Where to plant churches?

[Brother John]

Lord willing, what are the most strategic cities and states for reformed presbyterians to plant churches?

If you (as an ordained minister) were planting a church would you choose an area that already has a reformed presence (like Atlanta or Charlotte) or would you choose an area that has no/little reformed or evangelical presence (like San Fransisco or DC area)?

How would you go about evaluating and deciding on a location?

 

[Pergamum]

Prioritize unreached people-groups (ethnic groups not only having no reformed church in a single city, but no Christian witness within the whole ethno-lingusitic boundaries of that people).

 

[Romans922]

San Fran has reformed churches just like DC...

 

[KMK]

What is your definition of 'Reformed'?

 

[Jeff Burns]

I would probably only entertain places with very little gospel witness (Montana, the Dakotas, etc.). I also wouldn't prioritize urban over rural as I believe folks in rural areas are just as needful of the gospel as folks in the city centers.

 

[Pergamum]

Jeff, hey do you know my friend Dustin Segers there near Greensboro?

 

[VictorBravo]

I would probably only entertain places with very little gospel witness (Montana, the Dakotas, etc.). I also wouldn't prioritize urban over rural as I believe folks in rural areas are just as needful of the gospel as folks in the city centers.

I'd increase it to almost anywhere in the northwest part of the Louisiana Purchase. Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon, especially the eastern parts of the last two states. And the northwest coast is crying for a presence of good teaching, but I know many who have tried hard and have been frustrated.

 

[JBaldwin]

We have friends who have a small, but solid ministry going on in rural Idaho, but they have been there for over 14 years, and it took them a long time to get established.

 

[Jeff Burns]

I'd increase it to almost anywhere in the northwest part of the Louisiana Purchase.

Agreed. I know of a family who moved to that area to purchase a significant portion of land and are the only believers for many many miles. They drive over an hour to attend a seeker sensitive gospel-lite church because there's literally no other options.

 

[JML]

I would probably only entertain places with very little gospel witness (Montana, the Dakotas, etc.)

The truth is though is there are pockets of these places all over the U.S. For example, where my wife is from in Louisiana is 99.9% Roman Catholic. There is even a Mary shrine that takes up almost an entire city block. There are a few seeker sensitive churches but absolutely no even semi-reformed presence.

 

[Jeff Burns]

The truth is though is there are pockets of these places all over the U.S.

I don't doubt there are. I was just using those states as an example of very large "pockets" without gospel witness. Kind of like missiologists use the 10-40 window. Obviously there are unreached groups outside that window, but it is a legitimately striking geographical concentration of unreached groups.

 

[J. Dean]

You go where God leads you, plain and simple.

 

[Jeff Burns]

You go where God leads you, plain and simple.

True, but unless you're a mystic, "leading" is pretty subjective and wisdom requires an awful lot of careful planning.

 

[Brother John]

San Fran has reformed churches just like DC...

Andrew I am sure there are some reformed churches in San Fran and DC but they have much less of a reformed presence than cities like Atlanta and Charlotte. I simply picked those as examples for my question to try and get the OP across.

 

[Romans922]

I would probably say Atlanta has less. The only 'reformed' church I know of is Where Frank Smith is pastoring.

 

[Brother John]

What is your definition of 'Reformed'?

For the purpose of my OP I would define it as a Bible believing presbyterian reformed church holding to the westminster standards, a Bible believing dutch reformed church holding to the three forms of unity, and a Bible believing calvinistic baptist church holding the 1646 LBCF.

---------- Post added at 12:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:14 PM ----------

I would probably only entertain places with very little gospel witness (Montana, the Dakotas, etc.). I also wouldn't prioritize urban over rural as I believe folks in rural areas are just as needful of the gospel as folks in the city centers.

I'd increase it to almost anywhere in the northwest part of the Louisiana Purchase. Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon, especially the eastern parts of the last two states. And the northwest coast is crying for a presence of good teaching, but I know many who have tried hard and have been frustrated.

Have these states never had a gospel presence or is this more of a modern situation?

---------- Post added at 12:24 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:20 PM ----------

We have friends who have a small, but solid ministry going on in rural Idaho, but they have been there for over 14 years, and it took them a long time to get established.

I'd increase it to almost anywhere in the northwest part of the Louisiana Purchase.

Agreed. I know of a family who moved to that area to purchase a significant portion of land and are the only believers for many many miles. They drive over an hour to attend a seeker sensitive gospel-lite church because there's literally no other options.

I always thought of the Idaho, Montana, N/S Dakota area as evangelical conservative. Very interesting.

 

[Backwoods Presbyterian]

The coalfields of eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia (and the dead rust belt towns all along the Ohio River from as far west as Cincinnati to and as far north as Weirton, WV).

 

[Jack K]

New York and London. These are places where the world comes to us.

