THE JUSTIFICATION OF CHURCH PLANTING
By: Jonathan Nida
Introduction
Church planting is incredibly popular in the evangelical world today. Organizations like the North American Mission Board and Acts 29 are devoting millions and millions of dollars to leadership development and church planter support. Understanding that popularity is not a sufficient justification for the church to commit time and finances to church planting. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the church planting movement.
Numbers can be deceptive, so our first concern will be with the Scripture. Once the biblical basis for church planting is established, the statistics regarding church planting can be interpreted in the right light. Church planting’s biblical basis is well founded, so it’s efficacy is easily understood. We do not plant churches because it is effective. We plant churches because the Scripture tells us to. Because the Scripture tells us to, church planting is effective.
Biblical Justification
The biblical case for church planting is best made from the Great Commission. As Jesus is giving his followers their marching orders, he says, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.”[1] In commenting on this text, Tim Keller writes, “The ‘Great Commission’…is not just a call to ‘make disciples’ but to ‘baptize’. In Acts and elsewhere, it is clear that baptism means incorporation into a worshipping community with accountability and boundaries.”[2] In Keller’s view, you cannot separate the Great Commission from church planting. The Commission IS to plant churches. In an interview with Christianity Today, Acts 29 Network President Scott Thomas echoed Keller’s sentiment. He says, “It’s apparent in the Great Commission that we are to make disciples through the avenue of churches. The whole Book of Acts offers that model.”[3]
This understanding of the Great Commission is also conveyed in the Norris Ferry Community Church connection group material. It states, “God created us all with the need to be connected in meaningful relationships with other believers. God works through the people with whom we have relationships to encourage us, challenge us, teach us and build us up in the faith.”[4] What we see is that there is no biblical precedent for evangelism without a local, healthy church to nurture a new believer. When conversion is genuine, the support of the local body is not optional, but essential in the convert’s spiritual growth. This is the heart of the exhortation of Hebrews 10:24-25. There we read, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”[5] The local church is THE method that the Scripture describes for reaching and discipling “all the world”. Keller summarizes it this way, “Only a person who is being ‘evangelized’ in the context of an on-going worshipping and shepherding community can be sure of finally coming home into vital, saving faith.”[6] It is clear that the Apostle Paul modeled this understanding of the Great Commission. His ministry was one of church planting.
Statistics
With the biblical foundation laid, we may now consider the observations of planting agencies regarding the efficacy of church plants in reaching the lost. The North American Mission Board reports that established Southern Baptist churches baptize an average of 3.4 people for every 100 members. SBC church plants average 11.7 baptisms for every 100 resident members each year.[7] That is a staggering contrast. Plants are baptizing almost one person per month while more established churches are baptizing closer to one per quarter. In commenting on plant efficacy, Tim Keller writes, “…new congregations empower new people and new peoples much more quickly and readily than can older churches. Thus, they always have and always will reach them with greater facility than long-established bodies.”[8] This statistic alone should cause gospel churches to strongly consider planting or supporting a church plant.
Another consideration when evaluating whether or not it is appropriate to plant more churches is the state of our current churches. According to NAMB, during World War I, church saturation in the US was at an all-time high. At that time, there was one church for every 430 people. Today, there is one church for every 6,194 people.[9] It is certainly true that our population is growing, but it is also true that our established churches are shrinking and closing. In an interview with Christianity Today, George Hunter of Asbury Theological Seminary says, “Churches after 15 years typically plateau. After 35 years, they typically can’t even replace those [members] they lose.”[10] As these churches shrink, they become more and more financially strapped. Often they are forced to close their doors because they cannot afford to pay a pastor and maintain their facilities. The established church is losing members and, by and large, they are not being replaced. America is literally in need of more healthy churches.
Interaction with Established Churches
These fads paint a rather bleak picture of the established churches. Some fear that a big push for church planting will be another lash on the back of the already struggling established churches. Some fear that plants will “steal” members from the established churches. Keller addresses this. He writes, “Dozens of denominational studies have confirmed that the average new church gains most of its new members (60-80%) from the ranks of people who are not attending any worshipping body, while churches over 10-15 years of age gain 80-90% of new members by transfer from other congregations.”[11] Thus, new churches are, by and large, reaching those who are unreached and un-churched.
So we can dispel the notion that new churches will harm existing healthy churches. But is it possible that planting could actually renew established churches? Tim Keller says yes. He gives 4 reasons why church planting revitalizes older churches.
1. First, new churches bring new ideas to the whole Body.
2. Second, new churches are one of the best ways to surface creative, strong leaders for the whole Body.
3. Third, the new churches challenge other churches to self-examination.
4. Fourth, the new church may be an ‘evangelistic feeder’ for a whole community.[12]
Clearly, the church universal benefits when church plants baptize unbelievers. Keller seems to go further than that. Planting can serve to revitalize the established churches in the area. In light of this, church planting is beneficial on every level for the Kingdom. Keller summarizes, “Vigorous church planting is one of the best ways to renew the existing churches of a city, as well as the best single way to grow the whole Body of Christ in a city.”[13]
Conclusion
Church planting is the faithful outworking of the Great Commission. Establishing local bodies for converts is the best way to help them grow in their faith and Christ-likeness. This was Paul’s method. In North America, there is a shortage of healthy churches, even in areas that appear to be “church saturated”. Further, church plants have proven to be effective at evangelizing their communities and baptizing new believers. It is also evident that healthy plants can reinvigorate and rejuvenate established churches. We plant churches because the Scripture calls us to. Church plants are effective for a number of reasons, but chiefly because it is a biblical model.
[1] Matthew 28:18b-20a from the English Standard Version.
[2] Tim Keller, “Why Plant Churches”. Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2002. Pg. 1.
[3] Tim Stafford, “Go and Plant Churches of All People”. Christianity Today: September 2007.
[4] Membership Matters: Session 5. Norris Ferry Community Church.
[5] Hebrews 10:24-25 from the English Standard Version.
[6] Tim Keller, “Why Plant Churches”. Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2002. Pg. 1.
[7] http://www.namb.net/overview-why-send/
[8] Tim Keller, “Why Plant Churches”. Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2002. Pg. 2.
[9] http://www.namb.net/overview-why-send/
[10] Tim Stafford, “Go and Plant Churches of All People”. Christianity Today: September 2007.
[11] Tim Keller, “Why Plant Churches”. Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2002. Pg. 2-3.
[12] Ibid, 4.
[13] Ibid.
