Lay Mobilization Initiative



During the days of Jesus, his religious adversaries commented how "the whole world has gone after him" (John 12:19). Then, after the Church was born on the day of Pentecost, believers began to spread the word everywhere they went. The Church grew so fast that the Thessalonians who were dragging Jason out into the streets to persecute him said, "These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here" (Acts 17:6).

Peter and John were seen as "ordinary men" who were "unschooled" (Acts 4:13) by the religious establishment at that time. When Saul, whom we have come to know as the Apostle Paul, was looking for a way to stop the spread of the Christian faith, he went after both "men and women" in his rant to persecute the Church (Acts 8:3; 22:4). Luke records how the Spirit was distributed to "men and women" (Acts 2:18), how "men and women" believed in the Lord (Acts 5:14), and how "men and women" were baptized as a result of the preaching of the Gospel (Acts 8:12).

How silly it is for us to look to only the well-groomed, formally trained, "cool" men of our Christian community as the ones who will "carry the day" in terms of church planting. ALL OF US can, and should, put our shoulders to the effort of spreading the Gospel and making disciples. When that happens, churches are born and established.

YOU can have a part in setting up new churches and we encourage you to do so.

There are some models of church planting in which lay leaders can easily and directly engage church planting. Check out these items in our Toolbox:
Each of these models can be initiated with a low financial investment.

However, we are looking for a few people who would be willing to work together and facilitate this lay mobilization initiative. If you would like to be a part of this team, contact Dr. Tony Webb, Director of VisionOhio. He would love to hear what you say and encourage you in your interest, because this movement is yours!