Why so many new churches?

 A question I was often asked by some churches I served as their Region Minister was why there were so many new churches being built. The question was usually asked by a member of a congregation that was in decline. They couldn't understand why denominations were starting new churches rather than putting that start-up money in their existing churches. What bothered them even more was that these newer churches often seemed to be growing while their church was barely holding on.

My immediate response was that new church planting was important because new churches reach new people. The fact that many of them were growing was evidence of their ability to reach new people. Some might believe that the growth that comes in new churches is that they are taking people away from other churches, but this is often not the case. One new church pastor saw his congregation grow to about 200 people and told me that 80 percent of them were new converts to Christianity.

New churches operate without the history and traditions of existing churches. Certainly, this can be both a good thing and a bad thing. Serious errors can occur without traditions to reply upon, but many of the traditions in our churches can also be roadblocks to growth and ministry. As one of my doctoral professors pointed out to the class, every church has walls. Some are not too large, and people can still enter the church. Other churches have walls so high that new people are kept out. Many of those walls exist because of certain traditions that exist in that particular church.

New churches typically have a much simpler operating structure. Few have monthly business meetings where things may be discussed for months before a decision is made. Many have temporary committees or focus groups that address specific issues in a church and then disband when the issue is resolved. They find this is better than having several standing committees that must be filled each year and which may not add much to the church. Remember...your system is perfectly designed for the results you are seeing. Too much structure can stifle creative ministries. No structure can lead to chaos.

While this is not always true, new churches often offer worship experiences that appeal to many people. Existing churches can fall into habitual ways of worship that might appeal to their current members but is not as attractive to others. Rick Warren correctly observed several years ago that when a church selects its style of worship music it has also selected those it will attract to its services. New churches often provide a more contemporary style of worship that many find meaningful in the 21st century.

Personally, I believe God is behind the many new churches we see coming into our communities. As much as I hate to say it, many of our current churches have not done a good job of sharing the Gospel with the unchurched. When churches can go years without an adult baptism, that church has lost its God-given vision for ministry. If our current churches will not reach the present generation for Christ, God will raise up new churches to do so.