Why You Should Join a Church Plant
By popular demand and morally binding obligation, I have a sales pitch on why you should join a church plant.
Do you have a moment to discuss an exciting new business opportunity?
I’ve heard this numerous times in my life. The “out of nowhere” text message or email about an exciting new opportunity. Usually, this is received from someone I vaguely knew as an acquaintance but haven’t talked to in a while.
MLM
The multi-level marketing model predates me by some time. I’ve been close to folks that were a part of PartyLite™ scene back in the day, I hear it was a real riot. What MLM did at its worst, however, was motivate people to leverage their circles of friends and family to make a buck for the guy at the top while you make a dime. I won’t lie, I’ve nearly been caught in one of them. This has left several generations suspicious of time shares, small candles, and glassware.
The New (Old) Model
The church functions as a community. It’s formed as a community. In this way, the MLM model tapped into something much older than itself. One main difference is that the biblical model for the work of the church is not about making a buck, coercing, or guilt trips. It doesn’t sell anyone a bill of goods or obfuscate the real purpose of a coffee to catch up. No, it’s something more important and more powerful than that.
For that reason, I don’t have a sales pitch. If anything, I’ve made it somewhat difficult to join a church plant. Contemporary sales and marketing would have a word with me, no doubt. So here are five reasons to join a church plant.
1 | Join a church plant because God has put it in your heart.
“But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you.” - 2 Cor. 8:16
When Paul was serving the volatile church of Corinth, he didn’t bring Titus along to sweeten the deal, grease the palms, or any other reason. He did so because God put it in Titus’ heart to care for the church in Corinth.
We gain no insight as to what Titus was leaving behind. Had he outgrown his church? Was it in disrepair and he wanted to jump ship to a new exciting thing in another area? Or was it simply because God had begun to move his affections for the struggling church in Corinth?
As a quick aside, it’s clear that Paul wasn’t trying to keep the best for his “team”. He goes on to share how they are also sending a man famous for his preaching. Paul wasn’t sending their scraps to help Corinth, he was sending their best.
2 | Join a church plant because you are committed to the local church.
We discussed lots of reasons not to join, many of them revealed an undercurrent of a lack of commitment to the local church. The best candidates for the birth of a new church are those already committed to the local church.
The irony is not lost on me, however. It’s like asking a person who loves their current car to buy a new one, or take a new job when their current job is great. I think in cases like this there can be a certain, let’s call it holy discontentment. Not disgruntled, not discontent, just a little restless. Without being too mystical, I’ve found in my life the Lord has used this in the past to help prepare me for transition.
Being committed to the local church today is a bit of a rare quality, at least culturally. In it is a level of buy-in, grit, determination, and zeal that transcends the novel. True commitment is galvanized when we endure and persevere through hardship. It means, when things get tough, we aren’t budging. We face the storms head on.
Beneath this conviction is a belief that God works through His churches. That this is the masterplan. More healthy faithful churches with Christ at the helm.
3 | Join a church plant because you’re sent.
Typically healthy Christian don’t come out of the woods, unless there’s a healthy church in those woods. This is the PNW after all. There are exceptions, such as leaving a doctrinally deficient church after a time of wrestling. However, leaving a church is no small matter. It should be hard. It should make you cry. It should hurt. This is because a well-integrated believer understands they are leaving behind a family they’ve been united with for years. While we are all united in Christ cosmically, it is locally that we experience the duty and delight of membership. This means saying goodbye. This means we can relate to Paul when he talks about praying for and weeping over his brothers and sisters in other places. He loved them, and they loved him.
“And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.” - Acts 20:37-38
Ideally, you should join a church plant after many tears shed and with your church and elders’ blessing. Any pastor worth his salt will pray with you, encourage you, counsel you, seek to discern the Lord’s will with you, and ultimately let go of you if God is calling you to something new. It shouldn’t be something cavalier or callous, remember they have watched over your soul for years. They love you and sending off one of their own is no small feat, like a parent sending off a kid to college. If that kid was a middle-aged or retired person.
4 | Join a church because you’ve prayed, sought counsel, and studied.
It is my conviction that churches should grow out not up. That means that bigger isn’t the goal but the spread of the Kingdom is. This means that it is necessary for churches to have folks in them that are equipped for this work, and there is an expectation that some will go out to start new works. While this may not be the milieu of every church (it’s sadly not all too common from what I’ve seen) it should be something that is soberly considered by any considering joining a church plant.
Whether church planting, or sending members to churches in need, is a part of your church DNA, you should nevertheless take on these duties of preparation. Prayer, counsel, and God’s Word are instrumental in guiding such a big decision. None of this means that the process will be painless, without its anxieties, or difficult. However, it does mean that God will strengthen you if He’s calling you to embark on this next chapter. As mentioned above, leaving a church in good standing is a painful process, but God has not called us to comfort but to sanctification and these tools can bring clarity to whether this is a right decision for you or not. They will also guard you through difficulties ahead.
5 | Join a church plant for God’s glory
The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. This, because the church is made up of mankind, is also the chiefest™ chief end of the church. This singular goal cuts through the malaise, puts fire in hearts, and stiffens the spine.
As is true for any faithful church, every decision and conviction must be rooted in the ultimate glory of God Almighty. He uses us as vessels for His glory and purpose, but it is not ultimately because our appetites yearn for something that we do it. It’s whether it glorifies God or not. Join a church plant because at the top of the pyramid of your life you seek to glorify God in all you do, even imperfectly.
Conclusion
I hope this list of reasons to join a church plant were at the very least encouraging and perhaps helped give words to something God might be doing in your heart. If you are at all interested in learning more about our church plant in Springfield, click the button below. It’s our final interest meeting on January 11th. It is not an MLM meeting, there are no candles or timeshares or signatures in blood. It’s meant to put all the cards on the table so you can pray for us, support us, or join us if God has put it in your heart.
P.S.
If you want to have a great little tool in your toolbelt to help you navigate churches or church plants, I recommend this little book What Should I Look for in a Church. It will give you the nuts and bolts of what to look for… in a church. It’s in the name.
Prayer Requests
Pray for the Gospel to be clear and potent this Wednesday as I preach a Christmas Eve service.
Pray for our upcoming interest meeting, that God brings the right folks.
Pray for a brother in our church who has recent and compounding health issues and is struggling.
Pray for the NCM college students who have gone back home that they have a restful break and get opportunities to witness to friends and family.
Don’t miss out on our last interest meeting.
