1. Church Planting consists of the following four steps.
Step 1. Discover.
The first step is to discover people of peace. Those who are open to learning more about the Bible. Individuals who are spiritually curious. People looking for real love, lasting joy, genuine hope, true power, fulfilling purpose and authentic peace. Individuals asking questions that only the gospel answers. People who are open to engaging in personal conversation, interested in hearing about the life Jesus offers, and who desire to know more. Those who are already saying to themselves, "I want to know what the Bible has to say about life." Luke 10:5-12
Resources.
The first step is to discover people of peace. Those who are open to learning more about the Bible. Individuals who are spiritually curious. People looking for real love, lasting joy, genuine hope, true power, fulfilling purpose and authentic peace. Individuals asking questions that only the gospel answers. People who are open to engaging in personal conversation, interested in hearing about the life Jesus offers, and who desire to know more. Those who are already saying to themselves, "I want to know what the Bible has to say about life." Luke 10:5-12
Resources.
Step 2. Develop.
The second step is to develop people into mature followers of Jesus Christ. This takes time. Weekly love and truth meetings are the key to this process. They fit the natural rhythm of life. Love and truth are the two essential ingredients in transformation. One helpful definition of love is by Grant Howard, "Love takes the initiative, acts sacrificially, to meet needs." Truth is the Scriptures. (John 17:17)
The true sign of maturity is when people live in obedience to Jesus Christ. The Great Commission says "train them to obey." Knowing Scripture is the pathway to obeying the Lord. Using simple but powerful Bible study tools is essential to understanding Scripture. The church planting team should become proficient with the tools.
A key part of the development process is duplication. The target group should be challenged to discover and develop others with the goal delegating and departing. The primary group should have the vision of church planting as well.
Resources.
The second step is to develop people into mature followers of Jesus Christ. This takes time. Weekly love and truth meetings are the key to this process. They fit the natural rhythm of life. Love and truth are the two essential ingredients in transformation. One helpful definition of love is by Grant Howard, "Love takes the initiative, acts sacrificially, to meet needs." Truth is the Scriptures. (John 17:17)
The true sign of maturity is when people live in obedience to Jesus Christ. The Great Commission says "train them to obey." Knowing Scripture is the pathway to obeying the Lord. Using simple but powerful Bible study tools is essential to understanding Scripture. The church planting team should become proficient with the tools.
A key part of the development process is duplication. The target group should be challenged to discover and develop others with the goal delegating and departing. The primary group should have the vision of church planting as well.
Resources.
Step 3. Delegate.
This involves the transfer of responsibility to those in the target group. It’s gradual and based on observation. Don't rush this step. Wait for God's obvious timing. Look for those who demonstrate the aptitude and readiness to lead. Use the apprentice model. Allowing someone serve as an assistant clarifies expectations, and confirms assumptions. This principle is illustrated by Joshua, who served as Moses’ assistant. (Exodus 24:13)
Use the steps: I do it you watch, you do it, I watch, you do it. The final delegation of responsibility occurs when leaders of the new group are appointed as Elders. This is when they are given full ownership and authority, and the church is birthed.
This involves the transfer of responsibility to those in the target group. It’s gradual and based on observation. Don't rush this step. Wait for God's obvious timing. Look for those who demonstrate the aptitude and readiness to lead. Use the apprentice model. Allowing someone serve as an assistant clarifies expectations, and confirms assumptions. This principle is illustrated by Joshua, who served as Moses’ assistant. (Exodus 24:13)
Use the steps: I do it you watch, you do it, I watch, you do it. The final delegation of responsibility occurs when leaders of the new group are appointed as Elders. This is when they are given full ownership and authority, and the church is birthed.
Step 4. Depart.
At first this seems counter intuitive. But it’s the plan of Scripture and the practice of the Apostles. It’s illustrated throughout the book of Acts in Paul’s journeys. Leaving enables the leadership of a new church to develop and mature apart parental presence. They further contextualize of the gospel, mature as leaders, and learn to rely on the Holy Spirit.
