What is a Church?

We love good churches. So, what is a good church?

Look at the photo below.

Question: Which of the following looks most like a mango tree?

Answer: They are all mango trees.

If we apply this to church planting:

1) To plant mature trees:

a) Costs a lot of money and effort,

b) We will not plant very many,

c) Our success rate may not be what we hope.

2) To plant seeds with the right DNA:

a) Easy to plant,

b) Anyone can plant a lot of them,

c) The success rate can easily surpass our imagination.

I noticed as we were checking out some of the really great Altamira churches that many people have been in the leadership roles for 15 years or more. This is healthy and natural. These people were not polished leaders many years ago but because their churches were small and young there was grace to grow together. The churches grew and matured as the leaders grew and matured.