When it comes to the growth of churches, I have heard people say in church leadership circles that a healthy tree grows… inferring that a church that is healthy will naturally grow larger in size.

There is some truth to that statement, but the premise is false. A healthy tree does not continue growing forever. A tree that just keeps on growing would be a monstrosity! I have a mature apricot tree in my yard. It’s about 25 feet tall. Imagine an apricot tree that just grew and grew. Instead of stopping at it’s mature size of about 25 feet tall, it reached 100 feet tall…and then continued to grow to 1000 feet tall and then grew to 10,000 feet tall. Is that really healthy? Or imagine an apricot tree that grew a foot every year, but never produced any apricots. Is that tree healthy?

A statement that is more true, but less catchy is this: A healthy tree grows to maturity and then reproduces.

Just like that tree, a healthy church grows to maturity and then plants new churches.

Today, I’m a church planter. I am asked a common question when I tell people that I’m here to plant a new church

Why do we need more churches? There is a church on every corner, the churches that are already here are not near capacity – why do we need another one? Let me tell you some reasons why I’m passionate about planting new churches.

#1 New churches reach more people for Christ than well-established church. Surveys have found that small, new churches are 16 times more likely to reach the lost, the disconnected and those who are saved, but unchurched than well-established churches. Does that mean we are against large established churches? ABSOLUTELY NOT! We are incredibly thankful for them. We hope to establish ourselves one day as a center for discipleship here in Cottonwood, while we continue to plant new churches

#2 New churches reach new people. On average in America, 70% of the population in unaffiliated with a church in any way. Those statistics are consistent with the Verde Valley. This area has 30,000 people and statistically, 21,000 of those people are not connected with any church. Do we need another church here? Church plants are the very best way to reach unreached people groups.

#3 New churches give opportunities to train up new leaders. People in new churches have opportunities for service and training that are unparalleled in an older, established church. Those leaders can then be trained up and released to plant more churches and to take back even more ground for the gospel

The most important reason I’m planting a church – an unmistakable calling. I could give you a hundred reasons why planting a new church in Cottonwood is a stupid idea and a hundred reasons why it is the best thing to happen to this area. Ultimately it come down to just one simple reason – Jesus called Lara and me to plant a church. Who am I to disobey the clear calling of my King? So I’m here, enjoying the ride while I watch the Lord put his church together.

In our study of Acts, we have see a very early model of church planting. The church in Jerusalem helped to plant the church in Antioch. Acts 11 records that men from Cypress were preaching the gospel in Antioch and a great number of them turning to Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It was the first church launch team. These new believers needed leadership, so the Jerusalem church sent 2 of their best men, Barnabus and Paul.

After a season of teaching at Antioch, the elders there prayerfully decided to send out Paul as a church planting missionary. Paul begins to establish new churches in Cyprus, in Pisidia, in Iconium, in Lystra and then he returns to Antioch. Last week we saw that while Paul was in Antioch, he heard of Jews insisting that gentiles be circumcised before they can be saved. He returns back to Jerusalem to argue for faith alone, by grace alone, in Christ alone. We call that whole trip “Paul’s first missionary Journey.”

Paul joins up with Silas and young Timothy and they embark and a second missionary journey. New churches give opportunities to train up new leaders. Although Paul had vehemently argued against circumcision being a requirement for salvation, Paul decides that Timothy would be more effective in preaching the gospel to Jews is he was circumcised. This was a bad day for Timothy! One of the most important traits of leadership is knowing what is primary and what is secondary – what is worth dying for and what can be let go of.

Paul was willing to stick his neck out to argue that circumcision has nothing to do with your salvation. However, he was unwilling to allow an uncircumcised man on his leadership team to be a hindrance to the spread of the gospel among Jews. Timothy was willing to do whatever it took to reach the lost for Christ. This painful and humbling procedure that Timothy endured makes me ask myself, am I willing to do some things for Jesus and not others? What am I willing to do for the gospel to move forward?

