Charles B. Elliott II
ENG 113 – Freshman Rhetoric
Prof. Tammy Looman
23 April 2007
A Game Plan for Planting New Churches
“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age’” (NIV Mat 28:16-20).
The Great Commission is Jesus’ command for all Christians to spread the news of the Kingdom of God and disciple to unbelievers. But just how are Christians supposed to do this? There are several obstacles a church planter must overcome in order to establish a new church in rural America in the twenty-first century. In order for the church planter to fulfill his/her vision in following Jesus’ instruction to plant this new church a game plan must be drawn up, followed through on, and carried out. Church planting is a team effort of several people and organizations, and just as Jesus instructed the eleven disciples to work together, so must the church planter work with his or her team.
According to Aubrey Malphurs book, Planting Growing Churches for the Twenty First Century, “Church planting is a long drawn out, yet very exciting leap of faith that includes the preparation and growing of new local churches by believing Jesus’ promise and obeying His Great Commission to further His kingdom” (21).
“Make disciples of all nations” is ...