Evangelism through Rapid Church Planting
HIM Hub Church Planting Model ©
Harvesters International Ministries (HIM) is at the very cutting edge of missions and evangelism today. We are a church planting organization. We believe that saturation church planting is by far the most effective way of fulfilling the Great Commission.
Three themes flow through our model, namely: Responsible Evangelism, Multiplication Ministry and Stewardship Our church-planting model is applied using indigenous people, in areas where the harvest is ripe. We are currently experiencing explosive growth, so much so that our success is outstripping our capacity. We need partners to come along side us, and to join us in this exciting time of harvest and development. Our vision is to plant thousands of churches over the next years in the countries of Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and the rest of Africa. To do this we need your help. As other countries open up to the Gospel we hope to apply our model there also. (We are already involved in the Congo and our vision for this country alone is to plant several thousand churches when that country opens up) We recently started a project in Angola.
The HIM Model stands on three legs namely:
1. The Church-Planting Structure
2. The Pastoral Training Program
3. The Renewable Resource Projects
Each of these elements has been used by a variety of mission agencies and/or denominations, but not in the same way or the same combination that HIM is attempting to do. We believe in responsible evangelism. Scripture tells us to make disciples, not mere converts. We therefore believe that 'hit-and-run' evangelism is often more harmful than good. Any good outreach model must include discipleship. Training pastors is a vital element of our program. Furthermore we believe that the needs of Africa call on us to assist new churches in their support of their new pastor.
HIM has a vision to do evangelism and plant churches in those areas we consider to be the ripest harvest fields. The project has started in Southern Africa, more specifically, in Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Zambia and along the Congo border. In time we believe this ministry will spread to other areas of the world. This is a growing and developing vision, strategy and methodology.
Our goal is to plant as many viable churches as possible in as short a period as possible. Viable churches are those that are growing in numbers and in spiritual maturity and are able to support a pastor within a certain timeframe. The timeframe differs depending on the type of church and its location, e.g. rural or urban, and the economy of the region.
HIM identifies areas where "hub churches" can be planted. These are churches with the potential of planting other churches. A full time church planter/trainer is placed at these hub churches.
Hub Churches:
" Initiate and coordinate church planting in a region
" Provide for new churches planted in their area
" Provide work at the resource base
" Are training centers
Each hub based church-planter must plant at least ten new churches around the hub church in a two-year period. He must also teach and assist these new churches to plant at least three new churches. Hubs should produce between twenty and forty new churches in a three-year period. It is vital that these should be churches and not mere preaching points.
Training of new pastors in Africa has always been a challenge. Traditional Western methods of going to Bible College for several years are not always very practical. Often when someone does feel called, and can somehow find the funds needed to go to seminary or Bible school, they almost never return to their village.
Training must be provided on the job and teaching must take place close to home. Our Church Planters and the Coordinators provide training at the hub churches. This takes away the problems of travel, accommodation and high expenses.
HIM, in partnership with Timothy Training Institute provides pastoral training at the hub church. This enables the new trainee pastor to do 'on-the-job' training. He can live at home and serve his people while he completes his studies.
The course takes three years and covers 30 modules. Each is practical, culturally relevant and soundly Biblical. The hub leader acts as tutor/ mentor. The distance from the hub to the new church is no more than bicycling distance. Students come to the hub for 3-5 days at a time and then go back home to apply what they have learnt for 4-5 weeks.
Each student is required to plant a new church every six months.
One of the greatest challenges facing new churches is that of providing for a pastor. This results in many "preaching points" that never develop into real churches. These preaching points can therefore not grow to their full potential or become church-planting churches themselves. To meet this need we are developing renewable resource bases/small business projects at hub churches to provide a basic income for pastors of newly planted churches.
Our goal is to develop a resource base at each Hub Church. Donor funds are used to establish renewable sources of income. Several projects are currently running are more are being planned. The "Cow" project provides selected Hubs with at least ten dairy cows. In Malawi, where this project originated, ten cows can provide enough income to support the whole Hub. As many as 30 churches could benefit from an initial gift of $10 000. Other projects include helping individual churches start a chicken run, planting food, supplying a water pump, supplying a corn grinder, etc. All of these will allow the Hub, and eventually the new churches to support their pastors and build basic structures. One of the most exciting projects is providing a quarter acre drip irrigation system for each church. This provides all the food requirements of the pastor and leaves enough for sale which blesses the church.
Initially, particularly in times of drought and famine we ask for people and churches to adopt/sponsor a pastor.
The goal of these projects is self-sufficiency rather than dependency. Teaching basic stewardship, business principles and giving are part of the training we provide.
Each new church is given two identities, namely:
1. It's denominational identity and
2. The HIM identity.
The HIM identity is very simple and is taught from day one.
We teach that:
a. Every believer is a witness, and
b. Every church is a church-planting church. (Churches are required to
identify an area where they will plant a church within two months of being
established themselves)
These concepts are built into the very DNA of the new believer and church. The results have been staggering!
" HIM has a board of directors in each of the countries where it operates. Each board is compelled by their constitution to acts within the guidelines of acceptable financial management and must submit fully audited annual statements. Each board is bound to the general constitution of HIM International.
" In the USA, Hope Builders International receives and disperses our income as designated by the donor. They issue Tax receipts and are able to supply annual statements. HBI is a member of ECFA.
" In the UK we are represented by The Dove Trust and use a registered charity number.
Contact Us for more information.