Things That Make Church Planting Hard

[The following is a blog by church planter Samuel Scalf. I borrowed it because I liked what he had to say so much. I did omit a couple of his points that don't really apply to my situation. We don't have snowmobiles in Gaffney. But, I think most people, including the planter, often look at mega-churches like Mars Hill or Saddleback or NewSpring or Elevation and think those churches just happened. No, they didn't just happen. They all started somewhere, first with a vision in the heart of the planter, then in the hearts of a small core group, then things began to take hold and grow. The point is, churches don't just happen overnight or easily. Lots of blood, sweat, and tears stain the foundation of any church plant that survives the long haul. It's turning out to be very hard work. I've never thought of myself as a perfect kind of guy, but church planting has definitely exposed my imperfections... and magnified them! However, I wouldn't trade what God's called me to do for anything.]

The realization that it’s not really about you. Everyday. The mail comes around 11:30 in the morning. If you go to the mailbox and there aren’t any support checks there; It’s easy to begin to feel like people have forgotten YOU. When a pastor doesn’t return YOUR phone call it can ruin YOUR week. God doesn’t answer YOUR prayers right now. Let’s be honest, we have all have allowed these thoughts take over our thinking and ruin our day or week.

Realizing that all of the people you KNEW were going to support you… never do. When we set out to plant a church, we all have a top-ten list of people we just know will join your team or support you financially. They almost NEVER do. I don’t know why it works that way. The good news is that God brings amazing people into your life; new people that become a deep part of your life. People that give generously, and work hard.

There is NEVER enough money. This almost goes without saying. EVERYTHING costs money. PO box rentals, website hosting, office space, business cards, cookies for team meetings, sound equipment, and incorporation documents. I don’t think there is a way around it, planting a church is expensive. Say goodbye to your dream of wearing a brand new pair of socks everyday.

In the middle of hard decisions God’s timing always seems off. Way off. Let’s all be honest here. We know what’s best for the church we are planting. We know exactly when everything should happen. The only real question is, how can we get God on the same page? Right? I cannot tell you how many times I have prayed, “God, ok, GO! We need things to move right NOW!” But, I also look back at all the times I thought God should move right now and realize He was protecting me or preparing me or putting all the pieces together.

You cannot MAKE anyone join your team. There are people that you are absolutely sure would be a great addition to your team. Amazing people. Gifted and talented people. People you get along great with. People that aren’t currently committed anywhere else. None of that matters. You cannot force them to join up. If you try, you will destroy your friendship. If you do succeed in twisting someone’s arm into joining your team, you will almost certainly regret it.

There is NEVER enough money. This is still true. Even when you are fully supported, money will at some point or another become the cause of some roadblock.

The people most eager to join don’t really get what you’re doing. The people that do are busy doing it… in Idaho or Texas! Occasionally, you will run across someone that is super excited to be a part of your team. It won’t be long until you realize they really don’t know what’s going on. They constantly are trying to steer you somewhere else. When you talk, they nod like they understand, but then they go and do the exact opposite. Yet, there are other times you will talk to someone who totally gets it. They understand all the nuances of the culture God has called you to. If they were to join your team, you KNOW you could win your city for Jesus. The only problem, they are planting a church somewhere else!

Everyone wants to help you build something… With wood and sheet metal siding… And nail guns… It never fails, when you share our vision at a church after service, someone will come and offer their construction skills to help you build the church. In their mind, step one for starting a church is dig the foundation. This serves to illustrate the constant tension between the understanding of church as a building and church as a community of believers.

The constant tension between pride and self-doubt. I don’t know about you, but I go back and forth between overconfidence in my own abilities and at times crippling self-doubt. One moment I am sure I can make this happen and the next moment, I really don’t know why God chose me for this task. The days where I live, knowing it’s Jesus that builds His church and my job is to be diligent at the task He has given me are the days that are most productive.

Other church planters have messed things up before you. Let’s face it, one reason church planting is hard is because of things that have happened in the past. Everyone remembers a time when it didn’t work. Everyone remembers mistakes made by someone that has gone before you. Congratulations! You now get to prove that isn’t you. Yes, it’s unfortunate and unfair, but it’s the life of a church planter.

Everyone knows Paul was a tent maker. You have sat down to share your vision with another pastor or some one from your home church or your best friend from Bible College. They get excited about the vision. They seem on board.  You ask if they would consider supporting you on a monthly basis. They proceed to put their hand on your shoulder, look you in the eye and say those dreaded words. “Paul was a tent maker, you should consider looking for a job.”

