from Church Planting and Other Heresies
Posted By: thethinker on Mon. July 8 , 2002 at 10:53:27 PM
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It’s the story of Gordon Cosby.
Gordon was a chaplain in WWII, in fact he landed on the beaches of Normandy.
During his tenure as a chaplain his unit saw 400% turnover of men. In other words the average life span for anyone Gordon talked to was very short.
It was this extreme environment that drove Gordon to some practical conclusions about ministry.
It was impossible for him to get around to see all the men – most of whom would die very, very soon.
But it was imperative that these men receive ministry.
To make a long story short, Gordon came to the conclusion that truly every believer is a priest and can and should minister to others.
The fact that these men couldn’t gather together on Sunday morning forced Gordon Cosby to see in a new way that truly – every believer is a priest. Every believer is called to minister.
So, as he made his rounds, he found Christian men and encouraged and appointed them to minister to the men around them.
“Where two or more are gathered – Christ is present”
Much to his surprise, Gordon Cosby made it through WWII alive.
When he came home to the US the experience he had had in Europe changed his view of ministry forever.
Gordon founded the Church of the Saviour in Washington DC over 50 years ago with 8 other people.
I had the privilege of meeting with him last summer.
I saw, first hand, what can happen after 50 years of believing that every Christian is called to ministry.
I saw what it looks like when new christians are challenged to find a mission to be a part of.
What it looks like when a woman receives a call from God to set up a hospital for the homeless has no funds to do it and miraculously several million dollars gets donated to the Church – coincidentally the exact amount this woman and her friends had prayed for.
There is now a hospital for the homeless in one of the poorest areas of Wash DC.
I saw a local expression of the Church that has never grown to more than 150 people, but has turned Washington DC upside down.
What does all this have to do with church planting?
Well, Church of the Savior calls “church plants” MISSIONS. Wow, what if every “church” you know of had maintained that identity! What if every Church in America spent 20% on self and 80% on the world! What if we weren’t in the real estate business….imagine a church.