Baltic Church Planting

Introduction to CP-21 Training

Our Identity

Our vision is a God-exalting, Christ-proclaiming, reproducing church in every community in the Baltics. To accomplish this vision, we are working in cooperation with churches, pastors, denominations and other organizations such as the Salvation Army and Greater Europe Mission, to provide church planter-specific training.

In Latvia, we are working in partnership with the Latvian Evangelical Alliance in the fulfillment of their goal, which is to see one church for every 1,000 people in the country. For that to take place, the number of evangelical churches in Latvia will need to quadruple; 1,500 new churches will need to be planted. Our passion is to come alongside the Alliance and the churches of Latvia and the other Baltic states, providing one of many strategies that will need to be implemented if this vision is to become a reality.

If 1,500 new churches are to be planted in Latvia alone, a spirit of cooperation based on our common identity in Christ and passion for the reaching of the unsaved will need to be demonstrated. Our goal is to be a catalyst for this cooperative effort.

Our Strategy

Our strategy to see additional churches planted in the Baltics is to provide church planter-specific training in multiple regional sights. Starting in September 2006, training has been offered in Liepaja, Daugavpils, and Riga or Jelgava, Latvia, and in Valga, Estonia.

Training is being provided in each sight two evenings each month. The training will be topical, with practical assignments related to each topic to be accomplished by the students.

There are several advantages to this strategy. It is portable, bringing the training to the students where they are located. This allows them to maintain their income, their support structure, their current church involvement, and relationships that can form the foundation for a new church plant. It is cost effective, as the training is offered without charge. This training is also flexible; training can be adapted to the needs of the students in each region. It also promotes communication and cooperation between the existing churches in the region.

Each student is assigned a mentor. The mentor provides encouragement, consistency, and accountability that is needed as the students seek to begin to put into practice the training they receive.

We desire to work in, with and through the national church, as we come alongside local churches and offer training to those they recognize as potential planters. Our desire is to assist the local church in training those identified as potential leaders, who can begin Bible studies that may lead to new church plants.

Our Students

Students planning to be involved in this training should be those who sense God is calling them to begin Bible studies leading to new church plants. The CP-21 program is not basic discipleship training. It is assumed students in this training have already been taught basic discipleship principles, and are ready to assume leadership responsibilities.

Potential students should demonstrate the character, gifts, and personality that would be essential for providing leadership in the church. They should have some local church ministry experience, and have proven themselves faithful.

While the training is primarily intended for men who sense a call to church planting, women are also welcome to attend, especially wives of potential planters, and women who sense a call to be involved in the core group of a new church plant.

If you are interested in receiving this training, or in recommending this training to someone in your church, please contact us. You will then be sent a Student Profile, Student Expectations, and Student Application Form.

Our Trainers

Trainers involved in this ministry include national pastors and church leaders, missionaries, and visiting instructors from other countries. Trainers are recruited who have a particular expertise and/or experience in the topic they are assigned.

The trainers come from a variety of denominational perspectives, but will be asked to speak to the topic assigned, and refrain from teaching doctrinal or practical applications that are specific to their denomination or personal position. But trainers are only chosen if they embrace the basic convictions of the Trinity, the deity of Christ, the inspiration of the Scriptures, and salvation by grace through faith.

Our Mentors

The mentors will assist the students in identifying specific personal and ministry goals and objectives, and will provide encouragement and accountability in the accomplishment of these goals. Mentors will also assist in the training process, discussing with students questions identified by each trainer relevant to the specific topic they recently covered.