A Church Planting Movement

"A Church Planting Movement is a rapid and exponential increase of indigenous churches planting churches within a given people group. Exponential indicates not just starting a new church every year or so, but rather two churches become four; four churches become sixteen and so forth." --David Garrison

Jon and Lori Haskell arrived in Hungary in 1997. Below, Jon shares snippets from a recent three-hour conversation he had with his friend, Kazi.

Over coffee, I listened to how God had been working in Kazi's life. He felt that for several years, God had been leading him into a church planting ministry. His call had become clear, and he was now talking to everyone he knew who was involved in church planting.

"Jon," he began, "I have a vision in mind that is bigger than one church plant. I don't even know what to call it, but the only word that comes to mind is a church planting movement."

I almost laughed out loud as I pulled an ABWE brochure from my briefcase. Printed on the first page was our strategy for Central and Eastern Europe: "Mobilizing national church planting movements." Such excitement on Kazi's face! "I didn't know anyone was doing this," he said.

We talked about creating disciples, planting churches, training leaders and sending them out to start the process all over again. As Kazi talked about his plan for a "network" of churches in Hungary, I couldn't help but wonder if he'd secretly read our field manual—he could have written it!

Kazi and his wife, Sara, hold a weekly Bible study in their home. They love their neighbors, their community, and their nation, and desire to see them transformed by God's grace.