How does a church planting team leave?
In her book Have We No Rights?,1 Mabel Williamson describes two fictional church planters. Mr. Beaver started projects and programs that attracted crowds and offered incentives such as employment. His approach taught the growing church to depend on his leadership, ideas, and resources.
Mr. Trainer, on the other hand, quietly got to know the people, eventually teaching and worshiping with a small group of disciples. His approach led the growing church to testify of Jesus, initiate their own projects, and ordain leaders from among themselves.
War came, and both Mr. Beaver and Mr. Trainer had to leave. After the war, others were assigned to their respective areas. What did they find?
That haunting question reflects a burden All-Nations teams carry. They fill a temporary place; someday, there will no longer be a church planting team among this people group. Will the church grow and bear fruit until Jesus comes, or will the disciples be overcome, stagnate, and give up? Will the lampstand Jesus has placed there burn bright or be removed?
The fact of leaving someday affects what All-Nations teams do and how they do it. It starts with a lowly entry into the community as learners. Prioritizing culture, language, and relationships in the early years positions the team not as those in charge, but as integrated outsiders prepared to facilitate development—whether in literacy, Bible translation, community development, Scripture teaching, or discipling and mentoring.
Some day, as local brothers gain experience as leaders, church planters can move to a supportive role. Then they may begin to spend time away, beginning the transition to fully local leadership. However, like the Apostle Paul, they will maintain contact and offer input even after leaving. But they do leave, and that is significant.
So from the beginning, the team is preparing to leave. Some teams may be able to withdraw gradually over several years, while others may need to leave unexpectedly due to extreme circumstances. Either way, the exit strategy is not an afterthought, an upsetting reversal after decades of integration. The team strives to “work themselves out of a job.”
A locally led and sustained church, a “building” founded on the Word of God without foreign props, a tree rooted in native soil and bearing luscious and life-giving fruit—this is what the team hopes to leave behind, by the grace of God.