Samuel Scalf is the Lead Pastor at Boulder County Community Church, a church he is planting in Boulder County, Colorado.

Meeting as a New Testament Church

There seems to be many different ideas of how and why the New Testament church meets. In our day the prevailing idea is that the church meets to worship God. We do this, we are told, by singing, preaching, praying, and giving. There is no end to the books, magazines, websites, and seminars which “shows” the church how to meet and worship. The main question is never WHERE the church meets, or even HOW does the church meets, but WHY does the church meet? How is the NT church instructed by Scripture to meet? What is done in these meetings? The basic answers can be found in 1 Corinthians 14:26 -

“How is it then brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.”

If we were to ellipse the components of the meetings, singing, teaching, etc., the passage would read like this: “Whenever you come together…let all things be done for edification.” The purpose of the NT meeting is for the edification, or building up, of the believer. Edification is the reason we (should) come together as a church. From this guideline for NT church meetings we can extract the following biblical truths:

Believers are to meet together (“Whenever you come together…”). Meeting together is not an option. The writer of Hebrews exhorted the church to not forsake the assembling of themselves (Heb. 10:25). The Greek word ekklesia, which we translate church, literally means “an assembly” or “those called out.” The idea is of calling together a group of people for a specific purpose.When and where the church meets is never commanded in Scripture. But we are definitely commanded to meet.

At first, the early church met every day (Acts 2:46). Later, we are told that the church came together on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1-2). Some scholars believe the first day of the week was called “the Lord’s Day” by early believers (Rev. 1:10). As New Covenant Christians we recognize that when we come together is not bound by any day of the week (Rom. 14:5, cf. Col. 2:16-20). It seems from the Scriptures that the early church held their corporate meetings on the first day of the week. This does not, however, prevent us from meeting as conveniently as we can. The main idea is that Christians meet together; the day, place, and time is not important. Meeting on Tuesday evenings with other believers is just as “correct” as meeting on Sunday mornings.

In addition, the early church met in various locations. The early church often met corporately at the temple in Jerusalem and homes (Acts 2:46). Often they met in the homes of fellow Christians (Acts 2:46b, 8:3, 20:20; Rom. 16:5; 1 Cor. 16:19; Col. 4:15; Philm. 2). Persecution by the Jews appeared to drive the church more into private homes as the church grew.  The early Christians did not erect costly religious shrines because they understood that the church was not a material building they had built, but a spiritual building built by God (1 Pet. 2:5).

The meetings were participatory, not spectatorial (“… each of you …”). Christianity today is by and large a spectator Christianity. In today’s church there is little or no mutual participation in the church meetings. For the most part, the Body of Christ is instructed, at least by implication, to sit there in the pews and watch the “professionals” do all the ministry.

This type of uninvolved spectator meeting is foreign to the church of the New Testament! Paul specifically said that when the church comes together everyone has something to share. From the least to the greatest, the church meeting was open to all who were led to participate. This doesn’t mean everyone had to share at every meeting (logistically impossible), but there appeared to be a time of “open floor” sharing of spiritual gifts. Each could pray, prophesy, teach, or sing as God had gifted them, and under the authority of elders. If someone felt God had a word of encouragement or correction for someone else or for all, they were allowed to share it. If God had done a wonderful deed in the past week which needed to be told for the edification of all, it was allowed to be told. If someone simply wanted to praise God they were allowed to do so. There was no fear of embarrassment or being told to “shush” by the pastor or deacons (or the little old lady on the pew next to you)!

Each Christian had the opportunity to share. This is called the priesthood of the believer. Each believer is a priest unto God (1 Pet. 2:5,9; Rev. 5:10). Unfortunately, in our day the priesthood of the believer, though verbally affirmed by most churches, is never really practiced. Many churches have the slogan “Every Member a Minister.” However good it looks on the church sign or the church letterhead, if its not really being practiced it means nothing. Countless believers are growing cold and apathetic to spiritual things because they are not allowed, or are too fearful, to participate in the church meetings. They are suppressed by the idea that unless they have a “calling,” a degree, or ordination papers, then they are unworthy to contribute meaningfully in the corporate assembly.

In stark contrast to today’s spectator “worship service” stands the NT meeting. Here each believer is encouraged to use his/her gifts for the edification of one another. Here each believer is important and needful for the Body to be a healthy organism (1 Cor. 12:20-27).

