What is church planting? Why do you church plant? How do you do church plant? How is church planting different or the same as an established church?
Those are a few of the many questions I asked, was asked and continue to ask. Some of them are simple to answer; others needed much research by people much smarter than I. I will try to answer them all to the best of my ability.
What is church planting? Church planting is not building a building and inviting people to it. Church planting is not swapping sheep or collecting disgruntled Christians from other churches. Church planting is, first and foremost, evangelism. It is starting a church from a small group and working toward a self-sustaining body of Believers.
Why do you church plant? According to Ed Stetzer in Planting Missional Churches, “Churches under 3 years of age win an average of 10 people to Christ per year for every [one] hundred church members. Churches 3 to 15 years of age win an average of five people per year for every [one] hundred church members. Churches over 15 years of age win an average of three people per year for every [one] hundred church members. Church planting reaches more people than the established church. In addition to those statistics, The North American Mission Board has recently calculated these church-to-population ratios based on the statistics from the US census: in 1900, there were 28 churches for every 10,000 Americans; in 1950, there were 17 churches for every 10,000 Americans; in 2000, there were 12 churches for every 10,000 Americans; in 2004, the latest year available, there were 11 churches for every 10,000 Americans.In that same time period the number of churches has increased just over 50% while the population of the country has almost quadrupled. The lostness in this country is growing and the Gospel needs to be delivered where it is needed most. The planting of new churches is the most efficient method of reaching those people.
How do you do church plant? Not to over exaggerate but there a multitude of church planting models and not everyone is best for all circumstances. The model has to fit the church planter, the spiritual climate, and the location. I have read many books that all tout they have the be all end all church planting model. Each situation is different and requires the planter to exegete the culture much like a missionary in a foreign country.
How is church planting different or the same as an established church? The two are the same in principle. Both are focused on bringing God glory in all actions, events, and programs. The biggest difference is church DNA. The established church has a set of rules and traditions that govern all that is done while the church plant has order but not the tradition. The church plant starts with a clean slate when setting up tradition. All churches have tradition, some are creating it while others are governed by it.
I hope this all helps you understand a little bit about what we are doing and going to do in the future.