Church Planting and Revitalization

Why I Love Pastoring the Immigrant Church—And Why You Would, Too
By Stephen Chen | 08.21.2020The last church I expected to pastor was an immigrant church. Twelve years later, I realize how wrong I was.

The Great Commission Is Guaranteed, So Let’s Get to Work
By Dayton Hartman | 11.01.2019Every church that takes seriously the Great Commission must take seriously the need to plant more churches that will make disciples who plant more churches . . . and this is the pattern until Christ returns.

Episode 75: On Church Planting (with Brian Davis and Nathan Knight)
By B. Davis, J. Leeman, M. Dever, N. Knight | 02.12.2019What’s the difference between a church plant and a church? Is it best to start a church with a team of pastors rather than a solo pastor?

Dilapidated Buildings, Small Budgets, and Struggling Congregations: How Irresistible Grace Creates Steadfastness in Ministry
By Jonathan Worsley | 9Marks Journal: Ecclesiology for Calvinists | 02.05.2019The doctrine of God’s irresistible grace is for you, right now, right here, on Tuesday morning.

Episode 70: On Church Revitalization (with Aaron Menikoff & Andy Davis)
By A. Menikoff, A. Davis, J. Leeman, M. Dever | 01.08.2019What do pastors in the throes of church revitalization need to know? In this episode of Pastors’ Talk, Jonathan interviews Mark and two other pastors who went through a revitalization, Andy Davis and Aaron Menikoff.

How We Planted Our Church with Titus
By Nate Pickowicz | 08.03.2018One thing I’ve learned along the way is that church planting is a lot more about “church” than it is about “planting.”

Book Review: The Mentoring Church, by Phil Newton
Review by Bob Johnson | 03.19.2018No matter the size of your membership, your church can (and must) pursue leadership training—and this book provides the tools to do it.

What One Baptist Association from 1707 Can Teach Churches in 2018
By Jeff Robinson | 03.12.2018Nowadays, local denominational associations are passé. But it wasn’t always that way.

Teaching Church Discipline in a Church Plant
By John Onwuchekwa | 9Marks Journal: Church Discipline: Medicine for the Body | 01.09.2018Sin doesn’t ruin churches. Unconfessed and unaddressed sin does.

Fill Believers, Not Buildings: Why Success in Ministry Isn’t a Numbers Game
By Jaime Owens | 12.04.2017The measure of a pulpit ministry isn’t its width, but its depth.

Five Lessons after 30 Years of Pastoring in Zambia
By Conrad Mbewe | 09.20.2017I have neither felt underutilized nor overburdened. I am neither bored nor burnt-out. I am only grateful.

Rely on God’s Word, Not on Techniques
By Andy Davis | 09.08.2017If the Word of God isn’t central to a revitalization effort, no genuine, long-lasting transformation will ever occur.

Thinking Through the Missionary’s Influence in a New Church
By Scott Williamson | 08.04.2017What role should cross-cultural church planters play in a new church plant?
VIDEO: How hard should a church work to reflect its surrounding neighborhood?
By Brian Davis | 07.04.2017It’s our job to sow—and God’s to convert. Churches should be careful not to require of themselves what they cannot produce.

Episode 19: Church Mergers and Plants
By J. Leeman, M. Dever | 9Marks Journal: Church Mergers and Plants | 06.20.2017We just released a Journal on church planting and church mergers. Because neither Mark nor Jonathan wrote an article for it, we devoted this episode of Pastors’ Talk to the topic.