There is never a perfect time to plant churches

Is it ever convenient to plant a new church? Is there a need of new churches? Church history says that the best evangelisation tool ever is church planting. Europe needs new churches like never before. So do we see the need? Yes we all talk about it. Do we plant churches? No! Why? Because it's not easy, convenient or cheap. We have so much problem in our own churches so why get a new problem.
One of my site pastors, Daniel, preached this Sunday about the heart of David. In his text he used a portion of scripture that hit me.

When David ran from Saul a bunch of misfits followed David.
1 Samuel 22:2
"And everyone who was in distress, everyone who was in debt, and everyone who was discontented gathered to him. So he became captain over them. And there were about four hundred men with him."

The guys who David had to train, equip and raise up to be leaders was not the dream leadership material. David's circumstances was really hard. He had a group of people with lots of problems. He was on the run and had to hide both from Saul and from the Philistines. And with the kind of people David had around him everyones advice would have been; get things in order in your own camp before you start to think that you are going to save the rest of the world.
But then David hears about a city called Keilah. He hears about the problems that city has and he gets compassion for them. As a man of God he goes to God and asks him if he should do something about it. And God answers and says "go and attack the Philistines and save Keilah."

1 Samuel 23:3-5
3 But David's men said to him, “Look, we are afraid here in Judah. How much more then if we go to Keilah against the armies of the Philistines?”
4 Then David inquired of the Lord once again.
And the Lord answered him and said, “Arise, go down to Keilah. For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand.”
5 And David and his men went to Keilah and fought with the Philistines, struck them with a mighty blow, and took away their livestock. So David saved the inhabitants of Keilah.

This text really spoke to me. It was not a perfect time for David to go on a new venture to a new city. For me the city Keilah represents all those city's where we need to plant new churches to se people get saved, healed and restored. I can also relate to David in that sense that it may not be the most best timing. We have so many challenges in our own church etc... But when I go to God because of the burden I carry for city's in Sweden and Europe I only hear one thing; "Arise, go down to Keilah For I will deliver the Philistines into your hand. I will do it if you trust me even though all circumstances may not be perfect!"

Sometimes the biggest problem with church planting is that we ether think it's easy and when adversity comes we quit, or we just look at our own little problems without counting in God in the equation.

There may never come a perfect time to plant churches. It's hard. It costs lots of money. It's not glamorous. It's hard, hard work... But Europe is in dire needs of men and women with compassion for a generation who will get lost if we don't act now! So let's ask God what he wants us to do... let's take Keliah!!


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