Today’s topic is “why plant churches?” I’m going to answer this question in two posts, or maybe three. Or maybe 40.
In my first post, I mentioned that church planting is part of our DNA. That’s worth explaining because it goes to our history. I’m going to get to the more important reasons from Scripture in my next post, but let me first tell you a brief version of our story.
Way back in the 1970’s, before rock was classic and when disco still had shreds of respectability, there was a teaching ministry in the Washington, DC, area called Take and Give (TAG). For several years, TAG’s weekly meetings attracted up to 2,000 people, most of them young and eager for genuine encounters with Christ. C.J. Mahaney was one of the primary teachers.
I’ve heard C.J. say that season was the closest he’s ever come to experiencing authentic revival. Hundreds upon hundreds of young people were powerfully converted to Christ. But as TAG’s attendance grew, there was a concern among some in leadership about the limitations of regularly gathering people for teaching in a non-church context.
The Lord was blessing the teaching meetings, but a mere teaching meeting seemed insufficient. People needed care, training, and meaningful relationships in a loving but accountable context. They needed pastors who would teach them and care for their souls. This cast them back upon Scripture. Through study, the TAG leadership began to see that their approach to teaching and caring for Christians lacked a biblical context. They began to gain a burden and a vision for the local church.
So imagine this scene. One evening, at the height of TAG popularity, the TAG leaders stun the large crowd by announcing that the Tuesday night meetings are ending. I wasn’t there, but I’m told it was quite the evening. Why would these men possibly tamper with that kind of success?
It’s simple. A conviction had reached critical mass. The TAG leaders were convinced that God’s appointed means of caring for his people was the local church, not simply a teaching meeting. Soon thereafter, Covenant Life Church was born. And soon a passion for church planting developed.
Our church in Philadelphia was a first fruit of that passion. A small group of families and singles relocated to the Philadelphia area in 1984 for the express purpose of starting a church. As we became established, the vision for church planting was internalized through study and a growing awareness of how God had blessed us through the sacrifices of our sending church. Covenant Fellowship has since planted other churches (ten, to date!) and helped train many other leaders for church plants. And, now, some of those churches are themselves beginning to explore and enjoy the adventure of church planting! Similar patterns have emerged elsewhere within the Sovereign Grace family too.
Early in our journey, it became apparent that our churches needed a stronger link than name and common doctrine. A leadership team was formed to help establish strategies for future missions direction. Sovereign Grace Ministries—then called People of Destiny International and later PDI—was formed. The result has been slow, intentional growth from a single church to, as of this writing, more than 85 churches…including eight being started right now. We also work in 22 nations worldwide by helping leaders catch a biblical vision for planting gospel-centered churches. By God’s grace, these churches are joined by a commitment to the gospel and a passion for the local church and missions, which itself spills over from our love for the gospel and the application of God’s Word.
Sovereign Grace owes its existence to the grace of God through church planting. That’s why it’s in our blood. But more importantly, it’s in our Bible.
Join me next time to examine why Scripture compels us to plant churches.
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Dave Harvey leads international expansion and church planting for Sovereign Grace Ministries and is based in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. For more information about the Sovereign Grace church-planting process, click here.