1st – Rediscovery of the Mission Field “Next Door” 

I am noticing a growing awareness among North American churches that the mission field is not far away – it is “Next Door.” For too long we have defined “missions” as being far away, or at least over the border. In simple terms, it wasn’t “missions” unless you needed a passport to get there! In contrast, congregations are today awakening to the fact that our own continent is in desperate need of Christ. Better yet, churches are getting out and encountering their neighbors in missional obedience.

As an example I point to Golf Course Road Church of Christ, in Midland, TX. For the past several years I have been working with GCR as their coordinator of North American church-planting missions. GCR has an exciting history of engaging in both foreign missions and ministry to their immediate surroundings in Midland. One could say that they were invested in reaching their “Jerusalem” and the “ends of the earth” (see Acts 1:8). More recently GCR acknowledged her need to fulfill the rest of Christ’s assignment – to reach her “Judea” and “Samaria.” In response to this challenge GCR created a missions team that is implementing a strategy to launch faith communities in every town within a 100-mile radius of their church campus (the Judean Strategy), as well as plans to start a new church in every town with a population over 100,000 throughout Texas and the adjoining States (the Samaria Strategy). While not every church is taking the same steps GCR has taken, I am encouraged to see more and more congregations discovering that the mission field includes those who live next door.

2nd – The Power of We

I am also encouraged to find historically autonomous and fiercely independent congregations discovering ways to work together as partners in church planting. Some who have been around longer than I point to this as the most unexpected development they’ve seen. In order for these fiercely independent churches to function in partnership they are discovering ways to utilize a new set of previously unfamiliar pronouns… they’re using words like “we” and “us” much more often than they’re saying “you,” “your,” “they,” “them,” or complaining about “those” people.  This slight alteration in pronouns reveals a huge shift in thinking. It speaks to a new willingness on the part of separate congregations to maintain their autonomy while fostering a spirit of interdependence.

Do you need evidence of this? Just take a quick look at the eclectic shape of the many church-planting partnerships that have been formed to start new congregations in your local regions. It’s getting hard to find a new church that was unilaterally started by a single sponsoring congregation. In my experience most of today’s new churches are being sponsored by partnerships consisting of at least three or more churches and ministries. It’s exciting and even breathtaking to see teamwork breaking out all around us!

3rd – Local & Parachurch Synergy

A third encouraging trend in church planting is the emergence of specialized parachurch ministries that partner with local congregations to start new churches. These parachurch ministries provide much needed expertise and guidance, thus enabling the established churches to actually own the church-planting responsibility. The Independent Christian Churches of North America have long benefited from these types of organizations, sporting more than 50 regional church-planting ministries. Churches of Christ have recently witnessed the emergence of several similar ministries.

Do these parachurch ministries actually help? In my estimation – yes! While many denominations see only 30-40% of their new church efforts succeed, groups that utilize parachurch expertise witness a 90% survival rate among their church-planting endeavors. The fourth article in this series will detail the “Leader Care” systems of coaching – mentoring – training – and community, which these parachurch ministries bring to the table. The development and acceptance of these systems, and their parachurch sponsors is a significant step forward for groups that operate within a congregational form of church governance.

4th – “After-Their-Kind” Reproduction

Another encouraging trend is that new congregations are immediately engaging the mission by helping launch daughter congregations of their own. It’s exciting to see the most recent wave of new churches help launch the next wave. It’s not only exciting – it feels natural! God’s intention was for all living things to reproduce after their own kind. From where I sit I see momentum building on top of momentum… and it’s an encouraging trend that will make a big difference in the near future.

A case in point:  Golf Course Road Church of Christ launched New Life Church in Odessa, TX, in 2005. Since their inception New Life Church has returned over $100,000 in church planting support that went to four additional new congregations. Each of these four new churches shares New Life’s commitment to sponsoring the next wave of church plants. In effect, New Life Church and her “daughter” congregations have already returned more into church planting than GCR and her partners originally invested in her launch.

We could call this a “virtuous” investment – it’s a mission investment that doesn’t stop giving once the funding is spent. Whenever I have opportunity to speak to a missions committee in an established church I attempt to explain the difference between support given to church-planting endeavors and other types of mission expenditures. In many cases, once the original funding is spent it is simply gone. Not so with a new church! When funds are invested in church planting those funds generate both the new church itself as well as the future funds that new church will provide for other mission projects. In other words, $10,000 invested in a church plant produces both a new church as well as another $10,000 for future church planting – and often more! From a missions committee perspective I’m not just asking them to help start a new church – I’m inviting them to launch a new missions committee. This “after-their-kind” commitment to reproduction is developing a self-replenishing source of funding for future church planting.

5th – Unencumbered Vision

Church planting leaders tell me that one of the most encouraging trends they encounter is the freedom with which they are allowed to dream dreams and pursue visions. Instead of being tightly controlled, new congregations are encouraged to experiment with new ways of being the Body of Christ in their context.  This is resulting in the emergence of all kinds of new churches. The gospel message remains the same, but the manner in which the church operates and exists is becoming more and more varied. As someone who has coached over 80 churches through the launch phases I personally find this to quite exciting and appealing. The Creator God shows himself to be yet in the business of “making all things new” (Revelation 21:5). As new kinds of church plants emerge we are witnessing God’s ability to remake and shape His Church. 

Because of this freedom more and more leaders, both young and old, are opting to engage the challenge of church planting instead of taking another job in an established congregation. As one older church planter shared with me recently, he is seeing God do what he always believed God wanted to do in a community but never could get permission to actually attempt. Surprisingly, the very churches that just yesterday resisted new ideas are today adopting them once they’ve seen that they work in a new church down the road. I’m seeing that unencumbered vision is both exciting as well as contagious.

6th – Civility

By far the mst encouraging trend I see in church planting is the spirit of charity and acceptance that exists between the leaders and churches that engage in the mission. To some old-timers, the level of unexpected courteousness between believers is almost unsettling. We appear to have been caught in the grips of a severe epidemic of unfettered civility. Perhaps as we engage the true enemy we find ourselves reminded that our brothers are not the enemy? Whatever the cause of this unexpected civility – it’s certainly refreshing! I say we keep going in this direction and see if we can’t perhaps just launch a full-blown contagion of Christian civility between our traditions.