Church planting

"If our church doesn't get more young people soon, we're going to die," blurted the head deaconess during my pastoral interview. I looked around the room at the dedicated group of 60- and 70-year-old church leaders. I respected their openness about the reality in their church (and many other churches in North America).

When you don't have many, or any, young adults in your church, what do you do?

Here are four things that ANYONE in ANY CHURCH can do to activate young adults in your church whether you don't have many or any.

Bài viết nầy trước hết đề cập đến thực trạng tài chánh trong Hội thánh nói chung, những lý do khiến cho nhiều Hội thánh chưa tự lực tự cường về mặt tài chánh, tìm kiếm những nguyên tắc dưới ánh sáng Thánh Kinh, và cuối cùng đề ra một vài gợi ý để giúp gây dựng Hội thánh tự lực tự cường về mặt tài chánh.

In Prophetic Lament, Soong-Chan Rah draws upon the book of Lamentations to promote lament and critique the triumphalist mentalities of many in the American Church today. You can read my summary of the book and evaluative comments at http://www.booksataglance.com/book-reviews/prophetic-lament-call-justice-troubled-times-soong-chan-rah/ or in the attached file.

As the tide has turned and a wave of church planters have washed up on the shorelines of city centers many are learning to navigate the intricacies of urban life for the first time. Many of today’s North American church planters are migrating in from the suburbs, smaller cities, and rural towns as they are confronted with a culture, lifestyle, and built environment that is more foreign than they thought ... or would admit. What do church planters need to know about the city in order to be effective? Exegeting the City was written for you, the church planter, to expand your understanding of the city. This will aid you in the process of contextualization as you discern how to embody, teach, and proclaim the Gospel in the city. Besides, your city needs you to do this. Throughout the book you will be exposed to different trends that are reshaping the city both in culture and urban form. This in turn influences how people experience and live in the city which then has direct bearing in how you plant a church. Exegeting the city today is of critical importance.

„Helge Stadelmann und Stefan Schweyer präsentieren ein Lehrbuch der Praktischen Theologe, das sich von anderen abhebt: Es ist aus freikirchlicher Perspektive geschrieben und ergänzt so die Lehrbücher für Praktische Theologie aus volkskirchlichem Kontext. Und die Autoren sind überzeugt: jede gute Praxis braucht eine gute Theorie, und in der Gemeinde wird gute Praxis immer auch theologisch reflektierte Praxis sein. Bloße Pragmatik genügt nicht. In das Zentrum ihres Entwurfs haben die Autoren den Gemeindeaufbau gestellt, und sie gehen dabei der Frage nach: Wie können Gemeinden qualitativ und quantitativ wachsen?“

Die zweite Auflage umfasst 35 Seiten mehr als die erste Auflage. Alle Kapitel und die Register durchgesehen, aktualisiert und gelegentlich ergänzt. Das Kapitel über Spiritualität (Kap. 15) sowie die gemeinde- und religionspädagogischen Kapitel (Kap. 17; 18; 21) wurden neu konzipiert und grundlegend überarbeitet.

‘It is only a matter of time before declining churches will have closed their doors for good because no one sounded the alarm.’

Our culture is becoming increasingly hostile to Christianity, and despite church planting becoming more popular; our churches are dying more quickly than we can plant new ones. We are struggling to reach our communities for Jesus.

In this timely and much needed book, John James urges us to wake up to this crisis. John argues that if we are to build up existing church members and reach new ones for Jesus then we can’t simply pull the plug on dying churches in favour of planting new ones. John honestly and warmly shares his own experiences of revitalisation and his passion to see churches transformed by the God who delights to resurrect the dead.

This book is an essential read for those considering this kind of ministry, or for those who want to understand the role revitalisation can play in the re–evangelisation of our nation.

In recent years, missionaries have discussed and strategized ways to catalyze “church planting movements” (CPMs) around the world.  However, many people have challenged mission practices that are oriented on CPM-theory.  Both sides of the debate appeal to Scripture to support their arguments. Indeed, CPM theorists implicitly and explicitly contend that CPMs are found in the Bible itself.  This article examines and contests any such claim.
This article makes a simple argument: there are no “church planting movements” in the Bible. Although someone might regard this as a “negative” thesis, the aim of the essay is quite constructive. It is utterly critical that certain notions and associations be set aside if we are to develop biblically faithful and strategically wise missiology. Of course, there is much to commend in CPM literature. However, we cannot simply draw out what it good from a CPM theory without examining related ideas, such as its use of Scripture. When applying some aspect of CPM missiology, we may unwittingly assume ways of thinking or interpreting the Bible that are counterproductive. Therefore, this essay tries to help readers discern theory from theology.

