CHAPTER TEN: The Man of Peace as a Gatherer

Reproducing Evangelists
As we see from the above, reproducing evangelists is a more effective way of church planting than the evangelist doing all the work and remaining the sole "expert". The evangelist should keep in mind the goal of gathering a group of two or three who will eventually form a church. He should be reinforcing this constantly in the mind of the man of peace. Developing Godly relationships is not primarily for the purpose of harmony (although harmony may result) but for the extension of God's Kingdom of Love and bringing Glory to Him!

The man of honor needs to be encouraged to explain his new life to others who would ask about "the hope that is in him". You can teach him the stories of Jesus as He preached the gospel to different people. Focus on stories about people who are most like those of his people group. Pray with him for their hearts to be open as they receive the seed. Coach him as he shares with you his opportunities.

If he is a head of a home, help him set up a reading schedule which he can read to his family and share the impact of Christ on himself and his home. If he is illiterate, teach him the stories so he can recite them by rote (illiterate people often have amazing verbal skills). You may use cassette tapes.

One of the first, and perhaps most important lessons he will need is humility. He will need to acknowledge his many failures in the past and present, to those he has hurt. If this is received well, you can help him avoid the temptation to be self-righteous. Of course it helps if you are open with your own failures.

As interest is generated among the social circle of the believer, a gathering meeting can start, perhaps studying the passages or stories on Kingdom living in Matthew or Acts. This can often be started even while the person is still only a seeker and not a believer. He still needs to be taught the principles of the Kingdom of God and can certainly pass them on to those in his social network. The parables of Matthew and Luke are great for this. Sometimes it may be others in his social network who come to Christ first. The man of peace is often not the first one who comes to the Lord. So don’t wait for him to come before you start a gathering meeting.

A gathering meeting should be primarily a group of seekers. It is best if you work behind the scenes with the man of peace to help him share the good news. If he is not a believer you still need to honor him by enabling him to play the influential role with the group. You are a guest in his home and amongst his people. You need to honor him accordingly. Do not take his place by becoming the center of attention!

Gathering meetings can start by using a story telling format in informal meetings. The gospel of Matthew has wonderful stories about Jesus, some very short. If more formal meetings are desired an exploratory Bible study format is appropriate. If the man of honor has come to faith, you should equip him to lead such meetings by coaching him before and evaluating afterward. Sometimes it may be appropriate for you lead the meetings. If so be certain you keep it simple so as not to show off your superior knowledge of the Word. Try to work the man of honor in to the discussion as often as possible. If possible alternate teaching week by week between you and he. Avoid setting such a high standard that they despise the other man you are developing. Take opportunities to praise the strengths of your co-worker’s lessons. Try to focus on at most one improvement he can make each time he leads the discussion. Make certain that you are at least as sensitive to the group dynamics as you are to the content being covered.

Be especially careful of praise being directed your way. Praise may be good for your ego but it is death for reproduction. Be especially careful if you are "professionally" trained.

As new ones are won to the Lord, encourage the man of peace to begin shepherding them the same way he was shepherded by you (presuming he has come to Christ). Serve as his coach rather than do the discipling yourself. You may need to develop some Bible study materials for him. This is the way our booklets (Many of which appear in the appendices) were developed. Remember to emphasize that the studies are designed to change a life as opposed to simply inform the mind. The man of peace is being well trained when he sees his disciples reproduce themselves in others. You may not be around for the full training cycle, but he needs to know that this is the goal toward which he must work (For Discipleship Chains diagram for 2 Timothy 2:2. See chapter 16).

If the man of peace ends up being alienated by his social network, then extraction should be considered. All is not lost, however, for you have taught him to stand within a perverse generation. He is a trained evangelist, and if there are no other believers around, you might prayerfully consider if God might be calling him to join you for a time on your church planting team. Paul may have picked up some teammates that way (e.g. Luke?).

Don’t be too quick to do this since sometimes, new believers are rejected by their families initially, but work their way back as they gain respect by showing stability, perseverance and love. Thus encourage the man "in as much as lieth with you, be at peace with all men." Always try to keep a footbridge in place from which relationships can be renewed.

Transition to the Covenanting Stage
The gathering meeting presents the gospel in the context of creating a community. People attending the gathering meetings are encouraged to consider God's call upon their life through Jesus Christ and how that will impact their relationships with others. Some will begin to show interest in following Christ in the fellowship of His church. At this point this group of "seekers" is encouraged to begin to explore more completely God's plan for His church.

Transition from Gathering Meetings to Community Meetings
The goal of stage 1 was to get two or three families to decide to follow Christ in the fellowship of His church. This is done by teaching the man of honor to incarnate the gospel to his social circle through a changed life and to relate the stories of Jesus in ways which attracts people to consider the claims of Christ upon their lives. As some become interested they are gathered into a group which studies kingdom principles from one of the gospels.

In these "gathering meetings", seekers are gathered to study the Word of God. These are often initially led by the evangelist. If possible, the man of peace should lead them, or at least be brought along as soon as possible to co-lead with the evangelist. The evangelist is often the catalyst who will cause a group to come together due to his knowledge and character. However, he must keep in mind that other men need to be quickly developed lest the group become dependent on him and despise other men God has called to lead from their midst.

The method and content of the following studies is to show the newly gathered believers that Christ has called them into community--to live out his life before a lost world and call others to unite together with them. As this becomes apparent, it is wise to start a second meeting which we call a community meeting. The focus of the community meeting is to build community, and in stage 2 to write a covenant which will define the expectations of the members of the community.

Key Principles
1. The man/woman of honor should be used to penetrate his social network (as opposed to trying to extract him/her from their social network).

2. Especially if working cross culturally you will learn a great deal from your man or woman of peace by helping him/her to do this.

3. By doing this you will be setting up patterns of reproduction. By failing to do so you are likely to set up a pattern whereby you become the hub of the social network, not only alienating your man of peace but also unable to reproduce or exit.

Questions for further thought

1. What are your man/woman of honor’s strengths and weaknesses?

2. How will these help/hinder them in reproduction?

3. What is your plan for overcoming the weaknesses?

4. How are you implementing this plan?