whoever wants to build the church in this world will have to listen to him, otherwise the builders will labor in vain because the Master Builder is not present (Ps. 127:1-2). For what they build without his presence is in danger of not resembling the original plan at all.

Here all Mennonites agree—do we? We confess to follow Jesus since our cherished forefather Hans Denck (1495-1527) wrote his famous statement a year before his death:  “The medium is Christ whom no one can know unless they follow him and no one can follow him unless they know him.”[2]

So what does the church look like according to the Master’s conception? Jesus calls it ekklesia and uses a term that is quite unusual in religious circles to describe his church. In the Greek and Hebrew world, the term synagogue or temple was used here. Ekklesia was primarily used to describe a parliamentary meeting of all the citizens of a city who were entitled to vote. Citizens came together here to decide from time to time on the interests and welfare of the city. Ekklesia was therefore nothing less than the community called together to take responsibility for the community—a highly political matter.[3]

Jesus charges his followers to build an ekklesia, a community that he wants to place in society as the salt of the earth and light of the world in such a way that it shines for all people (Matt 5:13-15). In it, his church, people all over the world are to live in reconciliation with God, with themselves and with one another (Matt 28:19; 2 Cor 5:18). It should truly be a church for the world.

Of course, being for the world does not mean becoming worldly. The Master makes a clear distinction here. His followers are not of the world, just as he himself is not of the world (Jn 17:16), but they are sent into the world to make disciples of the nations of the world (Matt 28:19). They are to live in the world and, like him, seek ways to reconcile the world to God (2 Cor 5:18-20). No other institution in the world is therefore as systemically relevant as the church of Jesus. It is the church that decides whether society opens its gates to hell or to the kingdom of God.

We will not need much research to find out that the vast majority of our traditional Mennonite churches do not fit the Jesus concept of ekklesia. The fear of becoming worldly sets the agenda more than the missionary calling.

The special thing about the church, as Jesus sees it, is its structure. All other social and religious institutions on earth are logically organized and form a social and material structure. They may differ culturally, ideologically or even religiously, but ultimately they all have something like a hierarchy, leaders and members led by those leaders.

Jesus’ church, on the other hand, is organized somatically, from the Greek word soma (body). He sees it as “his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Eph 1:23). And the church represents the members of this body, while he Himself is the head.

One becomes a member of this church through the rebirth of the Spirit (Titus 3:5), which is accompanied by incorporation into the body of Christ. God’s Spirit himself carries out this act (1 Cor 12:13).

And being baptized into the body is also associated with an assignment of ministry. Whether one is to be active in the body as an eye, hand, ear, or tongue is not at the discretion of the individual, but rather of the calling of God. For as members of the ekklesia, they are “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10). And when they use the gifts they have received from the Spirit of God in ministries that the Lord has ordained, then God works power for the benefit of all (1 Cor 12:4–7).

The church of Jesus is an extremely effective institution. God’s fullness dwells in it. More is not possible! Provided, of course, that it lives out its structure and calling. And that depends first and foremost on each individual member.

 

Guided by a Strong Hand

The body is its members. They are all called and gifted to fulfill their appointed function. And in order to instruct them in their gifts and ministry, the Lord has placed a fivefold team in his church.

The apostle Paul writes in Ephesians 4:11–16:

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

The church is therefore constituted by its members. As members of the body, they are maximally different. After all, what similarity does an eye have with a hand, or an ear with a tongue? To bring them all together as a meaningful and extremely effective structure, God uses people for this purpose, whom he uses especially as enablers of the body. Apostle Paul gives the following seven reasons for the necessity of ministry:

