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Average number of baptisms or conversions in a church plant is 10 the first year, 11 the second year, 13 the third year and 14 the fourth year. |
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Church planting in the United States appears to be undergoing an extreme makeover.
According to the findings of a new research study, interest in church planting is on the rise, some of America’s best and brightest ministry leaders choose planting as their career path and church planting efforts are much more successful and promising than anticipated.
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"Church planting has grown in its scope, diversity and impact," says Ed Stetzer, director of research for Lifeway Research and leader of the study. "North American churches, networks and denominations are making church planting a growing priority.
"Such emphases push the church closer toward a movement--where churches plant churches that plant churches across North America and the world."
Commissioned by Leadership Network, the State of Church Planting USA study was based on interviews with more than 100 denominational leaders from a wide spectrum, 200 church-planting churches and some 45 church planting networks.
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"Most church-planting studies tend to look at either a very narrow slice of data or developments on a global scale," says Dave Travis, managing director of Leadership Network. "In commissioning this study, our goal was to review the current state of U.S. church-planting efforts--and begin to assess what today's reality means for the next generation of planters."
Key findings of the six-months-long research include:
Interest in Church Planting is Growing Rapidly
A simple Google search of the term "church planting" now returns more than one million entries. And while only two mainstream books were published on church planting from 1996 to 2002, no fewer than 10 have been released in the last five years, with several more on the horizon.
Equally important, church planting has now become a preferred ministry option, not a consolation prize. Both denominational leaders and individual churches report that many of their top leaders are pursuing church planting as a primary ministry focus.
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Local Churches and Networks Lead the Way
Historically, church planting has been a denominationally driven activity. Today, the picture is quite different--with much of the energy centered at the local church level.
Many of the country’s most vibrant congregations see church planting as one of their central purposes. "Church-planting networks"--loose affiliations of churches that may or may not be tied by denomination, but that do share a commitment to launching new, like-minded congregations--also are at the forefront of the movement.
As a result, denominational offices are increasingly taking a more subordinate role--equipping rather than directing local congregational efforts.
"Affinity" Strategies Dominate
Church planters once based their efforts on geography--the goal was to place new churches in "unserved" communities and areas. Today’s church planters look at not just geographic needs but also many other cultural, linguistic and sociological contexts to find church planting locations.
According to Dave Travis, the study revealed that most successful church planters are specialists who emphasize a particular style of worship or a specific demographic. For example, they may exclusively plant house churches or ethnic churches--or perhaps build purpose-driven, seeker or missional churches.
"The trend toward specialization is likely to continue as more tools and resources that serve specific types of planting strategies are developed," Dave says.
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Most Church Plants Succeed
Observers have long assumed that most church plants fail within the first year--as high as 80% to 90% by some estimates.
Research reveals a very different picture. One study showed that 68% of churches planted each year are still functioning four years later. These infant churches may not yet be self-sufficient, but the congregations themselves are alive and many are thriving. Since the study estimates 4000 churches are planted each year, the potential for kingdom impact is great. |
What do these results mean for the future of the U.S. church?
"I hope that this study and the growing number of outstanding church planting conferences and resources will inspire a new wave of planters in the years ahead," Dave says. "Launching vibrant new congregations is often a more feasible and more fruitful strategy than attempting to revitalize struggling congregations."
Further Reading:
Leadership Network has created four free reports that summarize different aspects of this groundbreaking study:
Church Planting Overview
Who Starts New Churches?
Funding New Churches
Improving the Health and Survivability of New Churches
All of these resources can be downloaded at www.leadnet.org. A 25-minute podcast interview with Dave Travis and Ed Stetzer is also available as a free download. |
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