18 Aug Partnering to Start Churches

Darrel Bosworth, Pastor, Kilpatrick UB Church (Woodland, Mich.)
I’m a member of the West Michigan LEAD team, which is focused on supporting the Imagine This church plant in Grand Ledge, Mich. Mike Caley, another member of that LEAD team, wrote about it previously.

My church, Kilpatrick, has been speaking and talking a lot in the last two years about getting beyond ourselves. We ask, “Who are you talking to about Christ in your workplace?”

We’re in the LEAD team to try to build some of that missional DNA about birthing churches into our congregation. We’re not in a position to plant a church on our own, but through the LEAD team, we can partner with other churches to do it.

As a LEAD team, our purposes are:

• To launch a new church every two years. That probably won’t happen for us in this first stage, but that’s our hope.
• To gain a win for Imagine This. We talk about birthing a church every two years, but we decided we’re not going to abandon ship until we know they’re up and going, even if it means continuing support for more than two years.
• To support Imagine This by giving money and, when applicable, people (some churches are located too far away).
• To meet six times a year to encourage and pray for the planter, Gordon Kettel.
• To be a pilot for future LEAD teams. A second LEAD team is forming in southern Michigan.
• To help churches understand that birthing a church is a natural part of the reproduction process of a healthy church.

We’ve begun considering where to plant the next church. In Michigan, a number of United Brethren churches are located on the I-96 corridor from Fowlerville to Grand Rapids. We’re looking at some places there.