The Elements
8 Key Elements in a Campus Church Network

We believe in any campus church network movement these 8 keys must be foundational in order for the movement to be healthy, effective and growing.

1. 24/7 Prayer (Prayer)
Prayer always precedes revival. Prayer is also what sustains revival. If a campus church network is to be successful there must be much prayer. The underground church in China that is growing daily by thousands has said, "no prayer, no power, much prayer, much power." Prayer must be foundational at an individual, corporate and regional level. Believers on campus must have a lifestyle of prayer, campus churches must regularly meet for spiritual warfare and intercession for the lost, regionally campus churches should make it a goal to network prayer warriors to sustain 24/7 prayer over their campus and city. If you are the one called to start a campus church network on your campus than prayer must be your first priority. It is your lifestyle of prayer that will effect the movement from the beginning to be a movement of prayer and total dependence on God. Bill Bright started Campus Crusade for Christ the largest Christian ministry organization in the world with a 24- hour prayer vigil. (Isaiah 62:6-7, Luke 18:7)

The Moravian Church in Herrnhut

The Moravians started with a 24-hour prayer watch in 1727, and continued for 120 years. 24 men and 24 women committed themselves to pray an hour per day in pairs of two. Later more people joined them even young people and children. Some of the results were that one small congregation with about 600 members sent out more missionaries over the first 25 years of its existence than the whole of the Protestant church in the previous 200 years! Revival in the 18th century and in the Methodist church movement had their roots in this prayer watch.

2. Participative Bible Learning (Scripture)
First, obedience to scripture is key and must be the sole measure of success. Reading the word and obeying the word must be embedded in the core of every campus church. The Bible must be the guiding source for doctrine, church polity and its authority must be unquestioned.

Second, if our campus churches are going to multiply rapidly, we do not always have the time or luxury of taking many years to train a Bible teacher by sending him/her through seminary. Preaching and teaching must be done mostly in a participative environment. We need to use an approach where the Bible can teach itself, where even a young but mature Christian is able to lead.

Meaning, instead of one pastor/teacher carrying the load of preaching a weekly sermon, Bible learning is done in a way where all members can participate, interact, learn and be held accountable together to immediately obey what has been studied. In this way, the one leading the Bible study plays more of a coach/facilitator role, rather than a preaching role. The responsibility of the facilitator is to make sure the study keeps moving, that everyone is taking part, no one person dominates and everyone is held accountable to what is learned.

A simple example would be a small group of students gathering together, jointly reading a story or passage of the Bible and then discussing the truth they see in that story or Bible. As they study the Word together, members of the group are asked how they can apply the Scripture in their lives during the week. They will then report to the group their experience from application when they gather together the next time.

In Church Planting Movements that are happening worldwide the International Missions Board of Southern Baptists teach their missionaries…

"Regardless of the method used to impart the truth of God's Word, the church planter must believe wholeheartedly that "All Scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness" (2 Timothy 3:16) We must focus on teaching the Bible, not just teaching about the Bible! It is the Bible, rather than the missionary, church leadership, or creed that is authoritative. When asked theological or doctrinal questions, the missionary's reply should be: "What Does God's Word say?" (IMB, CPM Training Manual)

3. Massive Evangelism (Evangelism)
There must be abundant gospel sowing in any campus church movement. The key is not the method, but the continual presentation of the gospel to as many students as possible. How can students be saved if they have never heard the Gospel preached to them? Whether it is through platform events, handing out gospel tracks, open air preaching, showing the Passion of the Christ DVD, building relationships, or any other creative means, the gospel must be shared continually-all the time-as much as possible. We must remember: Who ever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. (2 Corinthians 9:16) As missionaries it is imperative that we work with every form of evangelism that works continually.

During the Berkeley rebellion in the sixties & seventies Campus Crusade for Christ decided to have their own protest on the UC Berkeley campus. But instead of protesting war and anti-government initiatives they proclaimed the Gospel with over 700 Campus Crusaders in what they called the "Berkley Blitz" These campus crusaders were challenged to strategically share their faith that week with every student on campus, and they did! At the end of the week the great evangelist Billy Graham preached in the main campus auditorium and great numbers of students came to Christ. So much so, it was told that every person on campus including the administration was all talking about Jesus!