Each believer is gifted and should use his/her gifts (“… a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation…”). Everyone who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ has the Holy Spirit living in them (Rom. 8:11). The Spirit gifts (lit. graces) each and every believer for service (Rom. 12:4-6a; 1 Cor. 12:4-11). The Scriptures mention several different gifts of the Holy Spirit. Some examples are: prophecy, ministry, teaching, exhortation, leading, mercy, miracles, healing, helps, service, tongues (Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 12:28). And there are undoubtedly many other gifts that the Spirit graces believers with (1 Cor. 12:4). The previous citations should not be viewed as exhaustive. The point is, is your church allowing and encouraging Christians to develop and use his/her spiritual gifts in the meetings and in everyday life? Remember: all believers have either a gift or several gifts (“each of you,” v. 26). The point is we should be faithful to use whatever gifts he’s given us to build up the Body of Christ.

The purpose of NT church meetings (“Let all things be done for edification”). The reason that the church meets is for the edification of each believer, for their discipleship on a corporate level. I know this statement flies in the face of almost all we have been taught over the years. We are told that the church meets to worship God. While the idea of meeting primarily to worship sounds scriptural and pious, the truth is Christians do not meet primarily to have a “worship service.” This is not to say that worship doesn’t happen when Christians meet. It does and it should. Worship should occur at all times, in all places, and in all things, whether Sunday morning in a church building or Thursday afternoon at the dinner table. A Christian’s whole life is an act of worship (Rom. 12:1-2)! So, yes, when Christians meet on Sunday mornings or at any other time/place, they are in a sense worshiping God. But it is in no way different from the worship we should be living and giving the rest of the week. We must concede that the primary objective in Christian meetings is not to have a “worship service” since worship is a way of life.

The primary reason Christians meet is to edify one another. The reason that God gave us the gifts of the Spirit is so we might edify one another (Eph. 4:12; 1 Pet. 4:10-11). The term edify is from the Greek oikodome. This word is an architectural term. It means “to build, confirm, or strengthen.” It is used in reference to the church’s position as God’s building (1 Cor. 3:9; Eph. 2:21). Elsewhere it is used to describe the ministry of believers to one another (Rom. 14:9,15:2; 1 Thess. 5:11). The purpose of this edification, this building up and strengthening, is to spur each other onto maturity in Christ (Heb. 24-25) that we might worship him in every area of our lives.

As believers we stand in the need of constant and regular strengthening. Living a life of worship among those who revile and reject us will take its toll and begin to “crack the foundation” of the strongest building. Therefore we need to come together and repair the breaches that we might stand firm. This is done by the mutual ministry of the Body of Christ to one another.

Closing remarks. There is no “set” way that the NT church is commanded to meet. We CAN observe these facts about NT church meetings:

1. The church never defined itself by where or when it met.

2. Believers met as often as they could, sometimes daily sometimes weekly. The point is they met. None of the “I don’t hafta go to church to be a Christian” we too often hear from professing Christians today.

3. The church met for the purpose of discipleship, mutual edification, and maturity towards Christ.

4. Each believer contributed, with scriptural bounds, as he/she had been gifted because each believer understood his/her position as a priest unto God.

5. The early church met and they celebrated the Lord’s Supper, or Love Feast (which, by the way, was a full meal not a thimble of grape juice and a broken cracker – 1 Cor. 11:17; Jude 12).

The Trinity

The aim of this survey of the doctrine of the Trinity is not meant to answer every question you have. As a matter of fact, I’d be surprised if it doesn’t raise as many questions as answers. Questions are good. They make us search for answers. An in-depth treatment of the Trinity is beyond the scope and purpose of this article. I certainly do not intend to break any new ground. I will include links to resources at the end that will help you along.

The Trinity is a uniquely Christian doctrine that describes the nature of God. The doctrine (teaching) is formulated as follows:

There is only one God.
God eternally exists in three distinct and equal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God.
The Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Father, the Father is not the Spirit, etc.

As an off-shoot of Judaism, Christianity affirms the belief that there is only one God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 37:20; Romans 3:30). However, as the revelation of God became fuller during the New Testament period, it became obvious that God made himself known in the Person of Jesus Christ, as well as the Holy Spirit — both of whom were considered divine, yet distinct from one another.

