A Church Planting Manifesto

I Believe…

1. That healthy planters are the number one key to a healthy new church
2. That we too often focus on making converts rather than disciples
3. That we educate people beyond the level of their obedience
4. That we have fallen into the subtle mis-priority of focusing on “the unchurched” rather than “the lost”
5. That seeking to make disciples that result in new churches should be a higher priority than planting churches that may result in making disciples
6. That ongoing sponsor churches in only rare instances will come from churches over fifteen years in age
7. That the problem that we have is not with the harvest, or even with the lack of laborers, but with us and our lack of prayer
8. That turfism (competition rather than cooperation) is one of the greatest sins of the North American church
9. That the DNA of churches is essentially set in the first five years of life and will only alter dramatically in times of great change
10. That the day of the attractional church is over (or at best limited) for those churches under 400 in size, and it’s necessary for the church become incarnational instead
11. That the spouse of church planters is the most neglected, and yet in some ways, most vital person in the church planting system
12. That the church still struggles with the correct order of these three verbs for dealing with lost people in new churches:  Belong, Believe, Behave
13. That God created all living organisms, including His church, to reproduce “after its own kind”
14. That the church exists as a means primarily to two ends: to advance the Kingdom of God and to be the necessary incubator community for making disciples
15. That a church planting movement can never happen if the system is built on outside funding, professional clergy, and real estate

to be continued…