There is lots of talk lately about NAMB and Acts 29 and the power of a church planting network. If the desire is really to move towards more of a church planting network, then I submit one basic question. Why make it a national network? It’s clear that we plant churches different with different strategies in different places. Things that work in Iowa don’t work in Arizona. You can’t plant a church in Mississippi and Oregon with the same strategies. We live in different areas of the country, and if nationizing doesn’t work for the Federal Government, why do it with Church planting?
Would it not make more sense to regionalise church planting? Why not let the State Conventions handle it? The Cooperative program is the key, you can delegate the accounting with an organization much smaller than NAMB, let the State Directors make a board and let each state run church planting? It makes more sense to me to let the guys on the ground coordinate the work on the ground.
Perhaps we need Networks for each region, Northern Midwest, Southwest, Northwest. Each region could have a director who meets, helps lead and make decisions, but they live and work and worship in their region? I am not sure NAMB has any idea what happens in Iowa. Let us have some representation, someone on the ground working to help up. Maybe it’s time to look at how we do things nationally, and think about change.