- Church planting & multiplication
More than 50 years ago, a Wisconsin church chose ‘a kid’ as its pastor. But that 20-year-old, despite little ministry training or education, formed a ministry that has generated decades of fruitfulness and faithfulness.
All the kingdom results among thousands of people came down to one habit in Paul Johnson’s life.
“We were Spirit-led servants following after Jesus,” he said. “I pray every day that I’ll be filled with the Spirit and keep in step with the Spirit’s lead into the way of Jesus.”
Day after day, choice after choice, Johnson listened to God. The Lord built a long-lasting ministry at Hope Community Church in Shawano, where Johnson served as pastor for five years. In February, Johnson will preach at Hope as the church celebrates 50 years of worshiping God.
“How many guys get to come back to the church they planted 50 years ago?” Converge Great Lakes regional president Ken Nabi said.
That’s a question worth answering, especially in the 1970s when six out of 10 new churches closed within five years. But Johnson and his brother, Steve, also planting in another Wisconsin town, saw the Chief Shepherd turn that statistic around.
Since those days, God has used a few Wisconsin churches to plant churches that planted churches that planted churches. Johnson believes that more than 850 new churches came from the model God formed in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s.
“God had a vision, and he offered to let me live out that vision,” Johnson said. “Shawano was the incubator for all of that.”
That vision took shape during years of phone calls, ministry partnerships and lessons learned through experience, particularly with Steve. The God who can do more than we can imagine ordered seven essential actions:
- Be devoted to the word of God and prayer
- Recruit church planters through prayer and personal connections
- Assess church planters
- Coach every church planter for at least two years
- Network church planters into a team
- Provide common resources
- Offer financial help
Today, Converge, a movement of 1700 churches dedicated to starting and strengthening churches together worldwide, has embraced those habits as pillars. This 170-year-old ministry is nationally recognized for empowering churches and church planters to make disciples and start more congregations.
Related: Converge wants to deploy 312 planters by 2026. Maybe you’re next.
Converge’s culture and competency are big reasons Hope Community Church launched a new congregation in the fall. But that fruitfulness and hundreds more like it all began in a normal-sized Wisconsin church and a ‘kid’ who agreed to depend totally on the Spirit.
That combination of people trusting in and obeying God as he clearly works day by day sparked a multigenerational legacy of starting churches who start churches.
What could happen over the next 50 years if you and your church get more in step with the Spirit?
Fifty years later, Converge Great Lakes is still committed to the original vision of starting churches that start churches. We are a movement of churches in Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula who'd be happy to help your church pursue fruitful, faithful service. Converge Great Lakes wants people to meet, know and follow Jesus. So, it has helped churches bring life change to communities in the U.S. and around the world through church planting and multiplication, leadership training and global missions.
