Becoming a Church Planting Partner is a serious commitment
CTC is only seeking fully dedicated Great Commission minded churches – from the senior pastor down. By that we mean:
1) churches whose top priority is taking the gospel to the lost
2) Acts 4:13 churches dedicated to evangelizing locally, regionally and globally
3) churches that are fully committed to making the unreached their top priority globally
Churches who …..
- will be dedicated and committed to this ministry endeavor to see it through to completion
- have the full and enthusiastic support of their senior pastor, church staff and church body
- believe strongly in this approach to reaching the unreached
- are eager to have a ‘hands-on’ mission assignment where harvest workers are needed the most
- will take full ownership of the ministry and its results with CTC’s assistance, and
- will make a substantial investment of their time – continually
Likewise, we only partner U.S. churches with mature, equally committed Indian churches that have seasoned pastors who can be entrusted with your resources, and who desire to have you as a partner, not just a financial resource.
By partnering with a church in India you’ll be able to enjoy the rewards of working directly and relationally on the mission field.
For a relatively small monetary commitment for a minimum of three to five years, and a commitment to develop a growing, personal relationship with the pastor and his church, your church will be empowering your partner church to grow and reach the lost.
This is a small investment that pays big dividends!
Church Planting Partnerships are the core of what we are about at Completing The Call. They are the fuel that powers the engines of growth. They are the sparks that ignite church planting movements in their areas. So you can see how critical this role is and how central it is to our mission.
These churches ...
The percentage of Christians in these areas is usually 2% or less.
They are eager to spread the Gospel but have very little resources and encounter much opposition and persecution.
They have a burning enthusiasm for the Gospel and are doing what they can with what they have to take it to their villages and surrounding villages. But, they need our help.
Your monetary support will ...
- provide the pastor and his leaders funds for training
- help the pastor and leaders with transportation expenses (gas and bus/taxi/train fares) – so they can routinely travel to surrounding villages to share the gospel and plant churches, and to cover travel expenses for out of the area training (typically larger cities that are at a distance)
- help them purchase bibles, CD’s, tracts and other bible related materials and teaching aids
- provide a benevolence fund to be help its members and others in special need
- provide funds for special projects
- help support Completing The Call so we can make this possible
- provide encouragement and guidance to the pastor and church members
- create opportunities to participate with the pastor in making important decisions
- provide crucial prayer support for specific needs
Counting the Cost ...
“Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, when he sets out to meet another king in battle, will not first sit down and consider whether he is strong enough with ten thousand men to encounter the one coming against him with twenty thousand?” Luke 14:27-31 NASU
This is a serious commitment. In addition to the financial and time commitments there is another cost that must not be overlooked or minimized – the spiritual warfare you will encounter. Taking the Gospel to the darkest areas of the world, that have been dominated for thousands of years by false religions and idol worship, is climbing right into the spiritual hornet’s nest. This is where spiritual warfare is the most intense. It’s more than being on the ‘front lines’. It’s more like being parachuted in behind enemy lines. The enemy views you as an infiltrator who has joined forces with their ‘traitors’. Jesus tells us in Luke 10 that we will be “like lambs among wolves”. You will become one of Satan’s #1 enemies. He is a formidable foe who doesn’t give up territory he’s controlled for thousands of years without putting up a serious fight. He will not only attack your ministry over there. He will attack your ministry here. He will attack your ministry team. And, he will make personal attacks on those individuals most engaged and most committed. He will do everything imaginable and unimaginable to distract, discourage, and defeat you and your mission.
If not realistically prepared it will be difficult for you and your team not to become discouraged and quit.
The gospel has been appropriately described as “the Good News that follows bad news”. Here’s the good news following all the bad news you’ve just read:
In Luke chapter 10 we read that the 72, who were sent out with a similar warning, “returned with joy”. You too will return with joy!
And, He reminds us that He has given us authority over the enemy.
Then He tells us our primary focus should not be on the enemy but that we have an eternal relationship with God.