This article unearths the forgotten history of the first modern church planting scheme in the Church of England: an attempt to restructure parish ministry in Chester-le-Street, near Durham, in the 1970s and 1980s. This story of rapid growth followed by decline, and of an evangelical church’s strained relations with their liberal bishop, David Jenkins, has pertinence for contemporary Anglican antagonisms over ‘fresh expressions’ and other church planting programmes. A culture of mistrust is arguably apparent both then and now, between liberals and conservatives in ecclesiology, even as the same line divides those of the reverse tendency in broader, doctrinal theology: conservatives from liberals. Developments, decisions and, indeed, debacles in the story of Chester-le-Street parish point to the urgent need for liberals and conservatives in Anglican ecclesiology and theology to overcome their mistrust of each other by recognizing the other as valuable for the mutual strengthening and renewal of the Church.

Church planting is often seen as the best way to grow the church numerically. However, there is surprisingly little research examining this claim in any detail, and the research that exists turns out to be not very well-founded or unclear in terms of sources, definitions, and so forth. Recently, research has been conducted in three small Reformed denominations in the Netherlands, comparing older and younger churches with regard to converts and returnees. The results show that the younger churches gained approximately four times as many converts and five times as many returnees as did older churches. Three explanations seem the most plausible: younger churches are more often in good demographic locations, they spend more time and energy on outreach, and their leadership is more entrepreneurial.

Farah, Warrick, and Alan Hirsch. 2021. “Movemental Ecclesiology: Recalibrating Church for the Next Frontier.” IMES (blog). 2021. https://abtslebanon.org/2021/04/15/movemental-ecclesiology-recalibrating-church-for-the-next-frontier

This post contrasts a "typical ecclesiology" with a "movemental ecclesiology" in order to propose a way of imagining Church as a living, distributed, incarnational, network — the very essence and mark of all world-changing, transformative movements.

The multicultural church matches a need in our society. In the “Foreword” to Manuel Ortiz’s book One New People: Models for Developing a Multiethnic Church, Harvie M. Conn crystallizes this point: "In a day of fear and mistrust the multiethnic (or multicultural) church is a sample of recomposition in Christ. E pluribus unum (“One out of many”) is a visionary slogan in politics; in the multiethnic church it is a response of the Holy Spirit to culture wars. It is well worth more than a quick glance by a fracturedsociety seeking unity in too many superficial solutions, and by a church that often doesn’t realize the treasure it has been given."

The multicultural church prepares us for a picture of eternity. “And they sang a new song: You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain,and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation” (Rev.5:9).

“Both theologically astute and empirically grounded – it is a rare combination, and it is that combination that allows Christopher James to draw practical wisdom from the experience of a diverse range of new Seattle churches.  It is a story worth reading for anyone interested in the future shape of American congregations.” –Nancy T. Ammerman, Author of Pillars of Faith: American Congregations and Their Partners

“Among the very top works in its field to emerge in the past few years. It offers a major contribution to the fields of missiology, evangelism, ecclesiology, and theological ethnography.” –The Reverend Christian Scharen, Vice President of Applied Research, The Center for the Study of Theological Education, Auburn Theological Seminary

“Seattle has been at the forefront in generating new forms of Church.  Christopher James has produced an acute and nuanced study of the changing nature of churches in this important setting.  This is a major contribution to the developing field of Ecclesiology and Ethnography and a must read for anyone interested in mission and the changing nature of the Church.” –Pete Ward, Department of Theology and Religion, St. John’s College, Durham University

National headlines regularly herald the decline of Christianity in the United States, citing historically low levels of confidence in organized religion, drops in church attendance, church closures, and the dramatic rise of the "Nones." Scarcely heard are stories from the thousands of new churches and new forms of church that are springing up each year across the country. In this book, Christopher James attends carefully to stories of ecclesial innovation taking place in Seattle, Washington--a city on the leading edge of trends shaping the nation as a whole. James's study of the new churches founded in 'post-Christian' Seattle offers both pragmatic advice and theological reflection. After an in-depth survey- and -interview-based analysis of the different models of church-building he identifies, James identifies five threads of practical wisdom: 1) embracing local identity and mission, 2) cultivating embodied, experiential, everyday spirituality, 3) engaging community life as means of witness and formation, 4) prioritizing hospitality as a cornerstone practice, and 5) discovering ecclesial vitality in a diverse ecclesial ecology. Stimulating, encouraging, and stereotype-shattering, this book invites readers to reconsider the narrative that portrays these first decades of the twenty-first century as a time of ecclesial death and decline, and to view this instead as a hope-filled season of ecclesial renewal and rebirth.

