Towards a Strategy for Promoting and Multiplying Effective, Biblical Church Plants from Southlands Church, Orange County, California

Abstract

This thesis is based upon the realization that Southlands Church was found lacking in its operative theology with regards to the multiplication of churches. The primary objective of this study is to determine how to promote and multiply effective, biblical church plants from the Southlands Church, Orange County, California.The focus is on the role of the doctrines of the penal substitutionary atonement and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit in the planting and strengthening of these churches. The secondary objectives of this thesis are: 1) to interpret the operative theology of Southlands Church with respect to the multiplication of church plants from Southlands Church;2) to determine a biblically faithful operative theology with respect to the multiplication of church plants from Southlands Church; and 3) to develop a strategic plan to strengthen the operative theology with respect to the multiplication of church plants from Southlands Church.The research design and methodology employed in this study are based on Browning’s strategic practical theology (1991:54-73).This holistic approach has four stepscovered over three chapters withsteps 2 and 3 in the same chapter. The thesis begins with the analysis and interpretation of empirical data from qualitative empirical research conducted with ten respondents from various churches planted from Southlands over the past twenty years (chapter 2). It proceeds in chapter 3 to consider what constitutes a biblically faithful church planting operative theology with special focus on penal substitutionary atonement and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit and then a theological analysis of theempirical data culminating with theformulation and defence of an operative theology to guide the multiplication of churches from Southlands towards greater effectiveness. Chapter 3 ends with the formulation of appropriate solutions to embody the operative theological. The final chapter develops a strategy for promoting and multiplying effective, biblical church plants from the Southlands Church, Orange County, California(chapter 4).The following are the findings of the thesis. First, Southlands Church has had ahistoric tendency to prepare church planters to communicatea church model more skillfully than they communicate message of Christ, which has had an adverse effect on the growth and health of church plants. Second, Southlands must respond by providing church planters with a more thorough grounding in the message of Christ, with special reference to the doctrines of the penal substitutionary atonementand vempowerment of the Spirit. Third, whilemore recent churches planted from Southlands have been better prepared in communicating the message of Christ, more attention needs to be given to equip church planters towards missional effectiveness through evangelistic boldness and Spirit-empowered prayer