by Alan Rathbun
Eastern PA District Staff
What we celebrate shapes who we are.
On Sunday, May 2, our entire U.S. Alliance family will be celebrating church planting. We celebrate church planting because we are a Christ-centered, Acts 1:8 family that is motivated by Jesus’ passion to seek and save the lost and, as C. Peter Wagner wrote, “planting new churches is the most effective evangelistic methodology known under heaven.”
A simple fact of church planting is that it takes all kinds of churches to reach all kinds of people.
With America diversifying so quickly and in so many ways, this simple fact is more strategic than ever. Even in small towns, no one church can reach everyone. For the glory of God and the sake of those lost outside God’s family and kingdom, it’s critical for every church to pursue making and multiplying disciples who plant churches that plant churches.
As your church makes plans to celebrate church planting with our U.S. Alliance family, keep in mind some of the many reasons that make it worth celebrating.
It gives us the opportunity to partner with our Heavenly Father in rescuing people from the dominion of darkness and bringing them into the kingdom of Jesus.
It helps us discover the joy of generous sacrifice.
It helps us prioritize equipping people to serve so that we have an increasing number of workers for the harvest.
It strengthens our faith because it we can’t do it in our own strength.
We have gathered resources to make it simple to celebrate Church Planting Sunday. On our Church Planting Sunday web page you can find graphics, a bulletin insert, PowerPoint slides with pictures of each our current church planters, ways to pray for church plants and planters, and videos that celebrate God’s work through Alliance church planting. Check them out and join the celebration!
One simple way you can engage in church planting is by taking a special offering for church planting on Church Planting Sunday. You are welcome to give to one of our seven current church plants or to church planting in general. Either way, you will be helping our church plants and planters reach the ever-plentiful harvest in Eastern PA.