• So that the saints may be equipped for the work of their ministry. After all, they, the followers of Jesus, are his “workmanship, created…for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10). Finding out which ministry is meant for me is therefore crucial for my life. After all, the Lord will one day ask his own what they have done with the talents he has given them (Matt 25:14-30). Christians are called to live according to their own calling, and people whom God has appointed should help them in this—people in the fivefold ministry.
• Through the fivefold ministry, the church is to be built up as the body of Christ. Church growth, therefore, presupposes this ministry.
• The ministry promotes the unity of faith. Unity is only necessary where there is diversity. Like in the body. Unity between the eyes and the hands is vital, or legs and ears. You quickly get into difficulties if the individual members of the body act in an uncoordinated manner. And it is not much different with the body of Christ, the church. The fivefold ministry guarantees the unity of the body. If it is missing, divisions quickly arise.
• The ministry guarantees perfect knowledge of what God wants. For it enables each member of the body of Christ to live out their personal gift of the Spirit, be it the gift of mercy or the word of knowledge or revelation. In this way, and only in this way, do Christians come to know Christ in all his perfection.
• The ministry protects Christians from immaturity and protects them from false teachings. Prophetic insight and teaching are in harmony here. One does not simply follow every spiritual gust of wind, but is guided by the Word of God from the mouth of the prophets and teachers.
• The ministry promotes love among Christians and thus a strong bond of unity.
• In this way, the ministry promotes the numerical growth of the body, i.e., effective evangelism and mission.

Each of the five ministries mentioned has a special task. Apostles name and cultivate the missionary vision of the church, classifying the gifts and ministry of the individual members within this overall vision.[4] Prophets concretize the calling by place and time and evangelists name the individual member’s part in communicating the gospel, while pastors work on the ongoing transformation of those concerned into the new man so that giftedness and character match. And finally, teachers lay a good biblical foundation.

In this way, the members of the church are constantly growing, being transformed into the image of Christ, protected from false teachings and able to support one another. As a result, the church grows.

Looking at the consequences of the ministry, it is surprising that so many congregations are opposed to the introduction of the ministry. Their fear is obviously theologically and denominationally based. After all, they fear, what has never existed in our church cannot really be right. This principle that can be problematic in every respect, especially if it clearly violates the Holy Scriptures.

And in our case, the principle clearly violates the Scriptures. Reflection is called for if we long for spiritual fullness and church growth. For what the Holy Scriptures lay down as a framework for the growth of the individual and the congregation must not be forbidden by any church tradition of the world. In the end, God’s word counts! In other words, it will not be possible to avoid the fivefold ministry if new beginnings and growth are to be expected. This is how, and in no other way, God has set it. This is how, and in no other way, he realizes his church in the world.

 

Steps in Building the Community of Faith

The New Testament reveals to us what the church is, how it is structured and what its nature is. And how does such a church take shape in practice? How can we rebuild our church? What do you need to do to become the church as Jesus intended it to be?

I believe the following five steps are necessary.

First, choose to build with Jesus. He is building his ekklesia as the body of Christ—so join Jesus. Align your vision of the church with his vision. You can find tips on this in my book on socially transformative church building.[5]

This can quickly lead to conflict with the traditional concepts of the community association to which you belong. But don’t let this bother you. Ultimately, the first priority is to fulfill the will of our Lord. Church-historical traditions have always developed in a certain context. As decisive as the structure developed at that time may have been, it must still only be measured against a template, that of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Secondly, encourage your members to become aware of how they came to faith in Jesus and what happened in the process. I am always shocked when long-standing church members cannot really explain to me what rebirth or baptism in the Spirit means, how to communicate with Jesus personally, how to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit, and similar things. Only rarely do I experience Christians who can plausibly explain to me how God, in whom they believe, can be thought of as a triune God. They have turned to faith, have experienced the forgiveness of their sins and have been baptized in their faith, but can only explain with great difficulty what all this means in plain language. It must be assumed that although they have been converted, they have not been made disciples.  And this should be done urgently if we want to systematically build the church.