Paul sets out for Asia – which is referring to modern day Western Turkey and tonight and the Holy Spirit forbids him to preach the Word in Asia. This is terribly fascinating to me. People were lost without Jesus in Asia – there was a clear need for the gospel to be proclaimed in Asia – Paul was already physically present in Asia – but the Lord told him to pass through silently. The Lord said ‘no….just pass through’

This is a fascinating story to me because I’ve had a similar experience in the last 2 years. Before I came to Cottonwood, I looked at planting a church in 2 other cities. One city was ruled by a cult, but, a core group had been formed by a Baptist church and they were looking for a leader to help them proclaim Jesus in their community. However, I felt the Lord saying to me, “no…just pass through.” “But lord, what about all those who are lost in that town? Don’t you see the need for the gospel there?” And the Lord made it clear, “no…just pass through.”

Then another opportunity arose and I prayed for months about another location… A city with many churches that had grown cold. I prayed for the Lord to raise up leaders, and workers and elders and musicians and facilities and finances there. The Lord heard my prayers and my petitions for that city and He closed every door there.

And then, he began to open doors in Cottonwood. Look around you today. A core group in here. Workers are here. Elders are providing oversight. Musicians are helping. Finances and facilities are in place. Many are stepping forward to be trained. I’m blown away at what God is doing here – even if the location is different than what I first thought.

Paul moved onto Philippi in the region of Macedonia – located in modern day Greece. Paul in Acts 16 is about to be blown away as he begins to watch the Lord work as he is planting a new church in Philippi.

In order to establish a synagogue, it required that 10 Jewish men and their families gather together. When Paul arrives in Philippi, there are no synagogues and no churches in Philippi. There were not even 10 Jewish men. Only a few women had embraced Judaism and they gathered at the river for prayer.

So the first place the Paul goes when he is in Philippi, is to a Women’s prayer meeting. Let’s read together Acts 16:13-15

¹³ And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. ¹⁴ One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. ¹⁵ And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

So the first member of the launch team in Philippi was a business woman and her household. New churches reach more people for Christ than well-established church.

Second, Paul encounters a demonized slave girl whose owners used her to make money from her fortune-telling ability. Verse 16:

¹⁶ As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling.

This was a much different encounter than Paul’s first meeting with the Jewish women.   This slave girl knew nothing of the God of the Old Testament. She was ensnared by a demon that would overpower this girl and predict the future. It was commonly believed that these sorcerers could issue curses and were feared by the people.

She proceeded to attach herself to the missionaries. Verse 17:

¹⁷ She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.”

Whereas this sounds like the slave girl is proclaiming a truth, but according to Bible commentators, the reference to “the Most High God” was a commonly used idiom that referred to Zeus. She is in essence proclaiming the Paul is preaching salvation through Zeus and in doing so, she is furthering the Greeks false worship of the god’s. It make Paul mad. Verse 18-19:

¹⁸ And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour.

¹⁹ But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.

The Bible does not say what happens to the girl. But we have proven here that New churches reach new people – sometimes very unlikely people. I think we can assume that she was thankful that she was no longer overtaken by the whims of the evil spirit. She would know for sure that the Holy Spirit was far more powerful than the demonic power that had oppressed her. We don’t know for sure, but we could gather that she likely attached herself to Paul and became part of Paul’s launch team. So the new church in Philippi has a business woman, her household and a slave girl.

So right about that time Paul might be thinking that he needs to get out there and pound the streets to gather a few more people for the new church plant, he gets thrown into prison. He must have been thinking, “Lord, how can I build Your church is I’m in jail?”

But…God knows what he’s doing. There is one more member of the launch team that God intends for Paul to gather – namely, the jailer – and this may have been one of the men who beat Paul with rods and locked him into the stocks. Verses 25-33:

²⁵ About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, ²⁶ and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were unfastened. ²⁷ When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. ²⁸ But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” ²⁹ And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. ³⁰ Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹ And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³² And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³ And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family.

Can God use extreme circumstances to spread the gospel? Yes!

Has God called you right where you are to burn with a passion for the Lord and impact those unlikely people that surround you? Yes!

That’s all we hear about the first members of this church plant in Philippi, but one day this launch team would grow into a church – a church that was dear to Paul’s heart. A church to whom he would later write these precious words – Philippians 1:3-6

³ I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, ⁴ always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶ And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Life application

We’ve seen from both research and from the example in God’s word that:

#1 New churches reach more people for Christ than well-established church.

#2 New churches reach new people.

#3 New churches give opportunities to train up new leaders