Archive for the ‘Church Planting’ Category

Posted on May 29, 2009 - by Stephen Murray

Preaching to the Heart

Acts 29 Quarterly: Preaching to the Heart

Tuesday, June 02, 2009, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Host
JD Senkbile

Location
Jubilee Community Church

Jubilee Community Church Jubilee Centre 21 Nelson Road Observatory 7925 Cape Town, South Africa Cape Town Other

Phone: 082 818 1222

Purpose

To advance church planting in the Western Cape, through bringing church planters,pastors and leaders together for shared encouragement and learning from each other.

Format

We will meet from 11 am to 1pm. The first hour will be content and round table discussion. The second hour will be lunch and fellowship.

Content

Preaching to the Heart

Al Barth, from Redeemer Church Planting Center, will be coming to share with us about communicating the gospel in a way that transforms peoples hearts.

Who should attend?

All pastors, current or potential church planters, and other leaders interested in initiating a gospel-centered, missional movement in their area. You are free to bring your team or other leaders.

Cost

R35 – R50 for lunch.

Directions

PLEASE RSVP JD Senkbile (ASAP) jd@acts29network.org

Posted on April 8, 2009 - by Stephen Murray

Being Missional Down on Earth

Discussing all things missional can bring with it a certain amount of guilt as we face up to the fact that often its just so much easier to talk about being missional than it is to actually go out and just do it. We get excited about getting together with some missional thinkers (as I’m hoping to do next week) at the local pub discussing missional theory and drinking beer, we read books, blogs and attend conferences and then we turn around and realise that for all the theory there really isn’t all that much missional activity going on in our own lives. The guilt sets in.

My wife and I experienced this a lot last year as we planned and talked about  the church plant - we got so caught up in the experience of dreaming missional that when we woke up from the dreaming we realised that there wasn’t anything particularly missional going on in our lives. The guilt set in.

We’ve since taken steps to rectify that and make being missional part of who we are as a family and as we live out our life in the city of Cape Town. We haven’t really stopped dreaming, and I hope we never do, but we’ve started to earth a lot of what we’ve been dreaming about in the past. The guilt has subsided.

Jonathan Dodson seems to be a guy who knows what down to earth missional activity is and looks like. He also seems to know how to engage in it without bringing along a sack of guilt that just ruins the experience. Go read his ‘8 Ways to Easily be Missional‘ and be liberated and missional at the same time.

Posted on March 23, 2009 - by Stephen Murray

Praying Over Your City

We’ve got a team of theological students with us for the week as we prepare for the first preview service at Point Community Church this weekend. After spending the day talking through demographics and ministry philosophy we took the group up Signal Hill to look out over the city of Cape Town and spend a few moments in prayer about the impending week and the plant in general. What’s weird is the feeling that seems to come over me when I’m in high vantage places looking down over the area I preparing to minister in. I almost always have an overwhelming compulsion to pray, pray and pray desperately for this city (and also about my own sin as I look at the task ahead). I was just wondering if any of you other budding church planters out there ever have similar experiences?

It’s just amazing how when I get that visual view of the city and can take in the size and magnitude of the task the Lord just seems to compel me to pray. I pray that he’ll continue to burden me with the task of prayer throughout this endeavour.

Posted on March 7, 2009 - by Stephen Murray

Point Community Church Blog Goes Live

Bit by bit things are coming together for our little church plant. There’s a whole world of practical things that need to get done that no seminary will ever teach you about. Anyway, one more of the pieces in the puzzle is now available to the public: Our church’s blog. So pop around and check us out.

Posted on February 22, 2009 - by Stephen Murray

…daylight’s New Home

Welcome to stephenmurray.co.za the new home of my blog, ‘…daylight’. As you can see by the categories at the top of the screen I’ve decided to focus my blogging a bit more and so I’m going to try and stick more closely to the categories at the top of the page as begin this new phase of blogging. As always my goal is to continue my journey of ministry in service of Jesus and to let you in on my thoughts, ideas, rants and a whole lot of other stuff as I try to figure out what it means to be a husband, church planter and pastor all for Christ’s glory. Join me

For all the regulars out there please note that the new feed is now here:

http://feeds2.feedburner.com/stephenmurraycoza

Please also update your links accordingly.

