Acts 29 Network
Encyclopedia
The Acts 29 Network is a Christian
organization dedicated to church planting
. It derives its name from the Book of Acts
in the New Testament, which has 28 chapters, making Acts 29 the "next chapter" in the history of the church. A number of other Christian organisations also use the phrase "Acts 29" in their name.
The Acts 29 Network was initially led by Mark Driscoll
, while the President is Scott Thomas, who is also the Global Church Pastor at Mars Hill Church
in Seattle.
Other figures active in the early days of the Acts 29 Network included the late Dr. David Nicholas of Spanish River Church, Boca Raton, Florida; Rick McKinley of Imago Dei Community, Portland, OR; the aforementioned Mark Driscoll; and several other non-denominational and Presbyterian church planters.
The network calls itself a "trans-denominational peer to peer network of missional church planting churches" and describes itself as "first Christians
, second Evangelicals
, third Missional
, and fourth Reformed
."
The Acts 29 Network has been described as part of the emerging church
. However Darrin Patrick
, Vice President of Acts 29 has pointed out "bad things" in the emerging church such as "the fascination with deconstructing almost everything while building almost nothing," and "ugly things" such as "conversing about God's Word to the neglect of obeying it, deviating from historical orthodoxy and the lack of clarity regarding issues of theology and sexuality."
The network includes almost 300 churches. A number of churches within the network belong to other denominations.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
organization dedicated to church planting
Church planting
Church planting is a process that results in a new Christian church being established. It should be distinguished from church development, where a new service, new worship centre or fresh expression is created that is integrated into an already established congregation...
. It derives its name from the Book of Acts
Acts of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
in the New Testament, which has 28 chapters, making Acts 29 the "next chapter" in the history of the church. A number of other Christian organisations also use the phrase "Acts 29" in their name.
The Acts 29 Network was initially led by Mark Driscoll
Mark Driscoll
Mark A. Driscoll is an American pastor and author. He is the founder and preaching pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington, he co-founded the Acts 29 Network and Churches Helping Churches, and has contributed to the "Faith and Values" section of the Seattle Times and the "On Faith"...
, while the President is Scott Thomas, who is also the Global Church Pastor at Mars Hill Church
Mars Hill Church
Mars Hill Church is a Reformed Christian megachurch located in Seattle, Washington. Services are offered at multiple locations in the city; the church podcasts content of weekend services, as well as conferences on the Internet with more than 100,000 downloads every week...
in Seattle.
Other figures active in the early days of the Acts 29 Network included the late Dr. David Nicholas of Spanish River Church, Boca Raton, Florida; Rick McKinley of Imago Dei Community, Portland, OR; the aforementioned Mark Driscoll; and several other non-denominational and Presbyterian church planters.
The network calls itself a "trans-denominational peer to peer network of missional church planting churches" and describes itself as "first Christians
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, second Evangelicals
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
, third Missional
Missional living
"Missional living" is a Christian term that describes a missionary lifestyle; adopting the posture, thinking, behaviors, and practices of a missionary in order to engage others with the gospel message. The missional church movement is a church renewal movement predicated on the necessity of...
, and fourth Reformed
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
."
The Acts 29 Network has been described as part of the emerging church
Emerging Church
The emerging church is a Christian movement of the late 20th and early 21st century that crosses a number of theological boundaries: participants can be described as evangelical, Protestant, Catholic, post-evangelical, anabaptist, adventist, liberal, post-liberal, reformed, charismatic,...
. However Darrin Patrick
Darrin Patrick
Darrin Patrick is an American author and pastor. He is the founder and lead pastor of The Journey church in St. Louis, Missouri. He serves as the vice-president of the Acts 29 Network and published his first book, Church Planter: The Man, The Message, The Mission in 2010.- Personal background...
, Vice President of Acts 29 has pointed out "bad things" in the emerging church such as "the fascination with deconstructing almost everything while building almost nothing," and "ugly things" such as "conversing about God's Word to the neglect of obeying it, deviating from historical orthodoxy and the lack of clarity regarding issues of theology and sexuality."
The network includes almost 300 churches. A number of churches within the network belong to other denominations.