Overview
The premise of this Church Planting cohort is two-fold. First it seeks to sharpen the skills and gifting that are crucial in effective church planting. Second, it develops spiritual discernment and insights for exegeting the culture and for leading new mission-shaped communities of faith. The program teaching uses case studies, field study trips in the local LA area and innovative voices in 21st century church planting as conversation partners in the classroom and through Skype interviews.
Themes By Year
Year 1: Planting and Leading Mission-Shaped Congregations
- The first seminar frames church planting as an integral part of the Triune God's extension of Christ's reign and foretaste of Christ's kingdom. It introduces a biblical and theological basis for the calling and sending of leaders to plant mission-shaped churches. This course begins a process of church planter skill and gift development. Students will create a "skill and gift development plan" based on 21st century disciple making.
Year 2: From Start-Up to Multiplication: Significant Stages in the Pace of Church Planting
- The stages of mission-shaped church planting including building a vision, defining a vision-centered church plant, leadership, gathering a missional community and organizing a reproducing church plant in local, regional and national contexts. The pace of church planting in making and mentoring disciples, viral multiplication of disciples through vital churches planting new churches, vibrant practices of spirituality reclaiming the Christian tradition and proactive leadership in moving from stage to stage in church planting.
Year 3: Bridging Gospel and Culture Through Church Planting
- This final seminar explores the bridges between Gospel and culture from a missiological perspective. The Gospel was communicated to individuals and people groups with diverse cultural contexts who embraced the Good News of missio Dei. Insights from church planting in China, India, Africa and South America are applied to church planting ministries on the North American mission field.
Please contact the DMin office for more information on applying
Email: dmin@fuller.edu
Phone: 800.999.9578
The Reverend Dr. H. Stanley Wood is Adjunct Professor of Congregational Leadership and Evangelism
at Fuller Theological Seminary. He is also the Executive Director of the Sower's Field, a Validated Ministry of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
For the last 31 years Stan has been involved in Church Planting as a church planter, national staff leader and missiologist. He wrote and directed a Lilly Grant research study that was nationwide and ecumenical, which spanned twenty years of church planting in seven mainline denominations. The study focused on identifying leadership profiles of church planters. As a mission executive for church planting he coaches church planters, works with church planting teams from planning to organization and consults with national and middle governing bodies that provide oversight and funding for church planting.