The Loneliness of Church Planting

By John Starke | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017

An enchantment with the city isn’t the same as a biblical love for the city, and it won’t sustain you in the long run.

The Priority of Patience, Prayer, and Preaching in Church Planting

By Josh Manley | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017

As you patiently “preach and pray, love and stay,” you’ll find that your church has been planted on fertile soil that bears up good and lasting fruit.

Church Planting in the Same Building

By Matthew Spandler-Davison | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017

Our church was getting full, and we knew we needed to do something. So, we planted a church . . . in the same building.

How to Do Ministry When You Don’t Have Money

By Brian Davis | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017

How do you serve the Lord as a church planter while broke?

What 9Marks Purists Should Know About Church Planting

By Ed Stetzer | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017

I love gospel clarity and biblical ecclesiology, but I’m concerned about the anti-practical nature we sometimes see in the 9Marks community.

Church Planting across Ethnic Lines

By Joel Kurz | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017

When God burdens a preacher for a people group, a neighborhood, or a block, it’s right for that preacher to go and become all things to all people so that he might save some.

The Church Planter’s Second Priority: Raising Up Leaders

By Mike McKinley | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017

By developing other leaders who can teach, disciple, evangelize, counsel, and shepherd the flock, you raise up others who can care for the health of all the church members.

Knowing When to Say When: Reflections from a Failed Church Plant

By Derek Bass | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017

I moved my family to New England, eager to plant a church. A few years later, it failed.

Lessons Learned from Church Planting by Peaceable Division

By Colin Clark | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017

Our three-year old church had 84 members. In order to plant a church, we split in half.

The Blessings and Burdens of A Church Planter’s Wife

By Gloria Furman | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017

There’s no way a finite heart can hold all the things a church planting wife will face in life and ministry. But Christ can, he does, and he will.

Personal Evangelism for the Church Planter and the Church Plant

By J. Mack Stiles | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017

If evangelism is to be woven into the fabric of the life of a new church plant and its pastor, it takes some thought and planning.

Church Mergers and Tolerable Irregularities

By Brad Wheeler | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017

When should two churches merge despite the differences—and when should they stay separate precisely because of their differences?

Church Planters, Make Sure Your People Know You Love Them

By Steve Jennings | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017

When laying the foundation for a new plant or revitalization, there’s truly no better advice than this: “Before you do anything else, make sure your people know that you love them.”

Audio Interviews with Pastors Who Attempted Church Mergers

By Jonathan Leeman | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017

Recently, Jonathan Leeman sat down with three groups of pastors to talk to them about their experience with church mergers—whether they failed or succeeded.

When Two Become One: Legal Considerations of a Church Merger

By Jonathan Rourke | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017

This article outlines the legal considerations of a church merger. It’s not a recipe for the success of the marriage, but a roadmap for blending families. It’s not very romantic, but it’s necessary.