church planting movements within people groups. Garrison defines ab bchurch planting movement (CPM) as a rapid and exponential increase of indigenous churches planting churches within a given people group orb bpopulation segment.” 22 The CPM is rapid—it may result in many new churches within a few years. The CPM is exponential—two churches become four, four churches become eight, eight churches become sixteen, and soon. The CPM is comprised of indigenous churches—the people within a culture initiate and sustain the churches. The CPM welcomes people from any people group, but each church initially focuses on reaching people within a particular people group or population segment. People respond best to people that have similar language and cultural traits. Church planting movements are occurring in North Africa, China, Latin America, Western Europe, and Ethiopia. Techniques described in Garrison’s booklet help promote such church planting movements in various cultures. Some of these strategies are based on Biblical teaching. For example, Garrison promotes church planting by indigenous churches. Paul the Apostle planted churches around the Mediterranean, and then he encouraged the churches to do all of the work of the church. Part of that work included witnessing so that indigenous people planted other churches. Paul taught that each member of the church had one or more gifts that were to be employed. Some had the gift of prophecy, and one can infer that such prophets spoke not only to existing churches but also to new churches (see Romans 12: 6). Some had the gift of evangelism, so that new churches formed as the Gospel spread (see Ephesians 4:11 ). Garrison says that indigenous churches should not have to adapt to the culture of a missionary. Paul the Apostle encouraged indigenous churches among the Greeks without requiring that they adopt all the Hebrew customs and rituals, Page 1 of 10 MISSIOLOGY - Strategy of Missions 1/7/2012 http://test.missionstraining.org/Missiology/Strategy.html
and Peter and James agreed with Paul (see Acts 15:1,2,6-21). Garrison describes how churches today may meet as cell groups in homes. The Apostle Luke described how the first Christians broke bread together celebrated the Lord’s Supper) in homes and how the church grew daily (see
