Start With Evangelism, Not Church Planting

Why movemental church planting begins with disciple-making, not organizational expansion.

I was asked a question this week: “What would you say to someone who wanted to plant churches with an eye to movemental dynamics? They have a desire to plant a lot of churches, but aren’t sure where to start.”

There is a lot of talk about church planting in the broader church leadership world. Church planting is a great thing. The local church is one of the primary means by which the gospel is sent out and the wisdom of God made known.

While I enthusiastically support church planting in all sizes and shapes, the prevailing approach has some real downsides.

The Challenges of the Prevailing Model

Firstly, it is very expensive. Right at the outset, the community is on the hook for venues, staffing, equipment, and other components. The financial model often becomes the tail that wags the dog in church planting.

Secondly, it is very difficult to develop leaders who can effectively lead this kind of community. A church planter often has to be skilled as a fundraiser, communicator, manager, musician, event director, and visionary all at once. While some exceptionally gifted people come to the table with all of these gifts, they are rare. Moreover, people who could be great initiators of gospel work are passed over because they are not the full package.

Thirdly, it requires overcoming substantial organizational inertia. The requirement that only highly skilled leaders be sent, in conjunction with large budgets, means we are less likely to plant churches because the consequences of losing budgetary capacity and leadership muscle from an existing congregation are too great.

All of these factors combine to pressure church plants to centre on the leader’s personality, prioritize transfer growth from other churches to meet financial targets, and place the evangelism of non-Christians on the back burner in favour of quicker growth objectives.

In cultural contexts where there are large numbers of nominal or disaffected Christians, the prevailing approach makes a lot of sense. In those contexts, there are essentially loads of free-agent Christians waiting to be drafted.

On the other hand, where the culture is post-Christian and there are few free agents, we need to think differently.

Returning to Biblical Basics

What would be a better approach in our cultural moment?

We return to the biblical basics of starting churches. A healthy church should be the overflow of evangelism and discipleship. Instead of focusing primarily on planting churches, we should focus on sharing the gospel and discipling new believers.

If we start with the basic conviction that a church is the overflow of evangelism and discipleship, we can eliminate much of the complexity from the process.

With respect to leadership, while not many leaders can lead a community of several hundred, many can lead a community of ten or fifteen. Instead of identifying leaders based on their potential to lead a large community, we can focus on those who have demonstrated fruitfulness in the basics of evangelism, disciple-making, and Bible teaching.

With respect to budget, launching small, evangelism-focused church plants need not cost anything at all. The basic requirement at the outset is simply the presence of a team of believers in one another’s lives and in the community they desire to reach.

By focusing on simpler and smaller approaches, leaders can grow into the role over a longer period of time without the pressure of financial or growth targets hanging over them.

What We Look for in Church Planters

What do we look for in prospective church planters who launch churches in new cities where we do not yet have a presence?

1. Evangelism fruitfulness
Are they faithful in sharing the gospel?

2. Discipleship faithfulness
Have they discipled new believers who, in turn, have made disciples?

3. Relational depth
Do they have meaningful and long-standing relationships with the sending community that they can rely on for support?

4. Demonstration of our five discipleship emphases
Do they demonstrate:

• Gospel fluency

• Secure identity

• Missional living

• Radical generosity

• Capacity for courageous conversations

(Read more about our discipleship emphases in Living Sent 1: Discovering Jesus and Living Sent 2: Discovering Disciple-Making.)

A Long-Term Perspective

Our expectation is generally that growth in the first year will be minimal. In most cases, the fruit does not begin to emerge until three to five years and beyond.

That may sound slow to some. Yet if churches truly are the overflow of evangelism and discipleship, then the most important work is not building an organization. It is faithfully making disciples who make disciples. Churches will emerge naturally from that work, and when they do, they will be built on a much stronger foundation.