And thirdly, the vast majority of Christians today do not know which personal gifts of the Spirit and ministry calling they were given on the day they were born again. Very few know how to name the gifts mentioned in the New Testament. How are they supposed to serve in the church if they don’t know how and with what? Set up appropriate discipleship circles in the church for this purpose. A corresponding workbook can help at this point.[6] It is important that the study of spiritual gifts takes place in a group and under the guidance of an experienced member of the congregation.

Fourth, establish the five-fold ministry of eldership in the church. Work to discover, call, and utilize all five gifts and ministries in the church.

Fifth, classify personal gifts and callings according to the requirements of the fivefold ministry:

• Apostolic — determines which missionary task the respective person can fulfill in the mission of the church. Describes this task in connection with other abilities in the church.
• Prophetic — names the specific context in which the person concerned is to be active. This can point from within the congregation to the vastness of the external mission.
• Evangelistic — classifies the abilities of the respective church members according to their contribution to communicating the gospel. It should be noted that every gift can ultimately serve to spread the gospel. It is therefore not necessarily only the gifted speakers who are meant here. Setting up and looking after the coffee table during an evangelism evening or the pastoral care of the visitors to such an evening is just as evangelistically decisive as the evangelist’s sermon.
• Pastoral care must pay attention to the extent to which the potential ministry of church members matches their character. Pastors initiate sanctification processes, help those affected to take off the old man and put on the new.
• And finally, every member needs a good biblical foundation in order to be able to understand and carry out their own work in accordance with God’s vision.

The congregation does not always have all five gifts or ministries in its own congregation. This was probably no different in the time of the New Testament. That is why there were traveling apostles and prophets even back then. In the event of a shortage, the church leadership should make use of the ministry of gifted people from outside.

 

First the Basic Church, then Evangelism

The most common mistake that church leaders make is trying to evangelize before they have built up the basic church, the actual agent of evangelism. Evangelization can hardly succeed this way. It is like sending a runner into a cross-country race or a marathon who has not trained a single day for this demanding course. It is safe to say that his failure is pre-programmed. It would be a miracle if he managed to complete the forty-two kilometers at all. There can be no question of victory.

Those who want to master a challenge must be prepared for it. This applies to all areas of our life and especially to the service of the church of Jesus in the world. And evangelism is this service. Jesus expressly warned his disciples to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit and then to begin their ministry in the world. He said, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NIV). The success of their mission relies not on their organization, but on the calling, gifting and sending of the Holy Spirit. After all, it is about nothing less than building the kingdom of God in the world.

Only Christians who are aware of their special calling and gifting by the Holy Spirit, who hear his voice and obey his leading, will do works in the world that the world will see and then begin to praise the Father in heaven (Matt 5:16).

The church of Jesus grows when its members have recognized their calling and, led by apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds, and teachers, support one another, “lending a hand” in their efforts to bring the gospel to the world (Eph 4:11–16). Thus the church grows again and a rebuilding has succeeded.

 

Dr. Johannes Reimer is Professor of Missiology at the University of South Africa and author of several books on church planting.

 

[1] See, for example, the program of the American Redeemer Network: https://redeemernetwork.org/what-we-do/church-replanting-and-revitalization.

[2] Hans Denck (1526) “Was geredet sei, das die Schrift sagt”; Schriften II: 22.

[3] See more in, Johannes Reimer, Die Welt umarmen. Zur Theologie des gesellschaftsrelevanten Gemeindebaus Transformationsstudien Bd. 1, 2. Auflage (Marburg: Francke Verlag, 2013), 42–48.

[4] See more details in my book, Johannes Reimer, Leiten durch Verkündigung. An undiscovered dimension. (Giessen: Brunnen Verlag, 2005).

[5] Johannes Reimer, Embracing the World: On the Theology of Socially Relevant Church Building. Transformation Studies vol 1, 2nd edition. (Marburg: Francke Verlag, 2013).

[6] E.g., Johannes Reimer, Departure into the Future: Spiritual Gifts in the Theory and Practice of the Church (Hammerbrücke: Conception Seidel, 2016).