7 Things I Learned About Church Planting

For over forty years I have been involved directly and indirectly with apostolic churches and apostolic networks whose mission was to plant churches. To begin with, apostolic leaders know that church planting is primarily for extending the Kingdom of God within the nations!  “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15).

Healthy apostolic churches grow qualitatively and quantitatively and intentionally raise up shepherds who can lead and plant churches. “But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News” (Phil. 2:22).

The fastest-growing global church movement is the apostolic movement, especially in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.  Churches are multiplying very rapidly via church planting. Now, a new strategy is underway to saturate a city with church planting.  The vision of these apostles is to fulfill the great commission (Matt. 28:18-20).

And to achieve their goals, here are:

7 Important Lessons about Church Planting:

1. Church planters must be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit and they must be called and anointed by the Holy Spirit.

2. The church planter and the apostolic sending team must be totally focused on the act of incarnating the kingdom of God within a culture.

3. Church planters must be well educated in the word of God and theology. (I definitely recommend attending in-person or online theology education)

4. The church planter's main efforts should be evangelizing the lost and disciplining the found.

5. Church planters must know the culture. (If they are indigenous to the culture all the better).

6. Church planters should be bi-vocational if just a couple. Or plant with a team.

7. The church planters l have worked with in America, Africa, and Latin America who were bi-vocational or planted with a team were the most successful. Those generally least successful were funded from the outside, like a missionary model.

© 2024 John P. Kelly