Establishing a New Local Church
Establishing churches is part of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). When the gospel has been proclaimed and a sinner has believed in Christ and saved from his sins, he needs to be baptized and added to a local church. If there is no existing local church, then it is necessary to plant a church where such persons would be added. After the preaching of Peter at the Day of Pentecost we read, “So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.” The three thousand were added to the existing number of hundred and twenty, to belong to the church in Jerusalem. There are two questions to consider here;
A. How do you begin the process of church planting?
B. How do you constitute the new church?
A) How do you begin the process of planting a local church?
1. The involvement of the church and the man to be assigned the task of church planting.
The first thing to note is that churches plant churches. Just as sheep give birth to sheep, never to goats, human to give birth to more humans, so churches give birth to churches. Yes, men have their calling but these men are to bring their gifts to the church.
At their churches (if they are biblical, godly and healthy) their gifts will be noticed and nurtured. The saints led by their pastors will recognize the godliness of their character, the competence in the management of their households and the giftedness of these men. The pastors will then nurture these gifts by training, testing, and approving them. Then they will recommend them to the church. Afterwards, they will want to commission them for the task of church planting.
Therefore, it is the church to send out men to preach and to establish local churches. Men, even the most gifted men, must not presume on the grace of God and send themselves. “How are they to preach unless they are sent?” (Rom. 10:15)
The men who are to be sent out to church plant ought to be men who are elder-qualified. The qualifications for pastors laid out in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9 are also to be demanded of those who plant churches. It is the work of the church to ensure that such qualifications are evident in the lives of those they send. These qualifications are in three areas of life:
1. Personal piety and godliness of character – blameless.
2. Domestic integrity – respectable, and competent to manage their household well.
3. Ministerial aptitude – trustworthy, and dependable. They must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, they must be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and rebuke those who contradict it (Titus 1:9).
Unless a man has these qualifications, and is attested, and vouched by those who well know the man, he must not be called to any form ministry (let alone church planting work). The fruit of his faith, produced by the Spirit who indwells the man, must be tasteful by those who are near before it is recommended to others who are far. Let him be an example in conduct, in love, in faith and purity (1Timothy 4:12) to those under his charge, keeping a close watch on himself and on his teaching (1 Timothy 4:16). The success of church planting is very tightly tethered on the godliness and faithfulness of the man. These need to be keenly cultivated. This way the name of Christ will be glorified, and his banner effectively planted.
The involvement of the church in establishing another church is not just in the vetting of the church planter but also in praying for him. The work of church-planting must be begun by praying and watered in prayers (Ephesians 6:18-19). The growth of the seed of the gospel depends on God who also causes the harvest.
The church is also involved in financially supporting the church planter so that he does not neglect the work of the gospel ministry to meet his immediate needs. The sending church ensures that the man who has been sent to church plant, has his needs, as well as the needs of the ministry met. Finding a house to live and a place from where to minister is a burden that must not simply be borne by the church planter.
Moreover, the sending church should also be faithful in encouraging and upholding the man by constant and regular visitation. During some of these visitations, evangelistic efforts should be made. During such visits his emerging needs are to be communicated, and prayers made together, and a commitment to help made.
2. The gathering of contacts to be a congregation.
The second thing about church planting is that it is about gathering people together for Christ. All the contacts known in the area should be established. Whether the shopkeeper, or the gas attendant, or the cashier at the bank, or the mechanic, any man or woman one comes into contact with, is a potential member of the church being planted. Therefore, the church planter should be diligent and faith in his dealings with all that he meets. Whoever it is who is in your contact list in the area should be included in this objective.
Visiting them in person and let them know of your plans to begin a church in their area. Tell these people you meet what you are doing in the town or city or your neighbourhood. Speak with your neighbours. Visit them. See what you can do to be of some help to them. Invite them to the Bible study and prayer meetings. Beginning with the people you know, you are likely to know more people through them. It is also advisable to have gospel tracts, and contact cards which have your address and contacts. These are to be given to strangers as you share the gospel. Be deliberate about informing all the people that you come into contact why you are in the area.
When you have more than ten regular people coming for the Bible study or prayer meetings who seem committed, then you may as well begin the conversation of starting Sunday services. By this time, there is a possibility that some of them will want to have the Sunday ministry to commence. At this point you could begin studies with them about what a local church is. Show from the Scriptures and the confession of faith what is a local church. Build the house of God on the rock of God’s Word. Let Christ Jesus be enthroned as the Lord and the only Saviour of sinners.
Children ministry should be started as soon as possible – even before the Sunday services! Sunday School ministry aims at bringing the gospel to the children, who are readily available, especially if you offer constructive activities that would attract their attention. This ministry is especially crucial in reaching out to their parents since they surely would want to know the adults who are interacting with their children. Whenever you gather children, make sure you have some snacks for them and give them literature to take home – books, tracks, etc. You may also send them with thank you notes at the end of the week or month to their parents for allowing them to attend the meetings with you. As all this happens you continue building and increasing your contact list.
3. The teaching of the Scriptures must be central.
Begin multiple Bible studies and prayer meetings. Do not shy off from door-to-door evangelism or even open-air preaching – preach the word in and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2). Consider Paul’s ministry in establishing the church in Ephesus and you will see that he did not shrink from declaring anything that was profitable, and teaching them in public and from house to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance towards God of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:20-21). Efforts towards teaching God’s Word are primary in the establishing of a local church. By beginning this way, you will more easily find out who is really interested in the Word of God, and who is committed from the heart to a biblical church. People tend to gather or attend the new church for different reasons, some not so good!
