Our church sets aside 10% of our financial gifts toward starting more churches. Why do we do this? Well, when we consider that there are a lot of people not going to heaven around us, we must realize that we need more missional and biblically-based churches… many more. As you read the research below, we hope you’ll agree that we don’t just need one more church, but a church launching movement:
- A recent study showed that 3 out of 5 people in Tennessee are unchurched and 82% percent of Tennesseans are presently not attending a church. (Glenmary Study)
- “New churches best reach the unchurched. Dozens of denominational studies have confirmed that the average new church gains most of its members (60-80%) from among people outside any worshipping community, while churches over 20 years old gain most of their new member (0-20%) from people moving from other congregations. Therefore new churches are 5-10 times better at drawing new people into the Body of Christ.” (Redeemer Church Planting Center - not officially affiliated to RCC)
- New churches are the most cost effective means for evangelism. (Bob Logan)
- New churches best reach new residents, new generations and new people groups. New residents are disproportionately found in new congregations because newcomers do not need years of tenure before their voices are heard or before they can gain real leadership and influence in the church. New and younger generations are found in large numbers in new churches, because there is greater openness to new ministry approaches and to new leadership. Newly arrived groups of people are found in new congregations because of a contextualized approach in evangelism, worship and discipleship. (Language, cultural sensitivity, worship styles). (Redeemer Church Planting Center - not officially affiliated to RCC)
- The American church is declining in number while the nation’s population is growing. Consider these facts:
“The majority of churches in North America, 4 out of 5 are either plateaued or declined.” (Win Arn)
“Regarding the Bible Church Movement… these churches are popularly known primarily for their sound expository preaching of the Scriptures. Yet even this movement has plateaued and many churches have begun to experience a numerical decline.” (Aubrey Malphurs, Dallas Theological Seminary)
“There are only enough church plants to keep up with 1/8 of the U.S. population growth… Nationally, the population grew 13.2% between 1990 and 2000 but new churches were only planted at a 5% rate.” (Scott Thomas, Acts 29 Network)
To listen to an explanation on why church planting is critical for the future of the church in every community, click here.
