Below is a re-post blog from our dear friends at PLANT NIJMEGEN outlining the key values our network of churches (Relational Mission) holds dear. We recently sent a wonderful couple called Ben and Mikka Parker to be part of the core team that is pioneering the church plant. Ben served as an elder at Redeemer, and Mikka was on staff. They helped plant Redeemer in 2015 and are going again. Head to the PLANT NIJMEGEN website to find out more.
In our previous posts we’ve been looking at 3 doctrinal values. In the current 3 posts we will be looking at 3 leadership values. We seek to build churches with:
1. Elders in each local church
2. Ephesians 4 ministries
3. Servant-hearted leadership.
Elders in each local church because this is the structure for leadership we see in the New Testament churches, Ephesians 4 ministries because they are God-given gifts within the church to bring itself to maturity and Servant-hearted because this is the culture of leadership Jesus modelled to us.
In this blog post we will look at what it means for a church to partner with Ephesian 4 ministries.
At Relational Mission it’s our vision to plant 20 churches in each of the 50 nations of Europe. How will such a bold vision be accomplished? By raising up men and women who wholeheartedly make themselves available to pursue God’s mission. In order to do so God has given gifts to the church. Ephesians 4:11-12 says: “And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.”
The gifts God gives are people; apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers. When all of these ministries are working together it’s like a hand with 5 fingers offering a firm grasp for men and women to be pulled up and reach their full potential in God. How do these gifts work together? Let me paint you a simple picture…
Imagine aid is sent to a people group on an island. After the aid team arrives on the beach, it’s the apostles that bring the people together to work out their mission. The prophets are sent ahead to climb up into the trees and mark the destiny ahead. It’s the apostles that start to set out the route by which to get there. They bring direction and bring people together to lead them along the way. As they embark on their journey, it’s the evangelists that run ahead and keep an eye on the side of the road to pick up any locals that need help. It’s the shepherds that care for the team and those added. As they continue on their journey it’s the teachers that urge the people to stay on course and equip them on their journey to understand this new land. When all of these play their parts well, the mission will be accomplished.
Apostleship is the first gift mentioned, as it’s the gift that helps the other giftings to work together. Apostles mobilise people to live like ‘sent ones’. Not as platform speakers but as fathers among the churches. Being sent without a clear destination is pointless. Therefore, there is an important synergy between apostles and prophets. Prophets help to set aim. They might not know how to get there, but they point us in the right direction. As the mission is advanced evangelist help and mobilise God’s people to reach those who have not yet heard the gospel. As new people are brought in, shepherds help the church to bring care for one-another. Finally, it’s the role of theteachers to equip everyone for the journey ahead and stay on course.
A team on mission without apostles will fragment; a team without prophets will lack direction; a team without evangelists will be fruitless; a team without shepherds will mean people get hurt and a team without teachers will be ill equipped. It’s when all these gifts work well together that the mission will flourish.
Mike Betts, Maurice Nightingale and Stef Liston - 3 RM apostles working together
Being part of a family of churches means so much more than having a logo on your website and visiting a few conferences. As a starting church plant, it has been a thrill to work in team together. We were invited by the Relational Mission apostolic team to take part in our collective mission of planting 20 churches in the Netherlands in the next 30 years – a desire God had already birthed in our hearts. Together we sought God through prayer with prophets to help us discern where to start. First a region emerged; Gelderland, then a specific city; Nijmegen. Currently I am handing over the leadership of the eldership team in Life Church Peterborough to a gifted young leader that has been wonderfully ‘given away’ by another church in our family of churches. We have received some incredibly generous gifts and are building a support base with people who want to invest and take part in this mission too. We are receiving teaching from experienced planters and care from those supporting us. In the meantime, we have already seen some great people joining us who are eager to help reach the people in Nijmegen.
A Relational Mission Conference
Ephesians 4 is not an abstract philosophy of ministry. It’s real people who are part of a real family on an ambitious mission together. See relationalmission.org for more about Relational Mission. It’s our desire to see apostolic families of churches being multiplied by raising up spiritual sons and daughters through these Ephesians 4 giftings in each nation of Europe. In the Netherlands, this means raising up Dutch-speaking apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers.
Let’s bring on the team!
Wouter Vertegaal
Team leader at Plant Nijmegen
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