If you want to grow something to last a season
- plant flowers.
If you want to grow something to last a lifetime
- plant trees.
If you want to grow something to last through eternity
- plant churches.
- Anonymous
God is calling His body, the church, to come off the mountain of our own comfort zone and enter the valley where the battle is hot. He wants us to declare His kingdom to the world. There is no more effective way to do so than to start new churches.
- Kevin W. Mannola
- from Church Planting: The Next Generation
Near the dawn of Christianity, being a follower of Jesus meant serious, all-out commitment to His ambitious plans to impact the world.
- Dale Galloway
It is perfectly true as the philosophers say, that life can only be understood backwards. But they forget the other proposition, that (life) must be lived forwards.
- Soren Kierkegaard
As people on the front lines, laity have a remarkable opportunity to make a difference in their own mission fields – their workplaces, neighborhoods, and communities.
- Bill M. Sullivan
The single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven is planting new churches."
- Peter Wagner
Lay Christians have been starting churches since the dawn of Christianity.
- Jim Dorsey
The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
- Jesus
Do we need more churches in America?
America needs God
- There are 195 million unchurched people making the U.S. the third largest mission field in the English-speaking world and the fifth largest globally. (Kent Hunter)
- Only about 15-20% of churches in America are growing
- While Christian churches have plateaued, cults and non-Christian faiths have grown dramatically. Most dramatically, Wicca (witchcraft) doubles about every 30 months (8,000 in 1990 to 134,000 in 2001), & is especially popular with teens and young people.
- The Nazarene church has now declared the US and Canada as mission fields.
- If trends don’t reverse, at risk for becoming a post-Christian nation
Look what is happening with the younger generations in America?
Multiple studies have shown that those in the younger “post-modern” generations are generally very interested in “spiritual things,” but often aren’t finding God in established churches.
Do we need more churches in Douglas County?
Amazingly, we live in a unique county in many respects:
Douglas country is also one of the fastest growing counties in Colorado and America!
Was THE fastest growing county in the ENTIRE United States from 1990 to 2000 (by US Census)
Continues to be fastest growing county in Colorado (27% increase 2000-2003)
Douglas country is also among the most unchurched counties in America…
Gallop polls have indicated that about 54% of those unaffiliated with a church would be open to participating in a new church.
STOP! Think about this. Considering these statistics, we’d have a hard time even dreaming up a better location for a new church.
What else do we know about Douglas County?
Douglas country tends to be family oriented:
- Average Age 31 (remember 1st graph, are we in the middle of a “mission field?”)
- 25% more households with children vs. national average
- Largest age group is 25-44, then <15, then 45-64 (i.e. 25-64 & kids)
- Subjectively, my sense is those who’s kids have left home, still are close to their kids
(i.e. You don’t have to have kids in the home to be family oriented)
Douglas Country tends to be highly educated.
Many of the new start churches in the area have been immediately successful.
- Historically, 90% of new start churches failed.
- After researching the successful 10%, and applying their principles, the success rate can now reach 90%.
- Even so, most churches never become all that large, and/or take years to do so.
- However, in this area, new start churches in Douglas County have often impacted 100’s or 1000’s within a very short time
- This is further evidence that there is a need.
Ok, we need to reach people, but why not just support an existing church?
Based on the statistics above, we can make a strong argument that we don’t yet have “enough” churches.
But even more so, new churches are uniquely effective!
The single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven is planting new churches."
Peter Wagner , church growth expert
One author states…
- A church older than 10 years takes an average of 89 attendees to help one person find Jesus
- A church 0-3 years takes only 3
Christianity Today published another study…
Why are new churches effective at reaching new people?
- New churches naturally have fewer barriers for those unfamiliar with new churches (like a new neighborhood)
- New churches have to be outreach oriented and focused
- Creates a sense of expectation and anticipation
- Churches go through a natural life cycle (none of the 1st century churches still exist)
- It is easier to try new things with a new church vs. an established church (“It is easier to make new babies than it is to raise the dead.”)
- Allows creativity, can try new approaches & methods, think “outside the box”, can take risks in faith, specifically targeting those who either don’t know Christ or are ineffective in their faith
The BIG picture is not to simply start more churches. The end goal is to reach more people for Christ.
Is this for you?
- Why join? If you are still exploring your faith or new in your faith, then a new church is likely to be a more comfortable environment as we would be designed for your specific needs. If you are a believer, then a new church is perhaps the most effective way to fulfill the great commission. We each have limited resources. This gives you the greatest impact.
- We are all busy. This isn’t the work of one person or one family. We are just participating with God in His work, and God will provide. We will seek to be ourselves, be open about who we are, integrate our faith fully into our lives & marketplace, bringing our church/faith into the marketplace, and sharing our homes with our faith/church. These are the same things you may already be doing.
- The work of a few could literally impact thousands or tens of thousands for Christ
- Kierkegaard said “It is perfectly true as the philosophers say, that life can only be understood backwards. But they forget the other proposition, that (life) must be lived forwards.” At the end of our days, as we look back on our lives, this time may be considered one of the highlights of our entire lives. We may never have this opportunity again.
- Seek God’s direction. If God is leading you elsewhere, then follow His direction in peace & with our full blessing. However, if God is speaking to your heart about this today, don’t miss it!
Opportunities to participate:
- Prayer
- Participate in our home groups
- Join our core
- Invite others to participate
- Giving