Foundations for Church Planting
Foundations for Church Planting
Church planting is not new to the ecclesiastical world. The apostles and disciples were church planters; many of the early church fathers were church planters; Rome sought to spread the advancement of the gospel through the middle years (though for doubtful reasons at times); the Reformers were church planters; the revivalists of the Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th centuries planted churches; and today all over the world, the church planting movement is flourishing. The question legitimately needing attention is this: why has so much effort been spent on church planting? Isn't it enough to have thousands, even millions, of churches? Shouldn't more energy be spent on developing the quality of the local church rather than spending an already short supply of both human and fiscal resources? An answer to these often-raised concerns will be given from two lines of thinking, the Biblical and the practical.
Biblical Foundations for Church Planting
Biblical Foundation 1: God's Love for People
The beginning place for a Biblical theology of church planting arises out of a proper theology of God's relationship with His creation. Scripture plainly teaches the profound, initiatory, non-discriminatory, and far-reaching love of God for His human creation. John 3:16 speaks of the profound love of God for man in the sacrifice of His only Son. Romans 5:8 tells of God's instigation of salvation for us in that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." 2 Peter 3:9 says God wants everyone to come to the knowledge of who He is. Psalm 96:3 commands the church to declare God "among the nations." The point is simply this: the Father heart of God possesses an incredible love for all of His people. Therefore, it only makes sense for the Father's love for people to issue forth in commands to His church to reach these people He loves deeply.
As a result, the Bible contains numerous passages of Scripture either commending or commanding the unveiling of the person of God to the world. Here is just a short list of these.
Mat 24:14… "And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."
Mat 28:18-20… "Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Acts 1:8… "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
Matthew 10:5-7… "These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, preach this message: 'The kingdom of heaven is near.'"
In addition to these listings, one will also find scattered throughout the Scriptures texts identifying the heart of God in a missionary context. Notice a few of these.
Genesis 12:2-3… "I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."
Psalm 67:3-4… May the peoples praise you, O God; may all the peoples praise you. May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth."
Romans 1:16… "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile."
Rev. 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 in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands."
Biblical Foundation 2: Our Love for God
We have seen that the love of God for people prompts God to devise such instruments so as to ensure those people He loves can come to Him. The mechanism whereby this happens is first, the means of salvation through Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12) and second, the method of hearing of Him through the sent and proclaimed Word (Romans 15:14f). The first of these two issues centers principally on God's activity; only he could make the offering of Christ sufficient for our salvation. The latter involves a commitment of human will to produce the desired results. In other words, we must respond in obedience to the command of God to go to a lost world.
In Romans 1:5, Paul writes the following, "Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith". All true service and obedience to God begins with a love for God. In fact, all true and honorable ministry flows out of a love relationship with the heavenly Father.
John Piper once observed three kinds of Christians in the church. He said there are "radical goers," or those who give all to take the gospel to distant lands and people groups. A second group he labeled the "radical senders;" these are ones who give all they can to make the mission of the first group possible. Finally, he noted a group he called "the disobedient." For whatever reason, these Christians fail to respond to one of the first two challenges of the mandate to go. Obedience out of love for God is essential in the Christian life.
Biblical Foundation 3: Church Planting Is More than Simply Reaching People
Reaching people is important. In this sense, then, God loves the individual. Moreover, the importance of having people connected to others who will help them sustain faith (Hebrews 10:24-25) proves pivotal in the mind of God. This community of connection is called the "church" in Scripture. The establishment of churches affords individuals the opportunity to fulfill the will of God in their lives.
According to William Tinsley in Upon This Rock, "the strategy of church planting from the New Testament would in effect remove all Scripture beyond the Gospels… The design of Christ's strategy soon became very clear. His strategy was to plant churches… to establish communities of believers… throughout all the nations of the world." The book of Acts is devoted to the story of the apostles and early Christians launching new churches all across the Asia Minor and European landscape. Why? So that individuals would participate in the family of God -- a unit larger than one.
Biblical Foundation 4: Multiplication through the Church
The growth of the church doesn't (shouldn't) cease once persons of faith have been collected together to form a church. This new church needs to see itself as a sending body to further multiply kingdom growth. Luke noted with appreciation the multiplication of the church in the book of Acts. On one occasion he cites numerical growth of new believers (2:47). On another, he remarks of the dispersing of believers into other regions (8:4f). Still yet, he comments on the placement of leaders (14:28) as evidence of church development. In short, the language of this premier account of large-scale church activity is one of multiplication.
Luke provides one example of multiplication thinking and the apostle Paul serves as a second illustration of the same. The apostle was not content with the work he had already performed. His mind was to take the gospel even further than the current boundaries of ministry; he wanted to go into Spain (Romans 15:17f).
