Dr. Malphurs believes that the most successful and efficient way to reach unbelievers is to plant new churches. In his book, he used the analogy of motherhood to illustrate the process that includes conception, birth, growth, maturation, and reproduction.
He divides his book into three essential parts. The first part deals with preparation for church planting and all that it encompasses. In the first chapter, the author defines the definition of church planting “as an exhausting but exciting faith enterprise that involves the planned process of starting and growing new local churches, based on the promise of Jesus and in obedience to his Great Commission.” ” (p. 19). Dr. Malphurs believes that church planters are creators, not maintainers of the common status quo. He believes that the day of the maintenance ministry is over. The job of the church planter is not an easy job; It requires more mental, emotional, and physical effort than maintaining a church ministry. The church planting process requires a lot of faith in God. It is a process like giving birth to a new child. It requires a careful plan. It involves both starting and growing churches. It is a call in response to the Great Commission.
There is a need to plant churches, as studies show that many of the churches in North America are stagnant or in decline. There are a number of growing cults and non-Christian religions throughout North America. The church cannot keep up with the rise of these cults and the great decline and stagnation of churches unless it becomes involved in church planting.
The author also provides financial information on raising funds to plant a church. He divides them into four facts; It begins with trust in God as provider. He also identified three ways a local congregation can grow. The first he identified as biological growth, which is what takes place when couples in the church have children, who then become members of the parents’ church. The second type of growth is transfer growth, which is the result of church members moving from one church to another. The third type of growth is numerical, which is through the conversion of lost people. It is estimated that a conversion rate of twenty 25% is necessary to make an impact in the world.
The second part refers to the personnel involved in church planting. It helps to make a wise assessment to determine who can be a church planter and how effective the core group members need to be for the job. It introduces the values of evaluation, which implies knowing, liking and being the person that God designed to be. Everyone has a divine design that was given to them at birth and whose characteristics have been modified positively and negatively throughout life. These evaluations help to discover the weaknesses, strengths and limitations of the person being evaluated. It also helps determine if the person involved in church planting is the type of leader required to lead church planting. Church planters must be strong leaders as well as strong servant-leaders.
The third part examines the actual process involved in church planting. It contains essential chapters that are designed to help church planters understand the six stages a new church goes through and what essentially happens in each of them. The stages are conception, development (prenatal stage), birth, growth, maturity, and the reproductive stage. The conception stage begins with the core of the ideal of giving birth to a church. This is how a baby is conceived in her mother’s womb, this is how the idea of starting a new church is conceived in the person’s mind. “Each church has its own DNA (its values, mission, vision, strategy, etc.) that guide its life and growth” (p. 118). The first step to consider is prayer, before any attempt to plant a church; it is recommended to assemble an intercession team throughout the process.
The author believes that it is important to form a core group during the conception stage to discover the core organizational values of the church, which will be the core values of the church planter. Dr. Malphurs describes core values as “his consistent, passionate, biblical core beliefs that drive his ministry (p. 119)”. After that, a mission statement should be developed to dictate the direction the ministry should take. Mission primarily includes everything the church is trying to accomplish for God. The next point is to communicate the mission statement to people who have been ministers.
You also need to design a strategy. The strategies will determine the process of achieving the vision and mission of the new church. The development stage begins by gathering an initial core group of people interested in becoming part of the new church. Dr. Malphurs also explains that the main purpose of the birthing stage is to provide an opportunity to reach the geographic community for Christ.
The book also includes a Word Book for Church Planters, found in the last part of the book before the appendix. It has many surveys to help in the church planting process.
The author’s purpose is to encourage and equip individuals and churches to take the risk of becoming a vital part of this vision: start church planting. Malphurs is clear both in his thesis and in the development of his book. He addressed all the issues facing the church today and gives instructions that, if followed, can greatly benefit those who seek his wisdom and experience in church planting. The author approached the issues of church planting in a modern and postmodern way.
The author believes that the most effective and efficient way to reach the lost is by planting new churches. He examines the case from the pediatrician’s point of view, guiding the reader through the basic steps of conception, birth, growth, maturation, and the stage of reproduction. Malphurs believes that almost no church has visualization to reproduce by starting other churches. He believes there is more emphasis on maintenance than planting new churches. He based his assumption on surveys and studies conducted in all the churches in North America. He gives three reasons why reproduction begins to take place across the states; there are very few churches that are coming to the cities, but if the vision is embraced, there will be hope for Christianity in America. These three arguments given by the author are well researched and confirmed to be the way forward for American Christianity. It is imperative and important to turn the tides by adopting the Malphurs method of church planting.
Malphur’s book is very detailed and is geared towards those who want to follow a step-by-step guide to church planting. She has given me a clearer vision to implement in the church planting process, her book is not just a theory, it is based on practicality and is an easy guide to follow. Malphurs explained that the success of the church was based on the vision they took to create church planting churches. He believes that should be the way forward for the American Division as well, if he wants to change the way things are going.
The book should be read by every church planter, seminary student, and pastor who wants to have a better vision for the future of their churches. Implementing the concepts in this book is not difficult, because Malphurs is clear on the concepts he wants to convey. He also included in his book a workbook for church planters to help with the more difficult task of church planting, and a very comprehensive index. Malphurs has given me a clearer view of church planting ministry along with useful tools to implement the more practical theory of it.