Depart does not mean no further interaction. The parent leaders stay available and keep in touch so new leaders know they are not alone. Depart does not mean no future visits. A well-timed visit by parent leaders can be very encouraging to new leadership. (Acts 15:41) Return visits can focus on coaching. Departing is an essential step in the plan of the new church plant.
At first this seems counter intuitive. But it’s the plan of Scripture and the practice of the Apostles. It’s illustrated throughout the book of Acts in Paul’s journeys. Leaving enables the leadership of a new church to develop and mature apart parental presence. They further contextualize of the gospel, mature as leaders, and learn to rely on the Holy Spirit.
Depart does not mean no further interaction. The parent leaders stay available and keep in touch so new leaders know they are not alone. Depart does not mean no future visits. A well-timed visit by parent leaders can be very encouraging to new leadership. (Acts 15:41) Return visits can focus on coaching. Departing is an essential step in the plan of the new church plant.
2. Church planting includes the following steps.
Learn the strategy and tools.
Know the strategy. Become proficient with the tools. These are essential steps in effectively leading and teaching others.
Gather a team.
Share the vision and see who responds. Explain the strategy. Inform them it involves a commitment to attend regular planting events and coaching meetings. Sometimes these occur in the same window of time.
Train the Team.
Teach the team the resources listed above. Decide who and how you'll discover. What approach and tools you'll use to develop. The final two steps (delegate and depart) will be decided as you gain planting momentum.
Begin Planting as a Team.
Set a date and time for your first planting event. Canvas your target group to discover people who want to know more. Plan future events. Several weekly or bi-monthly events should provide ample time to determine if a target group is receptive.
Coach the Team.
Hold follow up meetings to debrief previous efforts, modify approaches, and plan next steps. Ask crucial questions; "What worked and what needs to change? "When is our next planting event?" Coaching meetings should occur on a regular basis. They can occur immediately following a planting event. For instance, during a meal a planting event.
Know the strategy. Become proficient with the tools. These are essential steps in effectively leading and teaching others.
Gather a team.
Share the vision and see who responds. Explain the strategy. Inform them it involves a commitment to attend regular planting events and coaching meetings. Sometimes these occur in the same window of time.
Train the Team.
Teach the team the resources listed above. Decide who and how you'll discover. What approach and tools you'll use to develop. The final two steps (delegate and depart) will be decided as you gain planting momentum.
Begin Planting as a Team.
Set a date and time for your first planting event. Canvas your target group to discover people who want to know more. Plan future events. Several weekly or bi-monthly events should provide ample time to determine if a target group is receptive.
Coach the Team.
Hold follow up meetings to debrief previous efforts, modify approaches, and plan next steps. Ask crucial questions; "What worked and what needs to change? "When is our next planting event?" Coaching meetings should occur on a regular basis. They can occur immediately following a planting event. For instance, during a meal a planting event.
3. Church planting is guided by three principles.
Principle #1: Go to people with no church.
My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else. Romans 15:20
Often the name of Jesus Christ is not being heard by the unchurched because there is no culturally relevant, gospel centered, Bible teaching church to attend. As discussed, culturally relevant means being sensitive to unique practices and customs. Gospel centered means clearly communicating the simple message of forgiveness through faith in the substitutional death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Bible teaching means explaining the Scriptures in a verse by verse fashion.
My ambition has always been to preach the Good News where the name of Christ has never been heard, rather than where a church has already been started by someone else. Romans 15:20
Often the name of Jesus Christ is not being heard by the unchurched because there is no culturally relevant, gospel centered, Bible teaching church to attend. As discussed, culturally relevant means being sensitive to unique practices and customs. Gospel centered means clearly communicating the simple message of forgiveness through faith in the substitutional death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Bible teaching means explaining the Scriptures in a verse by verse fashion.
Principle #2: Realize some people are waiting for God to show up.
Those who have never been told about him will see, and those who have never heard of him will understand. Romans 15:21
Some people with no church are ready to respond to an invitation to learn more about God. They are waiting to believe! This is illustrated all over Scripture: we see it in Phillip’s encounter with the Ethiopian (Acts 8:26-40), Paul’s experience with Lydia (Acts 16:11-15), and in Athens (Acts 17:16-34). It’s stated outright by the Lord in John 4:35, 10:16.
