Article

Planting in Babylon: How the Old Testament Shapes Church Planting in a Pluralistic World

Noah Oldham

If you’re planting a church today, you’re doing it in Babylon. 

You may be in a rural town, a fast-gentrifying neighborhood, or a dense urban core—but culturally, we’re all in exile. You’re pastoring people who are discipled daily by secular liturgies, digital habits, and competing visions of the good life. And you feel the tension: 

• Do we pull back and protect our people? 

• Or do we immerse ourselves in the city and risk compromise? 

 We aren’t left in the dark on these questions. God’s people have been there before. 

 Two key passages—Joshua 23 and Jeremiah 29—give us a framework for church planting in a pluralistic society. Read together, they show us how to honor the Lord wholeheartedly and engage the city on mission.  

Two Moments in Israel’s Story

Joshua 23: Guard the covenant in the land 

In Joshua 23, Israel is in the Promised Land. The conquest is mostly complete. Joshua is old and giving a farewell charge to a people surrounded by nations who worship other gods. 

He calls them to radical loyalty: 

“Be very strong to keep and to do all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses …” (Joshua 23:6), and “You shall cling to the Lord your God …” (Joshua 23:8). The book is filled with many warnings about idolatry, too. Joshua 23 is about guarding a holy people in a holy land from spiritual compromise. 

Jeremiah 29: Settle in exile and seek the city’s good

Fast forward several hundred years. Israel did not heed the warnings. They chased other gods. As judgment, God sends them into Babylonian exile. From Jerusalem, Jeremiah sends a letter to the exiles, correcting false prophets who promised a quick return. God says something very different: 

 “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:5-7).

 The instructions are shocking: 

• Settle in. Build houses. Plant gardens. Don’t treat Babylon like a layover. 

• Multiply as God’s people. Marry, have children, and remain distinct as a covenant community—now on Babylonian soil. 

• Seek the city’s shalom. Work and pray for the good of the pagan city that conquered you. 

 There is no call to conquer Babylon or withdraw from it. Instead, God calls them to faithful presence. Jeremiah 29 is about being a distinct people of God living as exiles, blessing a pagan society from within. 

What These Texts Share—and Why It Matters for Planters

 Joshua 23 and Jeremiah 29 live in different moments of Israel’s story, but they have at least four core themes that should shape the missionary task of church planting. 

1. Same God, same purpose. In both passages, God is jealous for His people’s exclusive worship and wants them to display His character among the nations.
2. Concern for worship and identity. Joshua: Don’t mix with the nations’ gods. Jeremiah: Don’t listen to false prophets; trust God’s word in a foreign land. The battle is always primarily about who we worship and whose voice we trust.
3. A generational vision. Both texts mention sons, daughters, and grandchildren. Faithfulness is never just about this year’s launch or this quarter’s metrics—it’s about multiplying a people who walk with God over generations.
4. A mission in front of the nations. Israel was meant to be a light to the nations, whether in a holy land (Joshua) or in a pagan city (Jeremiah). That trajectory explodes in the New Testament as Jesus sends us to “make disciples of all nations.”
    

For church planters, these texts together say: You are a set-apart people for God, sent into a real city for the sake of that city, under the Lordship of Jesus. And taken together, they give us two guardrails.  

Guardrail #1: Uncompromising Allegiance—Joshua 23 for Church Planters

Joshua 23 gives us the first guardrail: Do not compromise your loyalty to the Lord. 

In a pluralistic age, planters and teams face enormous pressure to soften or blur distinctives to gain a hearing. Joshua reminds us that without holiness, there is no mission. 

For planters and teams, this means:

1. Guard your worship. Your church exists first to worship Jesus, not to “succeed” in the marketplace of ideas. Keep the gospel central. Preach the whole counsel of God. Form your people with Scripture, not slogans.
2. Guard your loves. The idols of our day may not be carved statues, but they’re powerful: sexual autonomy, expressive individualism, political identity, consumerism, comfort. If those loves set the agenda, your plant may grow in numbers but shrink in faithfulness.
3. Guard your yokes. Joshua’s warning about marriage reminds us that our deepest partnerships shape our direction:
   
   • Who you marry (if you’re single) 
   • Who you build your core team with 
   • Who you align with financially and strategically 

   
   These relationships should pull you toward deeper obedience to Jesus, not away.

4. Guard your church’s distinctiveness. In a pluralistic society, the church should feel strange—but strangely compelling. Your sexual ethic, your commitment to the poor, your approach to forgiveness, your view of enemies, money, and power should reflect the King and His kingdom, not simply mirror the city. 

If we embrace Jeremiah 29’s “seek the welfare of the city” without Joshua 23’s call to holiness, we don’t become missional—we become assimilated.

Guardrail #2: Faithful Presence in the City—Jeremiah 29 for Church Planters

Jeremiah 29 gives us the second guardrail: Do not withdraw from the city God has sent you to bless. 

 Many planters feel the instinct to build a safe, insulated subculture. Jeremiah reminds us that exile is not an accident; it’s an assignment. 