4. Campus Church Planting Churches (Multiplication)
Mass evangelism is great but it is not effective unless it results in a church being planted to plant more churches. New believers must be discipled and brought into a healthy spiritual family and given the vision to win their friends and loved ones immediately in their community for a campus church planting movement to occur. Evangelism that results in churches being planted do not just happen, it must be intentional & deliberate from the start.

A trained CCN church planter will usually start the first campus church, but as a campus church movement unfolds the churches themselves must begin to plant new churches. In order for this to happen, campus church members have to believe that reproduction is natural and no external aids are needed to start new churches (such as needing a church building, full time pastor, lots of finances etc). If there is to be a campus church planting movement than there can be nothing to deter the campus believers from winning the lost and planting new campus churches.

Recently, a church planter in Harvard began witnessing to lonely students by inviting them into homes for free dinners. Pretty soon the meetings grew so large they had to open other homes and have more dinners. The new church since last checked was at 100 members meetings in different homes and apartments on campus!

5. On-the-job Leadership training (Discipleship)
When there is a rapid increase in the number of campus churches, effective leadership training is critical to the success of the movement. If new church leaders were to leave their campus churches for extended periods for theological training, the momentum of the movement will be diminished. At the same time, this vital component of church growth must not be overlooked. The most beneficial training brings education as close to the action as possible. Theological Education by Extension, with an emphasis on practical learning interspersed with ongoing ministry, has proven to be a strong complement to church planting movements around the world. Campus church networks will adopt this principle also.

The forms of this on-the-job training vary from field to field, but typically include a series of short-term training modules that do not impede the primary tasks of evangelism, church planting and pastoral leadership. The importance of ongoing leadership training for the continued growth and strong development of a campus church planting movement is also needed and essential. (Adapted from CPM: IMB)

At CCN we provide you with ongoing leadership training by making free leadership training and discipleship materials for you to download. Also, you can connect through phone and email with our CCN coaches to receive exactly the kind of help you need to plant successful campus church planting churches.

A church planter in Northern India with the IMB planted nearly 10 thousand cell or house churches in one decade. The interesting point is that in that network of nearly a million believers nearly all the pastors of the churches were bi-vocational. This means most did not leave their church to go to seminary, rather they were mentored and trained on-the-job as a pastor and at the same time themselves were training new pastors on-the-job to start new cell or house churches.

6. Marketplace Ministry & Missions (Missions)
We must develop a mindset for marketplace ministry and missions from the get go in any campus church network. Marketplace ministry meaning infiltrating and changing the society at all levels: Government, Business, Education and Community. Students must be trained and empowered to bring the church to the campus, city and world rather than trying to bring the campus, city and world to the four walls of a church. The questions to be asked continually are how do we best utilize our resources to minister to the most number of lost students in all sectors of society? How are we empowering students to be the most excellent Christian witnesses in their vocational settings after college and plant churches there? What social justice and mercy opportunities is God opening for us to minister in the city our campus resides in? Where are there pockets of students in our city who are still un-reached with the Gospel and how can we send out student church planters to reach them? How does our ministry locally effect and prepare us for God's heart globally to reach the thousands of un-reached people groups on the earth?

The college campus is a training ground to engage, equip and empower students who will be the future of tomorrow's world, so after college, they make a Christ centered impact in their society. A successful campus church planting movement will train student believers to bring God's kingdom to wherever God calls them in the marketplace or vocational mission field. With this greater vision in mind, the church planting movement starts on the campus, into the city and finally the world.

A marketplace ministry platform in a regional campus church network could be ministry to the poor, free tutoring to students, counseling services, drug-rehabilitation programs, community service to the city, mobilizing students to social and political activism for Christ, interning in local businesses to redeem God's presence in the business arena etc. God is calling forth a generation of Daniel's and Esther's who will go to the kings court and stand up for righteousness in their generation!

In a formerly un-reached people group in India a massive church planting movement has taken a hold of the entire society and culture. Bi-vocational pastors of house churches are trained not only to be great pastors to their flock, but they are trained in how to be excellent in their full-time marketplace jobs so they can rise to the top levels of management and in that way have more influence for Christ. There are entire businesses being transformed by the witness of Christians working in them and sharing the Gospel with co-workers.

In Buenos Aires Argentina Christian missionaries witnessed to the owner of a famous restaurant. Soon, the owner witnessed to waiters and employees of the restaurant and now nearly 90% of the entire working staff of the restaurant has come into relationship with Jesus Christ. They meet daily in the restaurant to worship God and instead of attending a local church outside of the restaurant the restaurant has become the employees church! We must bring church to the city instead of the city to the church!

