The 5 Best Books on Church Planting

Justin Burkholder • Mar 14, 2019

Most of us follow the same pattern when we want to learn about something before we do it: Hop on over to Amazon and we see what books are available.

However, if you type “church planting” into the Amazon search bar, it spits back 845 different resources. If you don’t know much about church planting, it can be nearly impossible to decide where to begin.

So, let me help! I’ve spent 5 years church planting Guatemala, and in my experience, these are the top five books every church planter should have on their shelf.

**1. Apostolic Church Planting: Birthing New Churches from New Believers by J.D. Payne**

Payne has a wealth of experience in church planting. He is a prolific author and one of the best thinkers when it comes to church planting. J.D. loves the church and loves mobilizing people to see the church multiplied.

In this book, he first helps us think about what a church is and then visits the various stages in planting a church. He helps us think through dynamics with our church planting team and how to develop everyone’s roles.

Key Quote:

“More of the same is not sufficient. While great things have been accomplished for the kingdom in the realm of church planting, we must build on them and venture into new waters with an ancient approach.”

**2. Planting Missional Churches by Ed Stetzer and Daniel Im**

This book by Ed Stetzer and Daniel Im is one of the seminal textbooks on planting within the “missional” movement. The missional movement is, in essence, encouraging the church to go and tell, rather than encouraging people outside the church to come and see. Its emphasis is moving the body of Christ outward on mission.

This book is broken down into five sections: Foundations for Church Planting, Models of Church Planting, Systems for Church Planting, Ministry Areas for Church Planting, and Multiplication and Movements. This really is an A to Z type book that surveys a wealth of literature to help you learn about all of the facets of church planting.

Key Quote:

“Everywhere Christians have gone to share the gospel churches were formed.”

**3. Global Church Planting by Craig Ott and Gene Wilson**

Two seminary professors with years of teaching and field experience in church planting got together to write a book on biblical principles and best practices of church planting. This book is maybe the most comprehensive book in terms of the different types of church planting that exists. Additionally, Ott and Wilson are focused on church planting around the globe, and not just in the United States. In that sense, their approach helps cross-cultural workers address the issues that may arise.

Key Quote:

“A missionless church is no church, and a churchless mission is not biblical mission.”

**4. Center Church by Timothy Keller**

Tim Keller, one of the most influential pastors of our generation, has planted one of the most influential churches of our generation — Redeemer Presbyterian Church. Center Church is his magnum opus in regards to how the Gospel shapes the church, and how the church can catalyze a missional movement within its city.

The book is broken down into three main sections — Gospel, city, movement. For Keller, Gospel clarity is of utmost importance. If the Gospel isn’t clear, the church will not be healthy, and the mission will fail. Additionally, a church must be considered with its city, its needs, its culture and its influence. Finally, the church must not fall into the trap of over-institutionalizing, but must remain flexible, focused on movement.

Key Quote:

“Every form of ministry is empowered by the gospel, based on the gospel, and is a result of the gospel.”

**5. Church Planting Movements by David Garrison**

When we talk about models and styles of church planting, we often think about more traditional, brick and mortar, types of churches that grow into fairly decent-sized, economically self-sustaining congregations.

However, David Garrison takes a different approach. Many other books are putting forward a church planting model that they want others to follow, whereas Garrison seemed to have stumbled upon what he has called church planting movements. Garrison has simply systematized what He has observed God doing in a variety of contexts and cultures.

A Church Planting Movement is a rapid multiplication of indigenous churches planting churches that sweeps through a people group or population segment. Key words in this definition are rapid, indigenous, people group or population segment.

According to Garrison, every church planting movement contains 10 characteristics:

Extraordinary prayer
Abundant evangelism
Intentional planting of reproducing churches
The authority of God’s word
Local leadership
Lay leadership
House churches
Churches planting churches
Rapid reproduction
Healthy churches

If you’ve never read about other church planting models around the world, this is a great place to start.

Key Quote:

“In Church Planting Movements, the role of the missionary or outsider is heaviest at the beginning. Once the people group begins responding, it is vitally important for outsiders (i.e. missionaries) to become less and less dominant while the new believers themselves become the primary harvesters and leaders of the movement.”

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Bridging Dissonance: Finding Connection in Music and the Gospel

