Why Plant New Churches in the United States?

Jim Allen gives the following four reasons for planting new churches.

1. NEW CONGREGATIONS ARE MORE EVANGELISTIC.

2. NEW CONGREGATIONS ARE A BLESSING TO ESTABLISHED CHURCHES.

3. NEW CONGREGATIONS RAISE UP NEW LEADERS.

4. NEW CHURCHES REACH OTHER CULTURES.

Source: "Why Plant a New Church?" Chapter One of Church Planter's Blueprint, by Jim Allen. See the entire chapter at www.plantingministries.org

Other reasons include:

5. Generally, new churches grow more quickly than older, established ones. Churches have life cycles just like humans do, and they reproduce more easily when they are young than when they are old.

6. Many communities and subdivisions have no church within a reasonable driving distance.

7. Saturation. The reason oil companies put more than one gas station in a city is for saturation - to reach the greatest number possible.

8. More churches mean a greater percentage of the universal church can be involved in

9. C. Phillip Slate has said, "The church is the cutting edge of the Kingdom." Among other things, this means that for the kingdom to grow, the church needs to proliferate.

10. Church planting causes both the planting church and the planted church to ask afresh the questions of identity and mission. "Who are we as the people of God?" and "What does it mean to be the church of Christ in this time and place?"