Those who regularly attend Bible study or prayer meetings are more likely going to be members of the church. Their commitment to these meetings will be a fair thermometer of their possible commitment to the demands of a new local church. Preaching, teaching, and evangelism should be with the aim of getting people to come to the regular Bible study and must be both expository and evangelistic. Meanwhile be deliberate in showing them the distinctives of the church you are beginning from other churches in the area. The Bible study should always be based on a specific passage of the Bible, and preferably should go through a book of the Bible, such as John’s Gospel, or the letter to the Romans or Ephesians or should deal with basic gospel themes, such as sin, Christ’s death, faith and repentance.
4. The Public Worship
It is advisable to begin the worship services exactly as you would desire them to be and this can only be done based on how you worshipped at the sending church (unless you want to establish a different kind of a church, which need to be discussed with the sending church). Do not entice people with things that you would not want to sustain – e.g music, or games, or such ‘fun activities’ that do not make for the body of Christ.
It must never be forgotten that the central activity must continue to be the teaching and preaching of the word of God. Preach the basics of the faith – the authority of the Scriptures, the supremacy and holiness of God, God’s law and sin, the saving work of Christ, the demand of faith and repentance, the necessity of holiness. Preach from specific passages of Scripture, even a book of the Bible. Seek to promote the regulative principle of worship and do not fall into sensuality. The church does not exist to please the flesh. It exists as an embassy of Christ on earth to make his name known and to build his kingdom on earth.
5. The location address of the church
The location address of the public meetings is necessary. Do not hide the church in a backstreet and without a signpost or without contacts – phone numbers, email address and a website. On this point I would gladly sit at the feet of the charismatic preachers. They know the best locations for their churches, and they are not ignorant of branding and advertising and promotion of their churches. I don’t see anything wrong with this principle as it is drawn from what the Lord said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven…” (Matthew 5:14-16).Surely there is a principle to be drawn from this. Surely we want many people to profit from our ministry, and so it is right to have a large signboard, or a well-designed banner and a functional website and anything that would make the church visible, and easier to identify. We however need to be careful not to be like the world. The motive of advertising must not be to make a name for ourselves, by printing our images or our names on these banners, rather we are there to spread the honours and the glories of Christ’s who is the Saviour.
B) How do you constitute the new church?
The final step is to constitute the local church. As soon as you discover that there are people who have been converted under your gospel ministry, then it is the right time for the church to be constituted. When you have people requesting for baptism, and have credible testimony of their conversion, then move towards establishing a local church. This will be further strengthen if you have ten or more people who are able to give to support the church financially. If ten people are faithfully giving out of their income, then the pastor can be effectively remunerated/compensated. The budget of the new church should be supplemented by the sending church. The following need to be considered in the new church;
a) Membership
Constituting the church means that there are those who are true Christians, who recognize each other to be such, and who want to formally join as a church, promising to be faithful to God and each other. At the point of constituting the church, the sending church need to be involved. The Elders of the sending church should be called to help with interviewing those who want to join the church. They are also to lead in the covenanting service. To prepare the believers for this the following things should be done:
- Establish that the church planter has sufficiently covered all the Bible studies on what could be regarded as the distinctive doctrines of the new church.
- Write and study the church constitution together to see if you agree with it. If there are areas of disagreement with the sending church, this should be discussed openly with the leaders of overseeing church.
- Be sure you well know each other and are fully persuaded of the full commitment of everyone. This is possible through visiting each other in their homes, having many social events where people are together and get to know each other’s gifts and graces, strengths and weaknesses, tastes and preferences, which is helpful as the new body takes shape.
b) Covenanting service
The constitution service may include a solemn covenanting together of all the members, either by repeating or signing a written statement, or both, in which each member promises to carry out the responsibilities of church membership as outlined in the church constitution. The objective is to seek to get this congregation to be together and to have things in common (Acts 2:44). It is meant to promote the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ephesians 4:3).
c) Leadership
Therefore, when the church has a membership of whatever number of people, the next step would be to establish an eldership. Begin by teaching them on what the Bible has to say on church officers. Do not assume that people know how the church is to be governed – you have to teach them that Christ is the Head (Ephesians 5:23) and that he has appointed under-shepherds, or pastors also called elders or overseers/bishops (Acts 20:17-28; 1 Tim. 3:1-7) 1 Pet. 5:1-4). These men are to offer spiritual oversight to the church. They are to be assisted by deacons (Acts 6:2-6; 1 Tim. 3:8-13). The deacons are to help the church in the material affairs of the church such as finances, property management, mercy needs, etc.
d) The recognition of leaders
This is final step that is to be done with the help of the overseeing or sending church. The elders of the sending church would come and conduct a members’ meeting which is appoints their pastor(s). They then would lay their hands on the men and set them apart or ordain them for the gospel in the presence of the whole gathering so that they may recognize the man (or men) as their pastor(s).
If there is only one man appointed and recognized by the church as the pastor, then he has a responsibility to raised more elders, preferably from within the church. If there are no qualified men from within the membership of the church, then he should be vigilant in looking out for men in other churches who could come and labour with him. If there is a pastors fellowship/fraternal, he should seek to be part of it so that he can find out if other churches have qualified and gifted men. If there is an association of like-minded churches, he should guide the church to belong to such an association so that he can have a wider pool from where to get men with whom he can labour for the Master. The pastor should work towards adding more men into the eldership and raising deacons as well.
Once the church has a functioning eldership, which means the men work well together, consulting with each other and making decisions together, then the process of establishing a local church is complete. They should now labour at their own independence or autonomy as a local church by being self-governing in leadership, self-supporting financially and self-propagating by planting other like-minded churches. As they work towards planting new churches, then they will be mission-minded and so fulfil the Great Commission, the very means by which they were planted.