Organic Growth of Churches...are we as staff learning or lagging?

At the Catalytic Training School in New Orelans in May of 2006, I asked the question during the final Q/A time, "With what we are learning about organic growth...has anyone tried to start movements with reaching non-believers first?". The room was relatively silent. Gilbert said that he had not heard of anyone that had done this . Then, Scott, answered and said...."no, we have not..but we need people to pioneer in that way."

I received the following article in the Fall Semester:
This one is really worth reading:
http://www.missionspokane.org/sterilechurches2.html

This article compares a reproductive model and a growth model of church planting.
As far as I can tell our current sytstem within catalytic leans heavy on the growth side. I would love to help pioneer a reproductive model that would incorporate a BOTH/AND approach. Planting Movements by reaching non-believers and through the process and prayer fully finding believing students to co-labor and be grafted in. These fresh wine skins will be the best at reaching our current post-modern culture because it is their own...where as many students (though post modern) in many areas of their lives have learned to relate to God and their faith in a very modern way and will need to learn to minister in a post-modern matrix to be effective.


Many staff are reading the book : Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens
by Neil Cole

http://www.christianitytoday.com/outreach/articles/organicchurch.html


The problem: much of what we are trained to do, have experience in and measure are not in line with these ideas....but we have no other system to operate under...and the wheels of our traditional system continue to turn...so it is hard to get off and try something else.



Here is are other communities of church planters discussing these issues: I dont claim to agree with all of their ideas....its just good to know what poeple are discussing and to enter into the dialougue:

http://www.organicchurch.net/


http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com/tallskinnykiwi/2005/03/leadership_r_we.html