Church Planting Rule No.1 "Love your community to life!"

Many church plants start in certain communities for negative reasons.  High crime, low church attendance, poverty to name a few.   That's not necessarily a bad thing but there is a danger of falling into a trap of being depressing.  Instead of inspiring hope in a community we can affirm people’s negativity.  You can even attract some people by pointing out how bad a community is.  Many people in the community will agree and join in the discussion of how bad things are and who let it get that way.

I was challenged once when watching a Documentory series on BBC1 (I think it was called "The Estate we're in") some years ago about a woman who turned communities round from being crime-dens to being fantastic places to live.  This woman had sucessfully turned around one estate before and a camera crew was following her exploits as she moved into an new rundown estate to do the same.  She wasn't a Christian and was in fact a chain-smoking, hard skinned, battle axe.  She was incredibly stubborn and refused to focus on the negative.  Instead she used her stubborn streak to make the best of the positive things she saw in an area.

On the episode I saw, this lady was talking with a single mum who lived in fear in a tower block.  The mother said, "I was on the phone with my best friend earlier and she said she wanted to come and live near me.  I told her she was mad and no one should ever come to this hell hole."  The lady responded, "No, this is a great place to live and it's going to be even better.  Think about it you and I live here and we're lovely!"  The amazing thing is that lady turned that community around, with her single handed stubbornness to focus on the positive!   It was contagious and inspiring.

If she could do that without Jesus, think of the amazing potential we have in our church plants with Him!

"Little children, you are from God and have overcome, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world."" 1John 4:4

Jesus loved this messed up world.  He didn't come down to it just to remind us how bad it is or how bad we are.  He came because he saw something that was beautiful and worth saving.    Even in the worst people and darkest situations the world has to offer, there are faint images of our Heavenly Father.  And to Jesus they are worth dying for.

"Then God said, "Let us make man in our image..."" Genesis 1:26 

People are beautiful.  Communities are beautiful.  And every community should become more beautiful if a church is living and loving in it.

Let's be inspirational and stubbornly contagious with our positive attitudes towards the places where God has asked us to serve Him and love others.

Tough challenge but that's the gospel...