For the Harvest Podcast - Episode 19 - From Dying to Dangerous (with Gary Smith)
Moving From Dying to Dangerous: Reigniting the Harvest
Many churches in North America today are facing a harsh reality. Depending on who you read, anywhere from 60 to 85% of churches are plateauing and dying. In a recent episode of the For the Harvest podcast, we had the immense privilege of sitting down with Gary Smith, an experienced church planter with around 40 years of ministry experience. Gary recently published a book titled From Dying to Dangerous A Radical New Pathway for Churches to Reignite Kingdom Culture. His insights challenge believers to rethink our deeply ingrained strategies to truly ignite a Kingdom impact.
Insights on Harvest-Centric Ministry
One of the greatest hindrances to effective church planting today is that strategies are heavily model-centric rather than harvest-centric. Often, church planting strategies and plans are about creating models and drive towards launch Sundays. Gary accurately notes that when we push all our resources toward a grand opening Sunday, we miss the point. "We ought to be launching towards the lostness and thinking how can we multiply disciples," Gary explains. God's heart aches over lost people, and to align with Him, our churches must ache over lost people as well.
Lessons from the Bridge Principle
How do we actually reach those who are entirely disconnected from the church? Gary introduced us to the "Bridge Principle," a method of connecting the specific values of a local culture to the truth of the gospel. For example, when ministering in an environmentally conscious area where people might assume "hell would freeze over" before they step inside a church, you have to build a bridge. Gary advised a church planter to host an "under the snow" community cleanup event to bridge the gap. You put a plank in the bridge that gets them closer to the church, closer to the gospel, and closer to Christ.
Takeaways on Dispelling Myths
Gary also spends much of his time dispelling modern ministry myths. The most prominent myth is that you cannot build a new church directly out of the harvest, but rather you must start with a pre-existing launch team. Gary argues that it is a great strategy to build your church plant out of the harvest, raising up new believers to actively lead. We must look for leaders the way the Lord does—looking at the heart, rather than demanding a polished exterior.
We can scale the Kingdom throughout the earth by raising up leaders to go out and start the next new thing. It is time to get serious about evangelism and church planting.
Listen to the full episode of the For the Harvest podcast to hear all of Gary’s incredible insights, and make sure to subscribe to stay updated on our latest conversations!
Gary Smith's Book "From Dying to Dangerous" can be found at:
https://www.amazon.com/Dying-Dangerous-Radical-Churches-Reignite/dp/1967587620