London church planting network, Co-Mission, gives an update on some of its newest congregations:
‘Realistically, a few of the Co-Mission church plants in and around London might not come out of this alive. But so far – to the credit of our church planters, the resilience of their launch teams and the goodness of God – none of our recent church plants, nor any of our proposed church plants, have had to close or look like they’re facing imminent death. We pray that this will remain the case.
‘That’s not to say that this time has been easy. There have been some positives about Covid restrictions, but it feels as though they’ve been outweighed by the negatives.
The plus points
‘Many have seen increased small-group attendance because parents haven’t needed to find babysitters. The levels of engagement with one another and with the Bible have improved through the imaginative and creative use of online tools. Although it’s far from ideal, Zoom church just about works for a small church because you can retain the relational element that’s missing from a YouTube livestream. Others have found that their unbelieving friends and contacts wanted to join an online Christianity Explored course. We’re grateful to our sovereign Lord for all that.
The stumbling blocks
‘However, meeting real people in real life, and having real conversations and real interaction, is so much better. The very best church plants find and gain traction with the people they’re trying to reach – so that they can share the best news the world will ever hear. People are being inventive, but there comes a point where even the most generous interpretation of the rules prevents us from doing church life the way that we’d want. And that’s hit our plants hard. Redeemer Queen’s Park, Grace Church Beckenham, and All Nations Barkingside & Clayhall have postponed their projected launch dates. Inevitably plants like Bridge Church Peckham, Mosaic in Elephant and Castle, and New Life Church Catford worry about a loss of momentum. But even that teaches us to trust God to build His church. And it provides opportunities for further team training and some imaginative community engagement.
‘Some might suggest that it would be sensible to press pause on planting indefinitely or at least until life returns to something resembling the old normal. But let’s be honest, the missionary reality hasn’t changed. People are still sinners, God is still angry, the gospel is still powerful and the church is the only plan for the worldwide spread of the gospel. Jesus hasn’t rescinded the Great Commission. God’s word is not chained. And so we keep praying, we press on and we do what we can.’
