by Alan Rathbun
Eastern PA District Team
Almost all pastors I know answered the call to be a pastor for two reasons. They become pastors because they love Jesus and because they want to make an impact for Him. That was definitely the case for me. Once I discovered how much Jesus loves me, my heart shouted, “Send me!” and knowing His love compelled me to help other people know it, too.
It’s these same two reasons that originally called me to church planting and that have shaped my passion for it for more than twenty years. Here’s why I hope you share my passion for church planting and, if you don’t, why I hope you will begin praying that God increases your passion for it.
First, the Father sent Jesus because He loves the world and Jesus has sent the church to carry on His mission. The Father didn’t send Jesus to get people into a building to sit down, He sent Jesus to seek and save people who are lost from the Father and call them to join Him in His seeking and saving mission. The church has never been about seating, it’s always been about sending. Your church will have greater gospel impact if it focuses more on sending than on seating.
Second, continual church planting is one of the best ways to help our people keep their eyes on the harvest and to experience God’s ever-expanding love in action. I will be the first to say that the church I planted made a mistake in not seeking to plant another church from the very beginning of ours. I didn’t realize it was a mistake at the time. I thought my job was to make sure my church survived and got strong. I also didn’t realize that focusing on sending from the beginning would have made us stronger than any other efforts I pursued. It took us 13 years until our church helped plant another church. When we finally did, it changed the life and trajectory of our church. People grew in compassion and in their own experience of God’s love.
Third, from the depths of His compassion Jesus said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field” (Matthew 9:37-38). Sadly, we too often act and make plans for our churches like the workers are many and the harvest is few. We look around eastern Pennsylvania and see lots of church buildings and assume we have enough churches. But even as of a decade ago, 48% of eastern Pennsylvanians were not committed to any kind of religious congregation. That’s 4.2 million people who claim no religious affiliation whatsoever. The number who do claim affiliation includes people involved in other religions and in churches that are Christian by name but are not likely proclaiming the good news of Jesus. It’s likely that more than six million people in eastern Pennsylvania still need to discover the good news that Jesus died for their sins, that they can have new life now, and a hope-filled eternal destiny.
It’s a little-known fact that some of the least reached places in eastern Pennsylvania are small towns. In 13 out of the 40 counties of eastern Pennsylvania, the number of people who do not claim religious affiliation is higher than 60% and most of them are counties filled with small towns. Stop and think about it ---- 60% with no faith commitment or connection to a local congregation. Church planting is a big answer to Jesus’ prayer for workers to be sent into the Father’s harvest field. It’s the most direct way to put harvest workers in specific communities and bring the gospel to people in your region.
Please join me in praying for a passion for church planting to rise in eastern Pennsylvania among Alliance churches and all other gospel preaching churches. You can fan flames for it in your own congregation by celebrating our annual National Alliance Church Planting Sunday on May 2.