Practical Foundations for Church Planting
In addition to the preeminently significant Biblical instructions, one also finds many practical reasons for church planting. Proverbs charges the person seeking wisdom to find sound counsel (8:14; 11:14; 15:22). Through scientific and rational processes, one may also ascertain solid practical foundations for church planting. In his book, Planting Churches Cross-Culturally: North America and Beyond, David Hesselgrave agrees with the above assessment. He advocates a model he calls the "Three Sources of Missiology." This model is triangularly shaped with each point representing a source of "relevant information." On the top apex is revelation (sacred Scripture) and is the first in order of importance. On either corner of the remaining two corners are reflection (sound thinking) and research (scientific observation). As Hesselgrave promotes, the church may use these sources to arrive at intelligent, broad, and informed decisions for the church planting enterprise.
Ralph Moore, pastor of Hope Chapel Kaneohe, Hawaii and church planter/sender of more than 100 churches, lists 10 reasons why church planting is a particularly meaningful way to expand the kingdom.
1. "New churches are the best evangelistic tools under the sun."
2. Churches "feed off" of one another. A growing number of churches in a locality usually equal a faster growing number of Christians in the community. Planting new churches causes existing churches to grow.
3. New churches assimilate converts and grow at a higher rate than older ones.
4. New churches converse converts more effectively than mass evangelistic efforts.
5. We are not called to destroy old wineskins with new wine, thus the task of bringing renewal to existing churches is more damaging than simply planting new ones.
6. A mature congregation can most easily grow and regain momentum through church planting.
7. A sheepfold operates at or near its pastor's and primary leadership's maximum capacity
8. People grow the fastest when they worship, learn, and fellowship with others who reflect their own values.
9. One church for every 200 people is needed to truly saturate the country, assuming 75 people per congregation.
10. There are never enough churches in a community until everyone in that community has been confronted consistently and effectively with gospel by the members of those churches.
Chicago-based Evangelical Free Churches created a coalition for starting new churches in the greater Chicago metropolitan area. They list six (6) reasons for church planting.
1. People who are transplanted from one area to another are most responsive to the Gospel.
2. New communities respond to new churches.
3. God has given us a vision for the unchurched, which includes those who are church damaged, church dropouts, or have previously experienced no felt need to seek the Lord.
4. Our objective is to obey our Lord in His command to make disciples. (Matthew 28:18-20)
5. Through the broadening of our home church base we have a greater capacity to develop churches worldwide.
6. Each new church provides the opportunity for the expression and development of specific and unique spiritual gifts among Christian leaders.
Further Thinking for Biblical and Practical Foundations
Before concluding this section, we should consider the following information. It provides an excellent summary.
Church Multiplication Movements
Jesus Christ gave us a very clear mandate: "Make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:18-20). The book of Acts records the history of the establishment, growth and multiplication of the church in initial and partial fulfillment of these commands.
Acts 1-7 - in Jerusalem and Judea (local)
Acts 8 - in Samaria (nearby but culturally dissimilar)
Acts 9-28 - to the ends of the earth (worldwide)
We cannot fulfill the Great Commission simply through the expansion of existing churches. Nor can we accomplish our mission merely through the addition of new churches. We must focus on multiplication, planting dynamic churches that will grow and reproduce.
The Importance of Spiritual Empowerment
Great movements of God are always energized by the power of the Holy Spirit. It was true of the early church; it has been true during every period of explosive growth and multiplication of the church throughout history. Today, through prayer movements worldwide, God is preparing his church for revival and a phenomenal harvest. Believers are seeking God in deep and significant ways - through confession of sin, intimate worship and powerful intercession. As believers personally experience the work of God, they are motivated to help unbelievers experience the transforming power of the gospel.
The Importance of Reproducible Systems
Reproducible systems increase the capacity for a greater harvest so that multiplication can happen at all levels. Without reproducible systems, the harvest can be squandered. For example, George Whitefield and John Wesley were both spiritually empowered leaders, but the lasting fruit of their ministries provides a startling contrast. Whitefield had thousands upon thousands of people who professed faith in Christ, but very few disciples who were added to the church. Wesley, on the other hand, left behind a movement of churches that grew primarily through evangelism, reaching whole segments of society the church had previously ignored. The difference? Wesley used reproducible "methods" that empowered ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
The Importance of Raising Leaders
Jesus told us that "the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few" (Matthew 9:37-38). Church planting movements require a reproducible process of multiplying more and better leaders. As the harvest is gathered, the church's potential for mobilizing leaders must increase proportionately. Reproducible strategies must focus on expanding the harvest capacity by raising-up leaders who can multiply disciples, groups, churches and networks.
