The Harvest Force

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The Harvest Force

• Pray the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers
  into His Harvest field.
• Matthew 938

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Our Goal Discipling Our Nation
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An Evangelized People Group
A people in which the majority of its members
have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ with such
cultural and personal relevance that it results
in sufficient understanding to accept Christ by
faith as a believer or to reject Him.
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A Discipled People Group
A people group in which the majority of its
members are fully devoted followers of Jesus
Christ.
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Our Status

• Far Stronger in Religious Memory than as a
  Discipled Harvest-Force

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Canadian Religious Affiliation
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Change in Religious Affiliation
Affiliation 1981 1991
Change -------------
----------- ----- -------------
----- ------------- Catholic 11,402,605
47.3 12,335,255 45.7 -1.6 East.
Orthodox 361,565 1.5
387,395 1.4 -0.1 Protestant 9,914 575
41.2 9,780 715 36.2 -5 United
Church 3,758,015 15.6 3,093,120
11.5 -4.1 Anglican 2,436,375 10.1
2,188,110 8.1 -2 Presbyterian 812,105
3.4 636,295
2.4 -1 Lutheran 702,900 2.9
636,205 2.4 -0.5 Evangelicals 1,928,925
8.0 2,910,715 10.8
2.8 Jewish 296,425 1.2 318,065
1.2 Islam 98,165 0.4 253,260
0.9 0.5 Buddhist 51,955
0.2 163,415 0.6
0.4 Hindu 69,505 0.3 157,010
0.6 0.3 Sikh 67,715
0.3 147,440 0.5 0.2 No
affiliation 1,783,530 7.4
3,386,365 12.5 5.1
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Summary

• Evangelicals growing (as percentage of
  population) at 2.8 per decade.
• Mainline declining -5.0 per decade.
• Catholic declining -1.6 per decade.
• Eastern non-Christian religions increasing at
  0.5 per decade.
• Secular/non-religious increasing at 5.1 per
  decade.

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Current Harvest Force Estimate

• 9,276
• Known Evangelical Congregations (in 1998)

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Percentage of Canadian Protestant Churches with
an Average Sunday Attendance of
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What does this mean?

• Average Evangelical Congregation Worship Size -
  135 persons
• Estimated Harvest Force (135 x 9276) 1,252,260
  Canadians
• Percent of Canadians in an evangelical church
  last Sunday (4.1)

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Recent Church Planting Rates by Tradition
Total Canadian Worship Attendance 18 Worshiping
in Evangelical churches 4.1
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Recent Church Planting Rates Evangelical
Denominations

• Key Findings
• Evangelical Planting rate declined slightly
  during 1993-1997.
• Slight churches-per-capita gain due to slower
  population growth.

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Harvest Force Task

• Multiplying Churches for Every People Group

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What is the best way to Disciple a Whole Nation?

• 1. Recognize that a Nation is made up of many
  Ethnae in many neighbourhoods.
• Gen X street kids Chinese - Cantonese
• Muslim Aboriginal New Agers
  French Apartments and Row-housing Unchurched
  Evangelicals Chinese - Mandarin East Indian
• Rural International Students Sikh Lapsed
  Catholics Hispanic Caucasian atheists Buddhists
  Post-moderns

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What is the best way to Disciple a Whole Nation?

• 2. Provide one church for every thousand people,
  in every Ethnae, in every neighbourhood, in the
  Nation.
• Why? In order to see a gathering of believers
  meeting regularly within practical and cultural
  distance of every person in every class and kind
  of people, and see these believers penetrating
  every neighborhood with the transforming love,
  care, truth and power of Jesus Christ!

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For More Background...

• Transforming Our Nation
• (Church Leadership Library, 1998)
• Available at Information booth and from
  Outreach Canada exhibit.

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Harvest Force Leaders

• Currently Most Effective
• Church Planting Movements
• by Denominational Size

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Church Planting Rates (1992-1997)

• Small Denominations
• (under 100 churches)
• Victory - 26.3
• Vineyard - 24.2
• Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran - 10.4

• Medium Denominations
• (100 - 250 churches)
• Southern Baptist 4.4
• Apostolic Church of Pentecost 3.5
• Church of God (Cleveland) 2.5

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Church Planting Rates(1992-1997)

• Larger Denominations
• Over 250 congregations Christian Missionary
  Alliance - 2.1
• Over 500 congregations
• Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches -
  0.6
• Over 1000 congregations
• Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada - 1.2

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Strongest Known Planting RatesSince 1997
Congress

• Smaller
• Association of Vineyard Churches - 10.2
• Wesleyan (Central Canada) - 17.4
• Medium
• Church of God (Cleveland) - 9.2
• Cdn. Conf. of MB Churches - 4
• Cdn. Conf. of Southern Baptist - 8.9
• Evangelical Free - 5.1
• North American Baptist - 5.5
• Larger
• Christian and Missionary Alliance - 2.3

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What are these Movements Doing to Plant
Effectively?

• Vision of leadership more important than
  organizational polity (eg. hierarchical or
  loosely structured.)
• Structured giving eg. 5 of local offerings for
  Canadian church planting and 5 for international
  church planting.
• Seminary optional leadership pool enlarged with
  gifted lay planters.
• Church planting course(s) required for Bible
  school or seminary graduation.

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Planting Models Used by Growing Movements

• Churches Planting Churches - every healthy church
  can plant every 2 - 5 years.
• Planting Teams mobile five-fold ministry (Eph.
  411) planting team stays two years.
• Planting in Clusters a city is targeted for 5 to
  10 new churches of one denomination.
• Colonizing planter moves to target city w/ core
  ministry team of families friends.
• Innovation permitted style, model, methods

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Denominational Breakouts Wednesday, 130pm

• The key output of the conference
• Purpose To set planting goals and develop
  strategies.
• Multiplying disciple-making communities is the
  primary mission of Christs Harvest Force.
• Heaven and earth are watching!