Churches Should be Fruitful and Multiply!
I recently came across this picture and it reminded me of both the challenges and beauties of starting new churches. This is the baptism of my middle son, Adam a little over ten years ago. He’s wearing a swim cap because he had had an ear operation and wasn’t allowed to get any water in his ear. But what’s more interesting is he is being baptized in the rented gym of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.
We held services at the Seventh Day Adventist Church Gym for several years before we could buy land and build our present facilities. In the picture above Adam is being baptized in a galvanized horse trough behind the little screen that says “He is Lord”. Church planting requires flexibility and creativity.
Why go through the challenges? Ultimately the only answer is love for Christ and obedience to God. But why does church planting express both? Here are some quotes that give part of the answer.
New churches best reach the unchurched–period. [T]he average new congregation will bring 6-8 times more new people into the life of the Body of Christ than an older congregation of the same size. Why Plant Churches, T. Keller
“Planting new churches is the most effective evangelistic methodology known under heaven.” C. Peter Wagner, Strategies for Growth (Glendale: Regal, 1987), p. 168.
[E]xperience has shown, and the Bible would support, that new churches are one of the most effective means of evangelism. Introducing All Nations Christian Fellowship, A Church Plant of Bethlehem Baptist Church By John PiperFebruary 5, 2006
I am thankful that Tim Rice from Trinity PCA in Lakeland can come to Daytona and speak at Christ Community Church about church planting in Acts 13 and also about his church’s journey down the church planting path.
There is more that could be said and we have a number of materials at our website. Here’s the link: http://www.cccdaytona.org/church-planting/
If you haven’t already seen it check out the video on church planning in America here. Hit this link and then click ”play” to watch the video: Church Planting in a post-Christian U.S..
Be sure to give it time to load after you hit “play”. On my computor it takes about twenty seconds. Check it out and let me know what you think.
Larry is the senior pastor at 
