I’m a big believer in church planting.
Of course, we should work at revitalizing churches whenever possible. Faithful pastors are needed to go into churches and bring them back to life. There are many communities where church planting is not the only or even the best option. When we find existing congregations that long for renewal, we should consider pastoring those churches back to health. We should also work to preserve the gift of church buildings that have already been paid for by previous generations.
But we also need new churches. Many communities across the country lack any gospel-preaching church, particularly in urban and rural areas. Sometimes the only option is to start a new church. Even in communities with existing churches, there can be more people to reach than any one church can take on. In these cases, it’s wise to consider planting a church.
Church Planting is Slow
Church planting is challenging. It’s not just about gathering a group of believers to start a new, better church. The biblical pattern is reaching unbelievers and, as people come to Christ, forming them into a new congregation. In our current context, this is long, slow work. If you’re looking at planting a church evangelistically, it could take years.
Old patterns of church planting relied on reaching financial stability within three to five years. This model assumed that a church could be established quickly. This can still happen in one of two ways two ways: either start with a large number of believers and reach financial stability quickly, or starts evangelistically and pray that it grows unusually fast.
In most cases, though, planting a church evangelistically requires patience. That church will likely take longer than three to five years to reach sustainability. This is a challenge, particularly in communities where the cost of living and running a church is high.
We should expect that church planting will be, as Ed Stetzer says, a long, hard slog that requires more patience and financial resources than before.
Planning for Slow Growth
How should we respond?
First, we need to be realistic. If you’re planting a church evangelistically, don’t expect quick growth. Planting will require moving into a community and spending many years building relationships and sharing the gospel. This is important work, and it can’t be rushed. Take the long view, dig in, commit, and pay the price.
Second, we need to rethink our models. Resist seeing church planting as a three-to-five-year project. Create a plan that will allow you to take the time you need. Don’t assume a new church will be able to pay a full-time planter. Look for creative ways to find space for a new church.
Third, whenever possible, send teams to plant a church. When new churches begin with a larger team, it’s generally easier to reach sustainability sooner.
Canada is a mission field worth investing in. We need to continue planting churches even though it’s hard. We should be prepared to pay the price and look at ways to plant even though it’s harder and takes longer than before.
Church planting is worth it, but we can’t rely on old assumptions if we hope to plant churches well today.