July 2015 New Horizons

The Usual Steps in OPC Church Planting

by John S. Shaw

The Lord Jesus Christ has given great promises to his church. He told Peter: “I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). He calls his disciples to disciple the nations, and he sends them out with his authority and promises to be with them “always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:18–20). Paul reminds us that the Lord is head over all things, and that he exercises his power on behalf of the church, “which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all” (Eph. 1:19–22). Later in that same letter, we see another big promise: the gospel is preached “so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places” (Eph. 3:10). The Lord possesses a special love for his church, the apple of his eye. And he promises to do great things through the church, the special instrument by which he displays his saving power in the world. He sends his church to the ends of ... Read more

Parachute Church Planting

by Eric B. Watkins

Church planters, through one humbling means or another, come to the realization that though God is pleased to use his servants, it is God who ultimately is the church planter, and any success is due to his grace. God alone gets all the credit and the glory. Only by God’s grace are churches planted and eventually become established congregations. The story of Covenant Presbyterian Church in St. Augustine, Florida, is an unusual one. It does not fit the description of a mother-daughter church plant, nor did it begin with a well-established core group. It is what might be described as something close to a “parachute drop” or a “strategic church plant.” These terms are not frequently used in the OPC, and I certainly do not want to suggest that this paradigm is any better than the others. But I would point out that it is not as unfamiliar as it may seem. If you were to peruse one of our history books, The Orthodox Presbyterian Church 1936–1986 , you would find the stories of many of our ... Read more

Keeping the Faith in College

by Judith M. Dinsmore

In the film God’s Not Dead , an articulate Christian student spectacularly defends his faith in front of a disbelieving class and a hostile professor. It is no secret that secular colleges and universities, and sometimes even their Christian counterparts, are leading the cultural movement away from faith. But for some college students, standing against the cultural norm and defending their faith is much less about fireworks in the classroom and much more about quiet persistence in building and maintaining relationships. Benjamin Van Dyke, a student at Michigan State University who grew up in the OPC, was a senior last year, but still lived in a freshman-filled dorm. A member of Spartan Christian Fellowship (SCF) for all four years, Ben has a passion for sharing the gospel. He explained that the dorms facilitate friendships, which lead to conversations: “The reason [SCF] wants students to live on campus is that then you immediately have relational capital with other students. We try to share the ... Read more