This week I'm reflecting on four reasons for church planting. The original list comes from this interesting lecture from Tim Keller. You can also catch up on part 1 and part 2.
Reason #2 (in my own words): Church planting is better suited to reach certain people.
Keller lists four groups that according to multiple studies, church plants reach the best.
1. New Residents: It takes longer for a new resident to break into community and leadership at an established church, simply because the people have been there longer. But in a church plant, new residents have been at the church as long as everyone else.
2. New Generations: Young adults are often more involved in church plants simply because of the institutional challenges to change that an established church faces.
3. New People Groups: Keller gives this example. If a farming community begins changing so that young commuters begin moving in, an established church may be 75-80% farmers, while a new church plant is more likely to be 75-80% commuting professionals.
4. New Christians: Dozens of denominational studies have shown that the average new church gains 60-80% of their members from the ranks of the unchurched. On the other hand, the average American church over 10 years old gains 80-90% of its members through transfer growth. This makes sense. As a church ages, it naturally allocates more resources to taking care of the needs of current members. But a church plant is forced to invest into non-members in order to survive.
I don't see this argument as a bash against established churches. I pastored an established church, and in a few years I'll be pastoring another one! To me the moral of the story is for established churches to accept that there are some people best reached by a new church, and to prioritize resources to invest in church planting.
I hope you'll check back in tomorrow for reasons three and four. To me they were the most thought provoking.
What reasons can you think of for planting new churches? Or maybe you feel like pushing back a bit. I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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