Bermie DizonBy Bermie Dizon
Bermie Dizon(Ed.: This week we were happy to have as a guest speaker, Pastor Bermie Dizon and his wife Carmelita from New Life Fellowship, our GCI congregation up the road in Altadena.
Pastor Bermie holds an MA in Christian Education from Azusa Pacific University so his comments on church growth and church planting reflected some deep thought on the subject).
Pastor Bernie began by saying how difficult it seems for any church to “do” church planting. We in GCI have read books, taken courses, attended seminars, studied Discipleship and yet seem to have hit a wall. We have planted two new churches in SoCal these past few years for which we are thankful but some still find it tougher going than we imagined.
Pastor Bermie took us back to the very beginnings of church growth and planting, by stressing the purpose of the Church Jesus founded. Remember Jesus’ commission to the twelve disciples in Matthew 28:19-20. There we are told it is the church’s job to make disciples. As Bermie said, a disciple is on a deeper level than a convert. Or a believer. A disciple is a careful and devoted student of “all that Jesus has commanded.”
Many Christians do not believe they can make disciples. And of course that’s true, said Bermie. Without faith this is impossible. Just before the Great Commission Jesus promised that his power would be with us to make disciples and plant churches (Matthew 28:16). But that power, as we all know, is activated by faith.
When it seems we have hit the wall in church planting and discipleship we need to remember texts such as Hebrews 11:30. There it says that by faith the walls of Jericho fell down. Only God can break down those walls that people have built up in their minds against becoming disciple-makers or even becoming Christ’s serious followers.
Today the audience is tougher. There is much indifference to Christianity, even outright hostility from many quarters.
Opportunities for service are all around us.That’s why we have to bring God into this equation. Jesus was a blessing to people. People wanted to follow him. So our question today is, How can we become a blessing?
Bermie analyzed it in terms of the word BLESS which he explained in an acronym, using each letter of BLESS as a beginning point.
First “B” stands for Begin with God.
Begin with prayer, he explained. Can we pray? Of course we can. We can all do that. Prayer is a way of showing dependence on God. We can all cite examples of people we pray for who get better. Pastor Neil Earle just reported on a little two week old baby not expected to live but who had successful heart surgery on the advice and consultation of 52 doctors. Can we pray? Of course. We acknowledge that all good things come from God.
Second, “L” for Listen. We have to listen to people. To let them tell us their stories. That’s important today where everyone seems to have a Face book page or a web site. Jesus had all the answers when Lazarus died, yet he listened patiently to the grief and pain of Martha and Mary (John 11: 17-34). This agrees with the old evangelistic saying, “People don’t care what you know until they know you care.”
Third, “E” for Eat or eating. The early church ate together often (Acts 2:43-47). Jesus even ate with the Pharisees. His symbol of what he was was a Communion meal with bread and wine. There is no better way to connect with people than to eat with them be inviting them in to share a meal.
“S” is for Serve. The opportunities are numerous whether you work in a homeless shelter or respond to the Clothing Drive we will be hosting in New Life congregation where dispossessed people will soon be coming legally to America and need the basics. This is what Christian churches do. Luke 15:1-2 shows sinners and outcasts gathering around Jesus because of his compassion. Light is attractive. Light drives out darkness. When my son was given a new flashlight as a gift he asked me, “Dad, can we find some darkness?” That’s the way Christians should be acting – shining their light into a dark world.
The second “S” equals Share out Story or Share the Story. When Joshua conquered Jericho he had the Ark of the Covenant in the midst of Israel (Joshua 6). We Christians have Jesus in our midst today (Matthew 28:20). If we find some way to share him with our family, our neighborhood, our community, then people’s lives will be touched. We will be a blessing and be attractive to those who need help.
So in conclusion, let’s remember the main way Church Growth and Planting will succeed – when we keep Jesus as the center of the project. We can trust him. He will do it.