Course: PT513 Church Planting

Topic outline

WELCOME
WELCOME

Welcome to the Course "Church Planting". We hope and pray you will have a wonderful experience studying with us and complete this course successfully!

This course examines the theological foundations and place of church planting in fulfilling the Great Commission. The course then surveys methods, models, strategies and particular challenges of planting and establishing indigenous churches in intercultural, missionary settings.

We hope that you will enjoy this course and you will successfully complete it. This is a simplified course, but it has all the video lectures, and you also have the opportunity to check yourself and pass the final exam if you choose to. This course is self-paced and is not intended to be assisted by a teacher. But if you have any questions, you can ask our instructor using the discussion forum "ASK A QUESTION" below or writing at tvsstudent@gmail.com (in the subject of the letter, specify the course code PT513_001). Our teacher will be happy to answer all your questions. Also, you can choose to study this course at a deeper level along with the course facilitator. To move to that version of a class, please register on the en.tvseminary.org website or write about your desire at: tvs.student@gmail.com
COURSE LECTURES
COURSE LECTURES
You can both view lectures in video format and listen to them in audio format. You can view video lectures only online (when connecting to the Internet), and you can listen to lectures in an audio form both online and offline (without connecting to the Internet). If you do not want to download the entire course, but only individual lectures, then open the "AUDIO LECTURES" section and select those lectures that you want to download. After that audio lectures will be available to you offline.

CAUTION: You will need about 100 MB of free space to download this course fully. You can permanently delete downloaded files later by selecting the "MANAGE STORAGE" menu item.
- VIDEO LECTURES (you can watch lectures only when connected to the Internet)
- TOPIC 1. Introduction
  
  Many church planters are enthusiastic about their calling and the challenge of launching into such an exciting endeavor. But sometimes they have little patience for defining goals or answering fundamental questions about the nature of the task. But not doing so is like setting out to build a house without blueprints. In the introductory lecture of the course Craig Ott defines terms, speaks about the nature of the church and explains what it means to plant a church.
- 1.1. Introduction. What is the Church? (VIDEO 1 - 9:47) Page
- 1.2. Introduction. Goals and Contexts of Church Planting. (VIDEO 2 - 14:39) Page
- 1.3. Introduction. Practical Reasons for Church Planting. Part I. (VIDEO 3 - 18:24) Page
- 1.4. Introduction. Practical Reasons for Church Planting. Part II. (VIDEO 4 - 15:32) Page
- TOPIC 2. Biblical Foundations of Church Planting
  
  Church planting is more than a practical necessity. It is a biblical mandate! And yet the theological reflection on the rationale for church planting has often been rather shallow. Mission practice and theology have grown apart. So what are the primary reasons biblical reasons for church planting? Though there is no explicit command in the Bible to go and plant churches, biblical record leaves no mistake that church planting is essential to God's salvation purposes and the fulfillment of the Great Commission. God is a missionary God, and we have the privilege of participating with Him.
- 2.1. Church Planting and the Purpose of Mission. (VIDEO 5 - 15:44) Page
- 2.2.The Biblical Mandate for Church Planting. Part I. (VIDEO 6 - 15:48) Page
- 2.3.The Biblical Mandate for Church Planting. Part II. (VIDEO 7 - 9:06) Page
- 2.4. Biblical Texts and Examples. Part I. (VIDEO 8 - 14:25) Page
- 2.5. Biblical Texts and Examples. Part II. (VIDEO 9 - 11:33) Page
- 2.6. Spiritual Dynamics and Church Planting. (VIDEO 10 - 12:29) Page
- 2.7. Questions and Answers. (VIDEO 11 - 7:31) Page
- TOPIC 3. Church Planter
  
  Though the church planter himself is an essential component of the church plant, the planter's personal and spiritual life hasn't received adequate attention yet.
  But church planters are just likely to fall short because of personal inadequacies or an inability to work on a team as they are because of a flawed strategy. This lecture is primarily devoted to characteristics of effective church planters and three types of church planters.
- 3.1.1. Characteristics of Effective Church Planters. C.Ridley's list. (VIDEO 12 - 27:36) Page
- 3.1.2. Characteristics of Effective Church Planters. J.Thompson's list. (VIDEO 13 - 14:05) Page
- 3.2. Church Planter Assessment and Effectiveness. (VIDEO 14 - 8:12) Page
- 3.3.1. Three types of Church Planters. Pastoral and Catalytic Church Planters. (VIDEO 15 - 11:12) Page
- 3.3.2. Three types of Church Planters. Apostolic Church Planters. (VIDEO 16 - 21:46) Page
- 3.3.3. Three types of Church Planters. The Changing Role of the Church Planter. (VIDEO 17 - 17:52) Page
- 3.4. Bivocational Church Planting. (VIDEO 18 - 22:02) Page
- 3.5. Questions and Answers. (VIDEO 19 - 14:05) Page
- TOPIC 4. Church Structures
  
