A Movement of Church Planting Spreads Nationally
By Tom Brown

Church planting has been gaining in popularity and emphasis among virtually every denomination over the past 20 years. This surge of interest began in earnest when Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois and Rick Warren of Saddleback Community Church in California planted their respective churches. These two churches experienced phenomenal growth under the direction of these gifted leaders.
Hybels and Warren developed new methods and strategies that powerfully impacted their churches and transformed others as they taught pastors and leaders how to do what they were doing. History may one day show that Willow Creek and Saddleback were the first expressions of church planting that have become a fresh movement of God in America.
The church planting movement in America is unique and distinctly different from other such movements occurring around the world. Whereas movements outside of America seem to be more spontaneous, spawning churches and leadership on the grassroots level, the American church planting movement is defined by three primary characteristics:
Focus: A primary element of this movement of God lies in the leaderships’ focus upon obedience to Christ regarding the Great Commission. Evangelism is at the heart of church planting. Reaching un-churched people through church planting is particularly effective because of the emphasis upon that which is new. New churches are about new methods, new relationships, new beginnings. These are greatly appealing to those who have no connection to Christ and a local congregation, yet are being drawn to God by His Spirit.
Intentionality: This movement is characterized by the intentionality of planting healthy churches that will grow to maturity and reproduce themselves several times over in their existence. The reproductive factor is not optional; it is a necessary component of God’s movement. By multiplying new churches rather than adding them, their numbers exponentially increase, just as conversions multiply when the principle of discipleship (e.g., 2 Timothy 2:2) is employed in evangelism.
Partnerships: This scope of this movement is so big and demands so much that it must have a broad base of partners comprised of churches, church planting associations and individuals. The partnerships have arisen out of the greater need for more resources to plant churches than any one group has available themselves. Partnerships allow for more to be done better and faster than when one church or association plants individually. Partnerships develop a synergy that produces results that are not possible outside of such relationships.
The church planting movement has been progressing rapidly in the Northwest over the past five years. The movement may be traced from major church planting efforts in California that have migrated northward through several individuals and associations. The movement will have a powerful effect on the entire Western region of the United States, reaching as far north as Alaska and eastward to Utah and Montana, and involving numerous denominations.
Expressions of this movement are becoming evident in the Portland Metro area. One is Northwest Church Planting, which is connected to New Heights Church in Vancouver, Wash., and is directed by Dave Reynolds.
Another is the Northwest Christian Evangelistic Association (NWCEA), which is supported by the Christian Churches. It has developed a strategy for church planting in which each new church is being planted with the seed of a “daughter church” within it.
Significant partnerships have been formed for the purpose of establishing a new church-planting model that will facilitate the NWCEA’s involvement in the movement. The NWCEA has partnered with Beaverton Christian Church and another progressive congregation from Indianapolis, IN, to plant this new model in Orenco Station (near Hillsboro). The projected launch day for this plant is October 2001. A Regional Training Center will be developed with the Orenco Station plant as a means of equipping leaders for multiple new churches.
Intentional plans are being made now to form other partnerships with congregations to help plant 10 daughter churches throughout the Portland Metro area in the next 10 years from the Orenco Station plant. It is hoped that this new model will be systematically replicated and transferred to other metropolitan regions such as Seattle and Spokane, and in British Columbia and Alaska.
As God has begun His movement of church planting through Hybels and Warren, so He will continue it through those who are faithful to focus on obedience to God and His principles of reproduction and partnerships.

Tom Brown is executive director of the Northwest Christian Evangelistic Association, based in Canby.

Tom Brown