Tri-State co-op develops aggressive church planting plan
Most people within the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches are familiar with our first church multiplication center in Newton, Kansas. There’s a good reason for that. Not only has Grace Community Church in Newton successfully multiplied twice; the Grace staff has also developed an effective, five-part strategy for the multiplication process, including recruitment, funding, development, placement, and ongoing coaching. Of course, smaller FEC churches could never hope to duplicate that kind of growth, right?
Think again! Just ask the newly formed Tri-State Co-op in the heart of the Midwest, which has recently formed for the sole purpose of planting churches in a specific region. Working in conjunction with FEC resource center, six churches in Indiana and Ohio have set their sights on the southern tier of Michigan and northwest Ohio. Current members of the Tri-State Co-op include:
- Archbold Evangelical Church, Archbold, Ohio
- Crossroads Evangelical Church, Wauseon, Ohio
- Crossroads Evangelical Church, Napoleon, Ohio
- Kings Cross Church, Defiance, Ohio
- Solid Rock Community Church, West Unity, Ohio
- Sonlight Community Church, Angola, Indiana.
In addition, two or three churches in southern Michigan are considering joining the co-op in its efforts to get two church-plant initiatives underway in those regions by Easter 2015.
It’s is an aggressive goal, one that none of the churches in the newly formed co-op could likely achieve on its own. Collectively, however, they began to ask the question, “What would happen if we got together? Could we provide all the resources necessary to plant a church?” A few brainstorming sessions later, and each of these six churches answered that question with a resounding, “Yes!” Following a basic plan, each church has committed to contributing 1% of their church budget and providing personnel, training, and resources for each church plant. Different churches will take the lead role for each plant, with the “lead” church contributing another 1% of their budget, along with ongoing guidance, leadership, and support.
While still in the initial planning stages, the Tri-State Co-op is the first of what is likely to become a wave of similar co-ops forming throughout the Fellowship of Evangelical Churches, as more regions develop multiplication centers and join together to establish reproducing churches worldwide, so stay tuned!