  Just as the church planting team must decide which basic church-planting approach best fits the context and mission, the best structure of the church should also be selected. Every kingdom community has a unique calling and form, but understanding certain basic designs can serve as a starting point for contextualizing church forms and functions. In this lecture Craig Ott compares traditional western churches with house and cell-celebtration churches. What are the possible strengths and weaknesses of different church structures? What challenges do they have to face? In which context do they tend to be most effective for God's kingdom?
- 4.1. Overview. (VIDEO 20 - 17:20) Page
- 4.2. Traditional Western Church vs House Church. (VIDEO 21 - 29:28) Page
- 4.3. Examples of House Church network. (VIDEO 22 - 15:02) Page
- 4.4. The Impact on the Church Planting Method. (VIDEO 23 - 17:31) Page
- TOPIC 5. Church Planting Models
  
  In this lecture you will survey a variety of approaches to church planting, beginning with pioneer church planting, where few if any churches already exist in the area. Then you will examine approaches to reproducing churches. These two categories, pioneering and reproducing, roughly correspond to what we find in the New Testament. In conclusion Craig Ott will describe strategies for multiple church plants in a region. Each of these approaches can be appropriate and effective under the right circumstances.
- 5.1. Pioneer Church Planting. (VIDEO 24 - 25:02) Page
- 5.2.1. Approaches to Church Reproduction. Cell Division. (VIDEO 25 - 22:07) Page
- 5.2.2. Approaches to Church Reproduction. Multi-site. (VIDEO 26 - 12:06) Page
- 5.2.3. Approaches to Church Reproduction. Adopted Daughter and Multi-mother. (VIDEO 27 - 18:10) Page
- 5.3.1. Regional Strategies. Harvest Priority. Strategic Beachhead. Cluster Church Planting. (VIDEO 28 - 17:22) Page
- 5.3.2. Regional Strategies. Spreading Vine. Dandelion. (VIDEO 29 -11:28) Page
- TOPIC 6. Church Planting Movements
  
  What are some of the factors that seem to contribute to more rapid planting of churches? In this lecture Craig Ott:
  
  talks about books written by David Garrison about church movements and discipleship;
  
  emphasizes universal elements and common factors which characterize church planting movements;
  
  explains how the key to the movements, multiplication, works;
  
  talks about development of lay bi-vocational church planters;
  
  answers the question about the health of the rapidly growing movements;
  
  gives application questions to think about.
- 6. Church Planting Movements (VIDEO 30 - 22:03) Page
- TOPIC 7. Development Phases of Church Planting
  
  Much like human life, church plants progress through reasonably predictable developmental phases. These phases reflect a fluid process rather than being clearly defined separate steps. Yet understanding the developmental phases and their characteristics is important to identifying the particulate needs, challenges and opportunities that face a church plant. Failure to give attention to the changing needs of a church plant as it develops can lead to unnecessary difficulties of stagnation. In this lecture Craig Ott talks about the phases through which a church plant progresses: preparing, launching, establishing, structuring and reproducing.
- 7.1. Development Phases of Church Planting. Overview. (VIDEO 31 - 11:56) Page
- 7.2. Development Phases of Church Planting. Preparing. (VIDEO 32 - 12:37) Page
- 7.3. Development Phases of Church Planting. Launching and Establishing. (VIDEO 33 - 8:43) Page
- 7.4. Development Phases of Church Planting. Structuring and Multiplying. (VIDEO 34 - 17:14) Page
- TOPIC 8. Planning and Research
  
  Successful church planting always requires a basic understanding of the people that are being reached. So there are several good reasons to engage in ethnographic and demographic study which allow the researcher to focus on a more specific ministry focus group. The research findings will also help to come up with a strategy for evangelism and church planting that is suited to the focus people. In this lecture Craig Ott talks about good planning, different types of helpful information, determining the focus group and discerning the opportunities.
- 8.1. Planning and Research. Introduction. Focus group. (VIDEO 35 - 14:10) Page
- 8.2. Planning and Research. Methods and opportunities. (VIDEO 36 - 20:38) Page
- 8.3. Planning and Research. Church Planting in Munich. (VIDEO 37 - 23:39) Page
- TOPIC 9. Evangelism and Discipleship
  
  Church planting is that ministry which, through evangelism and discipleship, establishes multiplying kingdom communities of believers in Jesus Christ who are committed to fulfilling biblical purposes under local spiritual leadership. This definition underlines the fact that evangelism and discipleship are the heart of church planting. If you are planting a new church, you want to reach new people for Christ and expand God's kingdom and also impact the community as salt and light. In this lecture Craig Ott will focus only on those aspects of evangelism and discipleship which interrelate with church planting.
- 9.1. Evangelism and Discipleship. Dangers on the Way. (VIDEO 38 - 16:10) Page
- 9.2. Evangelism and Discipleship. Loving People. (VIDEO 39 - 8:53) Page
- 9.3. Evangelism and Discipleship. Principles for Compassion Ministry. (VIDEO 40 - 15:25) Page
- 9.4. Evangelism and Discipleship. Finding prepared people. (VIDEO 41 - 7:44) Page
- 9.5. Evangelism and Discipleship. Communicating the Gospel. (VIDEO 42 - 18:41) Page
- 9.6. Evangelism and Discipleship. Film, Media and Advertising. (VIDEO 43 - 14:23) Page
- 9.7. Evangelism and Discipleship. Case Study. (VIDEO 44 - 14:50) Page
- TOPIC 10. Planting Healthy Reproducing Churches
  
