In the past months, I have heard the question, “Why do we need more churches? So many churches are struggling and we should help the ones that are already here before planting new ones.” This sounds reasonable, right?
When we carefully consider Jesus’ words and the unfolding of the Church in history, we find that this line of thinking is not necessarily true. The primary way to grow God’s Kingdom on earth is through a dynamic and continuous approach to planting new churches. Please allow me to explain.
Planting churches follows Jesus’ words outlined in the New Testament. In the well-known “Great Commission” passage of Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus tells his followers to go into the world make disciples, baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, teach them everything He commanded, and that He would be with us until the end of the age.
Jesus’ essential call was to plant churches in which its leaders equip people to do ministry in order to build up the body of Christ into maturity until He returns (Ephesians 4:11-12). He has not returned yet so this work should be ongoing!
New church plants have a higher success rate for reaching spiritually disconnected people in a community. Albeit a few years old, a 2015 Lifeway Research Study revealed that nearly half of the attendees at church plants were previously “unchurched.” By contrast, nine out of ten new attendees at an established church are transfers from other congregations. Although leaving one church to attend another is not necessarily wrong, we must maintain a focus on reaching people who are currently outside of the body of Christ.
Furthermore, planting churches renews the focus and intentionality of existing churches. My family had the privilege of helping plant a church five years ago. Our sending church of 800 sent 100 people to bring the Gospel to a new community. Initially, one-eighth of a congregation leaving created empty seats in the sanctuary and several ministry leadership voids. However, God quickly raised up new leaders and brought new people to the sending body. They are now making plans to plant another church in a new location to further the impact of God’s kingdom.
As awesome as this may sound, planting churches comes with many barriers. One of those is the lack of called and effective leaders. One way the Harvester Foundation is seeking to overcome this challenge is by funding the residency program of CrossPoint Church. This Giving Tuesday, we are aiming to raise $75,000 to provide part-time salaries for 3-5 residents. These residents will serve as pastors, worship leaders, and other ministry workers among the rural church plants we are working towards.
Would you prayerfully consider praying for the Harvester Foundation as we seek to fund 3-5 people in their work to carry out the Great Commission, promoting the foundation and its mission through social media and conversation, or partnering with us financially to grow God’s kingdom in the forgotten, rural communities of Kansas? You can head over to theharvester.org/givingtuesday to learn more and give now.