Church Planting

5 Innovative Ministries Shaping the Future Church

The following ministry snapshots are just a few of the examples of innovative ministries that are working well. Whether you’re a pastor, church leader or an everyday disciple looking to reach your neighborhood, we hope their stories will inspire you to innovate in your own ways.

What I Learned in the Painful Parts of Church Planting

God has worked in me more than he has through me. His love works within us like an explorer—or, in a way, a church planter—always seeking the places that have not yet met his healing love.

The Church Inside: A Look at Prison Ministry in America

This prison ministry movement equips prisoners as leaders and plants church campuses inside U.S. prisons to spread hope, discipleship, and gospel transformation.

Church Planting With a 91-Year-Old Hugging Usher

"One person who was excited about seeing new generations come to know Jesus was a 91-year-old woman named Ruth."

Special Report: The State of Church Planting Today

"All the experts say that establishing new churches is the single most effective way to spread the gospel to a broken world.”

5 Reasons to Go Bivocational

"I’m not claiming it’s wrong to minister full-time; merely that it’s not always right."

3 Challenges in Urban Ministry

Ed Stetzer: "While cities are an excellent place for gospel advancement, urban ministry is not without its challenges."

Does a Church’s Name Really Matter?

One pastor explains the origin of his church's name and why it accurately represents his congregation.

Incarnational Ministry: Living Big in Small Places

Hugh Halter: "Jesus' public life was an outgrowth of his subterranean existence as he lived among people in the margins."

5 Lessons From an Unlikely Church Planter

Brian Bolt: "God doesn't call the equipped. He equips the called."

3 Questions for Potential Church Planters

“The sending church misses out on the blessing of supporting a new work should they refuse to engage proactively.”