The Bullard Journal for May 31, 2019

“A Call to Action”: The best model of congregational multiplication is for churches to start churches rather than church planters to start churches. Why? This seems counterintuitive to the way a lot of church planting is currently done. It is! It was the model most used in denominational systems for many decades. Where it was done well it resulted directly and indirectly in the type of congregational multiplication longed for.

In the mid-1990s in response to the parachurch models of church planting that came to prominence—in the words of missiologist Ed Stetzer—we “benched the church” as the sponsor or champion of church planting. This resulted in a secondary partnership model of church planting that too often focused and putting pressure on the church planter. It saw relationships with partners as a transaction where resources–like money—were provided but not much else.

In 2018 Ed Stetzer declared that we must now “unbench the church” and rediscover the sponsorship and champion model of church planting. I call on congregations to rediscover their role as a sponsor or champion of church planting. I call for a sponsorship or champion model that calls for three congregations to sponsor every new congregational expression with one having the lead and the other two as assisting congregations.

If you want to know more about this model, contact me at CMBA@ColumbiaMetro.org.

About the author 

Kyndra Bremer