Posted on January 19, 2009 - by Stephen Murray

Connect with Point Community Church

With everyone cracking into gear at work in this new year I thought it would be a good time to share what the majority of my time will be made up of this year (and for a few years to come) and how you can connect with the work.

This year Jacques Erasmus (the lead-planter) and myself (co-planter) are hoping, God-willing, to plant and establish Point Community Church in the Sea Point and Green Point areas of Cape Town. At the end of this month our first three gospel communities (we shamelessly plagiarised that name from the Crowded House guys) will hopefully be up and running. So in order to get connected with us or stay up to date with how we’re doing check out our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter.

Posted on December 24, 2008 - by Stephen Murray

Top 8 for 2008: Everything

Who was I kidding? There’s no way I’m going to find the time to write a series of ‘top 8 for 2008′ posts between now and the end of the year so instead I’ll simply cram them all into one post. So here you have it, my top 8 for 2008 of everything!

Top 8 things I did or experienced in 2008:

1. Got married! (October)
2. Got engaged! (March)
3. Started planning and implementing a church plant (All year – but especially last three months)
4. Heard Piper, Driscoll, Chandler and Mahaney at the Resurgence Conference at Mars Hill in Seattle, spent time at the Journey Church in St Louis and met a whole lot of great peeps from Acts 29, and others, in the States (February)
5. Was taught Deuteronomy by Gary Millar – the best Old Testament teacher I’ve been taught by to date (September)
6. Road up Sani Pass – my first real 4×4 experience behind the wheel (October)
7. Decided to stay in Cape Town long term – gotta love this city (March)
8. Had my thinking about the gospel deepened and enriched ten times over by Tim Keller through numerous mp3s, articles and the odd blog comment (throughout the year)

Top 8 Blogs I followed in 2008 (See my 2007 list here):

1. Church Planting Novice – Jonathan Dodson. A newcomer to the list, this blog has been perfect for where I’m at in my thinking at the moment. So much wisdom and insight from a guy on the ground.
2. Between Two Worlds – Justin Taylor. Last year’s number 1 drops down one place – but still a great blog.
3. Tim Chester. Up from last year’s number 7 spot. Tim’s writing never stops enlightening, challenging and encouraging all at the same time.
4. John Scheepers. Give it up for the Saffa bloggers! John is a friend of mine who writes a great blog and brings a welcome voice to the South African Christian blogsphere.
5. Drew Goodmanson. Down from #2 – sorry Drew. Drew doesn’t post very often, but when he does its almost always worthwhile.
6. Justin Moffat. Another newcomer to the list. Justin writes an informative and challenging blog with an Anglican slant – I’ve enjoyed it a lot this year.
7. Michael Jensen. Michael drops down from last years 3rd but still turns out great post after great post. Plus he sent me a copy of his new book which I’ll be reviewing here shortly.
8. Jason Allen. Jason was one of the first people I became ‘blog friends’ with when I started blogging. I’ve always enjoyed his blog and the sanity he brings to some current trends that rage through the church blogging world.

Top 8 Books for 2008 (books I read this year – most of them are older than 2008 – please note that the books are a little one-sided topically because most of my reading this year revolved around my dissertation):

1. Total Church – Steve Timmis and Tim Chester. Ok so I first read it in 2007 but I’ve read it several times this year because of my dissertation and I still think its the most important book I’ve ever read on ecclesiology.
2. The Reason for God – Tim Keller. The first apologetics book that I feel comfortable giving to my friends.
3. Planting Missional Churches – Ed Stetzer. Great book with practical insight. Really helpful for where I’m at.
4. The Forgotten Ways – Alan Hirsch. Really good yet at times frustrating. I’m on the same page as Hirsch with a number of things – I guess I’m just a bit more conservative on one or two others.
5. Breaking the Missional Code – Ed Stetzer and David Putman. Another great help on all things missional.
6. On the Incarnation – Athanasius. I delved into a bit of church history this year and thoroughly enjoyed this one.
7. The King of God’s Kingdom – David Seccombe. Dr Seccombe (Doc) was my New Testament lecturer this year and so I got a chance to have a crack at his book. It’s a great overview of Christ in the gospels.
8. Jesus and the Victory of God – NT Wright. Vintage Wright – I don’t agree with him at every point but this is an important book.