Church planting – the creation of new Christian communities for missionary reasons – is becoming increasingly accepted among the larger churches and denominations in Europe. As church plants in the secular parts of Europe are usually under-resourced, and remain small, the normalization of this entrepreneurial approach of church and mission raises the question of its sustainability. Part of the answer to this question lies in the resilience of church planters; that is, those who lead these enterprises. In this paper we present the results of a qualitative study of European church planters, with a view to their coping with what often appears to be a mixture of high expectations, unclear structures, and a difficult " market. " This research shows the particular nature of crises in the life of a church planter, while identifying sources of resilience. Its results are relevant both for the assessment of church planting projects, and for the training and coaching of church planters.

God's mission is diverse, and so are the ways missiologists discuss it. This article outlines a constructive missiology of the current "disciple-making movement" phenomenon in a way that makes creative connections between different conversations in the field of mission studies. In so doing, a new concept called motus Dei (Latin for movement of God) is situated into our understanding of the missio Dei.

Farah, Warrick. 2020. “Motus Dei: Disciple-Making Movements and the Mission of God.” Global Missiology 2 (17): 1–10.

http://ojs.globalmissiology.org/index.php/english/article/view/2309

This paper will look at some of the strengths and weaknesses of church planting models and will assess several different popular church planting models that have been used in many different contexts. Also, emphasis will be placed on what each model looks like, how they function, how they multiply, and how they have been used in various international contexts.

If you’re a church planter, I wrote Church Planting in Post-Christian Soil for you. But, for some church planters, the language and the length of the book can make it a difficult read. Moreover, church planters like you are probably eager to glean key insights that you can take into conversations and put into action in your context.  I’ve put together this Official Church Planter’s Guide to help you and your core team focus on the chapters and sections that will be most useful to you and to propel you into meaningful discussions about how you can join with God in your context and bear faithful witness to Jesus among the people of your place.

Church planting is the most effective method for world
evangelization. It is a must for churches to grow in Indonesia.
More than 85% of its 165 millions people need to be saved and be
gathered into God's churches. This dissertation is written as a
handbook for Sangkakala workers and others—to assist them to
plant churches among the Javanese and Chinese in Indonesia.
Part One includes the history of the Keluarga Sangkakala,
its various ministries.and organization. As an indigenous
mission, Sangkakala has developed ways to support itself
financially. This part is concluded by a brief evaluation
of the past and a look at the future.

Part Two deals with Church Planting in theory. Its
theological basis is analyzed from three different perspective,
i.e.: the Great Commission, the Pentecost Empowerment, and the
Nature of the Church. It is God Himself who originates the
Church—and thus the churches. He is the One who is able to
lead and to bless the church planting ministry. God's work must
be done by God's power. The ministry is more effective if
accompanied by signs and wonders. The theological basis and
examples derives from the Bible and the current churches are
presented to clarify this thesis.

The practical aspect of this theory includes the spiritual
qualification for church planters, effective evangelism,
effective preaching and how to manage a new born church.
Part Three deals directly with church planting in practice
among the Javanese and Chinese minority in Indonesia. The
research began with their historical and religious backgrounds.
Their characteristics are also narrated. This is important for
churches should understand, not only the message but the people
to whom the message is given. The existing potentials for
planting churches are explained, the major problems are
clarified, and the keys for success are presented.

This study concludes that the Sangkakala Mission, even
though presently small and relatively new, can be used by God;
not only 500, but 1,000 local churches can be planted in
Indonesia by the end of this century. This is the author's
dream and vision.

This article traces the history of Anglicanism in Smyrna (Izmir in modern-day Turkey), focusing on the period from 1815-1923. The author provides background information on the rise of the Ottoman Empire, the millet (minority religious community) system, and Anglicanism within Smyrna, including its flourishing (1870-1913) and rapid decline (1913-1923). The author describes the Anglican communities in Bournabat (Bornova in modern-day Turkey) and Boudjah (Buca in modern-day Turkey).

The title of this article is that of a course I was asked to teach, and which I had the privilege and pleasure to do so, at a seminary in Asia in January 2020. This article contains highlights of the course together with related and additional details on what is needed for the most effective Christian education in churches and Christian schools throughout the world in the 21st century and beyond.

Este seminario consiste en un taller con ideas y preguntas prácticas para llevar a la hermandad a concretizar la organización de una nueva iglesia en su comunidad.

