The Community Christian Church vision, which started as a seed in the mind of four college friends, had three phases. Phase 1 – Impact Church – meant that they would be a church that was relentless about impacting people who were living outside a relationship with Jesus. Phase 2 – Reproducing Church – meant that they intended to plant lots more churches. Phase 3 – Catalyst for a Movement – meant that they would have an impact far beyond Chicago. The progress of the vision to date is outlined in Dave and Jon Ferguson’s book Exponential: How You and Your Friends Can Start a Missional Church Movement.
Along the way, the team has discovered five key reproducing principles: reproducing requires everyone to have an apprentice; reproducing is proactive not reactive; reproducing is not about size, it’s about leader readiness; reproducing isn’t about kingdom, it’s about God’s kingdom; reproducing happens at the edge and at the centre; and everything rises and falls on leadership. In fact, the whole book is about reproducing leaders, artists, groups, missional teams, coaches, venues, sites, churches, and networks.
The book provides plenty of theory, diagrams and abstract concepts, but it is written in a highly engaging manner, filled with interesting anecdotes. I found it difficult to put down, and I had finished it the day after it arrived. The story of Community Christian Church and the sites it has added, the new churches it has sponsored, and the church planting networks it has given birth to, is an inspiring one, and it should be essential reading for anyone interested in church planting.
One reply on “A gripping account of church reproduction in action”
Thanks for the review of the book. I was able to be in Australia in November for a couple weeks and was very encouraged by some of what I experienced in the churches there. I would love for more people, church leaders and churches in Australia and U.S. to embrace the potential of reproduction that is within them. Dave