Following The Spirit Disciple-Making, Church-Planting and Movement-Building Today: A Review

Peter Roennfeldt, author of this recent title lives in Australia and has spent his life sharing the gospel, planting churches and serving as a pastor to pastors.

There are 28 chapters in the book of Acts and the author takes us through the book telling an amazing story how Paul planted churches in many cities in the then known world. Roennfedldt points out that the last chapter of Acts stops like the story is not over yet and says that the 29^th chapter is now being written by church planters in many countries throughout the world.

The author points out that in the early Christian church, the church was more of a “movement” than a “denomination” and this comes through very clearly in this exciting narrative how Paul went from place to place establishing these churches.

Roennfedldt suggests that it is important for Christians in this time of the earth’s history to be energized to move forward with carrying the gospel wherever it has not been taught yet. He suggests that there are changes that are needed to carry forward the work of spreading the gospel and tells this story to remind us that sometimes change is good.

Bill (not his real name) was in his 90’s. He had brought his wife- he called her “Mum”-to the city for a medical appointment. My being from Melbourne-far on the eastern side of Australia-he was pretty sure I wouldn’t have a clue about the wheat-belt area from which he came. He was surprised that I knew of the little grain-siding towns of Wickepin, Wagin and Williams. When I was a boy, our family spent a few years in the central town of Narrogin, and I could remember the names of some of the farmers and their properties.

He was a successful farmer with three sons. Only one wanted to continue the farm so in his 60’s Bill gave the farm to that son who stayed on the property. Bill and his wife stayed on the farm and his ‘stupid’ son seemed to take little or no advice from him. Bill knew how to run a large property and had been successful, but the more he tried to tell his son what to do, the more fractured their relationship became. It went from bad to worse when Bill learned that his son was selling parts of the land. He sold off acreage and then purchased new pieces of prime farming land. He diversified and now has a much more productive farm then I ever had.

Bill said, ‘Best thing I ever did was hand on the farm. That stupid son of mine is a better farmer than I ever was. And we talk again now.’

The author says: “Are we willing to experience the pain of being a movement again?”

Definitely a book that can stretch our thinking about what God would like to accomplish through his people today.  Click here for information on ordering this book.