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This seminar consists of a workshop with ideas and practical questions to lead the brotherhood to concretize the organization of a new church in their community.

Cross-cultural church planting is more than a by-product of foreign missions. A successful cross-cultural church plant will not only impact a new culture, one new to the planter, but will also impact neighboring communities within a new culture to disciple and send out other church planters. This process should become cyclical. The goal of cross-cultural church planting then is not about four walls, institution, or creating a safe-haven for worship, but the ability to establish a living organism in another culture, for the purpose of spreading the Gospel and building a relational network of supportive churches. These supportive churches should each grow exponentially within their own cell. This research paper will be presented in a six stage process regarding cross-cultural church planting: (1) targeting and demographics (2) acculturation and assimilation (3) indigenization and contextualization (4) holistic mission and structure (5) discipleship (6) and transforming into germinal churches. Each of these stages will be reflective of the Savior, demonstrating the need for the cross-cultural church planter to assist new converts to become imitators of Christ (Eph. 5:1), with a common goal of building relationships through love, trust, and incarnational living.

In every sphere of life, supervision is an avenue to build on ones' aptitude and knowledge to grasp the future. The sustenance of the future is proportional to the effective Management of resources and personality. The Church's growth has been stagnant in recent times. One would question from a business-perspective how the Church has been managed over the years. Does Management concern the Church? Management, as a business function provides leadership support to organizations' resources to realize strategic goals and objectives. Although churches are not precisely business organizations tied with specific management practice as requirements including other complex legal requirements such as filing returns and payment of taxes, they engage in activities that require adequate planning and execution if they are to be successful and impact to the Church's growth and development. Hence, there is a need for an effective governance system for churches that will ensure efficient and effective utilization of resources and management practices in the growth and development of Churches. This paper, therefore, aimed at presenting an analysis of good Governance, effective managerial strategies and church structure for church growth and development. The study employed the use of content analysis of literature as the main components in the study in the areas of effective managerial practices, corporate Governance and organizational Structure and its impact on Church growth and development. The study systematically answered various questions under the study, which eventually contributes towards the establishment of good Governance, effective management and Church Structure on the growth and development of Churches. The study, therefore, unearthed the relationship between good Governance, church management and Structure on the growth and development of churches. It further made a recommendation for leaders of churches on the elements of good Governance, Management and the Structure of their Church that must be taken into consideration in their decision making.

The church in Africa needs to develop enough leaders to serve the needs produced by its rapid growth. One significant aspect of leadership development is theological education. Theological education in countries like Kenya has grown vastly in the last thirty years. Scott Cunningham outlines this growth, pointing out that there now many universities that provide graduate theological education at the Masters and Doctoral levels. Jurgens Hendricks argues that quality theological education serves as the antidote to the problems arising out of the lack of training on the continent. The question we ask in this paper is how church pastors, particularly church planters, perceive the importance of theological training in light of their responsibilities. This paper examines existing literature on the subject and includes findings from interviews with from church planters from Mavuno church. This paper finds that though theological education is viewed highly both by educators and pastors several factors stand in the way of its effectiveness. This paper agrees with Kagema Nkonge who recommends a thorough re-examination of the training system. Further more, the recommends creative exploration and deployment of new models of engagement between churches and theological institutions to secure the future of African Christianity.

This paper discusses whether the LCA has an evangelism problem or a discipleship problem. At its heart are discussed the LCA's more recent decline, discipleship and catechesis in discussion with current LCA offical books and resources and lastly Church planting at a glance from a sacramental perspective. The conclusion is based on a missiology and church practice that is based on the Means of Grace, that being, Word and Sacrament and expressed through the Church's teachings and liturgical worship.

This report seeks to identify the crucial issues and trends which are shaping the context for Christian mission in Europe in 2021.

The report has four main chapters:
• Chapter One looks at the general context for mission in Europe today. It provides an analysis of key political, economic, social, environmental, and technological trends.
• Chapter Two focusses on the religious or spiritual context. It contains a description of the trends of secularisation and desecularisation, of the growth of Islam, but also of three realities which are contributing to the re-evangelisation of Europe: diaspora churches, church planting movements and the Next Generation.
• Chapter Three explores four fundamental shifts in mission thinking which are impacting the practice of Christian mission today. I have summarised these as: mission redefined, mission relocated, mission redistributed, and mission reoriented.

