Notes

Slide Show

Outline

1	Why should we emphasize Church Planting
2	After all, Don’t we already have enough churches? Shouldn’t we focus on strengthening and filling the existing ones first? Aren’t there quite a few new churches already being started? Here’s why...
3	Estimated American Unchurched Population
4	The Combined Communicant Membership of Protestant Churches over the Last Ten Years Church Membership Declined 9.5% While the US Population Increased 11.4%
5	"Evangelical churches have failed to..." Evangelical churches have failed to gain an additional two percent of the population over the past fifty years. No county in America has a greater percentage of churched persons today than a decade ago. Half of all churches last year did not add one new member through “conversion growth”.
6	U.S. Church to Population Ratio In 1900, there were 27 churches for every 10,000 people. In 1950, there were 17 churches for every 10,000 people. In 1996, there were 11 churches for every 10,000 people.
7	Church Facts North America is the ONLY continent where Christianity is NOT growing. Church attendance is declining - approximately 10% over the last 7 years.
8	Church Facts We lose 72 churches per week or 10.27 per day. We gain 24 churches per week or 3.42 per day. That’s a net loss of 48 churches per week or 6.85 per day.
9	Church Facts (continued) The United States is… the largest post-Christian nation on earth. the third largest unchurched nation.
10	Church Facts (continued) Our supposed Christian nation leads the world in every category of violent and domestic crime and social decay. The social indicators mentioned above are the exact same in the church as outside, therefore the church is having no significant effect on American behavior.
11	Church Facts (continued) What once was the number one sending nation of foreign missionaries is now the thirteenth largest receptor nation.
12	"We have become a society..." We have become a society that 50 years ago every denomination would have felt compelled to missionize. Tom Clegg
13	If these are the facts; as the Church, how are we to respond?
14	We cannot continue to do business as usual . . .
15	Insanity is doing the same old things - the same old way - and expecting different results.
16	Most of our visioning is re-visioning a more efficient and effective past.
17	Let’s face it, here in America we are losing the war!
18	Radical times require a radical solution!
19	We must begin with God’s response . . .
20	On the average, evangelical churches... …younger than 3 years old, annually win 10 people to Christ per 100 church members. ...3-15 years old, annually win 5 people to Christ per 100 church members. …older than 15 years old, annually win 3 people to Christ per 100 church members. Christianity Today, January 1991 Implication: Church plants are more effective evangelistically.
21	Megachurches vs. Minichurches (Results from an international survey of 1000 churches) Megachurches Average size: 2,856 On the average, won 112 people to Christ over 5 years. Minichurches Average size: 51 On the average, won 32 people to Christ over 5 years.
22	The Mission: To continue starting healthy new churches which are passionate about seeing people come to know Christ and sponsoring other new churches.