And to Apphia our sister, and to Archippus our fellow solider, and to the church in your house. Philemon 1:2
New churches have been started since the early days of the apostles. Yet, a revived emphasis has arisen concerning the multiplication of churches in designated urban areas and among specific peoples groups. the renewed attention being given to starting churches should be not centered around the idea of starting one church at a time, which seems to be the prevailing tendency in North America. In other parts of the world outside of the Untied States, there is a church planting movement taking place. The Effectiveness of Church Planting Church planting is a proven effective method of reaching others for Christ and fulfilling the Great Commission. Many methods of evangelism and missions seek to win individuals to Christ one by one, while church planting seeks to win individuals to Christ as a collective group. Peter Wagner clearly states one reason for starting new churches, “The single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven is planting new churches.”ii Such a statement sums up a main reason for church planting, quicker evangelism. Wagner goes on to say, “Without exception, the growing denominations have been those that stress church planting.”iii The Southern Baptist Convention in the United States became the largest Protestant Denomination through starting new churches. Lyle Schaller recognizes that church planting “continues to be the most useful and productive component of any denominational church growth strategy.”iv Any organization or church, which does not intentionally seek to plant new churches, will limit its own growth. In fact, if the starting of new churches in not an intentional part of a long term strategy, then an organization or denomination will eventually stop growing at some point in its future. This is an important topic when considering the large percentages of churches, with or without denominational ties, that are in a state of plateau. Win Arn asserts that 3,500 to 4,000 traditional churches die every year.v That statistic was written about two decades ago. Schaller projects that an estimated 30,000 congregations ceased to exist sometime during the 1980’s.vi Church planting must be a priority if the Church desires continued growth. New Churches Grow Quicker Than Established Churches Aubrey Malphurs cites Win Arn in recognition of a Southern Baptist study, which verifies the fact that new churches grow quicker than established churches.vii According to Arn, the study compared churches, which were started between 1971 and 1981, to churches, which were started prior to 1971. Each of the churches was categorized according to its size: 1-50, 51-100, 101-200, 201-400, 401-600, 601-1000, and 1000+. A percentage of growth for each church was established for the time period 1981 to 1986. The study revealed churches of all sizes were started between 1972 and 1981. The growth rate of those churches started between 1972 and 1981 was 60 to 80 percent. Those churches, which were started before 1971, grew at a rate of 20 to 60 percent. The older and much larger churches grew at a 20 percent average growth rate. “Perhaps the simplest explanation of this pattern is that new congregations are organized around evangelism and reaching people not actively involved in the life of any worshipping community. By contrast, powerful internal institutional pressures tend to encourage long- established churches to allocate most of their resources to the care of members.”viii New churches grow quicker than established churches. New Churches Evangelize Better Than Established Churches Aubrey Malphurs cites a study published in Christianity Today, written by Bruce McNicol of Interest Ministries regarding new churches evangelizing better than established churches.ix McNicol states that evangelical churches under three years of age will win ten people to Christ per year per every one hundred members. Evangelical churches from three to fifteen years of age will win five people per year per every one hundred church members. Once a church reaches fifteen years of age, the number of new converts drops to three people per year per every one hundred church members. As the study reveals, the older the church the less evangelistic it tends to become while the younger the church the more evangelistic it tends to be. New churches must be started for more rapid evangelism to occur. Reproduction is a Part of God’s Creation In the world of biology, reproduction is a natural part of nature. The book of Genesis tells us in the Garden of Eden, God told man and all living creatures to be fruitful and multiply. Reproduction or multiplication is a natural part of God’s creation. One basic principle of biology states that all life comes from pre-existing life, this denotes multiplication through reproduction. When applying this truth to the living church, it should be understood that God’s plan is for the church to reproduce itself. Church planting is a valid demonstration of the reproduction of a local church body and is healthy for any local congregation. New Churches Relate Better to Their Surrounding Communities New churches are not steeped in tradition and are able to be more flexible in meeting the needs of those they are trying to reach. New churches extend the presence of the visible church into new communities and contextualize themselves to their surroundings. Ethnic churches, especially, meet real needs in this regard. In many situations, established churches are in transitional communities and are unable or unwilling to relate to the people who live around the church building. Over the years, many churches have moved to new areas to escape the transitioning neighborhoods. Spiritual vacuums can be left behind when a church leaves a transitioning neighborhood. Malphurs believes many churches are locked into mentalities and methods that are fifty and sixty years old. According to him, many of these churches feel ministries strategies of the past will continue to work in the future.x New Churches are not in a State of Plateau As stated previously, new churches grow quickly. Win Arn believes that between 80-85% of the churches in North America are in a state of plateau or in a state of decline. Many churches have become inwardly focused. New churches are focused on many aspects of ministry, all of which relate to growth. New churches need to grow in order to survive. Growth is a part of a new church’s very existence and survival. Many churches can remain in a state of plateau for decades and do not baptize even one new convert a year. The majority of churches are a part of this statistical category. Starting new churches is one way to offset the lack of growth