People Come to Faith
Church planting is a Biblical pattern for bringing
the hope of Christ to new people in new places.
There are five very evident results to church planting
done well that compel our commitment to it.
1. People Come to Faith. It is widely
acknowledged that the rate of evangelism tends to be higher in new
churches than established churches. Author Lyle Schaller, noted
observer of church life in America, goes so far as to state, “Starting
new churches is the closest thing to a guaranteed method of outreach” (Schaller, 44 Questions for Church Planters). That is our experience.
A study conducted by Interest Ministries and reported in Christianity
Today found that the typical evangelical church could expect three
conversions per 100 people in attendance per year. In our own repeated
comparative studies, we find six conversions per 100 in all Covenant
churches, indicating good evangelism vitality across the whole denomination.
When looking at just new Covenant churches, the rate jumps to 12
per one hundred, or four times the typical congregation.
“At our second preview service three people committed their
lives to Christ for the first time. Also, this past Sunday we had
one person commit their life to Christ for the first time and another
person renewing their commitment to the Lord. God is at work and
using us to make an impact in the NY/NJ area.”
- Peter Ahn, Metro Community Covenant Church, Fort Lee, NJ
“Each week people have come to
the Lord. The church seems to be entering a fresh move of God! We
had five teenagers give their lives to Christ. They had been attending
for nearly a year, but have now made a decision to give their lives
to Christ!”
- Promise Lee, Relevant Word Ministries, Colorado Spring, CO
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