7. Student Leaders (Lay Leadership)
A campus church planters aim is to mentor and raise up students on campus to lead the campus church and plant other churches (this can be done either physically or through email/phone correspondence). The campus church movement needs to be driven by student leaders. This is because student leaders take on the general profile of those they are trying to reach with the Gospel and identify best with their peers. Typically, a student leader is un-paid and ministers as a lay leader. As the church develops, a student leader can become paid staff. However, the majority-and growth edge of the movement-continue to be led by lay or bi-vocational student/alumni leaders. This reliance upon student lay leadership ensures the largest possible pool of potential church planters and campus church leaders. Dependence upon seminary-trained-or even educated-pastoral leaders means that the work will always face a leadership deficit. (Adapted from CPM:IMB) The basic strategy for all campus church planters to ensure a campus church planting movement happens is following the M.A.W.L. method.

M = Model
The campus church planter goal is to work their way out of a campus church plant. The first aim is for the missionary to win a student of peace to Christ. Once this potential student leader or leaders have been won the church planter is to teach them to win their friends immediately and start a campus church. Once a church is born, the campus church planter is to MODEL for the potential student leader how to do church in a simple reproducible way.

A = Assist
Once the campus church planter has taken along side the natural student leaders (elders) of the campus church and modeled to these student leaders how to do church, the church planter is to then take a step back and ASSIST the new student pastors in empowering him/her to lead the campus church. At this point the church planter would be working along side with the new student pastors to lead and pastor the congregation.

W = Watch
After a time of modeling and assisting the campus church planter will empower the student leaders to organize, oversee and pastor the congregation totally by themselves so they won't be dependent on the campus missionary. The campus church planter at this stage will only WATCH, but not assist alongside the student leaders. At this stage the campus missionary will be able to give input to the leaders but take a total backseat role.

L = Leave
At the point when the campus church is able to be lead by the local students on campus the campus church planter's role has been accomplished and will then LEAVE the church to start another one. The campus church planter must make sure before he/she leaves that the local student leadership are equipped and trained with a vision to raise up leadership from among their congregation to reproduce and plant another campus church. As this cycle repeats itself a campus church planting movement is well under way.

In Los Angeles a major campus ministry realized their full time campus staff members did not have enough capacity to manage 8-10 campuses by themselves. In order to remedy this problem they took the above "student led" vs. "paid staff" approach and started campus fellowships by winning students of peace & empowering them to win their lost friends immediately. Once a fellowship was formed the campus staff would model for the new student leader how to lead the campus ministry. After a short while the staff member would coach the student of peace from a distance so they would lead or pastor the new campus fellowship and reproduce likewise. This approach worked so well this ministry has since adopted this model and growth has exploded exponentially on different campuses. If they were still relying on full time campus staff workers to manage & lead all the different campus ministries they would never have the capacity to reach so many campuses with such effectiveness.

8. Mobile Churches (Church without walls)
Campus Churches must not be dependent on outside funding or owning a building space to meet. This only stifles campus church planting and slows down the process. The church can meet or own a building space to meet if they have the resources, but the idea is that the Church is not a building it is the people. A campus church is a mobile church usually with 10-20 members. The goal is not to grow larger in number as a congregation, but to train up more leaders to plant more mobile campus churches. In this way, the burden to finance a building never inhibits a campus church to reproduce and grow. Instead, because a mobile campus church can meet anywhere (apartment, home, storefront, park, etc.) the cost of financing a building becomes obsolete and tithes can be used for more ministry opportunities. Also, these campus churches will have total autonomy and its leadership decentralized. In this way campus churches will form networks of alliances and relationships in a campus region for citywide church efforts to win the lost. The more campus churches saturating a campus the more potential there is to reach the many different segments of students there are on the campus.

In Cuba a missionary learned that the Cuban government put out a mandate that, "no church could be more than 15 people in a home." The government thought this would suppress and stifle church growth among Christians, but instead it has made Christianity explode in Cuba. Because of this government regulation the church has not grown vertically, but horizontally. Every time a house church grows to more than 15 people they multiply into another house church and raise up another pastor. Because of their mobility and non-dependence on a church building the church is growing exponentially and offering the largest pool for more leaders and pastors to be developed and sent out to do the work of the ministry!