Those who have never been told about him will see, and those who have never heard of him will understand. Romans 15:21
Some people with no church are ready to respond to an invitation to learn more about God. They are waiting to believe! This is illustrated all over Scripture: we see it in Phillip’s encounter with the Ethiopian (Acts 8:26-40), Paul’s experience with Lydia (Acts 16:11-15), and in Athens (Acts 17:16-34). It’s stated outright by the Lord in John 4:35, 10:16.
Principle #3: Follow the plan of Scripture.
I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures. Romans 15:21
The plan of Scripture can be summarized by the following words: discover, develop, delegate, and depart. These words summarize the strategy listed above.
Learn this strategy forward and backward. Know it by heart. The following steps serve as a road map to the planting process. That is to say, the following steps keep the process on track, and guide to the final destination of a self sustaining, multiplying church.
I have been following the plan spoken of in the Scriptures. Romans 15:21
The plan of Scripture can be summarized by the following words: discover, develop, delegate, and depart. These words summarize the strategy listed above.
Learn this strategy forward and backward. Know it by heart. The following steps serve as a road map to the planting process. That is to say, the following steps keep the process on track, and guide to the final destination of a self sustaining, multiplying church.
4. Church planting is natural.
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Reproduction is in the DNA of the gospel. Therefore, every gospel-centered church wants to replicate itself. Healthy churches automatically multiply. Church planting should be the normal ongoing activity of every church. Daughter churches are an application of the Great Commission. It should be common for a church to plant other churches.
Biblical churches are passionate about offering a winsome expression of the gospel to those not likely to attend their current church format. They are eager to reach the unchurched in a way that is Christ-centered yet culturally attractive. |
The fruit of an apple tree is not an apple, but more apple trees. — Neil Cole |
5. Church planting is healthy.
There are several reasons why church planting is healthy. First, it aligns with the heart of God. God's desire is that no one would perish; that everyone would be saved. Church planting keeps the focus on those not attending the existing mother church.
Second, it keeps the church focused on reproduction. Multiplication is at the forefront of everything it does. This generates excitement among attenders and is winsome to onlookers.
Third, it causes a church to keep a tight grip on its purpose. It doesn't waste time on programs or ideas that don’t help it plant churches, no matter how popular. Church planting prioritizes programming, ranks activities, and orders events. It causes the church to be wise with their resources, streamlined with their practices, and efficient with their policy.
Fourth, it causes churches to be proactive; they master plan for multiplication. They train teams for the specific purpose of planting churches. There are always teams in the church-planting pipeline. Someone once said a healthy church is always pregnant.
Fifth, it generates God stories; testimonies about the power and providence of God. It triggers personal accounts of transformation through the love and truth of the gospel. Church planting changes everyone; the planting teams, as well as those targeted by them.
Sixth, it solves the problems that often hinder church growth. Those include the following:
Second, it keeps the church focused on reproduction. Multiplication is at the forefront of everything it does. This generates excitement among attenders and is winsome to onlookers.
Third, it causes a church to keep a tight grip on its purpose. It doesn't waste time on programs or ideas that don’t help it plant churches, no matter how popular. Church planting prioritizes programming, ranks activities, and orders events. It causes the church to be wise with their resources, streamlined with their practices, and efficient with their policy.
Fourth, it causes churches to be proactive; they master plan for multiplication. They train teams for the specific purpose of planting churches. There are always teams in the church-planting pipeline. Someone once said a healthy church is always pregnant.
Fifth, it generates God stories; testimonies about the power and providence of God. It triggers personal accounts of transformation through the love and truth of the gospel. Church planting changes everyone; the planting teams, as well as those targeted by them.
Sixth, it solves the problems that often hinder church growth. Those include the following:
- Facility limitations. Most churches are limited by seating capacity and parking spaces. Multiple services are a short term fix to continued growth. A church plant can expand the footprint of a church with physical limitations.
- Driving distance. Generally, people won't travel for more than twenty minutes to attend a church. A strategically placed church plant can double the impact.
- Cultural differences. Many people don't attend a nearby church because even though they are geographically close to one, they are culturally distant. A culturally friendly church plant can eliminate that problem.