John Piper wrote this helpful summary:

“The Bible speaks of the Father as God (Phil. 1:2), Jesus as God (Titus 2:13), and the Holy Spirit as God (Acts 5:3-4). Are these just three different ways of looking at God, or simply ways of referring to three different roles that God plays? The answer must be no, because the Bible also indicates that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are distinct Persons. For example, since the Father sent the Son into the world (John 3:16), He cannot be the same person as the Son. Likewise, after the Son returned to the Father (John 16:10), the Father and the Son sent the Holy Spirit into the world (John 14:26; Acts 2:33). Therefore, the Holy Spirit must be distinct from the Father and the Son.”

Evidence of Trinitarian thinking was seen in the statements of Jesus (John 1:1; 10:30; 14:9), as well as Paul (Romans 8; 2 Corinthians 13:14), Luke (Acts 28 revealing that Isaiah 6 speaks of Jesus Christ), Peter (1 Peter 1:2), and Jude (Jude 25). The Trinitarian “formula” is also seen in the Great Commission in which Jesus exhorts the church to baptize converts “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Similarly, the Trinity is expressed at the baptism of Jesus (Matthew 3:16-17), in which we see the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit present.

There is also ample evidence that the early Church Fathers believed and taught trinitarianism. These men who lived and wrote in the first few hundred years after Jesus ascended also affirmed a triune view of God. In addition, some of the earliest written Christian confessions contain Trinitarian language, such as the Apostles’ Creed (390 A.D., and as early as 180 A.D.), and the Nicene Creed (325/381 A.D.).

While it is true that the word trinity does not appear in Scripture, this does nothing to lessen the fact that the concept is found throughout its pages, and was understood and expressed by the early church, and is still believed and taught by modern orthodox churches.

Here are a few closing thoughts about the Trinity:

1. Just because a particular word isn’t found in the Bible does nothing to negate its concept being in the Bible. The doctrine of the Trinity would certainly fall into this category.

2. The Trinity expresses the unity of the Godhood, it does not teach that God is three different gods.

3. The Trinity is significant in our prayer and devotional life as we worship the Father by exalting the Son through the power of the Spirit.

4. God did not “become” Jesus and Jesus did not “become” the Holy Spirit. All three are separate, distinct individuals who happen to be God, and comprise the Godhead.

5. Some erroneous and antichristian Trinitarian teachings to guard against are:

- That Jesus (and the Holy Spirit) are created beings.
- That each Person of the Godhead is only 1/3 of the Godhead, and together they make up the Godhead, sort of like a holy Voltron.
- That God exists in different forms or modes throughout history, such as God the Father became God the Son, etc.

6. It’s okay if you can’t fully wrap your mind around the Trinity. It doesn’t make it wrong. For instance, I can’t wrap my mind around God’s sovereignty, but I know the Bible teaches it and I affirm it both by faith and by reason.

7. Finally, I would include the text of the hymn “Holy, holy, holy” for us to consider as we worship God as a triune God:

Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning our song shall rise to thee.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, blessed Trinity!

2. Holy, holy, holy! All the saints adore thee,
casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea;
cherubim and seraphim falling down before thee,
which wert, and art, and evermore shalt be.

3. Holy, holy, holy! Though the darkness hide thee,
though the eye of sinful man thy glory may not see,
only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
perfect in power, in love and purity.

4. Holy, holy, holy! Lord God Almighty!
All thy works shall praise thy name, in earth and sky and sea.
Holy, holy, holy! Merciful and mighty,
God in three persons, blessed Trinity.

Helpful Resources:

What is the doctrine of the Trinity? by John Piper

Why is the doctrine of the Trinity important? by Jeff Hughes (Apologetics Index)

The Biblical Doctrine of the Trinity from the ESV Study Bible

God Is Three Persons: the Triunity of God from the ESV Study Bible

The Mystery of the Trinity from the ESV Study Bible

Copyright 2013, Roger Upton
If you find anything useful or excellent in this article, feel free to use it with or without crediting me.

At World’s End

According to contemporary interpretations of the Mayan calendar, the world should end this Friday, December 21. We all know it’s coming, we just can’t agree on when or how. So we speculate. We work ourselves into hysterics over the thought that our world could end suddenly by forces beyond our control.

Humans have always been obsessed with the end of the world. Most of the world’s religions have end of the world scenarios in their sacred writings. We call it Armageddon, The Apocalypse, The End of Days, Doomsday, and a host of other frightening names. I find it interesting that the two most common names to which the end of the world is referred have their origins in the Bible. Apocalypse is a translation of the Greek word apokalupsis which means “unveiling” or “disclosure.” It is where the Book of Revelation gets its title. A revelation is a disclosure of something that was not previously known: “The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place” (Revelation 1:1). Armageddon is a translation of the Hebrew Har Megiddo, which means “the mountain of Megiddo,” and refers to a mountainous area in Israel. Throughout history, many great battles took place there. It is only referenced once in the entire New Testament, in Revelation 16:16, where the word is used symbolically.

