RICE en:trust

I spent the last 2 days in a church multiplication seminar with Ralph Moore.  Who’s Ralph Moore?

Ed Stetzer quotes him and holds him up as an model/example on church multiplication strategies in almost all of his books (Planting New Churches In A Postmodern Age, Planting Missional Churches, Breaking The Missional Code: Your Church Can Become A Missionary In Your Community, 11 Innovations In The Local Church: How Today’s Leaders Can Learn – btw if you’re serious about church planting, you should be reading every single one of Stetzer’s books!). Stetzer ranks this guy with Tim Keller and Mark Driscoll in speaking of church planting movement leaders. He says, ‘In the US I’ve been encouraged by leaders such as Neil Cole, Bob Roberts, Ralph Moore, Tim Keller, Mark Driscoll, and Jimmy Seibert who emphasize multiplication of disciples, workers and churches rather than just growth. A growing band of leaders are seeing the church as a movement.’

This guy is a legend in church planting circles and the reason why you haven’t heard of him is because when we think church planting we think Acts 29, Redeemer or Sovereign Grace or New Frontiers.  The church planting world is much bigger and has been around much longer than you think. While I have great respect for what I would call younger church planting movements in the states and even in our country, time will tell whether they’ll produce church planting churches (i.e. churches that are able to multiply first and second generation church plants – church plants that actually go on to plant daughter and granddaughter churches).

Ralph is a much older man who has not just planted churches, but who planted his church Hope Chapel, California in 1971 with 12 people growing it to 3000 in membership.  Under his leadership Hope Chapel alone has gone on to multiply 29 first and second generation church plants (church plants that have planted daughter churches, and who’s daughter churches have planted granddaughter churches).  In 1983 he led their 30th church plant on the island of Oahu, Hawaii where he now continues as lead pastor of the 2500 member congregation. He’s not just a pastor who is big on discipleship and does it personally, but is also a church planter.  He currently also leads the Hope Chapel church planting movement which spans 700 churches in their network (4 of which have been planted in Australia and another starting in Manila).  In fact his book is on the recommended reading list on the A29 website – ‘Starting A New Church’, which is the book I recommend to guys thinking about church planting, and is one of the best practical books I’ve come across on church planting.

I’m even more excited that Ralph has been gracious enough to give of his time to spend a whole evening coaching and hanging out with 30 of our en:trust guys this coming Monday night.  This will be a tremendous opportunity to hear from and pick the mind of a guy who is passionate for the gospel, has a big heart for the lost and has been raising disciples and church planters for over 30 years.

Eugene Hor
RICE en:trust director