Why Do People Plant Churches? Common Answers

I am currently sitting under Juliet Kilpin and Stuart Murray in a Church Planting course.  Excellent stuff! We are focusing on the realities created by Post-Christendom, which is clear in the UK and starting to bubble up in urban centers across North America. (PS – GET IN ON SOME CHURCH PLANT TRAINING THIS SATURDAY VIA THE WEB. INFO HERE!)

Yesterday, we chatted a bit about common reasons that the need for church planting emerges in various situations.  None of these are “good” or “bad” but represent some common reasons why folks decide to plant a church.  I should also say that they don’t include the obvious issues (preach the gospel, etc.) as that is already assumed.  So, here is the list.

Reasons for Planting Churches Today

–       To replace churches that have closed, leaving some areas under-churched

–       To replace ineffective churches that are not engaged in mission to their community

–       To penetrate society more effectively, planting churches closer to where people live

–       To respond to population increases and demographic changes

–       To relocate and redistribute Christians more strategically across society

–       To release space in over-full buildings

–       To provide new opportunities for service and leadership

–       To release tension and head off damaging splits in churches

–       To provide a wider range of churches and more options for connecting with people

–       To offer opportunities to experiment and help the church adapt to a changing culture

–       To enable targeted and specialized churches to be formed

–       To act as a catalyst for denominations

What reasons here on this list have you seen in action?  Are any descriptions here ones that make you uncomfortable?  What reasons on this list do you resonate with most?