Recentering the Goal of Pastoral Ministry to Cultivate God-Honoring Church Plants
As churches rapidly expand, Christians risk viewing the church with an entrepreneurial mindset. Church planters can be tempted to fixate on gaining numbers and achieving financial stability as their only metrics for success. They fail to focus on lifting up Christ’s people within the church.
In Planting by Pastoring, author Nathan Knight challenges our view of church planting and centers the goal of pastoral ministry on a basic biblical foundation: a church plant is in fact a church, and a planter is in fact a pastor. A healthy church plant is not measured by size, speed, or level of self-sufficiency but by good pastoring that produces faith, fruit, and a flourishing community. Once pastors and church leaders redefine their plant as a church, their ministry will begin to align with Jesus’s mission to shepherd the flock and bring glory to God alone.
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Provides Wisdom: This book reminds church planters of the heart of the church and the core purpose of pastors
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Offers a Unique Perspective: Addresses foundational elements of church planting other books fail to address
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Appeals to Pastors, Elders, and Church Planters: Great for those in the process of planting a church
176 pages.
Section One: Church Planting Residency
Chapter 1: Jesus as Shepherd (The prince of planters)
Chapter 2: Pastors, Not Entrepreneurs (The posture of a planter)
Chapter 3: Qualified, Not Charismatic (The character of a planter)
Chapter 4: A Church, Not a Crowd (The markers of the planter)
Chapter 5: Unexplainable, Not Explainable (The culture of the planter)
Chapter 6: Christ, Not You (The goal of a planter)
Section Two: Church Planting Mobilization
Chapter 7: Sent (and sustained) by a Church, Not a Parachurch (The mother of a planter)
Chapter 8: The Team, Not the Man (The team of a planter)
Chapter 9: Needy, Not Hip (The place of a planter)
Chapter 10: Love People, Not Programs (The mission of the planter)
Chapter 11: Bricks, Not Straw (The desire of the planter)
Conclusion: Defining Success
Appendices:
How to Facilitate a Covenanting Service
Founding Documents: Statement of Beliefs, Church Membership Covenant
9Marks Planting by Pastoring: A Vision for Starting a Healthy Church is in the following collections: