When people think of church planting in Sovereign Grace Ministries, the idea of reaching Starbucks-studded suburbia often comes to mind. And obviously we have more suburban churches than urban ones, at least here in the U.S. of A.

But Sovereign Grace does not exclusively focus on the suburbs. In fact, a growing number of church planters are being called to urban areas, which creates an incalculable excitement in our hearts.

Now a new church plant is underway in the heart of San Francisco. Christ Church was planted with a group of folks who have a heart for the city of San Francisco, and is led by Toby Kurth.

I first met Toby when Sovereign Grace had launched an urban church plant in New York City and he was working on his Ph.D. in Early American History. Toby and his wife Rebekah jumped into this church plant with heart and soul and served tirelessly for several years.

As they served in that church, it soon became evident that God had called Toby to preach. So off to the Pastors College he went, and then to Gilbert, Arizona, for a church-planting residence. From there, the invasion plan for a church plant to San Francisco took shape.

Let me introduce you to my buddy Toby.

1) Hey Toby, tell us what drew you there?
 
One common theme that has run from the earliest days of considering the church plant through today is God demonstrating that he has gone before us. We feel like active participants and spectators at the same time.
 
California is home for Rebekah and me; and though our burden for urban church planting began in Brooklyn, our hearts were redirected here. I spent a day in San Francisco after my grandmother passed away in October 2005 praying about our future and ever since then God has increased our burden and opened doors for this church plant to happen.
 
2) What are some of the unique challenges that urban church planters encounter?
 
The unique challenges we have encountered have all been two-sided. The challenges appear to be obstacles, but are simultaneously opportunities for God to demonstrate the power of Christ and his gospel. Cities are diverse and neighborhoods can change dramatically in cultural and socioeconomic make-up in just a few blocks. This can appear to be an obstacle, but is ultimately an opportunity to build on the cross-cultural transcendence of Christ and his gospel. It is a great opportunity to display love above and beyond any obstacles that where we are from or what we do might present.
 
Another obstacle is that many city dwellers can be outwardly opposed to what they think the message of Christianity is. Some of that is due to superficial or negative interactions with Christians, and some of it is just that people have never heard the gospel. Either way our goal is to bring people face-to-face with Jesus, with who he is and what he has done.
 
Finding a place to meet is the last big challenge. It can be hard to get established as a church without a steady, affordable place to meet and a presence in the community. This has been a huge way God has demonstrated that He has prepared the way for us. We have a building! It is a hundred-year-old sanctuary built by German Lutherans and later used by a Baptist church. The building has a rich history of use in ministry to the ever-changing community around it. From Chinese and Russian Jewish immigrants to “Summer of Love” hippies, the church has consistently been used by God to bring people to Christ.

But over time membership dwindled. The church was in the process of praying about their future and what God would have them do to see gospel ministry continue in their building when we arrived in January 2009. God gave me a great and growing friendship with the pastor and the sole remaining elder. What began as a friendship grew into these men wanting to support our church plant in any way they could. Their humility and desire to see the gospel go forward led to them merging in what remained of their people with our church plant on October 4, 2009.

You would be hard pressed to find a church in the Bay Area where the gospel has been faithfully proclaimed for 104 years. We have inherited a rich legacy and pray that we will be faithful to continue and hopefully expand it.
 
3) Toby, you know Sovereign Grace Ministries is about “gospel-centered local churches planting local churches.” Tell us about Wellspring Church and how they heroically served, supplied, and supported the starting of Christ Church.
 
Wellspring has been another clear and amazing evidence of God preparing the way for this church plant. Sam Shin’s humility and desire to see churches planted in the Bay Area is compelling.

For starters, almost all of our church plant team came from Wellspring’s San Francisco small group. Sam also gave me the opportunity to preach twice a month starting last February. This enabled me to build much better with the church-plant team, for the people at Wellspring to be more invested in our church plant, and for me to get to launch the church on August 2nd with a running start in the pulpit. In addition to sending off a large portion of their congregation, Wellspring also sent us with a $10,000 check.

We continue to look for opportunities to do as many events together as we can, which has included a fall retreat, various seminars, and a Christmas Eve service. Wellspring is a sister church and a partner in the gospel for us in so many ways.
 
4) What excites you most about Sovereign Grace planting even more churches in urban areas?
 
What I personally love about urban church plants is that no two of them will look the same. I think there can be such a temptation with church plants, and it can be so subtle, to put faith in a model more than the active presence of God.

Trying to import a certain way of doing things that works in the suburbs into an urban setting simply will not work. Urban church planters must put their faith in what Christ is calling them to do in their setting. We have a wonderful model in Sovereign Grace and I look forward to working it in a unique urban community.
 
5) Last question: Let’s say some young guy is reading this and he burns to plant an urban church. What would you say to him?
 
I would start by commending him for his desire to plant an urban church. We need as many church planters as we can get. But a call to plant is much more than a burden. You must have the confidence that God has placed that burden in you and that God is going before you. That burden may begin in you, but it has to be confirmed outside of you.

