A couple years ago I planted a new rose hedge in my back yard. That first year I planted four rose bushes. The next summer I had six bushes in that hedge. What had happened? I did not plant two additional bushes. However, the bushes I had planted the previous year had reproduced two new bushes. Those new bushes are called rhizomes.

A rhizome is new plant that shares a root system with an original mother plant. It is an integral part of that original plant, sharing the same foundation and DNA, and yet sprouts in a new location and to the outside observer appears to be a unique plant. This is the picture of Bethel Christian Fellowship as BCF St. Paul reproduces a rhizome called BCF Minneapolis.

Over the years I’ve seen lots of different approaches and lots of different names for church extensions. There are church plants, there are satellites, there are multi-services, there are multi-sites. However, I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone call what they are doing a rhizome! Perhaps we can come up with a whole new name and slogan - something catchy, like “Get in the Zome!” But perhaps before we create a catchy slogan, we need to fully catch the vision. Let me talk about three key ingredients to this vision.

Foundation: A rhizome shares its root system with the mother plant. The root system provides the foundation for both the original plant AND the rhizome. What does this mean for BCF? It means that BCF St. Paul and BCF Minneapolis share the same foundation. We have ONE staff, ONE elder board, ONE ministry coordinator board, ONE prophetic council, ONE membership, ONE budget, and ONE calling. This brings us to:

DNA: Because of this shared root system we also share ONE DNA, which is expressed in our calling to be a House of Prayer for All Nations. There are three strands to our DNA: House speaks of our call to be hospitable, being a safe place where strangers become friends. Prayer speaks of our call to intimacy and intercession, being a temple of living stones which God inhabits by His presence. All Nations speaks of our call to be missional, a people who both receive the nations and are sent to the nations. This DNA will have a unique and distinct expression in our:

New Location: Like a rhizome, BCF Minneapolis is sprouting up in a new location, and to the casual observer it will appear to be a unique plant. We fully expect BCFM to take on its own distinct flow of ministry based on its location, the surrounding community, and the particular gifts and graces of those He has called to be a part of the leadership team and core team and those who will become a part of this work. We look forward to seeing how this uniqueness will unfold in the year to come.

Over fifty years ago our second pastor, Helen Jepson, spoke a prophetic word from Isaiah 35 over BCF. She saw Bethel blossoming like a rose in the desert. The original rose here in St. Paul continues to blossom, and we can already see the buds emerging in the Minneapolis rose. Only He knows how many roses will eventually bloom. Together let’s ASK Him for the fullness of His inheritance, our calling, to be an Apostolic House of Prayer for All Nations.