ECMU's Church Planting Model for Urban Russia

Specifically in Russia the C&MA has partnered with ECMU to “cultivate an Evangelical missionary church movement in key cities and regions of Russia and among their under-reached peoples.”[1] C&MA believes four key initiatives based upon its four-fold gospel foundation will complete that task. By planting new churches in seven of Russia’s largest cities, C&MA hopes reach a significant population of Russia’s “least-well churched”[2] through meeting real human needs. This is an important feature for a workable urban church planting model.

            Meeting real human needs means establishing a missional presence in places where people congregate. Michael Frost sees this as reflective of healthy modern churches.

           

We are now seeing the emergence of churches that are meeting in houses, cafes, workplaces, dance clubs, nature parks, online, and other venues. Most of the emerging church we have been able to uncover are quite intentional about developing smaller communities and are attempting to fulfill the Great Commission by doing church planting rather than church growth. Not only is this more missionally responsive in the new context but, we believe, it is also much closer to New Testament ecclesiology and missions practice.[3]

In order for mission to happen in the way it desires, C&MA has established a needs-based community outreach aspect for each of its new churches. It believes this will work

to establish a credibility for the Evangelical church that is rooted in service. Therefore we are using need-meeting and interest-serving ministries such as family services, sexual abstinence presentations in schools, counseling for post-abortive women and for substance abuse, rehabilitation work with addicts, as well as sports camps, English language instruction, healthy living courses and handicraft hobbies.[4]

Each of the new church plants is instructed by missionaries to seek out ways to reach out to the community.

C&MA teaches that those churches are then responsible for sending out their own missionaries. A stated goal of ECMU is to “help key churches clear growth barriers and send out their own daughter-church planters.”[5] Although various church growth models are being individualized and crafted for each situation, one particular pattern being promoted for urban church planter support is a program of small-business development whereby the church planter and the church plant are self-supported from the first day.

Because theological education is important to leadership development in the local church, C&MA has also invested a significant amount of energy into crafting an ongoing instructional program at the Kuban Evangelical Christian University (KECU). As one of only two accredited Christian colleges in Russia, KECU hopes to train “the nation’s most progressive leaders in the emerging Evangelical missionary church movement.”[6] This, the C&MA hopes, will supply ongoing visionary leadership for a healthy church planting movement with sound urban ecclesiology.

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[1] The Alliance Russia Field, “Four Key Initiatives.”

[2] The Alliance Russia Field, “Key City Church Planting,” (2007). http://www.cmainrussia.org/go/number1 (accessed August 1, 2009).

[3]Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the

21^st Century Church. Peabody, Mass.: Hindrickson and Erina, NSW, Australia: Strand, 2003.

[4] The Alliance Russia Field, “Creative Need-meeting and Interest-serving Outreach and Service,” (2007), http://www.cmainrussia.org/go/number2 (accessed August 1, 2009).

[5] The Alliance Russia Field, “Growing and Multiplying Churches Planted in the 1990s,” (2007), http://www.cmainrussia.org/go/number3 (accessed August 1, 2009).

[6] The Alliance Russia Field, “Raising Up a New Generation of Visionary Missionary Leaders in Russia,” (2007), http://www.cmainrussia.org/go/number4 (accessed August 1, 2009).