Reformed Baptist Church Planting (Part 4)

A Layman’s Guide to Church Planting - Think About The Basic Stuff

When I first began to contemplate the idea of a church plant, I had little idea what was involved. I began to talk with everyone I knew who had some experience or expertise in church planting. This was a very helpful process for me. I received both information and encouragement from men who had been in the trenches. By the time I was ready to take some concrete steps, I had some idea of how to proceed and the issues I was likely to encounter.

1. Before you begin to think about the logistics of church planting, you should give some thought to the primary issues that will shape the identity and character of the church. The 9Marks website has a large number of very instructive articles to help you think through many of the issues and forces a new church will face. Your job is not to create your own vision; Christ is the head of the church! Your job is to discern what Christ has ordained for the church according to the Scriptures and then to use Christian prudence to flesh this out. You will be better equipped to do this if you have given some thought to paradigms such as the seeker-sensitive church, the purpose-driven church, the emerging church, and the missional church.[1]

2. The family-integrated church is another paradigm to consider. This paradigm commits the church as a matter of principle to keep families together for the vast majority of church activities and emphasizes the role of fathers in the Christian education of their children. A number of Reformed Baptist plants have tied their wagon to this movement. An advantage of this approach is that it tends to fit well with the overall philosophy of ministry and view of children that Reformed Baptists hold. You may also attract some homeschooling families through this commitment, even if they have no initial commitment to the doctrines of grace. The downside is that you may have trouble attracting anyone other than homeschooling families. You will have to determine whether this approach is essential to the right ordering of church life. You will want to weigh whether you have the freedom to employ other teaching patterns on a regular basis. You may desire to target teaching to specific sub-groups and employ a broader range of teaching gifts. You may want to employ non-integrated structures for the sake of those who have broken or disordered homes or who simply don’t appreciate the value of family-integrated ministry. On the other hand, you may find great value in structuring your teaching and activities by family units, at least on certain occasions.[2]

3. Other issues that you will encounter are the role of youth groups, the style of music, and the use of small groups. You will need to consider whether these are essential to your vision for a church or non-essential issues that can be worked out by consensus or in submission to future leadership. While these issues may appear to be minor, they are often the primary reason why people choose a church or ultimately leave a church. Therefore, they bear some consideration in advance.

4. Another issue that should be considered is affiliation with an association of churches. The primary options for a Reformed Baptist Church are ARBCA (Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America), FIRE (Fellowship of Independent Reformed Evangelicals), and the SBC (Southern Baptist Convention). Churches can be aligned with none or all of these if they choose to and meet the qualifications.

While the SBC is not Reformed as a whole, many churches have found encouragement within the SBC due to the growing Founders movement and the fellowship among churches that are reclaiming the Reformed theology of the Founders of the SBC. We determined that in our context SBC affiliation would give us some immediate credibility without unduly stereotyping us.[3] The SBC has significant resources available for church planters through the North American Mission Board, state conventions, and local associations. Some Calvinistic men have found support for church planting through the SBC. In some cases, Calvinistic convictions – and more particularly the philosophy of ministry and church growth that Calvinism implies – can become obstacles to obtaining church planting support through the SBC.

FIRE and ARBCA are smaller associations of churches that Reformed Baptist church plants can look to. Both are enthusiastic about church planting. ARBCA is the most specifically Reformed Baptist of the three groups. Your church will be required to adopt the 1689 Confession as part of membership in ARBCA. A decision about affiliation does not have to be made up front. However, the affiliation you pursue may open up specific resources for church planting.

5. The doctrinal statement you use is also important. The 1689 Confession is probably the most well loved and recognized doctrinal statement among Reformed Baptists. In fact, some will not consider your church to be a bona fide Reformed Baptist church if you use a different confession! Some will object to its length or its archaic language. Others will find it unduly narrow because of its strong statement on the law and the Christian Sabbath. I believe these stated positions are essential to a mature expression of Reformed Baptist theology, so this is a reason to adopt rather than reject the 1689. The archaic language can be compensated by using a modern-language version as a teaching tool. We use the Abstract of Principles as a shorter summary of the confession for those who want to know what we believe but don’t have the patience to read through the full confession. Some have chosen to use the New Hampshire Confession as a more modern, less detailed expression of Reformed Baptist doctrine.[4] Keep in mind that a confession is to guide the teaching of the church, not to serve as a test for membership.

6. Once you have a clear vision and doctrinal basis established, work at finding ways to communicate the essence of your vision in an attractive, nontechnical way in just a few sentences. You will have countless opportunities to share in casual conversation what the Lord is doing. However, most people won’t have the patience for a long explanation about the Calvinistic roots of the SBC, the details of the doctrine of election, or the implications of Reformed theology in church practice. Few people will be able to appreciate why a difference on the doctrine of election justifies starting a new church. You also don’t want to define yourself primarily in contrast to other churches. You want a healthier, more Christ-centered church; that does not imply that all other churches have become synagogues of Satan!

A large number of helpful resources are available to those who want to be educated about logistical issues involved in church planting. A lay leader can take advantage of many of the same educational resources as a church planting pastor. The more you know about church planting, the better equipped you will be to guide and help.

The following web sites and organizations have much useful information about church planting:

• NewChurches church planting website by Ed Stetzer. This is a comprehensive site that contains information about church planter assessment, reading recommendations on church planting, and church planting forums.
• Church planting site of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. They have a specific focus on planting churches in urban areas. The site contains some thought-provoking articles as well as manuals on church planting.
• Grace Church Planting Ministries, the ministry of Bill Lollar. Bill is a Reformed Baptist who has a great deal of church planting experience both in the U.S. and Wales. He has some good articles online. Bill is also very helpful in responding to questions about church planting.
• Acts 29 Network. This network encourages the planting of churches that plant churches. Their doctrinal commitment is Reformed, and their outlook is missional. They have a strong commitment to contextualization that may intrigue some and concern others, but you will find much encouragement and wisdom on their web site.
• Spurgeon Center for Biblical Church Planting. The web page only contains contact information, but these fellow Reformed Baptists have a lot of church planting experience and enthusiasm and are willing to provide direct interaction about church planting.

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[1] The concept of the missional church as articulated by Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, brings a powerful challenge to the inward-looking tendencies of many Reformed churches. I recommend reading “The Missional Church” at http://citychurchsf.org/articles/missional_church.htm for a brief overview.

[2] Grace Heritage Church has adopted a hybrid approach, using family-integrated teaching and activity whenever the subject matter allows for it. See the “Children’s Bible Study Vision and Structure” statement in our member handbook at www.graceheritage.org/resources/handbook.pdf

[3] See www.graceheritage.org/resources/sbc.pdf for an analysis of the pros and cons of SBC affiliation.

[4] See the debate about the 1689 Confession Of Faith: con, pro and middle-ground.

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by Stan Reeves. This article was found on Reformed Baptist Fellowship blog.