Derek Osburn never set out to be a poster child for missional church staff members. He was minding his own business as a youth minister at Central Baptist Church, Clovis, N.M., when God broadened his horizons.
The pivotal decision point for Osburn came at a New Mexico state evangelism conference during which Ed Stetzer challenged the audience. Stetzer, vice president of research and ministry development for LifeWay Christian Resources, is a longtime church planter and church-planting advocate.
“He said, ‘You will not change your circumstances until the discomfort of staying outweighs the discomfort of leaving,’” Osburn shared. “That was the turning point for me. I knew it was time to go.”
And by go Osburn thought he and his family would have to leave their home in Clovis and start a church elsewhere. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt his church. Turns out Central Baptist had another idea.
In 2005, Osburn began wrestling with the concept of planting a church that would reach the unchurched. But from the beginning, his concern was for the health and welfare of Central. He went so far as to resign from Central and explored the possibility of planting a church in Oklahoma. A call from Central Senior Pastor Alan McAlister changed his plans.
McAlister suggested Osburn try exactly what he was planning but do it at Central as associate pastor. In three years, a core group was ready to plant The Vine Community Church.
“Why would we want to start another church?” McAlister asked. “Well over 80 percent of the population of this county is lost. If you sense that God is leading you to start a new work, the best thing you can do is do that, in spite of what logic might tell you. We’re a testimony that He truly blesses.”
The Vine now averages 210 in worship and pulls approximately 65 percent of its members from Cannon Air Force Base. It has a leased building that seats 300.
“Because of Central doing this, they’ve gained 100 new members in a year and the Vine has gained 200,” Osburn said. “It proved to be the most biblical, godly thing they could do for the Kingdom. And so it was good in God’s eyes. It was good spiritually. It was good for our community. It is a success.”
That multiplication, coming from a position of health and maturity, makes Osburn and Central a model for how church staff and churches can approach church planting.
“Church planting is done best when healthy churches do what healthy living things do — reproduce,” Stetzer said.
The North American Mission Board is committed to helping churches prepare for partnership in church planting, wherever those churches find themselves, through Send North America. Clearing the hurdles for the healthy is important, but healing the hurting, and even dysfunctional, only helps the overall effectiveness of church-planting efforts.
“I was working at Central Baptist Church and spiritually searching for the next step that God wanted me to take,” Osburn said. “I had this sense that we’re not going to reach everybody in our world at our church. Of course, that’s the whole point of our Christian life — to be fruitful.
“The journey was cohesive and friendly working with Central. They were a great mother church. We worked well with the Baptist Convention of New Mexico and the North American Mission Board.”
“God has blessed us enormously,” Osburn’s wife, Sharla, said. “I was skeptical in the beginning, but this has been better than I ever imagined. When we stepped out, it was a whole different experience from anything I had encountered in church before. It is a blessing to see so many people from different groups come together.”
Having the flexibility to attend her daughters’ events, Bible studies with new members and different small groups allows her to be involved at a depth that supports the vision of the Vine.
“It has been neat to see our girls be a part of this,” she said of daughters Aspyn, 11; Makaidyn, 8; and Pacyn, 4. “They have a heart for missions and missions is fun. When their birthdays were coming up … they wanted to use their (birthday) money to purchase items for orphans.
“We had a combined birthday party for them where the gifts were things the orphans could use, like clothing and backpacks. Then we took our girls with another family and their daughter to deliver the presents to an orphanage in Belize.”
The Vine launched in September 2009 and constituted in September 2011.
“Until recently, we did not even have a sign,” Osburn said. “We do not advertise. We don’t print bulletins, do mailings or use any paper. We do all our outreach by personal invitation. People bring people they know to church. People are much more likely to trust someone they know. Anyone will visit your church but will they come back? When people bring their friends to church, those friends are much more likely to return.”
Osburn told of one member who was unchurched and a step away from ending his marriage. Osburn became involved when the family sought help.
“At first, we just talked or I just listened,” Osburn said. “He was not ready to hear what he needed to do. Over time, he came to understand what God expected of him and how He wanted a relationship with him. Now he is involved in weekly Bible study and is exactly where God wants him to be, in life, in his marriage.”
(NAMB)
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