- Plateaued attendance. A new team with a relevant format, fresh expression, and gifted leadership can spark a new generation of church goers.
6. Church planting is necessary.
There is no such thing as one size fits all when it come to church. Generally speaking churches have three groups of people living around them. Those who can attend easily because the church culture is familiar and comfortable. Those who might attend, but have to adjust from their own culture to do so. Those who will not attend because the church culture is too foreign.
Each church has its own culture. It's defined by age, ethnicity, dress, language, practice, etc. For instance, in South Asian churches, attenders remove their shoes before entering the building. Once inside the younger people may sit up front on the floor while older people sit in the back on chairs. Almost without exception, men and women sit on opposite sides of the aisle from each other. Imagine how challenging it would be for a spiritually curious young man, recently arrived from India, to keep his shoes on, sit in a chair at the front, and end up seated next to a woman!
Planting culturally sensitive churches eliminates these unnecessary hurdles. It allows the church to meet in a way that is comfortable and known. This type of church planting is attractive to the curious, accessible to the convinced and agreeable to the committed. (Acts 15:19)
Each church has its own culture. It's defined by age, ethnicity, dress, language, practice, etc. For instance, in South Asian churches, attenders remove their shoes before entering the building. Once inside the younger people may sit up front on the floor while older people sit in the back on chairs. Almost without exception, men and women sit on opposite sides of the aisle from each other. Imagine how challenging it would be for a spiritually curious young man, recently arrived from India, to keep his shoes on, sit in a chair at the front, and end up seated next to a woman!
Planting culturally sensitive churches eliminates these unnecessary hurdles. It allows the church to meet in a way that is comfortable and known. This type of church planting is attractive to the curious, accessible to the convinced and agreeable to the committed. (Acts 15:19)
Resource.
- Watch: What is Church Planting? (3:00) A picture of cross cultural church planting in a global context. What lessons transfer to cross cultural church planting for a local context?
7. Church planting is varied.
A church plant can exist in different forms and have unique expressions. Distilled to its basics, church is where Christians gather for corporate praise, interact with the word of God, partake in the ordinances (baptism and communion), while under the guidance of Elders. This simple definition leaves plenty of room for expression.
A church plant can be local, regional, national or international. It can meet on weekends, weekdays, at night or during the day. It can be led by seminary educated or untrained leaders. Leadership may be paid or volunteers. It can meet in an existing church building or in a location that becomes a church for that meeting alone. Meetings can be highly structured or casually organized. It can consist of the traditional format of singing, offering, and a message. Or a more nontraditional format of sharing a meal, reading Scripture, spontaneous praise, organic prayer, and sharing God stories.
Planting churches among the unchurched may require redefining the definition of church. Once this occurs, church planting teams are freed up to consider alternative expressions and unique methods. All of a sudden, the invisible becomes visible. They identify unchurched peoples upon whom no one is focused. There are many unchurched peoples located in immediate proximity to most local churches in America. They will only be reached by a new definition of church that results in a fresh approach.
While it is guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit, like so many other elements of the Great Commission, church planting involves purposeful human participation. It's natural, but not accidental. It happens because a group of believers decides to give themselves to the work of starting a church.
A church plant can be local, regional, national or international. It can meet on weekends, weekdays, at night or during the day. It can be led by seminary educated or untrained leaders. Leadership may be paid or volunteers. It can meet in an existing church building or in a location that becomes a church for that meeting alone. Meetings can be highly structured or casually organized. It can consist of the traditional format of singing, offering, and a message. Or a more nontraditional format of sharing a meal, reading Scripture, spontaneous praise, organic prayer, and sharing God stories.
Planting churches among the unchurched may require redefining the definition of church. Once this occurs, church planting teams are freed up to consider alternative expressions and unique methods. All of a sudden, the invisible becomes visible. They identify unchurched peoples upon whom no one is focused. There are many unchurched peoples located in immediate proximity to most local churches in America. They will only be reached by a new definition of church that results in a fresh approach.
While it is guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit, like so many other elements of the Great Commission, church planting involves purposeful human participation. It's natural, but not accidental. It happens because a group of believers decides to give themselves to the work of starting a church.