One thing I often hear regarding church planting is that there are already so many churches out there, why plant another church?
First off, statistically speaking if you’re thinking of Canada on a national level, according to outreach Canada ten thousand churches still needed to be planted simply to have a church for every two thousand people. And we certainly don’t have many churches of two thousand either.
On top of that six to eight churches close their door every day
In addition
- It is a biblical mandate – Jesus planted the church so we might plant churches to the ends of the earth
- New churches best reach new generations, new residents, and new people groups
- New churches reach the unreached best
- New churches revitalize the whole body of Christ through the infusion of new ideas, creating new leaders, and fueling the advancement of the Kingdom
Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian states “Nothing else – not crusades, outreach programs, parachurch ministries, mega-churches, consulting, nor church renewal processes – will have the consistent impact of dynamic, extensive church planting”.
New forms of church are also desperately needed. I believe there are homes, warehouses, cafes, pubs, clubs, theaters, and abandoned cathedrals across the country waiting to be redeemed into communities of faith, hope, and love.
And I’m sure there are many other reasons…
