Church planting is the establishing of an organized body of believers in a new location. The process of church planting involves evangelism, the discipleship of new believers, the training of church leaders, and the organization of the church according to the New Testament model. Usually the process also includes writing a church charter and/or doctrinal statement and finding a place to meet or buying property and erecting a new building.
Church planting is a specific focus within the larger work of “missions.” Church planters are missionaries who concentrate their efforts on preaching and teaching the Word of God. Other missionaries who specialize in certain skills may not be considered “church planters” officially, but they provide valuable service to those who are. Such supporting missionaries include radio broadcasters, aviators, printers, Bible translators, and medical personnel.
The ultimate goal of most church planters is to glorify the Lord in a community by founding an autonomous, self-propagating body of believers. Once this goal has been reached and the church is able to stand on its own, the church planter will usually move on to a different community and begin the process again.
The church-planting focus is biblical. As the apostle Paul traveled through an area, he always tried to spend enough time in each city to establish a local body of believers and train the leadership (Acts 14:21-23). Later, he would try to revisit those churches to confirm and encourage them in the faith (Acts 15:41; 1 Thessalonians 3:2). The churches he established would then begin to send out missionaries themselves, and so the work of church planting continued (1 Thessalonians 1:8).
Church planting is the establishing of an organized body of believers in a new location. The process of church planting involves evangelism, the discipleship of new believers, the training of church leaders, and the organization of the church according to the New Testament model. Usually the process also includes writing a church charter and/or doctrinal statement and finding a place to meet or buying property and erecting a new building.
Church planting is a specific focus within the larger work of “missions.” Church planters are missionaries who concentrate their efforts on preaching and teaching the Word of God. Other missionaries who specialize in certain skills may not be considered “church planters” officially, but they provide valuable service to those who are. Such supporting missionaries include radio broadcasters, aviators, printers, Bible translators, and medical personnel.
The ultimate goal of most church planters is to glorify the Lord in a community by founding an autonomous, self-propagating body of believers. Once this goal has been reached and the church is able to stand on its own, the church planter will usually move on to a different community and begin the process again.
The church-planting focus is biblical. As the apostle Paul traveled through an area, he always tried to spend enough time in each city to establish a local body of believers and train the leadership (Acts 14:21-23). Later, he would try to revisit those churches to confirm and encourage them in the faith (Acts 15:41; 1 Thessalonians 3:2). The churches he established would then begin to send out missionaries themselves, and so the work of church planting continued (1 Thessalonians 1:8).
Here are some important principles about the planting of biblical local churches
- A biblical local church is simply a congregation that believes and proclaims the true gospel. The gospel is the message about the person and work of Christ as Savior and Lord, and His promise of forgiveness of sins for all who believe in Him. (1 Corinthians 15:1-8; Philippians 1:27)
- The planting of biblical churches is 100% the work of Christ, but His people are used as instruments in the process.
- Biblical local churches do not result from man-made methods, such as appealing to “felt needs,” or entertainment. They are not the result of getting people to do certain external works such as praying a prayer or being baptized. Rather, biblical churches are the result of the inward work of the Spirit that alone can change the heart. (John 3:5-7; 6:44)
- God’s method for establishing churches is for His people to proclaim the biblical gospel, through which God inwardly and spiritually calls people to Himself by His Spirit. (2 Thessalonians 2:13-14; 1 Peter 1:23-25)
- In addition to proclaiming the gospel, those who serve God in the establishment of local churches should give themselves to prayer, worship, acts of compassion, and the love of the brethren. (Acts 2:42-47)
- In establishing local churches, leadership is key. There must be godly and humble leaders who have a proper understanding of God’s message and a God-given ability to proclaim it. With these kinds of leaders, churches will be firmly established. Without them, they will fall apart. (Ephesians 4:11-12)
- We must never lose site that the purpose of local churches is the calling forth of Jesus’ universal Church, and that this Church will be a victorious Church. Jesus said, “The gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Hades refers to the realm of the dead. The gates of death did not prevail over Jesus and will not prevail over the church that Jesus is building. Local churches may come and go, but not one member in Jesus’ Church, whom He has called, will perish. (John 6:39; 10:27-29; Rom 8:30)