Most American missionaries should not be church planters in other countries. Most missionaries should be church planting facilitators. There are fewer and fewer places in the world today where churches have not been planted and where missionaries need to do pioneer church planting. Of course some mission agencies and denominations think that if their group Read more

After my recent blog on the value of conferences a friend asked me about my anti-conference posting (although he agreed with me). Actually I’m not anti-conference but simply relativizing their value. When the experts speak who have already written on the subject, I’m not sure much more is accomplished by hearing them speak about what Read more

          Church planters are the upfront guys in ministry.  Often neglected is the importance of the church planter’s wife, mostly behind the scenes, yet absolutely indispensable. I can’t tell you how many times in thirty years of ministry I have seen men called to plant or pastor churches who assumed their wives would just get Read more

          No, not me. Really! This past Sunday night a man approached me after the service and wanted to ask a question. Andrew is a Vietnam veteran and lives in a "comfort house" near where we meet. A comfort house is a place for veterans in need of temporary housing. His question: "Do you use Read more

One major challenge in gathering support for church planting will be to find churches willing to support you without demanding that you dot all their i's or cross their t's. Frankly we haven’t found many yet in the circles I have frequented. It can be discouraging. You may be tempted to find another circle. Certainly supporting churches should Read more

How do you determine where to plant a church? Sometimes there are circumstances which dictate where you go as the Lord leads. In 1982 when I finished seminary there was an opportunity in Philadelphia to start a church with a handful of believers who really wanted a church or at least said they did. Many Read more

One of the questions most asked by prospective church planters is “How do you finance a church plant?” Before I offer any thoughts in the days to come, here’s a caveat. Normally it takes a lot of things to plant a church including money and lots of it. However, don’t expect that everyone who enthusiastically Read more

Mark Dever raised a ruckus last year over his statement that "you are in sin if you lead your congregation to have a statement of faith that requires a particular millennial view.” I would not put it in those terms although I agree on the non-necessity of having a particular millennial view in a church doctrinal statement. I’m Read more