Stones and Ripples
It’s great that UK practitioners are starting to write books about church planting. We caught up with Gareth Robinson to ask him about his new book. Here’s what he said …
When a stone hits the water, it creates ripples. The greater the stone, the greater the ripples.
My book ‘Stones and Ripples: Ten Principles for Pioneers and Church Planters’ comes from research with pioneers and planters from a wide variety of contexts. This generated hundreds of principles, themes and reflections on scripture. Some of these are presented in the book.
There are ten things to remember: five characteristics, and five steps. Ten principles that can help a pioneer or planter take a step back, and consider what’s going on inside of them and within what they are doing.
There are five characteristics for leaders. I’m sure there are probably more, but honestly, when you read through the five, you’ll think it’s quite enough.
The first is praying. It’s so easy to forget. It’s easy for it to get crammed out because we’re so busy for Jesus we don’t ever spend any time with him. So, pray: asking and listening.
The second is envisioning. Have a vision that’s big enough for people to get excited about, but specific enough for them to know what they can do to help see it happen.
The third is growing. I long to be considered by the Lord as ‘mature’ in my faith, and the only way that’s going to happen is by me growing as a person, as a leader, as a husband, as a dad … Learning from our successes, and from those things that aren’t going quite so well…
The fourth is acting. Dreamers who spend their whole life dreaming, but never reaching for the goal, end up sad, depressed and disappointed. Pioneers and planters try things, they have a go and they learn from their mistakes and successes. This brings me to the final characteristic.
Learning. What are the ways we can learn about our context, our people, our mission, our strategies? How do we embrace the change that inevitably comes?
I’d like to suggest that if we work on these five characteristics, we’ll be leaders that others might want to follow. Pioneers that might see a breakthrough; people modelling a life that others might want to live; an example of discipleship which is wholehearted, humble, passionate; and seeing lives transformed in Jesus’ name.
And there seem to be five steps to take us from vision to multiplication.
The first is leading. How do we lead others? Prayer starts in the leaders and flows out. Leaders are the vision carriers; leaders are constantly striving to grow and set a culture of discipleship. Ripples come out from the leader to those around them? You get the idea.
The second is relating. Pioneering and planting is about people. Sharing the good news of Jesus with people means relationships: with those who join you to fulfil the vision, those who you are trying to reach and those within the organisations who might be supporting you or working alongside you.
The third is incarnating. This is where most people think planting and pioneering begins – starting a new project, creating a new community, beginning a work that demonstrates the love and life of God with new people. What are the principles behind demonstrating the Kingdom of God in carne, in the flesh?
Fourth, establishing. This is about creating the trellis around which the plant can grow: the structures, the systems, the shape of the community to help it survive and thrive. Healthy churches establish structures to sustain things beyond our own limited presence.
The fifth is multiplying. Healthy parents want their children to grow to the point that they are ready to leave home. Multiplying churches typically invest in a leadership pipeline: developing other pioneers and planters to initiate something new themselves.
Jesus pursued holiness and obedience over ‘success’ and his impact continues to ripple out. Outworking these principles in our own pioneering will—I pray—help us keep focused on the main goal: seeking first the kingdom of God and seeing his kingdom come in the lives of others.
Go make some ripples!
If you’d like to buy a copy of Gareth’s book, you can do so through St Andrews Bookshop.
Gareth Robinson
Gareth Robinson is the rector and team leader of Saint Philips Chapel Street in Salford, central Manchester, UK, which he leads with his wife Lizzy, and head of church planting training for New Wine England. He and Lizzy have three children and a cockapoo named Muttley.
