I regard the following as the most significant theological / biblical reasons for planting churches:
To start off with one of the main reasons to for planting churches is because of the Great Commission we read about in Matthew 28:18-20. “The earliest churches obeyed the Great Commission by planting new congregations to carry out the assignments of discipling, baptizing and teaching that would begin the multiplication process of planting more and more churches.” (Stetzer, 2006: 38) We see this modeled in the book of Acts as the Apostles lived out and practiced this commission.
Jesus sends us:
“Just as the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” (John20:21) I often wonder how seriously we take this command. We have a task that is set before us. He sends us to proclaim the good news of God’s kingdom. Once we have made that commitment to give our lives to Jesus, we need to realize that we become part of His mission. We are called to carry on with the work which He started.
So, what has Jesus sent us to do? He has sent us to ‘seek and to save the lost.’ I think there needs to be a deep passion for the lost. Every single born again believer needs to have a deep passion to reach the lost. When Jesus sends us, He sends us to the people who need to hear the gospel and come to salvation. He calls us to reach the unchurched and He sends us to those who still wandering around aimlessly in spiritual darkness and to lead them to the light that brings life and direction. Just as Jesus had a passion for the lost so every person wanting to plant a church should have this passion too. The passion for the lost and the passion of leading the lost to Christ needs to be rekindled.
“In focusing on unchurched persons, we align our lives with Jesus, who modeled and claimed, ‘it is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to the call the righteous, but sinners.’” (Stetzer, 2006:43)
We may think that Jesus sending His disciples was relevant back then, but Jesus sending us today has just as much relevance. We cannot ignore this great mandate that Jesus has given to the church. Why is it still relevant today for Jesus to send the church into the world? If one looks at what is happening in the world filled with disillusionment and despair, the world needs hope. The church, I feel, is the very instrument that Christ uses to give hope to the world.
I think of the post resurrection encounters we read about in the gospels; one such moment was when Jesus encouraged Mary not to hold onto to Him, but to go and tell others the good news that He had risen. I think in a similar sense, Jesus encourages the church not to hold onto Him either, but to go and tell everyone the good news that He is risen.
Disciple-making of all nations:
“Go and make disciples of all nations.” When we look at this statement this is an action statement and I believe that every born-again believer has the mandate to obey this part of Jesus’ commandment. I think disciple making is one of the ways the church grows and forms part of advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ. A vital component of planting a church has to do with disciples making disciples.
There is the strong tendency to think that this is and should be the sole mandate of the church of Jesus Christ. If the church fails to heed this mandate, then we are being disobedient to Christ.
In fact, we are called to disciple. As Stetzer mentions in his article on Biblical based church planting, discipleship is the task of the New Testament Church. I tend to strongly agree with this statement because that is the task of every believer. Every born-again believer should strive towards making more disciples. However, one needs to understand that discipleship begins with leading a person to Christ. But it shouldn’t stop there. Discipleship is about nurturing people in their faith and allowing them to grow in their faith.
Why disciple making of ‘all nations’? The gospel isn’t and shouldn’t be restrictive by any means. This means that every person can and should be afforded the opportunity to hear the gospel. We should be reaching all people of every race, culture and ethnic background.
If we aren’t reaching people of every race, culture and ethnic background then we are failing to uphold the mandate that Jesus has given to the church.
Another aspect of discipleship involves the teaching aspect. What good is it for there to only be converts? If we just stop at conversion what have, we accomplished? Church planting entails more than just making converts and leading someone to Christ. It goes beyond that. To be more faithful to the commission of Jesus one needs to take cognizance of the fact that a person once coming to faith should be encouraged to grow in their faith walk with Jesus. This takes place when Christian values are taught and instilled in their hearts and minds. “And teach them everything I have commanded you.”
In Acts 2:42 we also read how they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching. The impact of this was beneficial as it formed the basis for growth and fellowship. One could say that discipleship aids in spiritual formation.
Let’s do the Book of Acts again:
There is nothing more inspiring for than reading the book of Acts. It’s exciting to see rapid the spread of the gospel and the rapid growth of the church. I think that the book of Acts is the prime example and the ideal model that should inspire every born-again believer who is part of the Church of Jesus Christ to do it again.
Nothing excites me more than to know that I want to be part of something great that God through His Holy Spirit is doing. Church planting was the norm back then, so why can’t it be the norm today? I think it can. Church planting was all part of New Testament missiology. It was part of the Church in the New Testament to plant more churches. One just needs to look at how prolifically Paul planted churches in just about the whole of the Roman Empire. If that isn’t inspiring, then what is?
One also needs to bear in mind that for us to do it again we need to rely on the Holy Spirit’s power to lead and guide as He led and guided the early church in its mission to plant more churches.
I regard the following as the most significant research-based reasons for planting churches:
Most new churches survive:
- “In one study of churches in 10 denominations, two years after being started, 92 percent of new churches still exist. After three years, 81 percent of new churches still exist. After four years, 62 percent of new churches still exist.” (Stetzer and Bird, 2010:101)
Planting churches is an evangelization tool:
- I think far more newer people are reached when a new church is planted. One of the primary objectives of planting a new church is to reach the unchurched and lost. “A new church often produces many converts.” (Keller, 2012:360)
- A new church has a far greater reach on the unchurched than an older church. Most older churches have the tendency to become focused on maintenance an forget about mission. A possible reason for this is that older churches tend to more institutionalized.
Planting churches aids in leadership development:
- One of the focuses of a new church is to raise up and develop new leaders. “New congregations, on the other hand, attract a higher percentage of venturesome people who value creativity, risk and innovation.” (Keller, 2012:360)
- A new church I think focusses a lot more on harnessing a potential leader’s gifts and abilities and places an emphasis on developing those leadership gifts.
- This in turn can be of great benefit to society and to the Body of Christ.
It’s Biblical:
- The Church today still has been mandated to continue with mission of Jesus Christ. The Church today still has the responsibility to carry out the Great Commission and Jesus still sends believers to seek out the lost and bring them to Him.
- The Church also has the responsibility in being obedient to the call that Christ has placed on every believer’s heart to be a disciple making disciple.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Center Church: Doing Balanced Gospel-centred Ministry in Your City by Tim Keller (2012) Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan.
Planting Missional Churches: Planting a Church that’s Biblically Sound and Reaching People in Culture by Ed Stetzer (2006) Nashville, Tennessee: B & H Publishing.
