Elements Present

Below is a list of elements present in every Church Planting Movement (CPM), according to the author of the book, David Garrison. First, he defines a CPM as the following:

A Church Planting Movement is a rapid multiplication of indigenous churches planting churches that sweeps through a people group or population segment.

There are other kinds of movements. Some of them see masses of people coming to faith or joining one big mega-church organization. Some are cell church groups that are organized under one such mega-church. But if they are not churches--and if they are not churches that plant the new churches (as opposed to cell groups which are not autonomous but part of one over-arching structure) then they are not CPMs. The idea is that independent church groups (usually relatively small because it helps it to be more reproducible) are planting new churches, and those new churches go on to plant new churches, and so on for many generations until it reaches saturation in the population segment.

Looking at such movements, the author identified the 10 listed elements found in every single authentic CPM. This is a description, not a prescription. And it is very interesting:

1. Extarordinary Prayer
2. Abundant Evangelism
3. Intentional Planting of Reproducing Churches
4. The Authority of God's Word
5. Local Leadership
6. Lay Leadership
7. House Churches
8. Churches Planting Churches
9. Rapid Reproduction
10. Healthy Churches

I'll tell you more about the book next time.