THE BIG PICTURE
Briggs’ passion and enthusiasm are infectious, but he is quick to point out that the center is not the main point.
“The mission is to reach people for Christ, not birth a church planting center,” says Briggs. “We want people to understand that this is not a competition. This is not to get our name out there. We think God has some partnership opportunities that we don’t even know about. We see the process as support-driven, and we need help. We are looking for 20 partner churches. We see this as a collaborative effort, and we desire to see a true church-multiplication movement.”
And Vanguard is not alone. NAMB has identified scores of churches sponsoring or creating church planting centers. Defining a church planting center for NAMB goes something like this: An environment where disciples are intentionally cultivated, selected, developed and supported to make disciples, resulting in new churches. And at least one convention, Penn-South Jersey, has incorporated the sponsorship of church planting centers into its strategy to help reach its area with the gospel.
In Colorado, Briggs sees God’s hand in what he calls a season of Ephesians 2:10.
“We are walking through a lot of open doors that we did not open,” says Briggs. “We want to see other churches involved in church planting. I tell them that if God has put it in their DNA and they are healthy, do it. We pray Luke 10:2 at 10:02 every morning, and we invite anyone to pray this with us. God is reminding us that He is in this. We are not alone.” OM
Joe Conway is managing editor of On Mission.
ACTION ITEM:
To learn more about the Frontline Church Planting Center, or explore partnership possibilities with Vanguard Church, contact Alan Briggs at
alan_briggs@vanguardchurch.org, call 719-271-5866 or follow him on Twitter @AlanBriggs.
ON MISSION • Winter 2012 29
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