Ministry is war. But the battlefield isn’t where most church leaders think it is. We blame difficult team members. We blame lack of resources. We blame cultural resistance, declining religious affiliation, and the increasing secularization of our communities. But as Paul Tripp recently reminded us, “The real war is not out there. The real war […]
The most effective church planting movement in the world right now doesn’t use seminary-trained pastors, expensive buildings, or worship bands. It uses three questions and an open Bible. Over the last thirty years, something remarkable has happened. In places where missionaries were expelled, where Christianity was illegal, where resources were nonexistent — churches have multiplied
Church planters are notorious for wearing too many hats. In the early days, you’re the preacher, the counselor, the custodian, the graphic designer, and sometimes the coffee maker. The temptation is to keep it that way—to remain the indispensable center of everything. But this isn’t just unsustainable; it’s unbiblical. John Calvin, reflecting on the pastoral
The church plant in rural New Hampshire didn’t launch with a glossy website, a worship band, or a six-figure budget. It started with three families, a handful of committed believers, and a pastor who spent his weekdays working at the local hardware store. Three years later, that small community has become a sending church—already dispatching
Why Bi-Vocational Church Planters Multiply Faster Read More »
We can execute a launch strategy perfectly while our souls are wither.” Church planter Luke Simmons dropped this grenade in a recent article, and it’s still ringing in my ears. After fifteen years of watching church plants launch with fireworks and fizzle within eighteen months, I’m convinced he’s identified the epidemic beneath the statistics. The
Why Character Beats Strategy: The Forgotten Foundation of Church Planting Read More »
Forty percent of American adults didn’t read a single book in 2021. Among young men, the numbers are even more dire—leisure reading has plummeted 40% over the past two decades, with many spending hours daily on TikTok but unable to finish a paragraph without reaching for their phones. This isn’t just a cultural curiosity. It’s
Can Reading Fix Young Men? Why Biblical Literacy Is a Discipleship Crisis Read More »
Here’s the hard math of church multiplication: one Western missionary can plant one church every three years. One indigenous leader, properly trained, can plant ten churches in a decade—and raise up others who do the same. In Acts 29 Africa’s regional training days across Uganda, Malawi, South Africa, Burundi, Mozambique, and Zambia, we’re seeing what
Why Indigenous Leaders Multiply Faster: Lessons From Acts 29 Africa Read More »
Chan Kilgore has seen a lot in nearly 25 years of ministry. But he’s never seen anything like what’s happening at New River Fellowship in Fort Lauderdale. “I haven’t seen anything like it in the amount of time we’ve experienced,” Kilgore says. “The kind of conversions we’re seeing are undeniably a work of God.” The
57 Conversions in 2 Years: What New River Fellowship Teaches Us About Church Planting Read More »
Fifty-seven people came to faith in Christ in under two years. That’s not a conference statistic. That’s New River Fellowship in Fort Lauderdale—a church plant where Chan Kilgore, a veteran of nearly 25 years in ministry, says he’s seen conversions unlike anything in his lifetime. ‘The kind of conversions we’re seeing are undeniably a work
Why Some Church Plants Multiply While Others Stagnate Read More »
Every year, thousands of pastors dream of planting a church. They write vision statements, raise support, scout locations, and launch with excitement. Then, five years later, over 50% of those churches have closed their doors or plateaued into irrelevance. What’s going wrong? And more importantly—what’s the biblical alternative? The Copy-Paste Problem Jeff Hoglen, a veteran
Why Most Church Plants Fail (And How to Build One That Multiplies) Read More »