Initial Post

2005-12-13T06:28:00.000-08:00

Our Purpose

We are living in the time of the greatest spiritual harvest in world history. More people are alive today than at any other time. Advances in communications, travel, and technology have made it possible to reach millions of previously unreached people groups with the good news of God’s love and grace through Jesus Christ. Many church growth studies report record numbers of people coming to Christ, yet hundreds of thousands of existing churches close every year due to a lack of growth. Why?
With so many recorded decisions for Christ, why are many churches not growing? Of course there are many things which contribute to this lack of growth, but there are three key things lacking in many churches that are necessary for growth to occur and to insure the fulfillment of the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20. These three things are a lack of vision, a lack of strategy, and a lack of unity.

Vision

"Without a vision the people perish.” (Proverbs 29:18, KJV) A vision is a revelation from God concerning His will in a sacrifice time and situation. Many churches do not have a clear vision from the Lord. They are very busy with committees, ministry events, programs, buildings, administration, preaching, sound systems, worship services, revival-style meetings, and many other activities, without having a clear understanding of what God wants to accomplish through them. With no clear vision, a church can be very busy with many activities and still fail to fulfill the Great Commission.

Strategy

A vision without a strategy is just a dream. Once we have received a revelation from God concerning His will in our lives and churches, we must develop a specific step-by-step plan to fulfill that vision. Churches will fail to grow if they do not have a strategy that is based on a vision. It is like trying to hit a target without aiming for it.

Unity (or Oneness)

A sad reality is that many churches compete with other churches instead of cooperating with them. Winning the lost requires the whole body of Christ. When praying for the church, Jesus Prayed “that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:21) This oneness or unity is the secret to the world believing in Jesus. Unity is more than “getting along” with one another. It is being one. Oneness is being and working together to accomplish the same goal.

What is the CMTM Workshop?

The Church Multiplication Training Ministry (CMTM) workshop is a training ministry of the Keystone Project. The Keystone Project seeks to establish a network of churches and leaders committed to fulfilling the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20 in this generation. CMTM provides intensive training for Christian leaders, pastors, and churches through workshops and seminars in cities and communities throughout the world. This training includes vision and values discovery, step-by-step strategy development that emphasizes not just the building of a local church but the reaching of whole communities and regions, and cooperative efforts by local churches and ministries. In addition, CMTM also provides on-going coaching and mentoring for churches and leaders who successfully completed the CMTM workshop.

Our Purpose

We have four purposes in this workshop.
1. To help you discover a vision for your church, community, and life within the context of the Great Commission of Matthew 28:18-20.
2. To guide you in developing a specific strategy to fulfill that vision.
3. To encourage you to fulfill Jesus’ prayer in John 17:21 by reaching out to and working with other churches and leaders in your community and throughout the world.
4. To give you the training, coaching, and tools you need to reproduce the principles, vision, mission, and values of Mission Africa and the Keystone Project.

When You Leave

It is our goal that when you leave here, you will have a passionate vision to make disciples, a step-by-step plan to obey that vision, and a heart to work with other churches to fulfill the Great Commission. It is expected that when you return to your region you will do the following:
1. Implement the principles of CMTM in your own life and ministry;
2. Identify, recruit, train, and oversee trainers who will conduct CMTM training workshops in your region;
3. Identify, recruit, train, and oversee coaches who will coach and mentor pastors, leaders, and churches as they implement the principles embodied in CMTM;
4. Continue to participate in on-going training and coaching provided for you by CMTM through Mission Africa and the Keystone Project.
5. Bottom Line: Make disciples and plant churches!