The world is now a global village – in an instant we can see, hear and talk with those 5000 kilometres away.  Church planting in all its forms is a key to the spread of the Good News:

It is interesting to compare how similar is the context faced by mission agencies such as WEC planting amongst 'unreached' people groups:

The challenge is that we live in what is now called the post-Christian era.  Out of the 5-10% of Aussies who do church regularly, maybe less than a third are under 25s who have any meaningful connection to God’s community.  Younger Aussies have almost given up on the quest for real truth.  They don’t know the gospel, nor do they operate from a Christian worldview.  When they look at the ‘Church’ they often don’t see a vital outward-focused, Godly, relevant relational community.  Ironically, just at this strategic time in history, the Western Church finds itself in crisis.  We are losing ground; we are often out of touch; we are ‘traditional’ rather than ‘transformative’, ‘programmatic’ rather than ‘missional’.

Watch Tim Keller (Redeemer Presbyterian Church in NY) talk about what missional means:

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The good news is that across the world, Church planting movements are being used by God to discover new and meaningful models of bringing the Good News to a new generation.  I am coming increasingly to the conclusion that if we are to reach this so called ‘post-Christian’ world, it will be through those who are cultivating a movement of missionaries, who can multiply disciples who in turn will share their faith and life with those in their circle.  The established churches still have a significant role, but throughout our world, it is in the unstoppable ‘chaos’ of Church planting movements that the Kingdom grows.  As Peter Wagner said: "The single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven is planting new churches."

Around the world house churches are multiplying rapidly:

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Based on the National Church Life Surveys, between 1991-2001, Protestant churches in Australia declined by 6% and Australian church attendance declined by 3%.  In 1991 there was one church for every 1561 people in Australia, but by 2006 it has dropped to one church for every 2054 people and continues to fall.  With Australia’s increasing population and declining church attendance, the need to plant more, and plant effective churches is more urgent than ever!   It is interesting to consider who is planting churches.

These days the approach is not so much to start by running a worship service but by serving amongst the people. Its great to hear stories like this:

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The NCLS report on Church planting also concluded that Church plants are more effective in connecting with newcomers.  In the Church plants surveyed, 16% of attenders were newcomers to church life in comparison to 10% of attenders in established churches.  Church plants are more effective than other forms of outreach. “…Church plants have higher percentages of newcomers than churches engaged in street evangelism, churches conducting services for the unchurched (eg ‘seeker services’), churches conducting mission activities at schools or churches offering social services such as training or support programs” (Steve Addison).  The NCLS survey indicates that healthy Mother churches continue to grow after the expenses of planting a daughter church. (http://givemetruth.net/infocus/needed-new-churches/)

Here's Ed Stetzer talking about what makes for healthy church Planting:

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We desire develop a strategy for raising, training and supporting planters, as well as mobilising established churches to parent new initiatives.  It is churches that birth churches not denominations. Our vision is too become an evangelistic movement that enables churches to support and release Christ-centred, mission-hearted, disciple-forming men and women who can grow transformational communities which intentionally reproduce similar disciple-forming communities!

Three years we held our last Church planting conference... Here are the dreams of those who attended.

The next Church Planting Conference is on Feb 18-20 2011 - Don't miss it. Get the registration form here

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VALUES

• Churches exist for mission
• Mission at its heart includes proclamation of Christ and expects a response
• We accept that churches of the 21st century may not function or affiliate in the way churches of the 20th century have done
• There is no ‘right’ model of church - models will evolve in response to what God is doing amidst that community of people
• Congregations birth congregations, denominations are midwives
• The relationship to a parent church may vary from a multisite accountability relationship to an advocacy role between equal but independent churches
• Church plants and planters need to be sustained prayerfully, team-wise and financially by the parent church(s) not the denomination
• Church planters need to be gifted, called, trained and mentored. They need leadership and entrepreneurial capacity and training to maximize this,
• Church planters and evangelists of the 21st century may not be ‘endorsed’ ministers, nor career clergy.
• Planters are usually sent in teams not as individuals or couples
• A core mission team -  learning synergy, praying and modeling the culture precedes the launch of a public program
• Where there is no parent church Board, a ‘project’ Board of mature and Godly individuals functioning as an ‘eldership’ is vital for a start up project
• The Gospel is central but the methodology is contextual
• All the core-team members share in the shaping of the emerging vision and ministry - members are ‘ministers’
• Relationships precede programs, programs precede property.
• A healthy church will ensure a balance between ‘outreach’, ‘fellowship’, ‘discipleship’, and ‘celebration’.
• Christians seeking to attend a church plant need thorough orientation in the missional culture of the plant before becoming members