September 1, 2024
Latino Christian Movement: Planting Networks of Hispanic Churches
Latino Christian Mission trains and equips Latino pastors to start new churches in their communities and to maintain them over time.
Church Planting
Church Planting equips leaders and teams to start new congregations and multiply disciple-making communities. Explore biblically grounded resources on calling and vision, team building, evangelism, leadership development, worship gatherings, discipleship systems, and healthy launch strategies. You’ll also find guidance for fundraising, partnering with sending churches, contextualizing ministry, and sustaining spiritual health through the pressures of planting. Whether you’re discerning a call, preparing to launch, or strengthening an existing plant, these articles offer practical wisdom for planting churches that make disciples and serve their communities in Jesus’ name.
July 1, 2024
Church Planting in the Restoration Movement
Churches are being started by regional networks all over the country, in all kinds of places. . . .
May 1, 2024
A Church-Planting Church: The Legacy and Impact of East 91st Street Christian Church
E91’s church-planting impact and legacy have added mightily to the Restoration Movement’s tremendous growth. . . .
January 29, 2024
An Exciting Church Plant in Eugene, Ore.
Despite adverse weather conditions, 485 people showed up for the first public worship service of Generations Church in Eugene, Ore. The church is multi-generational, though largely made up of University of Oregon students. A campus ministry veteran and Eugene native is helping lead this effort. . . .
May 1, 2023
From ‘Fringe’ to ‘Family’
By Randy Wheeler “What kind of impact could we have on the city of Milwaukee if we had 1,000 millennials who were on fire for Jesus?” Pastor Ken Lock posed this question to a small group of friends as they dreamed about the kind of church they wanted to plant. In 2018, Evolve Church was born. One year later, Evolve had 1,000 millennials attending who were on fire for Jesus! Then COVID hit, and for the next 19 months the church was locked out of the high school they rented, services went online, and Evolve began to search for a
August 8, 2022
Swearingen Assumes Full-Time Lead Role with Florida Church Planters
After 17 years as lead pastor with Crosspoint Church, Cape Coral, Fla., Jeff Swearingen has assumed the full-time lead role with Florida Church Planters. The church's elders, meanwhile, selected Jeff's son, Matt, to lead Crosspoint.
July 18, 2022
‘Hungry for Something New’: Orchard, Harvester Teaming Up to Plant a Church in Ferguson, Mo.
Orchard Group and Harvester Christian Church are partnering to plant a new church in Ferguson, Mo. “The city is hungry for something new, something fresh—but more important, something genuine,” church planter Lenny Brown said.
April 19, 2022
Church Planters Say Ghosting a Common, Dispiriting Occurrence
The rapid turnover in a new church plant’s core launch team is not unusual, church-planting experts say. Of the 40 or so people who helped plant Canvas Church in North Carolina last September, almost half are gone . . . some simply disappeared without saying a word. “It’s weird, but it’s like, ‘Can you say goodbye?’” the lead planter said.
March 4, 2022
NewThing Hoping to Plant Hundreds of Digital Churches
NewThing is launching a digital church-planting effort it hopes will spark hundreds of new churches during the next year. Jeff Reed said the initiative already has drawn interest from 200 prospective church planters.
February 2, 2022
Oregon Church Plant Launches with Mission-First Model
Gabe Piechowicz took a circuitous route to becoming a minister—he first spent 15 years as a logger. And now Piechowicz is taking an unconventional route to planting a church in Eugene, Ore.—by first doing mission work rather than holding traditional Sunday services. His immediate focus is serving in the homeless community.
January 1, 2022
Where Do Church Planters Come From?
What do a lawyer, a football player, and a youth pastor have in common? It might sound like the setup to a bad joke, but it isn’t. All three are examples of professionals who recently left their jobs to plant independent Christian churches in the United States. Many of today’s church leaders are asking where tomorrow’s church leaders will come from. That’s a critical concern among church planters as well. In fact, Stadia president Greg Nettle says, “The number one challenge we face right now is our leadership pipeline of church planters.” Nettle and other church-planting leaders estimate it will
November 9, 2021
Virginia Church Transforms Horse Farm into First Permanent Home
LifePointe Christian Church in Toano, Va., which started in 2006, is finally moving into its first permanent home—a horse farm on 10 acres it purchased in 2018.
November 1, 2021
COMPELLED TO CELEBRATE
Expressions of Gratitude Mattered to God and His People in the Old Testament, and They Still Matter Today
September 15, 2021
Three New Churches Launch (Plus News Briefs)
Three churches had their first official worship service on Sunday: Accelerate Church of Camden County, N.J., Beacon Christian Church of Derry, N.H., and Elevate Christian Church in Lexington, Ky.
July 27, 2021
Pandemic Inspires Minister to Start Backyard Church
Before COVID-19, minister Matt Dabbs might have spent his Sunday mornings before church straightening chairs and vacuuming the carpet. Today, he gets out his leaf blower to dry the dew off the grass in his backyard—because that’s where the church meets.
June 22, 2021
RHM, Orchard Group Partnering to Reach New England
Restoration House Ministries and Orchard Group have announced a partnership that their respective boards of directors believe will strengthen and accelerate church-planting efforts in New England.
June 16, 2021
‘Planted’ Vlog Shares New Hope’s Story (Plus News Briefs)
"Planted" is a six-part vlog that follows New Hope Church in Harlem, N.Y., as it emerges from COVID-19 restrictions. Jason and Jyothi James help lead the year-old Stadia church plant.
June 9, 2021
Stadia, MOHI Partnering to Plant Churches, Reach Kids (Plus News Briefs)
Stadia Church Planting and Missions of Hope International have announced a partnership and goal of planting 100 churches, building 100 schools, and sponsoring 100,000 children by 2030. PLUS NEWS BRIEFS . . . including a free retreat for ministers at Great Lakes Christian College.
April 28, 2021
Outlook to Plant Church in Vulnerable Section of Indy
Outlook Christian Church in McCordsville, Ind., will plant a new church early next year in a vulnerable neighborhood in the Indianapolis metro.
March 24, 2021
Church Planter Reflects on Life, Ministry a Year after Nashville Tornado
Just six months after the launch of Alive Nashville, a tornado swept through East Nashville and destroyed the building the church had been meeting in. The tornado struck March 3, 2020. "About 24 hours after [that], we were at an impromptu meeting with several area churches," lead pastor Brandon Jacobs said. "An hour later, my wife and I were standing in the middle of rubble coordinating volunteers and relief workers."
