Church Planting Part 4 - Ian Mckellar

Ian & Nola McKellar relocated from South Africa to Asia in 2002.

They went to help build up local churches that relate to the NCMI team.
In 2009 they started leading Church of Joy in Singapore. They have a passion to see God's Word and God's Spirit build the beloved community and bless the city.

Remember the Christian life is a journey. Don’t expect to run before you can walk. Don’t demand from new believers, or a new community still coming together trying to shape a common culture of vision and values, what you would expect from those who have travelled with you a long way. It’s always a challenge planting out of a successful church into an environment where the culture has not yet taken shape. People just don’t see what is obvious to you.

Be patient; remember to meet them where they are, and to take them on the journey of following Jesus.

 Be careful of success. R.T. Kendall says that the best advice Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones gave him was to warn him about success: “The worst thing that can happen to a man is to have success before he is ready.” Success is good, we must kill the lion and the bear, but never forget God’s gracious help, and our utter dependence on him at all times. The church is a supernatural community and the Lord needs to build the house. It is a great privilege to be a co-laborer with him.

Moses and God told Joshua to “be strong and courageous”. That’s good advice for a church planter.

God said that Joshua should meditate on the Word day and night, and be careful to do everything written in it. That’s also good advice for a church planter. Learn from others, learn from tradition and what has been done before, but nothing can replace you walking close to God and learning from him as you go on this exciting journey to change the world.

The church planter must understand that the new church will be built and shaped largely around his gifts and talents. And those of his spouse and team if he has a team starting with him. Therefore it will be quite different from any other church. Don’t try to clone yourself from others. Allow God to work through the gifts he has given to you. One way is not necessarily right and another way wrong. There are many ways to building a Christ-centered church. Remember also that you will attract many people very different to yourself. Be gracious, be accepting. There are many different ways to worship God. “Accept one another then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” Romans 15:7.