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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Some Encouraging Stories of Organic Church Around the World

We do an organic church training which we call Greenhouse. We have trained many trainers around the world. These days there is a training going on every week somewhere in the world, often more than one. 

In the best case scenario we send someone to a place to do the training. A church planter there takes hold of the idea and runs with it. A year later we return to give the same training again followed by a more advanced training for those who are doing the work. Within another year those who have done the work are given the material and become trainers. We do not need to return much after that as the trainers begin to train others in that nation. This has happened in many different parts of the world. 

Several of my books have been translated into multiple languages. Organic Church especially.

Here are a couple stories from the Russian translation of Organic Church and training coming out of the Ukraine and surrounding area:

A Baptist pastor in Armenia, wants to translate the book Organic Church. The Organic Church trainer in the Ukraine says that he found their website and started reading articles and got Organic Church from them. As a result of reading the book and the articles, he made a decision, after years of frustration, to stop trying to get people to come to the church and to start going to them. He has started nine new groups in 3 months. Some of the groups have as many as 15 people. They recently baptized ten people. 

Timmy goes on to write: 

"Another cool story began four years ago when Joel Ragins, an IMB missionary, purchased some Organic Church books from us. Right after he bought the books a visiting lecturer from Houston talked about organic church in Joel’s class at Kiev Theological Seminary. Joel mentioned he had the books and several guys bought them that day. Andre Rozodovsky is one guy who bought a book that day and as result he called me (my contact info is in the book). Andre and I are close to this day and he is a committed and fruitful brother. In the last month I met someone else who bought a book that day. His name is Sergei Sergienko.  He bought a book, but it sat on his shelf for over two years. About a year and a half ago he picked it up. He said it was God’s timing. He had become very frustrated with the deadness and lack of evangelism and discipleship in his church. After reading the book, he decided to take some steps to go into the harvest. He found a person of peace and began to affect an oikos (social web of relationships). There have now been ten people who have come to Christ and were then baptized. I have visited them twice in the past month. They became their own church and they are a really close spiritual family and are extremely eager to learn. I did the organic church seminar with them this past weekend and they were so excited. The husband of one woman (she had come to Christ herself in the past few months) repented as a result of some things that God spoke to him during the time together. It is really cool because Sergei would say that all of this came about because he read Organic Church.

 In general, it seems that many of the seeds we have planted over the past 6 years through our conferences, coaching, books, and website are really beginning to bear more fruit. It seems hardly a week goes by that I do not get a phone call or a letter from someone who wants to talk because they have been impacted by Organic Church and some of the other resources we have been able to provide. Thanks for your part in all of this.

Just wanted to encourage you with what continues to happen in this part of the world.
Blessings,


Timmy"

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Neil,

Afternoon! My husband and I have begun a small body of believers centered around the gospel here in North San Diego. Aaron, my husband, is eager to lead the church here further centered around Christ's crucifixion, into loving community, and with hearts on mission to the community around us and globally. We have read Organic Church and would LOVE to learn more from you.

I see you have trainings constantly going in churches around the world. Anything local in Southern California we could take part in?

Many thanks for your assistance, your faith in the truth, and your obedience to how the Spirit has led you to lead others. It is a gift to us.

Katie Cameron
katieacameron@gmail.com