When is the last time you moved? I don't mean a job move, where a compnay pays the expenses and you have a job waitin' for you. Have you ever moved to a new town with nothing more than a dream and a plan to make it happen? That's church planting.
After planting a Cowboy Church in Kissimmee, FL we felt Gods leading and now we are in the process of planting a Cowboy Church here in the Western North Carolina region just outside of Asheville. It is quite an experience, we have visited a few churches and spoken to many pastors about our plans and just about everyone we have met has offered their assistance. One thing is for sure, though, not one of the churches we have visited have had anyone followup with us or come by to visit. Even the church I grew up hasn't called or come over to visit even after we filled out 4 Visitor Cards. That's not a complaint but an observation. It would have been nice if some of the people from the church would have stopped by and asked if we needed anything or just brought a plate of Grits over. Ha ha.
That to me is a good example of why church plants are so needed in this area. A church planter understands the basics of a servant heart. When Suzanne and I first got here we went by the church office, of the one I grew up in and where my Mom serves in the music ministry, and asked if there was a ministry in the church that could maybe give us a hand as we moved in, but their response was, "We really don't have anyone for that". If churches aren't able to reach inside their own community what good does it do to travel half a world away and build a building. We need to look at the needs around us.
I saw a friend of mine from Orlando here in Asheville at Wal-Mart and his first words to me were " we need to get people outside of the Stained Glass Prison." He's so right. The leadership in many churches seem challenged by church plants in their communities. Reaching the unchurched is not a subject I take lightly. Only with God leading us are we able to fullfill the work He has called us too.
Cowboy Church here in Ashveille will reach people that don't go to church now and become a ministry of example. The time has come to put all the teaching that we have learned in Sunday School, and Church to work in our neighborhoods where we live.
