Introduction to Church Planting: Fall 2004 Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Dr. Rodney Harrison

Quiz Review The Southern Baptist Convention is committed to planting 60,000 new churches. Even though some people are opposed to church planting, we are to do it because it is biblical. The average member to baptism ratio is 42/1 The average dollar to baptism is $17,000/1 Silva states, “We’ve never done it that way before” is irrelevant for new churches.

Missiology “If theologians were evangelists and evangelists were theologians, we would be much closer to the ideal church.” -- James Denny, 19 th Century Scottish theologian/preacher

Missiology Church Planting is Missiological—having to do with “missions” The Word “Mission” does not appear in our English Bible. The noun “mission(s)” comes from the Latin mittio, which corresponds to the English “Apostle” (the noun), which is based on the Greek apostolos, meaning “One Sent.” A missionary is therefore a “sent one.” The verbal equivalents are: Latin misso and Greek apostello.

Rediscovering a Theology of Church Planting Church Planting has moved from the back alley of vocational options to the preferred choice for many students. However, is church planting theological in nature? This questions is logical in that none of the academic texts used during my 1980s seminary training reference church planting The current crop of theological texts also omit church planting as a theology proper

Historical Perspective The human authors of the New Testament were all involved in church planting. Peter: Paul: Luke: John Mark: John: The authors of most theological texts have never been involved in church planting

Church Planting Theology The Great Commission Question: Can the Great Commission be Fulfilled without the Planting of New Churches? The Great Commission of Mark 16:15. Here Jesus commands the disciples to “evangelize” (evanggelion) all members of “all creation” (pas ktisis) Matthew 28:19 commands “disciple” (mathêteuô ) every “people group” (pas ethnos) The imperative “go” suggests a sending rather than a staying quality!

Church Planting Theology Acts 1:8 is the Missio Dei—not a model or methodology, as many would interpret! The only “staying quality” is waiting for instructions before “going.” Conclusion: The Missio Dei is Missional!

The Early Church The Nicene Creed The hounding, heresies and controversies during the early centuries necessitated several gatherings of church leaders. One of the most famous of these gatherings resulted in the Nicene Creed of 381 A.D. (which was written in Constantinople, not Nicaea. However, this creed flows from the affirmation written in by the council of Nicaea in 325.) Contained in the creed is the following affirmation: We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.

The Early Church Holy: To be set apart—radically different from the polytheistic society of the times Catholic: Universal—one church, in contrast to the pluralistic view Apostolic: A sending church! Missional

The Early Church “…it is with something more than confidence in Episcopal Orders and discipline that the Church claims the attribute Apostolic. It is with the sense of a Divine mission to mankind…’as My Father hath sent me, even so send I you’.” A.E. Burns, The Nicene Creed (London: Rivingtons, 1909), 100.

The Early Church Ed Stetzer: The Pre-Reformation confessions referred to this apostolic church, whereas the Reformation confessions reacted to the errors of apostolic succession. “By de-emphasizing the “apostolic” nature of the church, the Reformers also diminished the apostolic- sending nature of the church. The church that “reformed” lost touch with the God who sends, and the mission of the church suffered.” Ed Stetzer, Planting New Churches in a Post-Modern Age (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2003), 23.