Top 8 places I visited in 2008

1. Seattle, Washington, USA
2. St Louis, Missouri, USA
3. Castleburn, Drakensburg, KZN
4. Sani Pass, Lesotho
5. Lost City, Sun City, North West Province
6. Franschoek, Western Cape
7. Betty’s Bay, Western Cape
8. Durban, KZN (my old stomping ground)

That’s my year in a nutshell. It’s been the year with the biggest changes in my life to date. Not only did I get married but we decided to stay in Cape Town and plant churches here rather than in Durban. Things have come a long way in the last 12 months – here’s to an equally exciting 2009.

Merry Christmas all – have a great one!

Posted on December 10, 2008 - by Stephen Murray

Church Planting Foundations Conference

Here’s a line up of the speakers for the Cape Town leg of Acts 29’s Church Planting Foundations Conference (2-4 Feb 2009):

Mike Gunn:
Mike Gunn is the pastor of Harambee Church in Renton, Washington. Mike helped plant Mars Hill Church in Seattle and now currently serves as the director of Church Planting Internationally for the Acts 29 Network.

Dave Fandey:
Dave Fandey is the pastor of a growing new church called, The Fields, which he planted in 2003. Dave wears many hats as he sits on the international board for Acts 29 as well serves as an adjunct lecturer at Biola University teaching New Testament and Leadership.

Al Barth:
Al Barth oversees and encourages church planting and church planting movements in Europe and Africa on behalf of Redeemer Presbyterian’s Church Planting Center. Al is a seasoned church planter with a particular passion for church planting movements in the major cities of the world.

JD Senkbile:
JD Senkbile has recently moved to Cape Town to oversee the Acts 29 Network in Africa. Before moving to Cape Town JD was involved with justice and mercy ministry at an Acts 29 affiliated church in Omaha, Nebraska.

Sam Groves:
Sam Groves is the pastor of Church on the Ridge in Pietermaritzburg, a young growing church which he planted with two other couples just over three years ago. He has a passion for church planting and cultivating communities of gospel-centered disciples.

Siegfired Ngubane:
Siegfried Ngubane serves both as a lecturer at George Whitefield College and as pastor of Mandela Park Community Church. In the past few years Siegfried has overseen a number of church planting initiatives in township areas in and around Cape Town.

Dave West:
Dave West is the senior pastor of Melville Union Church in Johannesburg which he and his wife planted. The church is heavily involved both in ministries to students as well as ministries to street children and HIV/Aids orphans.

Send me an email (stephenjmurray@yahoo.com) if you’re interested in attending.

Posted on November 12, 2008 - by Stephen Murray

Commencement Letter

Today I received my commencement/placement letter for 2009 officially accepting me to serve as a curate (that’s Anglican speak for apprentice minister) under the supervision of St Stephen’s Bible Church. So looks like I’m finally the real deal – well almost. For those of you confused who thought I was going to be involved in a church plant next year, don’t worry – I still am – St Stephen’s is just one of our sending churches and the church that Robin and I currently serve with.

Posted on November 11, 2008 - by Stephen Murray

Church Planting and a Messiah Complex

The pre-planting and planning phase of a church plant can almost be an incubator in the mind for an idolatrous messiah complex. Spending too much time playing over the future of what a plant might look like 5 years down the line can really begin to make you think that you’re going to save the world – or at least your suburb. It’s actually a deadly time, as I’m discovering, where visions of grandeur can build tons of little corrosive idols that can whip the carpet out from under the church plant. Maybe a little prayer is needed:

Dear Lord,

I can’t save the world – Jesus already did that. Please help me to put him up in the bright lights and not myself.

Amen.