Not that we should not also go to the world. But being strategic, and looking to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth, we should certainly take a long look at those cities where millions of people from barely-reached people groups are already right here among us.

 

[Brother John]

I would probably say Atlanta has less. The only 'reformed' church I know of is Where Frank Smith is pastoring.

I am assuming you are talking about Frank Smith the pastor of the RPCNA church in Alpharetta/Cumming area? My wife and I had the opportunity to met him and actually had he and his wife over to our home in Gainesville, GA. We enjoyed getting to know them that evening. Growing up in Alpharetta, moving around the north side of Atlanta and settling with my family after college in Gainesville (north of Atlanta / north side of lake lanier) I would be hard pressed to agree that pastor Smith pastors the only reformed church in the Atlanta area. That automatically excludes over 45 churches in the Atlanta area of our own denomination.

 

[Dearly Bought]

I would probably only entertain places with very little gospel witness (Montana, the Dakotas, etc.). I also wouldn't prioritize urban over rural as I believe folks in rural areas are just as needful of the gospel as folks in the city centers.

There is always a need for more faithful churches, but don't that forget the RCUS has a presence in the Great Plains, particularly in South Dakota.

 

[Romans922]

I would probably say Atlanta has less. The only 'reformed' church I know of is Where Frank Smith is pastoring.

I am assuming you are talking about Frank Smith the pastor of the RPCNA church in Alpharetta/Cumming area? My wife and I had the opportunity to met him and actually had he and his wife over to our home in Gainesville, GA. We enjoyed getting to know them that evening. Growing up in Alpharetta, moving around the north side of Atlanta and settling with my family after college in Gainesville (north of Atlanta / north side of lake lanier) I would be hard pressed to agree that pastor Smith pastors the only reformed church in the Atlanta area. That automatically excludes over 45 churches in the Atlanta area of our own denomination.

That very well might exclude some from our own denomination. A congregation is not 'reformed' because it is in the PCA, though it,ay claim to be reformed.

 

[elnwood]

"It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else's foundation." - Romans 15:20

I've been told many times about Reformed churches being planted "where there are no other Reformed churches within X miles!" If the church planter has a really narrow view of "Reformed," the distance X can be quite large.

It would be nice to hear, at least every once in a while, about Reformed churches being planted where there is no gospel witness at all.

 

[JML]

It would be nice to hear, at least every once in a while, about Reformed churches being planted where there is no gospel witness at all.

Depends on what you consider gospel witness and whether Arminianism is another gospel. Some say yes, some say no. That is a topic for another thread and has been discussed on many, many threads. However, if one considers Arminianism another gospel then there are a whole lot of places without gospel witness.

 

[elnwood]

It would be nice to hear, at least every once in a while, about Reformed churches being planted where there is no gospel witness at all.

Depends on what you consider gospel witness and whether Arminianism is another gospel. Some say yes, some say no. That is a topic for another thread and has been discussed on many, many threads. However, if one considers Arminianism another gospel then there are a whole lot of places without gospel witness.

I would say it depends on the Arminian (and on the Calvinist, for that matter), but there are a whole lot of places without a gospel witness regardless. We don't have to define Arminianism as another gospel in order to justify the location of a church plant as being unreached.

In any case, I was thinking of church plants I've heard about in locations where there were already thriving PCA and Reformed Baptist churches, but were still considered "unreached" because they weren't as Reformed as they were.

 

[JML]

In any case, I was thinking of church plants I've heard about in locations where there were already thriving PCA and Reformed Baptist churches, but were still considered "unreached" because they weren't as Reformed as they were.

Very true. That does take place.

 

[Pergamum]

Jakarta has 14 million people. Bandung, West Java has 3 million people.

And I have heard there are 150 cities in China that have more than a million people.

 

[J. Dean]

You go where God leads you, plain and simple.

True, but unless you're a mystic, "leading" is pretty subjective and wisdom requires an awful lot of careful planning.

Right, but at the same time an over-analysis can become paralyzing. There will always be "pros" and "cons" in any situation, no matter where God leads us. Believe me, I'm the last person to fall into anything close to the Gideon's fleece/mystical decision making category. But I've also seen people at the opposite end of the spectrum spending so much time worrying about how either decision could bring problems or shortchange opportunities. It's like watching a donkey between two haystacks, starving because a decision isn't made.

I like Augustine's axiom: love God, and do what thou wilt. Obviously there needs to be Scriptural parameters understood concerning this, but at the same time there are times when a decision needs to be made without overthinking about it.

 

[Raj]

Church planting is needed in the cities, villages, hills and plains, preference should be given to those languages and people groups who know not Christ as Lord and Saviour.

 

[mhseal]

Anchorage, Alaska.

 

[Pergamum]

Church-planting among the Jaun-Sari in Northern India seems to be a pretty big priority! And there's already solid workers there. Thanks Raj for your labors.