Church planting is a popular topic these days. It’s easy to find examples of large churches planting networks of congregations across a geographical area. Similarly, it seems that there is an influx of church planters teaming up with sending agencies to help plant churches anywhere and everywhere.
But the one thing you rarely see is a small church planting churches. I’m not talking about simply supporting a sending agency, but actively sending out planters to start new churches as a part of the church’s ministry.
I think the answer probably has to do with a misunderstanding of what is required to plant a church. Perhaps small churches believe that their size prohibits them from multiplying. But everywhere else in nature, we don’t see size limiting reproduction. Ants reproduce just like elephants. Actually, they multiply faster!
So let’s address a few common reasons churches (small and large) choose not to plant more churches.
“We don’t have anyone “called” to plant.”
May I propose that the idea of “calling” has been one of the greatest cop-outs for not doing ministry in the history of the modern church? What is it about the Great Commission that would lead any believer to think that they are not “called?” The truth is, a call to salvation is a call to minister. We call this concept, “the priesthood of all believers” (I Peter 2:9).
Notice, I used the word “minister,” not “pastor.” God has given certain men the gifts and qualifications for the office of pastor (I Timothy 3:1-7). However, (and I’m sure not everyone agrees with me on this), the Bible never states that planting a church requires starting with a pastor. In Titus 1:5, Paul tells Titus to “appoint elders in every town as I directed you.” The implication is that Paul and Titus had previously worked together in Crete establishing small congregations as people came to Christ. In this letter from Prison, Paul tells Titus to go back to those churches and appoint elders (aka pastors).
Did you catch that? Paul and Titus helped plant churches without pastors!
Don’t get me wrong; I don’t believe any church is meant to go on indefinitely without a pastor. However, I am saying that a pastor is not necessary to plant a church.
A church, by definition, is a called out assembly of believers. God gives pastors to churches as servants who help give direction and leadership to the congregation. But just as any church currently looking for a pastor will tell you, a pastor is not necessary to validate a church.
To be clear, I’m not saying that God does not “call” or “set aside” certain people for the work of church planting (Acts 13:2). However a “special calling” on one person’s part does not eliminate the Great Commission on another person’s part any more than the fact that some believers have the gift of evangelism relieve all others of the duty.
If you have church members (plural), you can plant a church.
“We can’t afford to lose members.”
This idea stems from a “hang on to what you’ve got” mentality that is never found in Scripture. In fact, Scripture teaches the opposite: “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap” (Luke 6:36). Perhaps the reason some churches are struggling is because they’ve turned inward and neglected outreach.
According to the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), you can’t afford to “hoard up” your members. After all, isn’t ministry about giving and not keeping?
And who’s to say that you would be “losing” members? Why not consider it “sending?” That sounds like something I’ve read in scripture before… (Acts 13:3).
“We don’t have enough money.”
This is a moot point for two reasons: First, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof” (Psalm 24:1). In Genesis 1:27, God gave Adam and Eve the first command to multiply. Then, He followed the command by given the first couple domain over all living things for the purpose of fulfilling the command. In the Great Commission, Christ makes a similar statement when He proclaims, “All authority in Heaven and on earth has been given unto me. Therefore, go and make disciples…” (Matthew 28:18-19). In other words, God always supplies the resources needed to obey His commands.
The second reason that the “we don’t have enough money” excuse is irrelevant is because it doesn’t cost money to plant a church! After all, a church is people –not buildings, budgets, or staff. Plenty of churches have begun as simple Bible studies taking place in homes or apartments. Some cities have meeting facilities that can be utilized for free and many apartment complexes have meeting rooms as well.
“Our town is already saturated with churches.”
Actually, you would be surprised by the data. First, ask yourself, are there any unbelievers in my town? If the answer is “yes,” then it is fair to assume that the existing churches could use help.
Second, do the math. If you take the seating capacity of every church meeting facility in your town and added them together, could the entire city fit in the churches? Most likely they couldn’t. If not, guess what? There’s room for another church.
“We are too busy.”
I assume when someone says this, they mean, “we are so busy making disciples who make disciples who make disciples, that we don’t have time to stop.”
Otherwise, whatever else you are doing is just busy-work.
But, if you really are making that many disciples –where are you going to fit them all? Surely you must be running out of space. Why not send out small groups of disciples to start churches in your community?
Did you know that the strongest evangelism tool is to start a new church? Did you know that right now there are people in your community too intimidated to enter your church building, but might be open to attending a small Bible study?
What would be the worst that could happen? You send out a group to start a “pre-church” Bible study, they reach a few people, but a “church” is never born, so they all (including the new believers) come back to your church… sounds like a win-win to me!
So, if your church is serious about seeing your city come to Christ, why not consider planting a church? Any congregation can multiply –no matter the size!