When looking at the churches in the New Testament, we see that they shared many things in common: a solid foundation in the gospel and Christ’s teachings, how they gathered in homes or store fronts around a meal and broke bread together, how they met each other’s needs and recognized and trained leaders within the church. Just as these churches were similar, they were also as unique as the families that gathered together as the body of Christ.
Today, churches in BILD’s global network continue to build upon the same tradition as the churches in the New Testament: the Antioch Tradition, or “the way of Christ and His Apostles.” This follows the blueprint of church establishment and expansion as seen in the book of Acts throughout the Apostle Paul’s missionary journeys.
Because each church in Paul’s network was rooted in the same teaching, clusters and networks of churches were formed. We can see clusters and networks of churches developing throughout BILD’s global network in North America, Latin America, Kosovo, Ukraine, India, Uganda, Spain, France, Mongolia, and many other countries. No matter the culture, the foundational teaching and biblical principles are the same and have created a one-mindedness around God’s plan for progressing the gospel through Christ’s Church.
To give a closer perspective, let’s visit two of BILD’s partner churches in North America in Michigan and New Jersey. In just over 10 hours, a car ride will take you from the rural area of Mendon, Michigan, to the heavily populated New York City metropolitan area in Clifton, New Jersey.
The families in these churches are each unique, bringing an array of spiritual gifts that build up the body of Christ. While their locations are as different as night and day, their mission is the same: establish every person in the church in Christ’s teaching, so that they may impact their neighborhoods and the communities around them and the manifold wisdom of God can be seen in His Church in the way they love and take care of each other. Being one-minded in these ideas has led these two churches to develop a relationship in the past year that highlights the unique stewardship of both churches as they seek to fulfill God’s plan.
Scott Canion leads Grace Church – a small cluster of house churches in Clifton, New Jersey, with one of those churches meeting in his home. Recognizing his growing role to lead and shepherd the churches in “the way of Christ and His Apostles,” Canion realized the needs of the families and individuals in his church required more time and care than his full-time job afforded him. Canion sought counsel from a BILD mentor and heard about a Think Tank created by church leaders at Family Bible Church in Mendon, Michigan. The Think Tank has helped several church leaders and members find self-enterprising work that not only allows flexible hours but also earns enough money to support their families, the needs of the church, and church planting and expansion.
Years ago, Scott Thomas, an elder at Family Bible Church in Mendon, had been in the same situation as Canion. Thomas worked a corporate job that didn’t allow much flexibility in his schedule. After he left that job, he and his wife started a business that became a family enterprise. When his children got older and began their own adult lives, he sold the business and returned to the corporate world for almost two years before his position was terminated. While it was devastating to lose his job, he said it was also freeing. It allowed him time to think about what he wanted – something flexible and not a lot of hours, he wanted to work alone, and he didn’t want to enslave his family. The idea to become a home inspector came from his oldest daughter while she was going through the process of buying a home. Thomas looked into that option and realized it matched his capabilities and met his criteria. As he took the necessary steps to become a home inspector and began to find inspecting jobs, the Think Tank was taking shape as church leaders, elders, friends, and family met to brainstorm entrepreneurial ideas that could fund church expansion. Since then, the Think Tank has helped others find similar job situations, and the wisdom and experience of those in the Think Tank have become an important source in helping shape the lifework and purpose of those within the Mendon church.
When Scott Canion reached out to Scott Thomas and the church’s Think Tank for help, they reviewed an assessment of Canion’s motivations and abilities for work and determined that home inspection would be a perfect fit. Canion then arranged a time to visit Mendon and shadow Thomas on different job sites to learn about home inspection.
Canion’s visit to Mendon left a huge impression on him. It wasn’t just about learning how to inspect homes. It was riding in the car with Thomas between job sites and talking about their churches, life in the church, and discussing similar problems that arise and how to solve them. Their one-mindedness around God’s plan helped as they held the same biblical framework and principles in mind.
Canion wrote a letter to share with his church detailing his visit and what it was like being embraced into the family of families that is the Mendon church. It was clear that despite the distance between Mendon and New Jersey, the Mendon church is invested in Canion’s church and sees the larger picture of a global church network and their role in it. The relationship that has formed between these two churches has created a strong bond that will benefit everyone within the churches and also the larger BILD network.
In a note Canion wrote to BILD, he said: “Why would a group of church leaders that I had never met, who live a thousand miles away from me, want to invest significantly in my personal development? Because we both recognize the need to establish churches as families, and structure them as clusters and complex networks that are patterned after Acts... and we are all convinced that in order to be successful, we need apostolic-type leaders who have the time and flexibility to shape church networks and connect them globally to build Jesus' global family, so that it reflects His own prayer from John 17:21 "...that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me."
What unfolds when churches work together is significant; their mission and vision for spreading the gospel are evident in how they live their lives, how they order their churches, and how they foster the development of those within their churches.
Click to read [Scott Canion’s letter] to his church in New Jersey about his visit to Mendon.
Click to read more about Mendon’s Think Tank on the BILD Stories page here:
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