By Emily Sheddan • 18 Jul, 2024

TEAM worker Luke Standridge and his fellow musicians use music to build connections to faith in Japan. In music terms, dissonance creates movement or even suspense in a song. It invites tension. That tension is what helps grab our ear’s attention and the interchanging of these notes with pleasant melodious parts is what makes music such a delight. In a similar way, God is using music to grab people’s attention and catalyze Gospel impact in the largely unreached nation of Japan. TEAM Global Worker, Luke Standridge moved to Japan in 2019 with no clear direction on how he was going to use his passion for composing music while doing ministry. However, after Luke got involved with a local church and began developing deep friendships, the Lord opened unimaginable doors for Luke that in time, coordinating his creative skills with sharing the Word. “People Need to Come to Japan!” Growing up as one of ten kids in a family that was heavily involved in ministry and missions, Luke never considered that it would one day be a part of his own journey. In 2016, via a Japanese language learning class in Indiana, Luke and his brother had the opportunity to travel to Japan. Hearing, learning, and using the language in the context of Japanese culture was the goal. While it was Luke’s first international trip – even his first trip on a plane - it was also his first time hearing about the spiritual condition of the Japanese people. “And just through that, God did a huge 180 change on my heart,” says Luke. “More people should come here as global workers. People need to come to Japan!” The call God was laying on Luke’s heart is echoed when looking at the spiritual landscape of Japan. The nation is home to the second largest unreached people group in the world. It is one of the most difficult places for the Gospel to take hold and grow. Japan is also home to a deep and rich culture that prizes creative arts from pottery to ink to music to anime – a fact that would help Luke find his niche in life and ministry. God’s Guiding Hand In the short three-month timespan of that first trip, Luke found that opportunities came naturally to share about life, and people’s curiosity for Christianity grew. “I left Japan knowing I just had to come back,” Luke shares. “Even if I didn’t get back to the same area, I knew Japan was where God wanted me to be.” The Lord is good all the time and all the time the Lord is good. His plans do not fail. Luke returned to Japan in 2019, and less than a week after arriving, he was put in touch with a renowned composer in Japan. The composer saw some of Luke’s music and invited him to help write the music for a beloved in-country animated show. But God wasn’t finished yet! Fast forward a year, and more connections and opportunities allowed Luke to help with music for Pokémon - a franchise that has brand recognition around the world and was being developed into a TV series in Japan. Luke recalls how the Lord began using these connections in the production world to open doors for Gospel conversations. One night while having dinner in downtown Tokyo with famous artists and composers from all around the country, Luke was asked about his ministry-focused visa. This was a rare opportunity in a setting with people otherwise uninterested in Christianity. Luke shares, “The whole time I could see God’s hand in guiding the entire thing.”

Connecting in a New Kind of “Neighborhood”

By Lorena de la Rosa and Suzanne Pearson • 13 Jun, 2024

Through creative arts and other forms of innovative outreach, “The Neighborhood” is creating connections to the Gospel and the love of Jesus. CONNECTION. It’s a common word with powerful implications. Dictionary.com defines connection as a joining or linking together; a relationship between people or objects that unites or binds them together. God has created each of us with a deep need for connection with Him as well as connection with others. Hebrews 10:24-25 speaks to this, as the writer exhorts, “Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” This God-given need for connection lies at the heart of a creative and innovative ministry in Japan known as “The Neighborhood.” TEAM Japan global worker, Kelly and her family created The Neighborhood as a place where connections are formed through creative arts, educational opportunities, and simply just providing a space for people to be together. A Family Calling The journey to the creation of The Neighborhood began over 5,000 miles away from Tokyo, in California where Kelly, her husband Jeff, and their five children were living. The kids were the first to sense God’s calling to missions, and asked why their family wasn’t serving in this way. How Kelly and her family came to TEAM is a God-story in and of itself. “God placed a TEAM Japan worker at our lunch table the same week that the kids posed that question to us,” Kelly recalls. “We had never heard of TEAM and so we thought, ‘let’s check this out.’ After that, God just kept confirming that we were supposed to be here.” After a period of fundraising and with much excitement, the family of seven moved to Japan in 2014. For the first five years, Kelly and Jeff served as a part of other TEAM ministry initiatives, but they began to sense a stirring for something new. Creating The Neighborhood Kelly and her family truly have a deep gift for hospitality, and regularly opened up their home to others they met in Tokyo. They saw a great need for people to have a place to gather and connect, and they wondered what doors the Lord might be opening for them to meet that need. “About a year before we were to return the States on home assignment, we were just really thinking about our future in Japan,” Kelly says. “We saw a need for people to have a ‘third place’ – a place that’s not home and it’s not work. They didn’t have a church community or any other place where they could meet people and just connect.” Kelly goes on to explain that in Japan, the culture is such that people don’t generally invite each other into their homes, but as her family did so, people embraced that opportunity. “This idea formed in all of our hearts of a student ministry center – a place where we can create community and learning,” says Kelly. “It was born out of what we were already doing in our home, but seeing how we could expand it and have better space.” God’s Provision What happened next is a true testament to God’s provision. Kelly, Jeff, and the kids returned to the States and began sharing their vision for The Neighborhood with their supporters and churches who responded generously. Upon returning to Japan, the search was on for the right space. “We had a Christian realtor that we told our dream to, and he just went looking for it,” Kelly recalls. When the realtor found a 5-story apartment building, he said, “It’s kind of out of your budget but it has what you need and want.” The Lord provided the funds and the family moved into the space in November 2019. They now occupy all but the ground floor, with living space for their family as well as classrooms, areas to study or hang out, and guest rooms for exchange students or others who need a place to stay overnight. The first floor is occupied by a pizza shop – a welcome amenity for the many groups and students who visit The Neighborhood. “It’s very convenient!” Kelly says with a laugh. The Neighborhood began to see lots of activity right away until the pandemic hit in early 2020. During the height of the quarantine, Kelly and Jeff used the time to redecorate the space and plant gardens outside the building. Then as the restrictions eased, they invited individual students or families over for meals and fellowship. It wasn’t until March 2023 that The Neighborhood was able to fully open again as intended. Kelly shares that despite the setbacks of COVID, the Lord continued to provide the funds to pay the rent.