At Send Network, we believe that individuals don’t plant churches; denominations don’t plant churches; networks don’t plant churches, but churches plant churches. As we desire to see the kingdom of God expand into cities and nations all over the world, we know it’s going to take thousands of churches engaged in the movement of church planting.
So, what can you and your church do to join in God’s kingdom activity through church planting? We’ve put together this Mobilization Pathway to help you and your church determine where you currently are and what next steps you can take.
Cooperating Church – Help fuel the Great Commission by praying for planters and investing financially in the primary SBC offerings.
The single greatest thing we do together is invest cooperatively to advance the kingdom of God around the world. By giving to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering, your church can support thousands of church planters across North America as they share the hope of the gospel.
But giving alone is not a holistic way of seeking first the kingdom of God. The mission of God cannot be accomplished without the hard work of intentional prayer. Your church can help church planters and missionaries across North America spread the gospel by praying for their specific needs and neighborhoods.
And as you and your church pray, you may just find that God is calling you to do more by becoming a supporting church.
Supporting Church – Partner with a church plant by praying, participating or providing for their needs.
Church planters and their teams need more than just one primary sending church – they need multiple supporting churches who will take their responsibility seriously, find intentional ways to pray, participate and provide for a plant’s needs.
From sending volunteer teams to taking care of the church planter’s family, supporting churches play an important role in the work of church planting. In fact, J.D. Greear, lead pastor of The Summit Church in Durham, N.C, says that his church only became a multiplying church by first becoming a supporting church that provided resources for new churches.
If you need help connecting your church with a local church plant or with a church planting team looking to launch in a specific location, fill out this form and our team will reach out to you soon.
Sending Church – Take responsibility for a church plant by sending them and ensuring they get the preparation, coaching and care they need.
No matter the size of your congregation, your church can send out planters and teams. Many times, churches hesitate to send planters from within their congregations, because that often means sending the most involved ministry leaders to start another work.
But as God provides for that new church plant, you must trust Him to provide new ministry leaders for your church as well. If you and your church will commit to a spirit of generosity – not only with your finances but also with your people – you’ll find that you can’t ever outgive God.
To develop a vision and plan for leading your church to become a Sending Church, sign up for one of our Sending Labs.
Multiplying Church – Develop church planters or church planting teams, and send them.
The concept of multiplication is in the Bible from beginning to end (Gen 1:28, Psalm 22:27). In fact, God’s primary plan to reach the nations is the multiplication of disciples and churches. You see, one church won’t ever be able to reach a city alone, but a multiplying church can create ripple effects throughout a neighborhood, region, or even across the world.
While consistently finding people from within your church to send out to plant new churches may seem intimidating or even impossible, there are practical steps every pastor can take to start identifying and developing potential church planters. Something as simple as adding an opportunity to respond to a calling to ministry during a post-sermon invitation, to creating a role for a pastoral assistant in your church, can make a big difference in the culture and sending capacity of your church.
To learn even more about how your church can develop and send planters and teams, attend a Multiplying Lab.
Movement Church – Radically multiply and catalyze other churches to plant churches.
If your church has developed the systems and processes to consistently multiply by sending planters and teams from your church, then you have a wealth of knowledge and expertise with which you can bless other churches.
You can multiply the kingdom impact of your church by not only sending church planters from within your church but helping other churches do the same. Wouldn’t it be amazing to see your church reproduce so many times that the compounding effect becomes impossible to measure?
By joining a cohort with other multiplying churches, your church can expand its capacity and catalyze other churches to engage in church planting.
No matter where your church is in the journey of planting other churches, remember that God wants to do more through your church than you than ever deemed possible if your church will just put its yes on the table.
Published August 22, 2023