Why I'm a Church Planter?

There is a war being waged for the very soul of America, yet many of our churches have failed to even notice that the enemy is en masse right outside their walls. These churches are too busy trying to prevent their own demise. They constantly find themselves engulfed with problems that threaten to swamp them: aging buildings in need of repair, lack of volunteers, pleasing the membership, etc.

These churches continue to use a single bucket to bail themselves out while the deluge is about to capsize them. Sadly many of these churches have closed their doors for good. Why? There are many reasons, but I believe that most of it boils down to an aging congregation that would not change to meet the needs of an ever-changing community around them.

A recent article by the Barna Group, "10 Facts About America's Churchless" displays some stark realities that should shake the church to its core:

1. The number of unchurched people in America would make the 8th most populous country in the world.
2. In the past decade, more people in the U.S. have become churchless than live in Australia or Canada.
3. The vast majority of America's churchless have attended a church.

There are less than half as many churches as there were just 100 years ago. We are losing the battle, but it is not too late for the church. While many churches struggle to make the changes necessary to  start reaching their community, they can immediately be a big part of helping to support church plants that have been proven to be more successful in reaching the unchurched and lost.

Church plants are not tied down to traditions or systems that would prohibit them from reaching their community. The leaders are not busy fulfilling office duties, preparing reports for multiple committees, or attending meetings to schedule future meetings. They are not trying to satisfy the desires of their members. Church plants build a membership with the understanding that they do not exist to solely serve their needs, but so they together may reach the unchurched and lost around them. 

Has your church struggled to reach your community? Do you seem to have a large revolving door where visitors enter and leave within weeks? It is never too late to change from an inward focus to a community focus, but that change may take time. You can instantly begin to make an impact in your community by supporting a church plant. These churches are not there to compete with your church. They exist for the same purpose as your church: to reach the lost.

Send Baltimore is the North American Mission Board's emphasis for planting new churches in Baltimore, Anne Arundel, and Harford counties. You can help financially support church planting as a church or as an individual. The Baltimore City Collective has a program called "Dollar A Day" where any individual or group can commit to give $1 a day for a year. That doesn't seem like much, but if 100 groups around the country support this we will raise $36,500 dollars to help church planters reach their communities. Contact me for more information on the Dollar A Day program.

The average church plant only needs about $300,000 over three years to effectively reach their community. During that time the average church plant will see about 150 people come to Christ. An established church could spend $3 million dollars on a new building that may help them reach 50 people for Christ (based on church growth studies). While that same $3 million dollars could be used to reach 1500 new believers through church planting. The numbers suggest that starting new churches, rather than building more buildings, will help us reach more people.

Church planters also need people to pray for us and to come help us. If you have mission teams at your church that would like to schedule some short or long term trips, contact me and I can get you in touch with a church in our area. Since my family is moving into Annapolis with no other support we will need lots of help from groups to do community canvasing, events and follow-ups.

Your involvement in helping church plants will also benefit your home church. The excitement that you bring back will be the spark that will help get your church fired up about reaching your own community. Together we can help turn the tide in America.