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Church Planting: Laying Foundations

Church Planting: Laying Foundations Cover Church Planting: Laying Foundations, Stuart Murray, Herald Press, Scottdale PA, 2001. ISBN 0-8361-9148-X.

Describing his church planting ministry, the apostle Paul writes,

"I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow... For we are God's fellow-workers; you are God's field, God's building. By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building upon it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no-one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ."

Church planting involves laying foundations. the quality of these foundations has profound implications for what can be build on them. Strong and secure foundations provide the basis for healthy churches and effective mission. Weak and inadequate foundations jeopardize these prospects. Enthusiasm alone is not enough. Nor is slavish dependence on guidelines in training manuals any guarantee of success. Effective church planting, according to Paul, requires the grace of God, appropriate expertise, and considerable care.

And the practice of church planting itself requires foundations. Why do we need to plant churches in Western societies at the beginning of the twenty-first century? What theological and biblical foundations undergird this practice? How does church planting relate to the mission of the churches in a postmodern and pluralistic culture? What kinds of churches should we plant? What strategies and methods are appropriate?

This book is not a training manual. It does not engage with all the practicalities of church planting. But it is written for the practitioners rather than the theorists. Nor is it intended to be unduly prescriptive about the kinds of churches that need to be planted. It contains many questions and considers the various possible answers. What it does attempt to do is to lay some theological foundations for church planting, to invite church planters to think seriously about missiology and ecclesiology, to reflect on their assumptions and expectations, and to take care that they lay strong foundations for the churches they are planting.