When talking about church planting one question often comes up, “Why do we need more churches when we already have so many?” I would like to take some time to try and answer this question, specifically, as it relates to the Ridgeland area.
There are really three parts to the answer to this question. The first, and most simple part is that it is biblical. As we read the New Testament we see that the first disciples devoted their lives to forming new fellowships in their own neighborhoods, in their region, and into the edges of the world. Their impetus was that there were many people all around them that needed to hear the truth about who God really is and what He has done to redeem the fallen world through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Their communities needed to be transformed; transformed from places were people worshiped God from afar and were in bondage to their sin to a community of people who had a real and vibrant relationship with the true living God! One of the common objections to church planting is that the people communities have already been reached and that there is no need for new work where churches already exist. This misconception leads us to the second reason for church planting.
The fact is that there are many people in our communities who don’t have a relationship with God through Christ and the church to population ratio is steadily and rapidly declining. You may be surprised to learn that in 1900 there were 27 churches for every 10,000 Americans, in 1950 there were 17 churches for every 10,000 Americans, and 1996 there were 11 churches for every 10,000 Americans.[1] The fact is that while our population continues to grow, the amount of people who are added to the Kingdom daily is sharply declining. Another objection is that a new church will only take away from the work that the existing churched are already doing and may cause churches that are struggling to grow could cease to grow or even be forced to close their doors; that there are not enough people to go around. The fact is that in Jasper County alone there are over 17,000 people who have no personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and that number is growing.[2] To put that statistic in perspective, if we planted 10 churches with an average attendance of 1,000 people, there would still be over 7,000 people unreached. There is more than enough lostness to go around!
The third reason that we must plant new churches also answers the objection regarding taking away from existing churches; there is a great segment of our population that our existing churches either cannot or will not reach. One example is that according to demographic research almost 40% of the families in Jasper County are headed by single parents (approximately 32% by single mothers and approximately 8% by single fathers). In comparison, this segment of our community only represents about 9% of our Southern Baptist churches in Jasper County[3]. This is a staggering static. In addition, there are many in our communities who have not responded to the gospel in the context in which we are presently presenting it. In light of this some will recommend retooling our existing churches to reach these people. I will submit that our existing churches are already reaching a segment of our community and an attempt to refocus these churches to will do more harm than good and will hinder the work they are already doing in our area. Another response to this reason is that people know where the churches are at and will find them when they need them. This line of thought is flat unbiblical. When reading the accounts of Jesus’ ministry here on earth, we find Him constantly going after those who were outside of the fold, leaving the ninety nine sheep safe and sound and actively pursing that one lost sheep (Matthew 18:12-14; Luke 15:3-7). Christ Himself left the glory of Heaven and came to earth in the flesh of a man to meet us where we were, dead in our trespasses and sin in a fallen world; as His church, he calls us to do the same. There are many different people and all of them need to be reconciled to God through Christ and it takes different approaches to reach these different people.
This is not an either/or proposition, it is a both/and. We need our existing churches so that they can minister to those who God has given them to minister, and we also need new churches to minister to those whom God has given them. We must plant churches because it is biblical and it is necessary for the furtherance of the Kingdom and for the sake of those who have wandered away from the fold.
For more information about church planting and how you can get involved what God is doing visit: www.scmultiply.org, www.churchplantingvillage.net, or www.newchurches.com.
