ASI Scandinavia 2018: IT IS TIME – To Be About Our Fathers Business!

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ASI Scandinavia

Simon Martin

How to Plant a Church

Is actually, like Jesus, investing in a few.

So we've looked at the building blocks to a process in the church.

If we want to be balanced, I think we need to have those elements in it.

The incarnation, mixing with people, how do we propel ourselves into the lives of others in legitimate ways?

How do I use my work life, my university life?

How do I use some of my leisure time, even?

I've just moved to Norway with my family, with my wife, and we have a bit of garden.

I'm going to go on the agricultural course.

Yeah, we should have had a game here, wouldn't that be good?

But I've got enough room in the front just to put up a badminton net and I've actually painted a court.

And there's a little road going by and people are coming by that road.

And I'm out there just playing badminton.

And my neighbour, on my own, which is quite difficult.

You know, my neighbour, what are you doing?

And he did it, he had a little go with it.

Just finding, you know, we can use social engagement.

In fact, I think a lot of discipling begins with social involvement.

You know, it's the first place, you know, he's beginning his body, he's there.

We can use social engagement, build up momentum.

If you do it regularly, regularly, regularly, then you can build momentum, and over time then I can add some spiritual momentum.

Spiritual momentum, but it begins with some social engagement.

So a discipleship mentality is who can I do this with?

Not just with those who already believe, although we need to do that because we're creating a healthy community and we need to spend time together, sometimes outside of the worship experience.

We also need to have a harvest that is ripe.

You know, you're almost, as disciple makers, you're almost like detectives, right?

You are looking for signs of where the Holy Spirit is working.

And then learning to respond appropriately to that.

And it's interesting, this happened to me just this last week, you know, my neighbor, getting to know him, you know, once a week I mean I just invite people to my home for a meal, it's curry night, I love curry.

So I'm just gonna, anyone want to come to curry night?

Over the table we bond, we have questions.

This week my neighbor says to me, I'm a bit curious about Adventists.

I have told him when I first introduced him because it's always something a man asks another man within 30 seconds of getting to know you.

And then because we're getting a ton of snow where we are, a lot of snow, and there was a farmer a little way away from us, who last year was very generous and came with his tractor and cleared all our snow, which is lovely.

But he sent us a text message saying, you know, I'm going to be away a bit, and I won't be able to do it for you.

So he was doing it for this other neighbor, the 2 of us.

And so I went to this other neighbor and said, what are we going to do?

He says, well, I've got an ATV, you know, these little.

I'm waiting for the invitation to get on it from him.

He says, listen, we don't really know each other, but you are a pastor.

What if we split the cost of getting 1 of those snow plows and putting it on the front?

So we bought it together, and then we spent some time over this Christmas break putting it on together, and then the questions.

I said, listen, I operate on a business principle.

If you demand a question, I will supply it.

And I told him, oh Advent is beautiful people because they follow a beautiful Jesus who's the center of all things.

I'm so compelled by his life, by his death, for what he's got planned for us.

And he's trying to produce some beautiful people to follow him.

But it's through incarnation, it's through association, right?

Bringing people in, sharing life with people, inviting them, come to our house.

For many people today your home is the church.

Some people will never step into a building, but they will step into your home.

And as I said to you, I think we're going towards that time when we will be worshipping in our homes again.

I think this is quite important for Scandinavian countries.

We teach something called simple church, which is church at home.

And I don't have an Adventist church where I live now.

We moved into an area, that's 1 of the reasons we moved into an area where there is no Adventist church, it's an hour away, because we want to plant a church.

So when I'm not traveling, I try at least once, 1 Sabbath a month, if I can manage it, just to be home and we invite people to our last 1, we have 30 people coming to our house.

Who would, I don't think some of them would not have gone to a church.

There's a person who used to go to church actually, from 30 years ago, who hasn't been since, but came to this gathering.

Is it less authentic if it's in your home than in this building?

So we have to, we have to think about these things.

This is, this is something else that I think is interesting as a disciple maker, is to be involved in an accountable relational multiplying discipleship unit of 3 or 4 people.

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How to Plant a Church

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