LIBERTY UNIVERSITY

ORGANIC CHURCH

LEAD 620 MISSION, VISION AND STRATEGIC PLANNING
ARTICLE ASSIGNMENT – WEEK 5

BY

DICKSON, TENNESSEE

February 11, 2015

Organic Church

An Organic Church has been defined as a natural church or a simple church. It is giving back the ministry to the people. As Neil Cole states in our text, “Organic church is a mind-set, not a model. (Cole, 2010). An Organic Church does not need to be in a specific building, it can be anywhere a group meet to worship God.
Marion Alberto Gonzales tells us that the word Organic is broken down as original, reproducible, genes, adoration, natural, intentional and centered in community. (Gonzales, n.d.).
If you think about it, this is a great definition of Organic. It tells you everything about the church. The church is something I would enjoy attending. I would like to experience the way this type of church operates. The church is not necessarily divided by ages. The church may gather on Sunday morning, but it will gather when members all agree. Members gather in small groups with elders controlling the services. Prayer occurs in the group and a real focus is placed on praying for those people who don’t know Christ yet. (Four…, 2015).
Viola contends that many congregations today are struggling to survive, not because of bad planning, but poor planting. (Viols. 2009). Viola provides a guide for starting and nourishing organic churches. He pulls information from both Scripture and life experiences and offers insight and tools that suggest that churches will thrive. (Viola, 2009).
If you want to start an organic church, here are some of steps you may decide to take. First, spend time with people who may not be Christians. They could be co-workers, family or

friends. Second, listen to everyone and just be a friend. Third, talk about Jesus as long as they want to listen. Be sure not to pressure them. If they don’t want to listen, pray for them. In Luke 10:2-11 Jesus instructed that we should share the Kingdom of God. Finally, invite yourself to their house to talk about the word of God. In Luke 19:1-10 and Matthew 9:9-13, Jesus invited himself to dinner. (Starting…, n.d.). If Jesus can do it, so can we.
In Philemon 1:2 the bible says “ 2and to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in your house”. Also in Romans 16:3-5 the bible says, “ 3Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles; 5also greet the church that is in their house.” Both of these verses tells us that a church can be anywhere God is worshipped. According to Neil Cole, if we want to connect with those who are not coming to church, we must go where people congregate. Cole says you must plant the seeds of the Kingdom of God in the places where life happens and where culture is formed— restaurants, bars, coffeehouses, parks, locker rooms, and neighborhoods. Organic Church offers a hands-on manual for exposing this type of church and show how to start an Organic Church. (Cole, 2005). The simple, organic churches say that they take God's message to the people are instead of them going to a church and we much keep the message of Jesus, who lived among the people of his time. The Organic Church tells us to return to those ancient roots. Ways to return are by letting the church be alive, organic, growing, spreading in the most likely and unlikely places. (Cole, 2005).

Jesus always used natural metaphors to explain the essence and growth of the