One Question Every Church Planter Should Ask

There are, of course, hundreds of good questions to ask before planting a church. But there is one that is too often and too easily forgotten.

It’s a question that should be asked by every church plant team, every church planter, every sending agency, and every mother church before plans are finalized and the plant is launched.

And it’s a question we can’t answer ourselves. The question must be asked, not of the Bible or in our hearts, but in and among the area into which we are hoping to plant a church.

Here’s the question: “What other gospel work is already going on?”

To be sure, we can answer this question, in part, by doing our own research—googling churches, investigating websites, checking denominational databases. We may be able to discern on our own that there is not another good, gospel church within 10 or 20 or 100 miles of our desired location. Or we may be able to identify a target population that speaks a different language than the other churches in its immediate vicinity. But still, there is no substitute for asking the Christians on the ground what the needs are (or aren’t!). Read More