  It is one thing to be concerned about planting more churches and reaching new people, but we also should be concerned about the kind of churches we plant if we want them to be kingdom communities. So in this lecture Craig Ott talks about planting healthy, reproducing churches. This information will be helpful if you are a church planter or are involved in the existing church. He talks about six guidelines for healthy church development. You will learn about the indicators of Church Health.
- 10.1. Planting Healthy Reproducing Churches. Leadership and ministry. (VIDEO 45 - 9:07) Page
- 10.2. Planting Healthy Reproducing Churches. Assimilation. (VIDEO 46 - 17:57) Page
- 10.3. Planting Healthy Reproducing Churches. Change and Steps of Faith. (VIDEO 47 - 8:50) Page
- 10.4. Planting Healthy Reproducing Churches. Measures of Church Health. (VIDEO 48 - 19:11) Page
- TOPIC 11. Resources for Church Planting
  
  Good stewardship of life and resources will be part of the DNA of any healthy church-planting movement. Should a church receive a lot of outside assistance? Where the resources should come from? What are some biblical principles for sharing resources? In this lecture Craig Ott talks about indigenous movement, six ways outside funding can harm or help a church plant and how to navigate two things that are predominant in church planting these days, short-term teams and partnership with different organizations.
- 11.1. Resources for Church Planting. Biblical guidelines and worldview. (VIDEO 49 - 9:53) Page
- 11.2. Resources for Church Planting. Indigenous Movements. (VIDEO 50 -15:06) Page
- 11.3. Resources for Church Planting. Resources for Church Planting. Finances. (VIDEO 51 - 15:03) Page
- 11.4. Resources for Church Planting. Short-term teams. (VIDEO 52 - 13:58) Page
- 11.5. Resources for Church Planting. Effective Partnerships. (VIDEO 53 - 24:28) Page
- TOPIC 12. Leadership Development
  
  Developing local leaders is going to be a real key to developing strong and reproducing churches. So with time the church planter will need to focus attention increasingly on developing those persons who will become the future leaders and missionaries of the church. This is not a course on leadership, that is why you will learn some basic ideas and principles to follow. In this lecture Craig Ott shares methods for equipping leaders and workers in the local church, emphasizes the factors that are essential in identifying potential leaders, talks about different levels of lay mobilization, compares apprenticeship with school model and shares some examples from his personal experience.
- 12.1. Leadership Development. Lay Mobilization. (VIDEO 54 - 12:21) Page
- 12.2. Leadership Development. The Spiritual Dynamic. (VIDEO 55 - 11:39) Page
- 12.3. Leadership Development. Servant Leadership. (VIDEO 56 - 11:17) Page
- 12.4. Leadership Development. Levels of Lay Mobilization. (VIDEO 57 - 11:03) Page
- 12.5. Leadership Development. Apprenticeship vs School Models. (VIDEO 58 - 9:26) Page
- 12.6. Leadership Development. Three Approaches to Ministry Equipping. (VIDEO 59 - 8:22) Page
- 12.7. Leadership Development. Equipping workers in the EFC of Munich. (VIDEO 60 - 13:52) Page
- TOPIC 13. Conclusion
  
  In conclusion of the course Craig Ott tells "The Parable of the Apple Trees". If you want to grow apples and feed more people, don't merely grow more apples, bigger apples and sweeter apples; rather plant more apple trees that in turn can reproduce yet more apple trees to grow exponentially more fruit. And if you want to feed a spiritually hungry world, don't just grow one big church, grow a movement. And this happens when ordinary churches release people to start new churches.
- 13. Conclusion (VIDEO 61 - 12:03) Page
- AUDIO LECTURES (you can download lectures on your device and then you can listen them without connecting to the Internet)
- AUDIO LECTURES Folder
CHECK YOURSELF (optional)
CHECK YOURSELF (optional)

If you have reviewed all the course lectures, you can test yourself if you wish and see how well you understand the course material. The test has ten questions. The time and the number of attempts are unlimited. You need to get more than 70% to qualify for the course certificate.
- COURSE TEST Quiz
- It is very important to know your opinion about this course . Please fill in the feedback form Evaluation of Online Course, which you will find below.
- TVSEMINARY Course Evaluation Page
- If you have something to say about how this course helped you in your ministry and how it has impacted your spiritual development, we would love to hear it. If you want to say something to the teacher, you can send any comments and suggestions to our email address: tvs.student@gmail.com
  
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ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
Here you can find presentations and other materials used in the course. If you want to study this course on a deeper level, you can refer to these materials or take this course at the undergraduate level for credits under the supervision of the facilitator. To do this, register on the en.tvseminary.org website or write to us: tvs.student@gmail.com