Reproducible Strategies for International Church planting
Include everyone, let everyone play. We remember these tenets from our earliest years growing up, both in the home and in school. These principles are commonly repeated in our society and in cultures around the world. Timeless concepts and true. Not too long ago, I headed out from the house to visit one of the guys I disciple. I ran from the house to the car in on of those drenching downpours, the type of rain that soaks to the bone. But, when I arrived at my friend’s home, he and another brother from the church were getting ready to go out to a church plant on their motorcycles. They were doing what I had demonstrated for them to do. Take what you have and take the Word out. The novelty of being a foreigner will not carry a movement forward to the next generation. Creating something reproducible within the fabric of the culture makes the redemptive work of God something that will be passed on through the generations.
A fundamental key within a church planting movement is the concept of reproducibility. This encompasses making the message, the way that message is delivered, who will deliver the message, and to whom it will be delivered, in a manner that it can be copied again and again within the context, values, and economy of the country. When something is reproducible, it will move within the fabric of society. It will “feel” like the right thing to do. It makes it easy to relate to others and it makes it simple to communicate to others. And we find the same concepts relate in the church. I Corinthians 12 makes it clear that everyone has a part in the life of the church and 2 Timothy 2:2 clarifies the need for reproducing.
Here are some areas of reproduction to consider: 1) reproducing spiritual principles, 2) delivering the message within the economic reality of the people, 3) creating a team of leaders able to deliver the message, and 4) developing a field of operation that is accessible.
1) Reproducible spiritual principles include communicating values, practices, and priorities within the context of the culture. This often looks different as we move from one culture to another. It is common to confuse our cultural values, practices and priorities with immutable, God given values, practices, and priorities. We need to retain a flexibility to adjust to the cultural values. The key factors are to have a mastery of the language and the culture. The spiritual principles need to be communicated at every level of the church in ways that are repeatable.
2) The message needs to be deliverable within the economic reality of the people. It is tempting to use all of the best & biggest that Western culture and know how can deliver, but often the message becomes lost in the delivery. Use delivery systems that are cultural accessible and maintainable. In our context we use wooden boats because everyone uses wooden boats and we use motorcycles because everyone and their brother drives motorcycles.
3) Creating a team of leaders that own the message. As an intentional church planting movement, we believe that growing churches takes place through small group structure and that growing a movement takes place by the intentional starting of new churches. There is a need for a team of nationals that believe that message and are willing to take ownership of it. They will deliver & defend the message as their message. This is not because someone convinced them, but because they see the values as brought out in Scripture.
4) The nationals need a field of operation that allows them to realize the vision and values that are being instilled in the movement. If not, the activity will become exclusive to the missionaries and eventually stop when the missionaries leave. To make it lasting, there needs to be time in the life of the national layperson and a way in which to carry out the vision. It needs to fit into the rhythm of life that exists.
As we do things that are reproducible, they will be copied again and again by the local churches and her leaders. As we do things that are not reproducible, we stifle and strangle the very work that we are working to achieve. This creates an unsustainable entity and will leave a vacuum that the local church will not be able to fill and probably will not even care to fill when International funding stops.
Make the work reproducible and the work will carry forward beyond our lifetime. 
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