Returning to the True Nature of the Biblical Church
Church leaders in East Asia are finding vision and direction in uncertain times.
When the pandemic hit in East Asia, many church leaders hoped for a short lockdown as the government began to ban large gatherings and movement across the country. But they quickly realized that the new normal would have to be small groups. This revealed a massive need to build healthy leaders, which our East Asia team was uniquely positioned to meet.
“Our ministry meets the exact need of this hour. We are not only equipping the church in East Asia, but leading it forward.” (East Asia Team Leader)
When our team realized the potential extent of the lockdown, they began reaching out to leaders across the country in consultations and surveys, seeking to learn from them so they could design specific ways to meet their needs. The feedback we got was overwhelmingly focused on the true nature of the biblical Church. All the outward things the Church used to do were now stripped away and leaders were asking, “What does ‘church’ mean?”
The Church is navigating through an ambiguous time, and our Healthy Church Model clearly gives biblical vision and direction. It points to the real nature of the Church while also equipping people with the tools, models, and capacity to build healthy churches and build healthy leaders.
Our East Asia team began their first-ever online Building Healthy Churches training, expecting 30 participants. On the first morning, 200 showed up, then 400. Demand for more training soared, and the next training attracted 2,000 participants from large church movements across the nation.
After attending an online training, the top leader of a very large movement (of which a sub-group is between 30-40,000 people) approached the team to redesign their entire movement around building people. Our team gave him practical ways to build intercessors, discipleship programs, and leaders. He started his own design team which is developing practical strategies for the entire church to become healthy. Another urban church network is creating 4D design resources specific to their context, helping over 30 under-resourced small churches grow.
“Our goal is to change the way churches are built, and the way leaders are built in East Asia. And not only for now; also for the future. That's our vision. That's what we work toward.” (East Asian Leader)