The study of the end times is called eschatology, from the Greek word eschatos, which means last, hence, eschatology is the study of last things.

So, when and how will the world end? I can’t answer that question with any authority, but we CAN know some facts which come from the Bible, which is kind of our authority on things like the world’s end.

The date of the end of the world is unknown. Except, that is, to God. Christians are as guilty as any cult of setting times and dates of the word’s end. Shame on you. Jesus plainly said, in reference to the end, “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36). Similarly, we read, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night” (2 Peter 3:10). The Apostle Paul put a point on it when he wrote “Now, brothers and sisters, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-2).

In light of these scriptures, it seems foolish that anyone would claim to have any inkling of when the world will end. We may set dates, look for signs, and engage in all manner of conjecture and speculation, but the truth is, we do not know. God knows and he’s chosen to keep it from us until he chooses to reveal it. Which brings us to our next point…

The end of the world will be unexpected. By unexpected, I don’t mean that we shouldn’t be ready for it. We most definitely should be prepared and ready (Matthew 25:1-13). But, The End is going to occur when we all think it‘s not going to occur. Jesus himself said, “When the Son of Man returns, it will be like it was in Noah’s day.” (Matthew 24:38a). We all know the story of Noah from Genesis 6-7. God told Noah he was going to destroy the world because of its violence and wickedness via a great flood, and if Noah and his family wanted to live, he’d better get to work building one very big ark. Jesus goes on to say, “For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:28b-29). In other words, Jesus was saying life was going on as normal. People were doing what people do: eating, drinking, marrying – living life and having a good time. He isn’t saying eating, drinking, and marrying were evil things, but that people were simply going about their day-to-day routines. Then, without warning, the end came.

The end of the world will be obvious. The will be no mistake that when the world ends, we won’t have to wonder if the world is ending! Again, we turn to both Paul and Peter. Paul wrote, “While people are saying, “Peace and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3), and Peter penned via the Holy Spirit, “the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up” (2 Peter 3:10). It’s hard to mistake the melting of the world for anything but The End. Whether God chooses to use a meteor shower, a comet, or some other means beyond us to destroy the world, isn’t the point. After all, he used regular already existing water to destroy the earth the first time.

It’s not the intention of the blog to go into the deep details of the end times, but something to consider is the end of the world will not be a multi-stage event as some claim. We can talk about dates and times and sequences of raptures and tribulations til we’re blue in the face, but I believe scripture teaches that Jesus returns and the world ends. Simple as that.

The end of the world is just the beginning. The world won’t end and leave us in an apocalyptic wasteland as so many movies suggest. Nor will the earth as we know it simply explode, or fade away as science might theorize. The Bible teaches that the earth will be remade and be regenerated. The effects of the Fall and sin will be removed once and for all. Eden will, in essence, be restored for good.

“See, I will create new heavens and a new earth. The former things will not be remembered, nor will they come to mind (Isaiah 65:17).

“But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him” (2 Peter 3:13-14).

“Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” (Revelation 21:1).

We will live forever with Christ our King. It will be here that our salvation will be fully realized. This is called the consummation. This is what Paul spoke of in Romans 8:18-25. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3).

“For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day” (John 6:40).

“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18).

Therefore, the end of the world should be a time of expectant joy, not fear! Paul says to encourage one another, not discourage one another! Too many pastors and churches are guilty of speaking about The End as if it was a bad thing. Scripture doesn’t teach that. Certainly, it is sad to think about all those who never knew Jesus having no assurance of eternal life when Christ returns, but for those of who know him, his return is something we should expectantly look for and pray for: “He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus” (Revelation 22:20).

Why Gaffney, why now?

Why Gaffney, why now?

I’ve asked myself those two questions on numerous occasions, especially recently.  Why plant a new church in a city that theoretically has one church for every 200 people, and is slightly above the state average for religious congregations? Why do it here and now when the North American Mission Board would most likely be more eager to send me to Colorado, Washington, or Utah, where the person to church ratio is normally one church for multiple thousands of people? Planting a new church in Gaffney will no doubt be a daunting task. However, we’re convinced this is where we need to take the gospel, and here’s why.