However, any evaluation of our contemporary situation that does not consider the impact of Covid-19 is going to be inadequate. Covid-19 is probably the most significant shared experience in Europe since WWII. So across the three chapters, at the end of my analysis of a given issue, I also discuss how the pandemic might have impacted the trends. Whilst this may seem to date the report, in most cases, the impact of Covid-19 has been to highlight or accelerate trends that were already underway.

• In Chapter Four, I set out some of the implications that each of these trends has for those who are involved in mission in Europe. Of course, as indicated above, the implications may well be different in Eastern Europe than they are in the Mediterranean countries, for example. As I often say, “no-one actually lives in Europe.” We all live in a local situation, with its own unique context. So, you will have to think about the implications of this report for yourself, for your situation, your church, or your organisation.

Taking into consideration the ambiguous nature of religion, a reconsideration of the historicity of Islamic origins, and the diversity of Muslim contexts, this article discusses the important topics to consider when constructing a biblical theology of Islam. In the light of authoritative biblical revelation, this approach also illuminates the connections between theology-in-context and the practice of disciple making.

Farah, Warrick. 2019. "Outlining a Biblical Theology of Islam: Practical Implications for Disciple Makers and Church Planting." Evangelical Missions Quarterly 55(1):13-16.

Church polity means “government of the church, by which the church operates”  The word “government” carries the idea of ruling, controlling or exercising authority over the affairs and actions of an organization or institution. And while the idea is often advanced that since the Church is primarily a spiritual organism with Christ as Head then the scriptural form of church government is no government at all, the New Testament reveals certain organizational structure. Furthermore, Church History clearly reveals that traditionally the local church has had organizational structure and human administrator”  we are so much concerned with the church government because “it is plain, from the word of God, as well as from uniform experience, that the government of the Church is a matter of great importance.”

This essay was written as part of a MA in Practical Theology.
There is much debate and disagreement about certain aspects of Lukan pneumatology, but there is widespread agreement about the fact that Lukan pneumatology has a 'missionary emphasis.' This essay attempts to gather, categorize, and synthesis the relevant pneumatological passages in Luke-Acts in order to summarize the role of the Spirit in the church's mission ; the following roles are discovered and discussed: The Spirit's role in 1) initiating mission, 2) inspiring mission, 3) community-formation for mission, and 4) directing mission.

The nature of the gospel is to permeate every culture. In the words of Andrew Walls this gospel is “infinitely translatable”. As it enters different cultures it “creates a place to feel at home”. This infinite translatability challenges the notion that mission, which is essential to the gospel, could be defined by any one culture.
The growth of the gospel around the world in the last hundred years invites us to consider this. In 1968 Kwesi Dickson and Paul Ellingworth insightfully observed that Africa could only gain selfhood in terms of its expression of Christianity, and be adequate for her mission if she had first, internalized her knowledge of the Lord of the church, and secondly she could express that knowledge of the Lord in clear accents through her own reflection and thinking. Such expression and reflection can be seen in some of the new ways mission is characterized in Africa, as a microcosm of the non- western world. Taking examples from Kenya, I argue that the church worldwide benefits from this broader expression of mission that encompasses non-western elements.

Church planters and missionaries in France may not have any idea how important the early religious history of the country is to modern day residents.  This survey of France’s religious history up to the year 1000 A.D. demonstrates that many of the beliefs that developed during this time are still quite relevant to twenty-first century France.  By understanding these various currants, pastors and missionaries can build upon felt-needs experienced by the French in order to more effectively proclaim the gospel in a persuasive manner.

Writing from an evangelical perspective, David R. Dunaetz shares from his research and his ministry experiences from 17 years of church planting in France.  He and his wife Karen started two churches in the eastern suburbs of Paris and helped several others move from missionary dependence to being fully self-supporting churches.

Executive Summary — This paper describes the current reality regarding Bible translation by contrasting two different paradigms. The dominant paradigm of Bible translation in recent decades has been focused on the delivery of a quality product. The paper argues that this “Bible-centric” paradigm is becoming misaligned with the needs of the rapidly growing global church and is also facing a crisis due to lack of personnel to fill key quality assurance roles. The emerging “church-centric” paradigm integrates Bible translation into the process of establishing strong churches, providing improved scalability and alignment with the global church’s needs. This paradigm is shown to be facing its own crisis, due to lack of accessible resources. The paper concludes by showing how Bible agencies can help resolve this crisis by collaboratively creating these resources and training the trainers of the global church, but that doing so will require a transition from the objectives and metrics of the product-oriented, Bible-centric paradigm to the capacity-building, church-centric paradigm.

Made available at https://unfoldingword.org/established under the terms of a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License (CC BY-SA, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).