Church Planting - the most effective evangelistic strategy ever
Series: Church Planting
Categories: Church Planting
the most effective evangelistic strategy ever
Many churches see church planting as irrelevant to them. For some it's because survival is the name of the game. For others church planting is a distraction from evangelism or a drain on scarce resources. Perhaps church planting is not for every congregation, but it's an option and opportunity for many more than are not currently considering it. It's been suggested that church planting is the most effective evangelistic strategy ever. So what are the reasons for church planting?
Church planting is both a principle and a strategy.
It's a principle because it recognises the church as being at the very heart of the purposes of God. For many of us individuals occupy that place. We have so emphasised the personal dimension of salvation that personal evangelism is the be all and end all. But the rescue of isolated individuals was never God's plan. He always wanted a family, a community, a people. Local churches are the expression of God's purpose. As a matter of principle then our strategy should be the creation of such congregations. We should be looking to multiply churches - to litter the world with communities of people who model the gospel through their lives and relationships. It's as churches are planted that people are released into gospel ministry. It's in missionary churches that we are provoked to godliness and equipped for gospel work. If unreached areas are to be reached, it will only be by people who proclaim the gospel with their words and commend the gospel with their lives together. Over one billion people have never heard the name of Jesus. Only church planting will impact that staggering statistic.
That may sound a bold claim, but it reflects New Testament practice. Paul's strategy was the establishment of churches in key centres. By design these were churches that would plant new churches and so spread out into the region. This is why Paul could justifiably claim to have fully preached the gospel.
The missionary challenge we are faced with as we move into this millennium is not harnessing new technology, but planting churches. And the churches we plant must be missionary churches with a heart to continue to reach out from their own doorsteps and towards the far corners of the world.