What is a church plant, and why would we plant a new church in the Bible Belt, where there are so many existing churches already?
The truth is, every single church was a “plant” at one time. Even the historic and stately buildings that have stood for generations found their beginning in a group of Christians who were compelled to establish a local church body in their community. Beyond that, church planting has been the pattern from the earliest days of the Christian faith.
When the Apostle Peter delivered his famous sermon at Pentecost, a church was formed in Jerusalem that very day (Acts 2). When the Apostle Paul carried out his missionary journeys, churches were planted in every place where the gospel was received. In fact, all of the letters of the New Testament – Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians, etc. – were written to churches that had been started in the wake of the spread of the gospel message.
This is the evangelistic heart of church planting. It is not a means of gathering “transfer” Christians who are willing to come over from other churches to start something new or different. Churches are planted in an effort to make disciples, primarily among those who have not yet come to know and follow Christ. That is why the need is so great, even in areas where there seem to be plenty of churches already established.
In the Madison/Ridgeland area, for example, there are not enough churches to reach the present population. If, for instance, every person in the community woke up this Sunday morning and decided to attend a church, there would not be nearly enough seats to hold everyone, even if every church were full.
Moreover, the problem we face is not so much a lack of churches as it is a deficit of discipleship. The purpose of the church has never been to gather people to a building, but to “go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:19-20). This is why we need more churches, not fewer! As long as the majority of our community lives “undiscipled,” we have the urgent task of taking the gospel to them.
It is our desire as a church plant to work hand-in-hand with the existing churches in our community. We are all on the same team, focused on the same goal. But I hope it is clear that church planting is not just a trendy idea. Rather, it is the biblical and historical model (even mandate!) for the spread of the gospel and the development of disciples of Jesus. Praise the Lord that we get to play a role in this Great Commission!
