Planting Missional Churches: Planting a Church that’s Biblically Sound and Reaching People in Culture

by Dr. Ed Stetzer

Publisher:

B&H

, 2006

Overview

Missional: a point-blank term that emphasizes the approach rather than the population. When it comes to church planting, missional implies taking the methods of a missionary—being indigenous to the culture, seeking to understand and learn, adapting to the mission field—but planting the biblical form of a church.

In Planting Missional Churches (now updated and expanded from its first edition, entitled Planting New Churches in a Postmodern Age), Stetzer offers the watershed instruction book for planting biblically faithful and culturally relevant churches.

The how-to and why issues of church planting are here, providing practical guidance through all the phases of a church plant while also taking a mission-minded look at existing and emerging cultures.

Contents

Top Highlights

“In the second use of the term, Jesus focused on his protection and purification of the church. In Matthew 18:17” (Page 326)

“Fifth, today’s successful church planter is spiritual—focused on spiritual formation.” (Page 2)

“A church becomes missional when it remains faithful to the gospel and simultaneously seeks to contextualize the gospel (to the degree it can) so the gospel engages the hearers and transforms their worldview.” (Page 25)

“Len explained to me that recent studies show that nine of ten people who are told by doctors to ‘change or die’ cannot do so. In other words, they are told to stop smoking, lose weight, or quit drinking in order to survive, and nine of ten die rather than change. Churches are similar; they often choose their traditions over their future. But some can and do change.” (Page 11)

“There is a New Testament balance. We need new churches not because they’re trendy or because they provide places to try all the ‘cutting edge’ techniques. Instead we need new churches that are fresh expressions of the unchanging gospel, new missional contextualized churches in every setting across the globe. This is balance.” (Page 25)

Product Details

• Title: Planting Missional Churches: Planting a Church that’s Biblically Sound and Reaching People in Culture
• Author: Ed Stetzer
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2006
• Pages: 372

About Dr. Ed Stetzer

Primary role is President of LifeWay Research and LifeWay’s Missiologist in Residence. Ed has planted churches in New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia and transitioned declining churches in Indiana and Georgia. He has trained pastors and church planters on five continents, holds two masters degrees and two doctorates, and has written dozens of articles and books. Ed is a columnist for Outreach Magazine and Catalyst Monthly, serves on the advisory council of Sermon Central and Christianity Today’s Building Church Leaders, and is frequently cited or interviewed in news outlets such as USAToday and CNN. Ed is Visiting Professor of Research and Missiology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Visiting Research Professor at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and has taught at fifteen other colleges and seminaries. He also serves on the Church Services Team at the International Mission Board.