 For planters and teams, this means: 

1. Treat your city as a calling, not a stop-over. “Build houses and live in them; plant gardens…” means: root your life. Don’t posture as a spiritual tourist. Learn the history, feel the pain, celebrate the beauty, and own the brokenness of your city.
2. Seek the city’s good, not just your church’s growth. God ties Israel’s welfare to Babylon’s. In the same way, your church’s flourishing is deeply connected to the flourishing of your community:
   
   • Pray for your city’s leaders. 
   • Care about schools, gospel justice, foster care, addiction, mental health, and the marginalized. 
   • Show up where there is pain, even if no one will ever join your church because of it.
3. Raise missional families. “Take wives… multiply there.” In exile, God doesn’t say, “Stop having kids; it’s too dark out there.” He says, “Multiply.” Teach your people to see their homes as both sanctuaries and outposts:
   
   • Hospitality as a normal rhythm 
   • Kids discipled to love neighbors and nations 
   • Family schedules that create margin for mission
4. Pursue proximity, not just programs. Mission in exile happens life-on-life:
   • Live near your people and near lost neighbors if at all possible. 
   • Frequent the same coffee shops, gyms, parks, and third places. 
   • Encourage your team to plant long-term relational roots.

    

If we hold tightly to Joshua’s holiness but ignore Jeremiah’s presence, we drift into sectarianism—pure, but absent.

Integrating the Two for the Missionary Task  

So how do Joshua 23 and Jeremiah 29 help us engage the city with the gospel, make disciples, and plant a church? 

Think of them as two guardrails framing one missionary path. 

1. Engage the City with the Gospel

 Joshua 23 shapes how we engage. We refuse to preach a different gospel to win approval. We resist the temptation to sand off the edges of repentance, judgment, or costly discipleship. 

Jeremiah 29 shapes where and why we engage. We engage not as angry outsiders or anxious competitors, but as sent exiles: 

• Prayer-walk your neighborhoods. 

• Listen before you speak—learn what feels like “bad news” and “good news” to your city. 

• Build genuine friendships with people who disagree with you. 

When holiness (Joshua) meets humble presence (Jeremiah), your evangelism looks less like a sales pitch and more like an invitation into a different kingdom.

2. Make Disciples in Exile

Your people are not just joining a Sunday event; they’re learning to live as exiles. 

Let Joshua 23 shape your discipleship content:

• Teach your people how to detect and resist idols. 

• Help them see how their phones, habits, and relationships are shaping their loves. 

• Train them to cling to Jesus when compromise would be easier.  

Let Jeremiah 29 shape your discipleship context: 

• Community groups that eat together, pray for the city by name, and adopt local needs. 

• Discipleship that connects spiritual growth to vocational faithfulness—what does it mean to be a teacher, nurse, coder, contractor, or stay-at-home parent in Babylon? 

• Rhythms of hospitality, where lost neighbors are around the table often enough to see the gospel lived, not just heard.
   

In other words, disciple your people to be both different and deeply present.

3. Plant a Church as an Embassy of the Kingdom

When you plant a church, you are planting an embassy of heaven in Babylon. 

Joshua 23 reminds you:

• This embassy must be loyal to its King. 

• Your doctrine, leadership, discipline, and worship should clearly signal, “Jesus is Lord here.” 

Jeremiah 29 reminds you:

• This embassy exists for the good of the city around it, not just for the members inside it. 

• Your church’s calendar, budget, preaching, and sending should all answer:
  “If we closed tomorrow, would our city feel the loss?” 

Practically, that might mean structuring your gatherings so that God’s people are equipped to live as exiles Monday through Saturday, not just inspired for Sunday. Maybe you look at building partnerships with other churches and organizations working for gospel justice, mercy, and mission in your city. Consider planning from day one to multiply—leaders, groups, and eventually churches—so that more embassies are planted across your city and beyond. 

Questions for Your Team

As you pray, plan, and labor together, here are some questions to work through with your team or core group: 

1. Where are we tempted to compromise (Joshua 23)?
   
   • Are there doctrines or ethical issues we are afraid to say out loud in our city? 
   • Where might we be slowly drifting toward the city’s idols?

    

2. Where are we tempted to withdraw (Jeremiah 29)?
   
   • Are we more comfortable with church activities than with lost neighbors? 
   • Does our schedule reflect a people sent into the city or hiding from it?

    

3. How are we rooting ourselves in this specific place?
   
   • Do we know our city’s history, pain points, and pressures? 
   • Are we making long-term commitments here, or treating this like a stepping-stone?

    

4. What does it mean for our church to be an “embassy” here?
   • How will our worship, preaching, and practices display a different kingdom? 
   • How will our presence tangibly contribute to the shalom of our community?

Planting in Babylon with Hope

 Joshua 23 and Jeremiah 29 are not in tension; they’re a tandem. One calls you to cling to the Lord; the other calls you to seek the city’s good. Together, they paint a picture of what it means to plant a church in a pluralistic age: 

A holy people, deeply rooted in a real place, living under King Jesus and sent for the sake of their city.

You may feel the pressure of your context—secularism, apathy, hostility, distraction. But remember: God has always done some of His best work through exiles.

So, church planters and teams:

• Guard your worship. 

• Root yourselves in your city. 

• Make disciples who are different and deeply present. 

• Plant churches that look like embassies of the kingdom.
   

You are not just trying to survive Babylon. 

You are bearing witness to a better city—the one “whose architect and builder is God.”