Category: church planting

What happens when a church plant fails? More reflections on Halifax

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Yesterday, I wrote about a church in Halifax that had moved from being an FIEC congregation to becoming Eastern Orthodox.  Now, some of us might be thinking “what’s the big deal?” After all, as one friend put it, “it’s still a Christian Church” and surely whilst their expression of Christian faith may be different to… Continue reading What happens when a church plant fails? More reflections on Halifax

Is transfer growth always a bad thing for church plants?

I’m going to make an unusual argument here.  It’s unusual to overtly argue for churches being intentionally planted with the expectation that they will draw in existing believers.  Those of us in the church planting world, indeed, many pastors of long established churches will prefer to say that we are there to reach the unreached,… Continue reading Is transfer growth always a bad thing for church plants?

Thinking strategically about pastoral care and your church plant

Here’s a little prediction for church planters.  As your church grows, pastoral care needs will grow too and not just in number but in complexity.  If you plant with a core team of 20-30 people, you might expect the occasional situation where someone is suffering and you will be called to walk with them through… Continue reading Thinking strategically about pastoral care and your church plant

Are you meant to be church planting?

Regular readers will know that my big concern is to see churches planted in the West Midlands, especially in urban priority areas (inner city and estates). I would love to hear from anyone who might be interested. I’m not asking for people to turn up with a definitive plan. Rather, what I’d love to see… Continue reading Are you meant to be church planting?

The numbers game: The Good, the bad and the ugly

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How many people are in your church?  How many conversions have you seen? What are your finances like?  How many baptisms, small groups,staff members, church plants? How long have you been a pastor? One way or another, we often find ourselves talking numbers.  We often do so nervously because we see the pitfalls and dangers… Continue reading The numbers game: The Good, the bad and the ugly

Is reaching urban Britain  “cross cultural”?

In “Hope for the City”, I talk about reaching urban Britain as requiring “cross cultural mission”.  But is it?  I’ve also wanted to insist in recent blog posts that we shouldn’t be thinking in terms of a minority working class but rather about people who are simply normal ordinary members of the same society. So,… Continue reading Is reaching urban Britain  “cross cultural”?

Revitalisation revisited

One of the driving points in the recent correspondence to Evangelicals Now was that we needed pastors willing to go into small churches and commit to preaching twice on a Sunday and once midweek. The suggestion was that there was a reluctance on the part of younger  potential pastors and that this was primarily because… Continue reading Revitalisation revisited

There’s more than one way to plant a church

If you are committed to seeing your church plant new churches but are not sure how you will ever reach that point when you can/will plant, then it’s helpful to know that there is more than one way to church plant. The conventional approach requires a sending/mother church to commission a substantial proportion of its… Continue reading There’s more than one way to plant a church