Acts 29 launched the Church in Hard Places initiative in January 2018 with four main objectives:

1. TRAIN indigenous leaders in poor communities
2. RESOURCE the church in hard places by developing culturally relevant and accessible materials to equip those doing ministry to the poor
3. MOBILIZE Acts 29 churches to support the training and development of indigenous leaders in poor communities
4. INTEGRATE indigenous leaders in poor communities into the Acts 29 family

Church planting looks different in hard places – places where it is hard to get a job, hard to support your family, hard to access decent education and healthcare. The reality is, in these places, it is also hard to find gospel-preaching churches. Many church leaders in poor communities lack access to formal theological training. Those that desire to plant in poor communities are ill-equipped for ministry in these places.

God has a heart for the poor. He is at work amongst them. It is a thrill to join him in that work!

Acts 29 seeks to be a truly global and diverse family of churches. This means we need to be a catalyst for church planting in hard places. Over the last year and a half, we have got off to a fantastic start. Over two thousand people have attended CiHP training workshops allowing us to identify men we consider to have the competence and character to be assessed as church planters. We have over 40 leaders and potential planters in our global apprenticeship program and our Co-Director, Doug Logan, has worked diligently to set up US Area Leads and develop the Cultivate Curriculum, both of which are designed to provide coaching, development, mentoring and support to Acts 29 members in the USA who are doing ministry in areas of poverty.

If we are going to see church planters from poor communities integrated into the Acts 29 family then we need to be intentional about how we assess, train and support them. We have only just begun but we are astonished by how much God is already doing. God has a heart for the poor. He is at work amongst them. It is a thrill to join him in that work!