Yes, this assignment carries with it great cost, but the joy you’ll receive will far, far exceeds the cost! That’s a promise – FROM GOD!
When you sign up to partner with a mission field church we make a commitment to invest in your church and ministry and you make a commitment to your partner church and to us.
Your Commitment
- First and foremost to take full ownership of the work – it will be your ministry; and to stay the course until the following goals have been met:
- your partner church has become fully self sufficient
- you and your partner have planted at least two churches in villages surrounding his church
- your church plants have themselves become mature churches and have planted new churches
- you have recruited at least one qualified U.S. church to partner with one of your mature church plants
- to faithfully provide financial support of at least $750/month for a minimum period of 3 years and possibly 5 years or longer
- to use your best efforts to recruit pastor sponsors for the men your partner has discipled and appointed to plant churches; and to raise additional monies needed (for vehicles, church buildings, special events, etc.)
- to develop a growing, personal relationship with the your partner pastor and his church;
- to communicate regularly with your Church Partner’s pastor via emails and/or letters – monthly or more frequently
- to continue providing relational and prayer support even after your financial support is no longer needed;
- praying regularly for your Church Partner, its pastor, its leaders, its members and their needs
- to create a ministry team consisting of at least 3-5 church members who are mature believers who are mature believers that are enthusiastically committed to this ministry for the long haul, and …. who will be collectively responsible for:
- maintaining a ministry “Champion” to serve as team leader & primary liaison with the pastor, church staff and CTC. (Your champion is someone who will energetically promote the cause and will not likely be moving.)
- communications between your church and your church partner’s pastor and his church;
- communications with CTC
- actively seeking the involvement of other members in your church, especially with prayer support
- keeping your pastor, the church staff and the church body apprised of ministry activities and needs
- meeting twice monthly to pray for your partner church (its pastor, members, and needs), to evaluate results of your support, discuss ways you can encourage participation by other church members, and discuss how you might raise additional funds for critical needs not funded by your routine monthly support
- spending time to learn about India, Indian culture & history, Karnataka, and the Hindu & Muslim religions
- each member of the team taking the Perspectives Course to effectively become part of the global Christian movement; what works and what doesn’t; the challenges to expect and how to deal with them; and much more.
- Help your partner & his wife become proficient in English so your communications will improve
- make one trip to the mission field each year
- support and help with ministries started by your partner pastor with your blessings such as children’s homes, homes for seniors, etc. This would include recruiting child sponsors and elder sponsors.
- raising additional money for projects and activities deemed worthy by you and your partner and not covered by your designated savings funds.
- recruit and train U.S. pastor partners as needed (to partner with new pastors your Indian church partner has prepared for church plants)
- help recruit other U.S. churches to become Church Planting Partners
Our Commitment
- to provide training for your ministry team;
- to meet with your ministry team periodically;
- to translate correspondence between you and your partner;
- to routinely and frequently provide you written and pictorial updates on the activities of your church, its pastor and members;
- to give you the opportunity to go on mission trips with us so you can meet and spend time with your pastor and the church members, see their environment, and learn firsthand about the mission field in Karnataka and India!
The Process of becoming a Church Planting Partner
If you believe this is something you want your church to pursue, indicate that to us by clicking the link below to let us know your interest. We will contact you by phone and answer any questions you may have. If you are still interested we suggest you:
- discuss this with your senior pastor and senior leadership.
- have them review all this information.
- meet, discuss it and pray about it.
- identify potential ministry team members and a potential champion
If you, your senior pastor and leaders are on board call us and we will arrange a meeting. In that meeting we will share information with you about Indian churches you might partner with – the pastor, the village or town, the church body, the challenges and the needs. When you are ready to commit we will ask you and the leadership team to sign a covenant agreement committing to the things outline on this page. Then we’re off and running! We will set up a series of meetings
We are seriously considering becoming a Church Planting Partner. We have read all the content on this page and would like to learn more. Please have someone contact us for a meeting. click here to let us know you want us to contact you about becoming a Church Planting Partner.
