Is Church Planting Even Biblical?

It is not my desire to be sensational with the title of this article.  I'm not sure that I actually believe that "church planting" is not Biblical.  It's just that I've been hard pressed to find any examples of the apostles or disciples planting a church. 

To be sure, the church always emerges - Jesus promised he would build his church after all. 

But what we see happening throughout the book of Acts seems to be obedience to the great commission, not church planting.  As disciples are made -- disciples who are equipped to immediately obey Jesus and to make disciples themselves -- the church always emerges.  

There is an adage bouncing around the West that says, "Planting churches is the best form of evangelism."  But does that not fly in the face of both the final command of Jesus and the example of the New Testament church? 

It would be wise to try to emulate the teaching of Jesus and the example of His first followers before we move on to other methods.

I've spent the last few months digging into the emergence of the church in Thessolanica.   Timothy  observed a church a few months after Silas and Paul's initial visit in Acts 17 when he was sent to check on the disciples they had left behind.  But the question is, did Paul plant the church in the three sabbaths that he was there?   

I can't find any evidence in the Biblical record but a church had certainly formed! 


​As I read through the book of Acts, church formation seems more a natural by product of disciple making than vice versa. 

When you plant a seed in the ground it naturally sprouts and grows into a plant.  

I'm convinced that if we make disciples, we will get church.  I'm not convinced that by planting churches we automatically get disciples.

And disciples are what Jesus commanded us to make.  They were His plan A.

Some of this is recognizably, just semantics.  But there is an important distinction to be explored.  If our  church plants (and all churches really) are not producing disciples who are capable of making disciples, we may need to ruthlessly evaluate our methods in light of scripture.

Before you write this idea off, I'd like to invite you to look at the establishment of the Thessalonian church.  Feel free to use the pdf study below to explore for yourself how one of the healthiest of New Testament Churches came to be.

Establishment of the Thessalonian Church 4 Fields DBS *

​(and Facilitator Notes)

*(You will need to be familiar with the Four Fields Framework before you begin the study - Learn More)

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