1. The Harvest Force
“Pray the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers into His Harvest field.”
Matthew 9:38

2. Our Goal:
Discipling Our Nation

3. An “Evangelized” People Group
“A people in which the majority of its members have heard the gospel of Jesus Christ with such cultural and personal relevance that it results in sufficient understanding to accept Christ by faith as a believer or to reject Him.”

4. A “Discipled” People Group
“A people group in which the majority of its members are fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.”

5. Far Stronger in “Religious Memory” than as a “Discipled Harvest-Force”
Our Status:
Far Stronger in “Religious Memory” than as a “Discipled Harvest-Force”

6. Canadian Religious “Affiliation”

7. Change in Religious Affiliation
Affiliation % % Change
Catholic 11,402, ,335, %
East. Orthodox 361, , %
Protestant 9, , %
United Church 3,758, ,093, %
Anglican 2,436, ,188, %
Presbyterian 812, , %
Lutheran 702, , %
Evangelicals 1,928, ,910, %
Jewish 296, ,
Islam 98, , %
Buddhist 51, , %
Hindu 69, , %
Sikh 67, , %
No affiliation 1,783, ,386, %

8. Summary:
Evangelicals growing (as percentage of population) at 2.8% per decade.
Mainline declining -5.0% per decade.
Catholic declining -1.6% per decade.
Eastern non-Christian religions increasing at +0.5% per decade.
Secular/non-religious increasing at +5.1% per decade.

9. Current Harvest Force Estimate:
9,276
Known Evangelical Congregations (in 1998)

10. Percentage of Canadian Protestant Churches with an Average Sunday Attendance of:

11. What does this mean?
Average Evangelical Congregation Worship Size persons
Estimated Harvest Force: (135 x 9276) = 1,252,260 Canadians
Percent of Canadians in an evangelical church last Sunday: (4.1%)

12. Recent Church Planting Rates by Tradition:
Total Canadian Worship Attendance: 18%
Worshiping in Evangelical churches: 4.1%

13. Recent Church Planting Rates: Evangelical Denominations
Key Findings:
Evangelical Planting rate declined slightly during
Slight churches-per-capita gain due to slower population growth.

14. Multiplying Churches for Every People Group
Harvest Force Task:
Multiplying Churches for Every People Group

15. What is the best way to Disciple a Whole Nation?
1. Recognize that a “Nation” is made up of many “Ethnae” in many neighbourhoods….
Gen X street kids Chinese - Cantonese
Muslim Aboriginal New Agers French Apartments and Row-housing Unchurched Evangelicals Chinese - Mandarin East Indian
Rural “International Students” Sikh Lapsed Catholics Hispanic Caucasian atheists Buddhists Post-moderns

16. What is the best way to Disciple a Whole Nation?
2. Provide one church for every thousand people, in every “Ethnae,” in every neighbourhood, in the Nation.
Why? In order to see a gathering of believers meeting regularly within practical and cultural distance of every person in every class and kind of people, and see these believers penetrating every neighborhood with the transforming love, care, truth and power of Jesus Christ!

17. For More Background... Transforming Our Nation
(Church Leadership Library, 1998)
Available from “Church Planting Canada”

18. Harvest Force Leaders:
Currently Most Effective
Church Planting Movements
by Denominational Size

19. Church Planting Rates: (1992-1997)
Small Denominations
(under 100 churches)
Victory %
Vineyard %
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran %
Medium Denominations
( churches)
Southern Baptist 4.4%
Apostolic Church of Pentecost 3.5%
Church of God (Cleveland) 2.5%

20. Church Planting Rates: (1992-1997)
Larger Denominations:
Over 250 congregations: Christian & Missionary Alliance - 2.1%
Over 500 congregations:
Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches - 0.6%
Over 1000 congregations:
Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada - 1.2%

21. Strongest Known Planting Rates Since 1997 Congress:
Smaller:
Association of Vineyard Churches %
Wesleyan (Central Canada) %
Medium:
Church of God (Cleveland) - 9.2%
Cdn. Conf. of MB Churches - 4%
Cdn. Conf. of Southern Baptist - 8.9%
Evangelical Free - 5.1%
North American Baptist - 5.5%
Larger:
Christian and Missionary Alliance - 2.3%

22. What are these Movements Doing to Plant Effectively?
Vision of leadership more important than organizational polity (eg. hierarchical or loosely structured.)
Structured giving: eg. 5% of local offerings for Canadian church planting and 5% for international church planting.
Seminary optional: leadership pool enlarged with gifted lay planters.
Church planting course(s) required for Bible school or seminary graduation.

23. Planting Models Used by Growing Movements:
Churches Planting Churches - every healthy church can plant every years.
Planting Teams: mobile “five-fold” ministry (Eph. 4:11) planting team stays two years.
Planting in Clusters: a city is targeted for 5 to 10 new churches of one denomination.
Colonizing: planter moves to target city w/ core ministry team of families & friends.
Innovation permitted: style, model, methods

24. Denominational “Breakouts:” Wednesday, 1:30pm
The key output of the conference:
Purpose: To set planting goals and develop strategies.
Multiplying “disciple-making communities” is the primary mission of Christ’s Harvest Force.
Heaven and earth are watching!