Featured New IFB Church Start

I have reluctantly started a new Church in the little town I now live in. I say "reluctantly" on several levels, but the burden would not leave me alone, and I finally quit fighting God and gave in.

I have pastored before, assistant pastored before, and spent several years on the mission field teaching. Maybe that's part of my reluctance, I'm tired of the fight. Not tired of fighting sin, the Devil and the world, but sure tired of fighting the brethren. But "tired" is no excuse, so we carry on. The brethren kick you in the belly, again, but you have to pick yourself up, wipe off the blood and carry on. "Moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful".

There was no like-minded church in this town, and it needed one. I had no ministry at the time, and I have Jeremiah's fire in my belly, I can not stop preaching and teaching, even if I wanted to.

We have started in my house with my family, which is eight, and we now also have a homeless man coming that I found sleeping in the park. He's now sleeping on my back porch and I'm providing him a little work. My son, who is almost 21, and I work work regular jobs and tithe, and that constitutes our entire offering. But, there are no expenses, not one penny, so that is slowly adding up. We've decided that the Lord's money will be better spent helping someone in need or helping a worthy missions project than paying a bank payment or such at this time. When the Lord send a couple of more people, or a family, the house will be too small and we will look to rent one of the small, empty storefronts down town. No debt. No waste.

We have service at 11:00 am. The music is hymns sung without instruments. I love good piano playing, but buying a mini electric keyboard because it's a simile for what "churches do" does not seem a good plan. We take our time, sing all we want, then I teach the Bible. We are going through I Corinthians right now, are on chapter six tomorrow. When the service is over, we hang around and fellowship (we all live here :tongue3: ) and wait for dinner. That is a precedent I wanted to set for the church as a whole and have in place before more folks start coming. Christians are becoming more disjointed these days. It's volunteer, of course, but I love believers and families spending the day together once a week and encouraging each other.

Our goals are simple

1. We study and know our Bible. We only use the KJV, and it is all that will be allowed to be taught or preached from. Anyone coming can bring and follow along without censure in whatever version they choose, of course. When God opens their eyes in His own time and they start asking questions, we will patiently and lovingly answer those questions.
2. We endeavor to live clean, Godly, daily lives that are separated from the ways of the world. If we sound like the world, look like the world, talk like the world and have the world's priorities, how are we a peculiar (different) people?
3. We love sinners. We do not condone, excuse or participate in the sin, but we do love the people (and they know it) and reach out to those that we are allowed to.
4. Our goal is to eventually be a body that raises up, trains, fully supports and sends out ministers and missionaries from within as God chooses and calls them.

I think I am on the right track, but would like to hear some feed back from other IFB pastors, preachers and faithful men in the church. I don't think I'll be visiting the other forum areas much. No offense intended to anyone, but I've seen enough over there and it doesn't really seem to help my life or what I'm trying to do very much, so I'm going to try to shepherd my time and energy a little better.

 

About 20 miles south of Emporia, Kansas on HWY 99 in the Flint Hills, out in cowboy / farming country.

 

There is an IFB church about 20 miles north. I just met the pastor last week. He was very encouraging, and said that if there was anything he could do just let him know.

I'm honestly not sure what help I would need at this time. This town and the surrounding area is full of Methodist, Wesleyan, Catholic, Presbyterian and United Christian Churches, and are polite but vocal about not needing more "religion". Door-knocking and passing out tracts appears to be a big waste of time here, as the people are sick of all of the churches who have scrabbled and fought for numbers among them.

There are 8 of these churches in town that I know of. We are a town of only 700 people.

There is a priest, a woman pastoring the Methodist church, and another another man pastoring two of the churches that are not even of the same denomination. From what I understand, most of these churches only run between 10 and 40 on Sunday morning. The folks are sick of empty, organized religion but can't yet separate the Gospel from the rest. "having a form of Godliness, but denying the power thereof".

We are just living among them, building relationships, "always ready to give an answer", faithfully holding services and praying. I don't know what else to do at this time, if there even is anything.

 

Brother, what constitutes "formal training" for pastors these days usually just ruins a good man. Love the sheep, feed the sheep, protect the sheep. Read Ezekiel 34 every 3 or 4 weeks as a reminder and stay close to God. If He has called you to do this, and if you are faithful come hell or high water (for they will come) you'll do more than many that are "formally trained" and full of "expertise".

 

Rippon, Take a walk. This post has nothing to do with the Presbyterian Church, or any other denomination. This in the IFB area and the subject is starting an IFB church. Troll your trouble-making self elsewhere.