CPM/DMM: The Other 99 Sheep

Church Planting Movements: Community Development vs. Access

The Other 99 Sheep

Cross cultural (cc) acclimatizing for the glory bearer (missionary) can sometimes reveal the most poignant of opportunities for deeper trust in the Father. Without the foremost hunger in our own hearts for daily transformation we simply and easily can fall pray to “doing ministry” the way they taught us in our home cultures.

                  

A foreign laborer on our island had formed a partnership with a local ministry leader. From the years of investment the foreigner had made into this leader’s life he assumed that loyalties to God’s ways were at equal passions for both. 

                  

A supporting fellowship from another country desired to be further connected to the Lord’s purposes among the Muslim Unreached People Group in this same cc context. They labored with the on-site missionaries in prayer, resources, and supportive ways. However, in their enthusiasm to be more directly connected, though at a distance, they began engaging with the national partners without coordinating with partnering missionaries on site. Long term workers, in most cases, have much insight which can be shared in what potentially may or may not be the most effective ministry approaches in any given people group. Indigenous partners have this same great potential. However, we are discussing CPM efforts among heretofore Unengaged/and or Unreached People Groups. In other words, this usually means that there are no near culture or indigenous laborers available in these groups with whom to consult.

                 

We have the Great Sheep Debacle to remind us of the desperate need any one of us has, in humility, to continue to be learners in any and every cc context ministry opportunity.

                  

Roughly $12,000 was invested by this foreign supporting Fellowship in what they thought would be the purchase of 99+ head of sheep to be raised as a project to help access a Muslim community. The vision which the national leader cast to them was the purchase of these sheep would afford him to place another national worker into that Muslim area as a consultant for the caretakers of the sheep and thus have a platform for sharing the gospel. That was the vision pitched. This same national leader had already been caught in financial embezzlement and deception as leader of a local branch of a national evangelical Bible School. The missionaries knew this information but were not consulted in the process of the foreign Fellowship’s intent.

                  

In Church Planting Movements approach, this would have been considered a huge financial investment to one area and would have been questioned as to having been an effective “access” project or not. The foreign supporting church was more interested in “just doing it” without considering or weighing the potential effectiveness or not in opening up households in that community. However, at this time in the process of ministry among this UPG, ministry tended toward more traditional approaches. At this point in time, roughly 20 years ago, we had already been hungering for what the Church Planting Movements (CPM) approach helped to frame for those of us on the mission field among UPGs.

                  

The difference between CPM approach to a community versus a Community Development CD approach is simply put:

Access Ministry versus Community Development CD

Goal CD:  improve the quality of life of a community seeking the opportunity to share Christ

Goal of CPM: Access to a given community is practiced in accordance with Luke 9, 10 and Matthew 10 approach. The desire: rapidly plant house churches of obedience based disciples of Jesus which plant house churches. Transformed obedience based oikos (households) of disciples begin to transform their communities. In other words, in obedience to Christ, in a process as these oikos come to know and grow in Christlikeness, they will begin to obey His heart. In response to God’s heart and the leading of the Holy Spirit they will offer indigenously driven solutions to the development issues in their communities and beyond for the advancement of the glory of God, while focused upon disciplemaking movement.

◦                      CPM marries nicely with CD. Households transformed in obedience based discipleship begin to transform their communities

◦                      CPM is making reproducing households of disciples in a process

Funny thing is, all those 99 sheep and all the money was “habis” (gone) upon follow up inspection by the sponsoring foreign Fellowship. The national ministry leader who had convinced these folks of the efficacy of this investment simply shrugged his shoulders and just mentioned that maybe all the sheep must have died. Thus, the Great Sheep Debacle of 1997 remains legendary in the minds of that Fellowship.

                  

Sometimes the greatest lessons learned in -cross-cultural CPM efforts come in the form of two-by-four packages.