Church Planting

BRIDGING THE GAP - EXPANDING LOCALLY TO GROW GLOBALLY

The call of our Lord to His disciples was to evangelize the world. One of the major methods of evangelization was to plant churches. Jesus said in Matthew 16, “I will build my church.” In Acts 8:1-8, the church had become ingrained in its ministry in Jerusalem. The Lord’s call was to start at Jerusalem but then go into Judea, Samaria and then the uttermost part of the earth. After many years of staying in Jerusalem, after the Pentecostal experience, the church was still centered on Jerusalem, but God created a situation that allowed persecution to come to the church to move them into Judea and Samaria. God is calling on His church to move from our Jerusalem’s and to plant churches in other cities where the gospel needs to be preached. We encourage every Pentecostal Free Will Baptist pastor, preacher, and church member to help us to fulfill the call of God to plant churches. Help us by praying for God to send us church planters. Also pray for the resources to see these church planter’s needs are met and pray that souls will be won to Christ.

Church Planting Resources

• Download the Church Planters Checklist
• Download the PFWB Church Planting Application | Fill Out Online
• Download the PFWB Church Planter's Readiness Form | Fill Out Online

What We Know About Church Planting

• We know that “No county in the US has a higher percentage of churched people than it did 10 years ago.” (Charles Arn)
• We know that America ranks third behind China and India in the number of unsaved people. We are the third largest nation in the world in need of evangelism. There are nearly 250 million un-churched people in America. We are only second to Brazil in the number of missionaries received. (Arden Adamson)
• We know that new churches grow faster than older churches. C. Peter Wagner said, “The single most effective way to evangelize is to plant a new church.”
• We know that the priority and the mandate of God for the Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church is the “Great Commission.” The Lord commands and commissions us to go into the entire world and preach the gospel. Our churches have given financially that we might preach the Word and plant churches at home and in foreign lands. God had honored us with an abundant harvest in mission ministry. Now our mission fields are sending missionaries to other countries to evangelize the lost.
• For us to continue to grow globally we must grow locally.

In 2002, General Superintendent Preston Heath called for a Church Planting Task Force to be formed under the leadership of the World Witness Department. Together we developed a strategy we called, “Bridging the Gap.” This effort was successful in the decade that followed. In 2012 we developed another task force that re-visited our church planting efforts. From this task force we encouraged our churches to become involved with CP3 (Churches Planting Churches); which ask churches to plant three churches within the next ten years. CP3 would look like this: We are to plant a church locally like themselves in another community or city. Plant a church of a different culture that is within their geographic area such as a Hispanic church. Also plant a church on a foreign field.

In 2012 we joined in partnership with Dynamic Church Planting International out of San Diego Calf. The partnership offers the opportunity to train and develop church planters for the work of church planting. Our plans are to train church planters in the United States and also on foreign fields through the DCPI training

THE ANNUAL CHURCH PLANTING BANQUET

In early 2001 we formed a Church Planting Task Force to develop the church planting efforts within the Pentecostal Free Will Baptist Church. We went for several years without a major push to plant churches here in the United States; and we felt that church planting was not just a program, it was necessary for the survival of the church at large in the twenty-first century. We wanted to get our message out to the pastors, churches, and people within the PFWB Church. First, we developed church planting videos so our pastors and churches would catch the vision for church planting. We periodically continue to develop other videos for the purpose of encouraging church planting. Second, we started to sponsor a Church Planting Banquet for our pastors and their spouses during our annual camp meeting.

We utilize the Banquet in three ways: 1) To share our vision of planting churches in North Carolina from Raleigh to the western part of our state; South Carolina, and the corridor from Wilmington NC to Charleston SC; in Virginia from the coast to the mountains, and especially north into Northern Virginia 2) To ask our churches for their help in finances through their local churches and the recruitment of church planters 3) To become Prayer Partners with us in this effort.

Since the first banquet, God has shown us great favor. We have planted twenty eight churches and twenty two of those churches are active and growing today. In addition we are seeking to develop new Hispanic churches here in North Carolina. There is still much to be done in church planting.

We are at a time that the greatest work is still before us. The fields are ripe to harvest and God is calling us to plant churches. The Church Planting Banquet helps to cast our vision for church planters, to seek out church planters, and seek the prayers and help of all the PFWB Churches to be a viable part of this great effort.
This banquet allows our planter’s to share their vision and allows pastors and their spouses to pray with and for the church planter.

The Church Planting Dinner has been a great source of development for our vision of church planting, and encourages our pastors and their churches to be a valuable part of its success.

CHURCH PLANTING SUPPORT

Prayer is essential for each of our church plants and planters. These planters need our prayers and encouragement to do the work that they are doing. Like Paul they are building on a new foundation and the task that lies before them is very difficult at best. Our prayers can make the difference. Pray especially for facilities for each of our church plants. Finding the right facilities at the right location at a reasonable price is very difficult. Pray that God will open the doors for facilities to worship and grow churches. We also need your financial gifts. Ever dollars goes to help rent buildings, and at times gives assistance to church planters. Many churches are responding with addition helps such as “key boards, chairs and other equipment.”

More Information/First Step

For more questions, concerns, or more information please click below on the link below and someone from our team will be in contact with you.
 More Information