Co-Mission churches have long used the metaphor of a lifeboat to remind ourselves that we need to be rescuing the perishing.
Richard Coekin (Co-Mission) has drawn on lessons from the Titanic disaster and Neil Powell (City to City) has written of the need for ‘a Dunkirk spirit, where a huge number of lifeboats were mobilised to realise a vision far too big for any group to achieve alone’.
In this spirit, the London Church Planting Academy was launched on 25 September – a collaboration between Acts 29, AMiE, City to City, Co-Mission, Crosslands Training, FIEC, London City Mission, the London Gospel Partnership and Union School of Theology. The shared vision for the London Church Planting Academy is to see a step-change in the number of enduring, faithful, fruitful church plants that will reach the full diversity of London, for the salvation of many to the glory of God.
The London Church Planting Academy is designed to bring together planters and training. Church planting can be a lonely task, especially in the early stages, so having a space to meet, talk with other planters and pray together is invaluable. Planter training with planters from different networks is also key because there is so much to learn from the word, one another, and from those who have gone before and planted in different contexts.
So what does this look like in practice? This year’s planting cohort is made up of an energising diversity of backgrounds, network affiliations, levels of experience in gospel ministry, and planting contexts. The first week saw a Brazilian planter praying with a French brother, older planters encouraging younger, and godly men sharing experience and food together.
There are two streams for church planters in the first year of the academy – Co-Mission Planter training (expositions, case studies and planting skills, opened up to planters of different networks) and City to City sessions unpacking Tim Keller’s Center Church. Next year (2020-2021) the academy will be facilitating the Union MTh, supporting Crosslands’ students. This mix of training allows planters to ‘plug the gaps’ in their experience – whether their need is training in planting specifics, theological undergirding or something in between.
The venue for the London Church Planting Academy is itself a collaboration – a London City Mission centre which hosts Hope Church Vauxhall, a plant in partnership with Co-Mission, the FIEC and Globe Church. It’s a great place to learn ‘in context’, to sit under God’s word together, sharpen one another and spur one another on.
The prayer of the leaders of the academy as they embark upon the first year of training is for continued unity in the gospel and that the Lord would send out many well-trained, well-rounded, robust, Jesus-loving, servant-hearted, gospel-preaching church planters who are equipped to plant healthy biblical churches that will take root and bring many from darkness into the marvellous light of Christ to the glory of God.