The idea of planting the gospel in a religion-saturated environment is exciting. Most people look at this city, with its church on every corner, and thinks, “The last thing this town DOESN’T need is another church!” I was guilty of thinking that way until I started closely reading the New Testament, particularly the book of Acts and the Pauline letters, and saw the parallels between Corinth, Colossae, and so on.  Many of these cities, though much larger than Gaffney, were saturated with different religions and philosophies. When Paul was walking through Athens, he noticed a shrine on literally every street (Acts 17:16, 22-23). The presence of much religion does not equal the presence of Christ.

Gaffney is like many small towns in the Bible Belt. It’s religion is culturally embedded, and convincing someone that being “born Christian” is not the same as being a “born again” (John 3:3) is a challenge. However, like Paul, we’re going into this with the attitude that everyone everywhere needs to know the goodness and grace of God though Jesus Christ personally.

Gaffney is a strategic city. Gaffney is located on the I-85 corridor, centered 50 miles either way between Greenville, SC and Charlotte, NC. Gaffney is also the seat of the upstate Micropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 53,000 according to 2000 data. Cherokee County, where Gaffney is located, is a central part of the upstate Greater Statistical Area, which has an estimated population of almost 1.2 million people (as of 2005). In addition, Gaffney – and the Cherokee County area – is an inviting area in which to locate and relocate due to its close proximity to larger urban centers and generally lower cost of living.

Anyone who’s been through Gaffney knows its strategic location on I-85. Along these couple of exits is a large and bustling outlet mall, restaurants, hotels, and other attractions. We believe Gaffney is also seeing some growth and revitalization in its historic Downtown district. We aim to support city renewal in any way possible. And finally, Gaffney is home to two colleges: historic Limestone College, and the newer Spartanburg Community College. We have plans and are in prayer about how to best reach out to these two institutions.

Gaffney needs the gospel. This goes without saying. Everyone everywhere needs to know that God was, in Christ, reconciling all men unto himself (2 Corinthians 5:19). We believe Gaffney is a city in need of hope and redemption. The statistics are alarming: The crime index gives Gaffney a ranking of 14 out of 100, with 100 being the safest. Per population, Gaffney is nearly double the national average for violent crime. These statistics tells us that Gaffney is a hurting, desperate city. We desire to give them the hope that is only found in Jesus Christ.

Because New City Church is not the same. We don’t consider ourselves “different.” We merely consider ourselves not the same. Our structure will be simple, mobile, and agile. We never plan on owning a building or property, therefore our offerings can better be used to assist and serve the community, and those who are in need. We are currently structured as Community On Mission groups (C.O.M.), and as we continue to grow, we plan on reproducing other C.OM. groups which meet in different areas around the city and county. Our C.O.M. groups are our front line for fellowship, outreach, and teaching. Most churches are event/attraction ally-centered with small groups tacked on. We will be community groups which eventually meet as one large group one day a week, just like the early house churches met outside the temple.

On Sundays, after we launch as an “official“ church (hopefully in the Spring of 2013), we plan on public worship gatherings in a rented facility. This will allow us to be free from the burden of electrical bills, heating/air, and general maintenance. The landscape doesn’t need yet another structure, particularly of the religious variety. We’d rather take advantage of what’s already there. We believe this will also help us pump money into the local economy. Everyone wins.

We will be elder-led, yet congressionally accountable. We will not “call” outside ministers, but instead plan on raising them up, and educating them from within, as per the New Testament pattern.

For a full statement of what we are and are not, go HERE.

New City Church is already making a difference. Even as we are in the Core Group phase, we have assisted Limestone College’s Social Work Dept. in distributing Thanksgiving meals around our community. Our  group provided a fair majority of food, money, and manpower to make sure needy residents received a nice Thanksgiving. We have also worked to meet the needs of individuals. We’ve established a Monday night men’s Bible study at our local Starbucks, which is, for all intents and purposes, the cultural hub of our city. We’ve worked on developing partnerships with local organizations in an effort to take the gospel through a different avenue than the traditional “church program” model. We are praying earnestly about outreach to our two local college campuses.

How can you help New City Church? Prayer. Prayer. Prayer. More prayer. We need it, our city needs it. If God so moves you to donate or give to help support us financially or with supplies for reaching the beautiful people of Gaffney, that is also welcome! But mostly pray!

Are we affiliated? We are currently working on becoming affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention, and eventually we desire to become a part of the Acts 29 Church Planting Network.