REVELATION 7:9

“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.”
—Revelation 7:9

The purpose of the Revelation 7:9 Task Force is to help the 630+ churches of the EPC improve the delivery of the Great Commission and the Great Commandment within the 1- 3- and 5-mile radius of each congregation.

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Ten expressions of a Revelation 7:9 church
Is Revelation 7:9 right for my church?
FAQs
Contacts
Contact Form

TEN EXPRESSIONS OF A REVELATION 7:9 CHURCH

PERSONNEL

1. Volunteers: Elect qualified people of color as deacons and/or elders, or appoint volunteers in key positions such as teachers, small group leaders, nominating committee members, etc.

2. Employment Staffing: Hire qualified people of color to serve on staff in key or visible positions. Note that in the church, many first-time minorities employees on a majority staff fail to properly assimilate into the culture, under-perform, or resign. Why? Because the initial hiring of minority staff (including those who are younger, a different gender, or with a developmental disability) requires more intentional, extensive onboarding, coaching, and longsuffering.

CHURCH PLANTING

1. When a mono-ethnic church (or a cluster of churches) intentionally plants an autonomous daughter church using a Revelation 7:9 ethic in an area where the demographics make sense.

2. When a mono-ethnic church plants a multi-site campus extension differing in age, ethnicity, and socio-economics than the mother church.

3. When a mother church plants among people of color in a given ZIP Code. This plant will look and feel different than the mother church.

4. When a church plants a church in an under-served ZIP code.

Note: we are using the definition for the “under-served” from the EPC Church Planting Team, which differs from an under-resourced community. An under-served ZIP Code is defined as a local church plant designed to evangelize a demographic dominated by “Nones” or “Dones”—the religiously unaffiliated (formerly called “unchurched” or “dechurched”)—in its 1-3-5-mile radius. This would be locations in your city or in such cities as Portland, Maine; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; etc.). 

MOTHER-CHURCH DEMOGRAPHIC TRANSFORMATION

1. Either because of demographic shifts or holy discontent that a congregation is not reflecting the variety within its 1-3-5 mile radius, a mono-ethnic church decides to transform into a multi-ethnic, inter- generational, and/or economically diverse congregation.

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

1. Facility Sharing: An expression of a Revelation 7:9 church is a facility-sharing arrangement between a majority congregation and a minority congregation that extends beyond transactional to relational. In other words, instead of simply having a landlord-tenant contract, the mother church fellowships in new ways with the church or parachurch tenant. Facility-sharing would also include multiple joint events and partnering on joint outreach endeavors as equal partners.

2. Schools: Adopting an under-resourced school with a minority church, including intentional power-sharing partnerships.

3. Refreshed Outreach Philosophy: A refreshed local church outreach philosophy aspiring to imitate the Revelation 7:9 ethic is less paternalistic and less programmatic, but more willing to share ideas and power with minority communities. In other words, listening and learning more than leading. This new philosophy entails:

• Balancing the church’s local budget and global budget. Often suburban or rural churches invest more overseas than in their own cities.
• Conducting asset-based research (contrasted with deficit-based research) on what is good about the neighborhood instead of what’s bad about it.
• Developing peer-to-peer relationships by gathering community stakeholders in under-resourced areas to ask them to define their own neighborhood’s needs.
• Convening candid, Christian, civil conversations that cultivate personal cross-cultural relationships.
• Recognizing that poverty is more than economics and requires wholistic ministry.

We think these equate to several God-honoring local church expressions.

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IS REVELATION 7:9 RIGHT FOR MY CHURCH?

Below are five suggested steps you can take to help determine if Revelation 7:9 is right for your church:

1. Find out what generational and ethnic diversity exists in your 1-3-5 mile radius.

2. Compare those statistics to the statistics of the people touched by the work of your church.

3. Have a conversation with your Teaching Elders and Ruling Elders about the future vision for your church and ask if it lines up the maintaining the data you have observed.

4. Ask yourself if your church’s delivery of the Great Commission and Great Commandment would be improved inside your 1-3-5 mile radius by intentionally seeking to reach new groups of people.

5. Contact the Revelation 7:9 Task Force to set up an initial call.

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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A REVELATION 7:9 CHURCH?

A Revelation 7:9 Church is one that has decided they are willing to enter into intentional and honest conversations around how to improve the delivery of the Great Commission and Great Commandment locally in their 1-3-5 mile radius.

WHAT IS THE COMMITMENT?

The initial commitment is simply to enter into conversations with members of the Revelation 7:9 Task Force. The process is relational, not contractual.

IS THERE A COST?

The only specific cost is associated with an assessment tool developed by The Gospel Initiative. That fee is $1500.

WHAT DOES THE PROCESS LOOK LIKE?

For most, it begins with a Zoom call with a member of the Revelation 7:9 Task Force to answer any questions you have and determine if next steps are appropriate. If so, that Zoom call is usually followed up by a site visit from one or more members of the Task Force. From there, the process is highly contextualized to the specific church. It is far more relational than systematic, but likely includes assessment, identification of desired outcomes, identification of critical success factors, and development of a plan. The process is not designed to be quick, but it is designed to maintain forward momentum.

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CONTACTS

OFFICE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Dean Weaver, Stated Clerk
(407) 930-4288

REVELATION 7:9 TASK FORCE

Andrew Smith, Co-Chairman
TE, Presbytery of the East

Rufus Smith, Co-Chairman
TE, Presbytery of the West

Steve Burton
TE, Presbytery of the Central South

Jeff Cook
TE, Presbytery of the Central Carolinas

Marc de Jeu
TE, Presbytery of the Alleghenies

Enid Flores
RE, Presbytery of Florida and the Caribbean

Bonnie Gatchell
TE, Presbytery of the East

Laurie Johnston
TE, Presbytery of the Great Plains

Joe Kim
TE, Presbytery of the East

Rachel Kimrey
Presbytery of the Southeast

Cheryl Mendes-Ellis
TE, Presbytery of the West

Mark Potter
TE, Presbytery of the Great Plains

Brandon Queen
RE, Presbytery of the Gulf South

Doug Resler
TE, Presbytery of the West

Eric Shipton
TE, Presbytery of the New River

Gabriela Sosa
RE, Presbytery of the Great Plains

Cara Taylor
Presbytery of thr Pacific Northwest

Ben Tzeng
TE, Presbytery of Mid-America

Bob Vincent
TE, Presbytery of the Gulf South

Tom Werner
RE, Presbytery of Mid-America

Rodger Woodworth
TE, Presbytery of the Alleghenies

Jason Yum
TE, Presbytery of the Pacific Southwest

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CONTACT FORM

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