found in a state of plateau churches. New Churches Provide More Opportunities to Become Involved The possibilities of becoming involved in a church are reduced when only one congregation serves a community. Even though involvement opportunities exist, one church cannot serve a community as adequately as a large number of churches. An individual has a greater possibility of finding a place of personal involvement when there are a variety of churches in a community. New churches provide new opportunities for individuals to become a part of a local body of believers. New churches also provide an extended witness to the community and thus provide a new and greater possibility that an unchurched individual might be reached for Christ. New Churches Allow for More Places of Service In new churches there are new ministries in which believers can participate. Lay leaders are vitally important in this regard. In established churches, most of the continuing ministries are already filled with seasoned believers. New churches create greater opportunities for other believers to become involved in ministry. Greater opportunities for ministry mean greater possibilities of developing new spiritual leaders. New leaders need places of service in order to refine their ministry skills. New churches provide new possibilities of service. As new churches are planted new leadership is needed. Both go hand-in-hand with each other. It is very difficult to expand ministry influence without new leadership. Christian History is Full of Historical Narratives of Church Planting Since the twelve apostles to the early Church fathers and on through Church history, the planting of churches has been a vital part of Christianity. The starting of new local congregations is part of our Christian heritage as believers. There is a recognizable pattern in the book of Acts of how the early church and especially Paul impact their world. The pattern is quite simple. First, the Gospel was proclaimed, new believers were gathered together, and church were formed. The Population is Rapidly Growing According to the United Nations, half of the world’s population is expected to live in urban areas by the year 2007. The actual population of the world is over six billion. This signifies that in the year 2007 around three billion will be living in urban areas. The United Nations also reports that during 1995-2000 the urban population grew at 2.2% per year. It is believed that the urban population will continue to grow at an annual rate of 2.4% per year until 2030. At this rate, the population will double every 9 years. How are we doing as believers? Are we doubling every 9 years? Are we growing at a rate of 2.4% annually? If we are not growing at this average, we are not keeping pace with our current population. How can we as believers ever hope to evangelize our world if we are not even growing at the rate of population? If we desire to see a greater percentage of the population identified as Christian, we must evangelize at a rate higher than 2.4%. We should begin new churches in order to at least keep pace with current population growths. People are More Open to Change in new Churches In new churches, people are more open to changes because there are less established traditions. New churches have less traditions to overcome. Traditions are not something to fear. The majority of traditions are benign. The problem occurs when traditions become an obstacle to growth. In new churches the only established methods are those that people first experience and are proven to bring in new people in the beginning. In the establishment of new churches the members tend to be more flexible in their thinking and are more open to be creative in ministry strategies. The author Aubrey Malphurs believes the problem to be one of new wine in old wine skins. He also affirms that Jesus said it is difficult to change established traditions. New Churches Extend the Visible Presence of God Into Areas Where Little to no Presence Exists New churches permit the Gospel to be proclaimed in area where there are has been a previous Gospel witness. Each community needs a Gospel witness through a local New Testament church. In reference to this, when new churches are started in local communities, the Kingdom of God is extended. In other words, each time a new church is started, a visible Christian presence become real to the local community. New Churches Require the Development of new Leaders There are new ministries in new churches in which believers can participate. Lay leaders are of vital importance in this model. In established churches the majority of ministries are filled with individuals who have been believers for many years. New churches create new opportunities for new believers to involve themselves in ministry. More ministry opportunities mean more opportunities to equip believers to become involved in leadership. New churches provide new possibilities of service. It is very difficult to fill expanding ministries without new leaders. Conclusion God is actively involved in the redemption of humanity through His Son Jesus Christ. God’s activity of redemption is called Missio Dei. Each person of the Holy Trinity is involved in Missio Dei. God works through the Body of Christ to fulfill His redemptive plans. One of the most effective evangelistic methods, in which the Body of Christ can be involved, is the starting of new churches. Church starting is a strategic method to rapidly reach the people groups of the earth. New churches are able to overcome many of the problems that face older more established churches. Starting new churches fulfills the Great Commission. -------------------------------- i This chapter’s materials were previously published in a copyrighted Doctor of Ministry project report in August 2003 titled, Developing A Church Planting Institute Among The Middle Class Population Segment of Mexico City. ii C. Peter Wagner, Church Planting for a Greater Harvest (Ventura: Regal Books, 1990), 11. iii Ibid., 12. iv Lyle E. Schaller, 44 Questions for Church Planters (Nashville: Abingdon, 1991), 20. v Win Arn, The Pastor’s Manual for Effective Ministry (Monrovia: Church Growth, 1988), 14. vi Schaller, 17. vii Arn, vol. 1, no. 21. Quoted by Aubrey Malphurs, Planting Growing Churches for the Twenty-First Century (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992), 42. viii Schaller, 22-3. ix Bruce McNicol. “Churches Die With Dignity”, Christianity Today, January 14, 1991, 69. Quoted by Aubrey Malphurs, Planting Growing Churches for the Twenty-First Century (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1992), 43. This view is also held by Aubrey Malphurs. x Ibid., 22.
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