Episode 621: It’s hard to imagine a Christian today not knowing what church planting is all about, but the truth is the most-googled church planting question is “What is church planting?” A lot of folks out there don’t know anything about church planting but this episode with Rob Wilton, founding pastor of Vintage Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and NAMB City Missionary for Pittsburgh, can change that.
In This Episode, You’ll Discover:
- A simple definition of “church planting.”
- The two primary reasons church planting is important.
- The difference between church starting and church planting.
- How to decide if and where to plant a church.
Shareable Quotes (#NewChurches):
- Of the eight most-googled church planting questions, guess what’s No. 1? “What is church planting?” – @EdStetzer
- Starting new churches is important for two primary reasons. First there’s a great need. Second, because the Bible commands us to plant churches. – @EdStetzer
- I love J.D. Payne’s simple definition of church planting: “Evangelism that results in new churches.” – @robwiltontv
- I’m more a missionary who plants the gospel to see people reached by Jesus, who are trained up to become leaders of the church, then equipped to fulfill the Great Commission. – @robwiltontv
- Andy Stanley once said, “Don’t call me a church planter. I took a thousand people from my dad’s church and started a church.” So there is church starting. Church planting should be something more evangelistic. – @EdStetzer
- Most churches that are started are not planted; planting takes a certain intentionality. – @EdStetzer
- Vintage church came out of the harvest. My wife’s coworker came to faith in Jesus and then that movement of reaching people who were far from God, who weren’t plugged into a church, formed Vintage Church. – @robwiltontv
- Church planting is about getting a church started where there is a need for one. – @robwiltontv
- You’re looking for places where there might not be a gathering community. Or it might be because there’s an underrepresented gospel presence because of decline. Sometimes the need is because of growth. Sometimes there are churches that are not connecting with a significant segment of people. – @EdStetzer
- I like the word “plant” because it requires a soil of lostness in which a church plant would grow. Where are those pockets of lostness where ultimately a church plant can begin and thrive? – @EdStetzer
- How should I decide where to plant a church? Start by putting your “yes” on the table. Let God put it on the map. Be obedient to his call to that place and to that people. This is not some sort of manmade job career choice. This is a call of God. – @EdStetzer
- As you walk through the Word, there’s prayer, there’s your passions, your performance, people and places. God works through all those things. God always breaks my heart for a people. – @robwiltontv
- A key part of church planting is it’s not about creating a place for you to preach. It’s not about “I’m really excited about a building.” It’s a call to a people. – @EdStetzer
- At the end of the day this is about organizing the mission to be as effective as possible to fulfill the Great Commission. We want to go into towns and plant seeds of the gospel to see those people saved. Then we raise up leaders to mobilize for the ministry, so we plant churches that plant churches that plant churches. – @robwiltontv
Helpful Resources:
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- Interested in learning more? Check out our Church Planting Primer”
- Are you ready to enroll in our Church Planting Masterclass?
Published November 16, 2021