New Churches Podcast | Season 1 | Episode 705

Increasing Your Congregation’s Church Planting IQ

Ed Stetzer & Catherine Renfro

Episode 705

As we’re coming out of Covid, how do we get churches thinking about church planting again? Host Ed Stetzer talks with Chuy Rodriguez and Catherine Renfro about raising the “church planting IQ” of a congregation.

In This Episode, You’ll Discover:

  • Why an established church would plant 15 minutes away
  • The importance of exposing churches to different models of church planting
  • Why the life cycle of a church has to be taken into account
  • The value of engaging local communities that are “different than us”
  • The importance of understanding everybody can do something when it comes to church planting

Helpful Resources:

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Sharable Quotes (#NewChurches):

A lot of congregations – new and existing – don’t really know how to articulate church planting as part of their vision. Maybe they don’t even feel church planning is very vital. @EdStetzer

The importance of church planting is taught, but a passion for it is caught. That comes from a church leader continuously showing passion. You talk about it. You give to it. You send people. That shows it’s important to us. @CatherineRenfro

If you leave the the majority culture, you find a new harvest and a new group of people in desperate need of new churches and the gospel. —Chuy Rodriguez

One of the advantages of being part of a denomination or network is you have churches of different ethnicities and backgrounds. That gives you an opportunity to engage in different ways. @EdStetzer

The more we engage our churches with the immigrant, with the widow, with the poor, the more they will realize that we need more churches. —Chuy Rodriguez

A lot of people wonder “Is church planting for me?” If every church member knew and really understood that everybody can do something when it comes to church planting, it makes it a lot easier to engage. @CatherineRenfro

I would suggest taking local mission trips. I truly believe the future of church planting lies in how we are going to reach the new people coming to our country. One of the best ways to get our IQ high as a church is rethinking local missions. —Chuy Rodriguez

Published on September 29, 2022

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About the Podcast

New Churches Podcast

The New Churches podcast offers practical answers to your real ministry questions. We aren’t going to provide lofty pie-in-the-sky theories. Instead, we are going to help you in your real ministry context, with your real thoughts, questions, and issues.

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Meet the Authors

Ed Stetzer

Ed Stetzer, Ph.D., is a professor and dean at Wheaton College where he also serves as Executive Director of the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center.  He is the incoming Dean of Talbot School of Theology at Biola University. He has planted, revitalized, and pastored churches; trained pastors and church planters on six continents; earned two master’s degrees and two doctorates; and he has written hundreds of articles and a dozen books. He is Regional Director for Lausanne North America, is the Editor-in-Chief of Outreach Magazine, and regularly writes for news outlets such as USA Today and CNN. His national radio show, Ed Stetzer Live, airs Saturdays on Moody Radio and affiliates. He serves at his local church, Mariners Church, as a Scholar in Residence and Teaching Pastor.

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Catherine Renfro

Catherine Renfro is a pastor’s wife, a mom and serves as director of evangelism at the North American Mission Board. She and her husband, Chris, began the journey of church planting in August 2021 and launched Hope Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, where Chris is the lead pastor. Catherine graduated from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2010 with a master’s degree in Christian Education and Biblical Counseling. She was called to ministry at age 22 and has been serving in full-time ministry ever since. She has a passion for seeing lost people come to know Jesus and for saved people to live out their purpose of making Jesus known.

More Resources from Catherine
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