Why on earth do we want to plant new churches?
Planting in Essex: A group of believers gather to seek God in prayer with a view to plant a church in Chelmsford, UK
If you’ve been around Relational Mission for any length of time, you’ll be familiar with our vision:
Our vision is to be globally fruitful, crossing all boundaries to reach the nations, make disciples and plant locally-led churches.
Global 5x30: Establishing 5 multiplying churches in each continent of the world by 2030
UK 100x40: Stimulating a fresh wave of church planting into UK cities, towns and villages: 100 by 2040
Europe 20x50: Establishing networks of 20 locally-led churches in each of the other 50 European nations by 2050
This is our vision: to obey the Great Commission by undertaking worldwide mission which leads to the starting of many new churches, a process commonly termed ‘church planting’.
But for some of us, this poses the question ‘why?’
For example, why start new churches when there are existing ones in the locality; why not just join with the existing ones to assist them? And where does it say in scripture that this is what we are supposed to do?
In one of the seminars at the The Call Conference in 2023, Stef Liston addressed this question, offering the following response.
1. The Great Commission commands us to go and preach the gospel and to make disciples [1]
The New Testament records that, wherever the apostles implemented this command, they left local communities of disciples (local churches) behind as the product of gospel preaching and the context for the ongoing disciple-making process.
The work of disciple-making without the local church is at best inadequate, tending towards immaturity or imbalance.
The process of mission is to send, to go, to preach and then to stay.
Those initially sent to preach may well move on, but what they leave behind is something that stays and grows to maturity so that in due course it too can send others to go. The net result is multiplying families of churches come into existence in entire regions. [2]
As we go to local communities, we go to the lost to make disciples. We don’t go intending to compete with or recruit from other local churches who are already doing the work of discipleship in that region. Rather we aim to work towards good relationships with those local churches, to be a blessing and act like we should as God’s family.
2. The mission context of the places we go to is that they are normally characterised by very low levels of impact for the gospel.
In the UK for example, based on church attendance, 95%+ of the population are probably almost entirely disconnected from the Gospel based on church attendance [3]. On the mainland of Europe, it is normally much worse than this. The need to re-evangelise these populations through disciple-making is urgent, the need is very great. The biblical pattern is to preach the gospel, to make and baptise disciples, and the tangible fruit of this is that local churches will be started.
3. Longstanding ministry relationships are precious
Why not just move and join existing churches?
This is a valid option. Some will feel God’s call, perhaps through providential changes in life, to move and help strengthen existing Gospel-preaching churches, building new friendships in new places.
And yet, God also providentially puts us into spiritual families with a history of deep relational connection to people; high levels of trust, the sharing of values, and a common inheritance of specific prophetic and apostolic vision. This kind of unity is a ‘fellowship in the Spirit’ [4] and not lightly dissolved. These trusted brothers and sisters are real partners in the Gospel. Paul’s co-workers, such as Silas, Phoebe, Priscilla and Aquila to name just a few, had a history together over the long term which transcended where they lived at any given time.
That means that sometimes when we go it will be important to be sent by those we know, retaining and relying on tested spiritual relationships, and not simply to start all over. That is why many times those who feel called to go want to do mission and stay in relationship with the Relational Mission family of churches.
Pioneering in Brussels: Steve and Bridget, living in the city since 2018, lead a group praying into what a future church plant there could look like
Why plant churches?
Tim Keller wrote a very useful article to answer this exact question, it is worth reading in full [5].
The vigorous, continual planting of new congregations is the single most crucial strategy for (1) the numerical growth of the body of Christ in a city and (2) the continual corporate renewal and revival of the existing churches in a city. Nothing else—not crusades, outreach programs, parachurch ministries, growing megachurches, congregational consulting, nor church renewal processes—will have the consistent impact of dynamic, extensive church planting. This is an eyebrow-raising statement, but to those who have done any study at all, it is not even controversial.
He quotes C. Peter Wagner in the same article:
Planting new churches is the most effective evangelistic methodology known under heaven.
“The biblical pattern is to preach the gospel, to make and baptise disciples, and the tangible fruit of this is that local churches will be started.”
Here is a summary of the arguments he uses in defence of this claim.
The only visible way to know if you really are making disciples is to baptise them into the community of the local church where the ongoing work of teaching continues. Mission that merely looks for decisions is not authentic to the Great Commission. So, mission and the local church must be fused together.
Paul’s mission methodology was to start multiplying churches in urban centres that would reach out to their whole region or province filling it with local churches. Once that multiplying church was set up, he could move on leaving it to continue the work.
Research repeatedly demonstrates that new churches just do better at ‘reaching new generations, new residents, and new people groups’ as they are more flexible and less tied to traditions. We will therefore always need new churches to be being planted or else we lose ground in the next generation.
Likewise, evidence shows that most commonly new churches reach the unchurched better than existing churches. There is a sharper focus, even necessity, to witness and grow.
Healthy new churches actually produce renewal in the existing ones. They model new ways and ideas, showing what is possible by their example.
Church planting creates opportunities for leaders to grow who might be overlooked otherwise, creating. Less conventional leaders can be deployed. The smallness of the new church can help some people get started out in serving who were hidden in a larger church until they were sent.
Some of those reached may nevertheless choose to go to the security of more established churches – the new church has actually fed rather than plundered existing churches.
Sending, mother-churches, grow in faith through the sacrifice of generosity and engagement in the mission.
Keller concludes:
New church planting is the only way that we can be sure we are going to increase the number of believers in a city, and it is one of the best ways to renew the whole body of Christ. The evidence for this statement is strong—biblically, sociologically, and historically. In the end, a lack of kingdom-mindedness may simply blind us to all this evidence. We must beware of that.
Since the origins of Newfrontiers, starting new churches has always been a part of our vision. We have been gripped by truths such as the biblical metaphor of the church as temple [6] – a Spirit-filled, prayer-soaked [7] and grace-based community, that as God’s chosen instrument instructs the nations in the way of the Lord. Since Pentecost the temple now comes to them rather than demand that they go to it [8].
Making disciples: As with many towns and villages in the UK, the number of residents who identify as Christians in Fakenham is decreasing with every census
We dream of the multiplying presence of such churches in every locality
The fact that there may appear now to be many more grace-based, Word and Spirit churches than a generation ago, in no way means that the task is complete.
As Stef explained, church planting mission is integral to obeying the Great Commission, the need is very great, so let’s make the most of all that the Lord has given us to pursue this together.
As Keller reminded us, this Great Commission work of starting new churches will never will be done until the Lord returns, but let us busy ourselves in the light of the day.
Let’s play our part alongside many others in obeying the Great Commission and starting as many new churches everywhere as we can and using every means that we can, to proclaim the gospel and make disciples.
Quite simply, the more churches we plant the more disciples we will make.
- Jon Beardon
If you sense the Lord calling you to partner us with this work of mission, then visit www.thecall.world to find out more about how to pray, to grow and go, and to give.
References
Matt 28: 18-20, Mark 16: 15, Luke 24: 47-48, Acts 1: 8
Acts 15:41, 1 Cor 16: 19, 2 Cor 8:1, Gal 1: 2, 22
Philippians 2:1
https://redeemercitytocity.com/articles-stories/why-plant-churches
Ephesians 2:21
Mark 11:17
Acts 13:47