Preface
This book began as an assignment to profile the
growing number of Church Planting Movements that are appearing in our work
around the world. As the International Mission Board’s associate vice
president for strategy coordination, I was given responsibility to
describe the qualities and characteristics of this phenomenon.
To accomplish this, I sought input from a wide range
of missionaries, members of regional leadership teams, missiologists,
researchers and mission administrators. My primary sources were
missionaries who have been personally involved in Church Planting
Movements. These individuals have been an invaluable resource in the
development of this book.
I’m grateful for the visionary leadership of the
International Mission Board’s Senior Executive Team—Jerry Rankin,
Avery Willis and Don Kammerdiener—and to my colleagues on the Overseas
Leadership Team: Sam James, Bill Bullington and John White. Their
encouragement and counsel along the way have been indispensible.
Special thanks go to missionary practitioners and
Church Planting Movement pioneers: Bill and Susan Smith, Curtis and Debie
Sergeant, Bruce and Gloria Carlton, David and Jan Watson, Kurt and Wendy
Urbanek, Jim and Mary Slack, Scott and Janie Holste, Rodney and Debbie
Hammer, Don and Anne Dent, and Dale and Jane Ellen
Wood. The book also benefited from the reading and counsel of numerous
other individuals including Sonia Garrison, Beth Wolfe, Cathy Kissee,
Erich Bridges, Vivian White, Dan Allen and Jim Haney.
Despite the generosity of these contributors and
editors, the errors remain my own. My hope is
that this book will serve as a reliable profile of what we mean when we
say it is our vision to “begin and nurture Church Planting Movements
among all peoples.”
David Garrison
Associate Vice President
Strategy Coordination and Mobilization
International Mission Board, SBC
Wiesbaden, Germany
October 1999
Prayer
Needs
