Living Out Our Values

Tim Dubeau, MidEast Regional Pastor

To be a community living out Shared Life and Shared Mission—one of our Seven Guiding Values, we seek to identify opportunities where we can unify around a common purpose. When groups of churches, led by their pastors, get behind something significant, it is amazing to think of the possibilities! In the Mideast Region, Tim Dubeau (CCCC Regional Pastor) and Bryan Long (Dir. of Church Multiplication) are introducing the idea of uniting local clusters of CCCC churches to sponsor a CCCC church plant.

Many of our churches already support missionaries and have missions budgets …. so why wouldn’t we unite to sponsor a CCCC church plant? Well, the answer is, “Why not!” Under the leadership of their pastors, groups of churches could invest themselves in learning about the plant, the community where the plant occurs and the planters themselves who need our prayers, financial support, and encouragement. Churches could band together a few times each year to learn firsthand from the planting pastor of the challenges and blessings. There could be a “planting” banquet where churches unite to celebrate the growth of the church plant.

This is shared life and shared mission for the supporting churches as well as the church plant. Not only would such initiatives serve to advance the role of CCCC church planting throughout the country, it would also give pastors and churches, who otherwise have little to no reason to do so, significant reasons for gathering together. What better reason to periodically meet as groups of churches than to sponsor banquets to encourage church planters in their ministries, to hear of their challenges and share in their blessings, and to have a sense of ownership in establishing new outposts of the Kingdom where they are so desperately needed.

While it might seem preferable to hold off until a church plant comes to your region, there is no need to wait. Your prayers, encouragement and financial support are welcome whether you are close by or far away from where the church plant exists. The truth is, this initiative meets another important guiding value – fostering Healthy Church Multiplication. With several church plants underway in the CCCC and more to come, we lay before the ministers and churches of our Conference this challenge: Make an opportunity to Share Life, Share Mission and share in the blessings of supporting a CCCC church plant. If you are interested in hearing more, contact Bryan Long at bryan@theninevehnetwork.org.