14
July/August 2015 • SR
America has an estimated 200 million lost and unchurched
people. Yet today there are far fewer churches per capita
than one hundred years ago. Many missiologists contend
that the best way to fulfill the Great Commission and to
evangelize is by means of church planting. Intentionally
parenting a daughter church is one of the best ways to reach
the unchurched. It is often far easier to plant a new church
than to revitalize a dying one.
Yet it is insufficient to plant new churches for pragmatic
and demographic reasons. We must be driven by Scripture.
There is a solid biblical imperative for established churches
taking the initiative to intentionally reproduce themselves.
The Creation Mandate
From the beginning, the Creator designed all healthy
organisms with the capacity and desire to reproduce.
God’s purpose for all living creatures was clear:
“Be fruitful
and multiply”
(Gen. 1:22, 28). Multiplication was the sign
and substance of God’s blessing. Each group was commanded
to “bring forth” (reproduce) “after its kind.” Since the church
is a living organism, God’s creative plan requires that it too
continually reproduce itself. Thus, church parenting is
natural
.
The Commission of Christ
The Great Commission strategy of Christ is actually a
spiritual multiplication mandate. He expects his followers
to make and multiply disciples (Matt. 28:19-20). His method
for accomplishing this objective is evangelism, baptism,
catechism, and congregationalism. Christ’s disciple-making
plan is to be carried out through the agency of the local
church. Thus, to obey his mandate, if there is no congregation
in a nearby community, we must start one. That is the story
of the book of Acts: When people were saved, they were
added to the church (2:42-47). Christ’s call is for both indi-
vidual and corporate reproduction. Thus, church parenting
is
biblical
.
The Pattern of the Early Church
The book of Acts shows how the apostles and first Chris-
tians carried out the last command of Christ. The historical
record shows they reached their world through intentional
church multiplication. When God’s people obeyed their
marching orders, three things are said to have “multiplied”
— the Word of God (Acts 6:7; 12:24), the number of disci-
ples (6:1), and the number of churches regionally (9:31).
At each of these marker points in Acts, multiplication is the
end result. The same Greek word is used for “multiply” in
each of these references —
plēthunō
. This word speaks not
just of adding to the church (Acts 2:47) but of exponential
increase. It is a mark of the work of the Spirit of God. Luke
shows how the church started by Jesus continues to expand
as the Holy Spirit works through the disciples. This expan-
sion is geographic, but growth is quantitative, qualitative,
and organic. Luke is recording for believers of every age
what the church should look like.
Throughout Acts, the spread of the gospel and the expansion
of the church are intertwined. Acts 16:5 summarizes the
rapid expansion:
“So were the churches established in the
faith, and increased in number daily.”
They started with one
church in Jerusalem; now there were many through multi-
plication. Thus, in Acts, church parenting is seen as normal —
not the exception.
Two Examples
The Antioch church is a fine example of an intentional
mother church sending out its best, Barnabas and Saul, to
do the Great Commission work of evangelistic church planting
in pioneer areas (Acts 13:1-3).
Intentional church reproduction is best seen in the Ephesian
church. Using the school of Tyrannus as his regional training
base, Paul evidently mentored and sent about fifteen leaders
Churches
Planting
Churches
