Church Matters: Church Planting: Thinking Through Each Step

Evangelicals love church planting—and rightly so! The world needs more churches because more people need to hear and believe the gospel. That’s why billions of dollars, scores of conferences, and countless books have pushed in the direction of church planting over the last few decades. More than that, many churches have been planted through this sustained emphasis. However, confusion persists around the what’s, when’s, who’s, and how’s of church planting resulting in unhealthy church plants. This issue of Church Matters clarifies how biblical ecclesiology dispels confusion and produces healthy church plants both domestically and around the world.

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Table of Contents

Editor's Note by Jonathan Leeman

Preparing to Church Plant
The Priority of Patience, Prayer, and Preaching in Church Planting by Josh Manley
Why Not to Plant Churches by Phil Newton
Preparing to Plant Is a Whole Church Effort by Dwayne Milioni
You Can't Plant a Church If You Don't Know What a Church Is by Nathan Knight
Partnering Together to Plant by Nathan Akin
Pastor, Not Entrepreneur by Nathan Knight
Pastor, Not Entrepreneur, Part 2 by Matt McCullough
Five Trends in Church Planting by Phil Newton and Matt Rogers
What 9Marks Purists Should Know About Church Planting by Ed Stetzer

Sending Out a Church Plant
Taking Risks in Church Planting by Sending Your Best Members and Elders by Juan Sanchez
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Advice for Members on Church Plants by John Joseph
Sending Out Future Leaders Strategically by Matt Rogers
Equipping Women for Church Planting by Sharon Dickens
Shepherding the Heart in Sending by Dave Kiehn

Planting a Church
Stop Launching Churches, Covenant Together Instead by Nathan Knight
Personal Evangelism for the Church Planter and the Church Plant by J. Mack Stiles
Planting Churches for Pleasure, Not for Profit by Nathan Knight
Four Encouragements for Preaching in a Church Planting Context by Clint Darst
Church Planting Is Rarely Rapid by Matthew Spandler-Davison
The Church Planter's Second Priority: Raising Up Leaders by Mike McKinley
How to Do Ministry When You Have No Money by Brian Davis
Church Planting Across Ethnic Lines by Joel Kurz
International Churches as Strategic Gospel Multipliers by Caleb Greggson
Revitalization with an Eye Toward Church Planting by Matt Capps
Church Planters, Don't Wait to Put Your Documents in Place! by Joel Kurz
Church Planters, Make sure Your People Know You Love Them by Steve Jennings
Church Planting in the Same Building by Matthew Spandler-Davison
Church Planting by Peaceable Division by Colin Clark

Church Planting in Hindsight
Church Planting Roundtable: Counting the Cost by Forrest, Joseph, San, Chatman, Greggson, and Ross
The Blessings and Burdens of a Church Planter's Wife by Gloria Furman
Lessons Learned from a Church Planter's Wife by Jenny Manley
Why Bad Polity Hurt My Church Plant by Phil Newton
Knowing When to Say When: Reflections from a Failed Church Plant by Derek Bass