Central to the mission of God is the planting of the church. ‘I will build my church and all the powers of hell will not conquer it’ (Matt 16:18 NLT). God has entrusted to his people, the whole church, the important strategy of planting more and better visible expressions of himself. The process of collaborative church planting—proclamation, discipleship, gathering, equipping, and impacting society—is the most effective way to reconcile a nation to Christ. When the wider body of believers blend their individual God-given church planting visions into a combined vision, it has its greatest impact and potential of discipling a whole nation.
The Church Planting issue network desires to promote effective church planting movements in every country by gathering the many national expressions of church planting into collaborative church planting visions and shared strategies.
The process of church planting is at the very core of the Lausanne Movement, as reflected in its four-fold vision: the gospel for every person, an evangelical church for every people, Christ-like leaders for every church, and kingdom impact in every sphere of society. Collaborative church planting reflects the ethos of our faith.
‘When we live in unity and work in partnership we demonstrate the supernatural, counter-cultural power of the cross. But when we demonstrate our disunity through failure to partner together, we demean our mission and message, and deny the power of the cross.’ The Cape Town Commitment II-F