You need to be invested in a local church where you can be equipped and evaluated and where those who know you best can ultimately confirm your call. You need to do all you can to cultivate a love for God’s Word, your ability to preach it, and a love for the lost. An urban church plant is an exciting adventure, but our only hope in the midst of it is ever and always in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Thanks for passing along your experience, Toby. And thanks even more for serving the Savior in San Francisco!

I’ve got a friend named Jim. He’s an evangelist. An evangelist is a guy who takes his wife to a romantic restaurant and then spends the meal witnessing to the waiter. That’s Jim, and that’s a true story, but probably for another time.

In my world, Jim exists to help me—and the other guys on our pastoral team—break out of the church and into the world. Jim’s on a mission to make sure our community hears the gospel and that every member of our church is sharing it. Each week, Jim arranges for one of the pastors to go out witnessing, and that’s what put me on a local campus standing in front of a student—I’ll call him Jesse.

As a philosophy student, Jesse was wired for God-talk. As for me, …umm, I was trying to remember my name, how to string words together to form complete sentences and, oh yes, the gospel. Eventually I fumbled through it and Jesse appreciated the conversation. But I don’t think he walked away impressed by my power or presence.

Church planters can relate. Sure, the field is ripe, but the worker feels weak, alone, and ill-equipped for the moment. But even when we feel like we’re laboring alone, our mandate—the Great Commission—fills the field with one magnificent promise.

Check it out in Matthew 28:20: “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Our commission is great (always!) because it comes with the promise of God’s enduring presence.

God’s Powerful Presence

Think about it: we are sent by the risen Savior to do his ministry in the earth. So we spill out of the locker room with the Great Commission, the greatest pre-game speech ever delivered, ringing in our ears. Through the tunnel of planning and preparation we run, ready to burst out on the field of church-planting opportunity. But then we realize something: we’re on the enemy’s turf and there is opposition everywhere. Suddenly our numbers seem puny and our playbook pathetically thin and predictable. It is for this moment that Jesus ended his Great Commission with these words:

“And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We can tend to extract this verse from the context of the Great Commission and slap it on all kind of situations. The primary context of this promise informs us that God is with us as we go. As we seek to plant churches, God is with us. As we stammer to share the gospel with guys like Jesse, God is with us. As we huddle up, looking to call the first play on our launch Sunday, God is with us.

Jesus doesn’t toss out this promise as a stray thought—“And dude, by the way, I’m always around if you need me.” No, when he says, “behold,” he means, “Listen up, you need to know this!” “Behold” typically precedes a payload. And the payload is his permanent presence as we go.

In other words, what he’ll do is always more important than what we’ll do.

Go into all the world and make disciples? That’s great.

Jesus with us? That’s greater.

Baptize and teach? Seriously great.

Jesus with us? Amazingly greater.

Planting churches? Exhilaratingly great.

Jesus with us? Even greater.

God’s Enduring Presence

And this isn’t a time-determined promise. He isn’t going to be with us for three quarters of the game and then hang out in the luxury box for crunch time. He is with us always…even to the end of the age. He is with us every moment in equal measure. And he will be there when the final whistle blows, when the final trumpet sounds. It’s at that time that the mission will be done and we will be with him in glory. Always and without end.

There are eight, or maybe it’s now nine, church planters connected to Sovereign Grace Ministries starting churches over the next year. Can anything strengthen their hearts more than Jesus’s words?

“I am with you always.”

To Dave who is breaking ground for us in Sydney, Australia; Toby in urban San Francisco; Songhwan in South Korea; Kenny in suburban Philly; David planting a church in an unreached region in southeast Asia; Eric in Arlington, Virginia; Wilbroad in Zambia and others already in the field or just preparing to launch—Jesus reminds you:

“I am with you always.”

How about you? Do you have any doubts about your participation in the Great Commission? Christ is with us. Do you have any doubts that your church can make a difference, that your church can actually raise the number of conversions? The Savior is with us. Do you have any doubts that your people can gain an enthusiasm to actually become a church-planting church? The Savior is with us in our going.

Part of the reason I was sharing the gospel with Jesse is because I want to do something great for God. I want to play in the game and score something for God’s glory. But the Great Commission dwarfs any idea of my contribution. The Commission is great in spite of me. It’s great because it comes from one with great authority. It’s great because it is entrusted to a great church. It is great because it graciously allows even people like us to participate in it. It is great because it carries a great promise…even to the end of the age.

That’s truly awesome. So next time you’re planning to share the gospel (and I hope it’s soon!), remember the promise: God is with us in our going. That’s what makes it a GREAT commission!

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Dave Harvey leads international expansion and church planting for Sovereign Grace Ministries and is based in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. For more information about the Sovereign Grace church-planting process, click here.

In the olden days of Sovereign Grace, a funny phrase would occasionally pop up in our sermons. Do you remember this?

“Don’t hear what I’m not saying.”

The double negatives were so puzzling that it almost passed for profundity. But it was really just a way to appeal for careful listening. Careful listening was vital when confusing young preachers like us were learning our craft—but I’m getting off-message here.

I resurrect the phrase now as we return to the Great Commission and discuss the delicate topic of “apostolic ministry.”

The Apostolic Mission

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. (Matthew 28:16)

The target group of the Great Commission is the eleven disciples. As we discovered in a recent post, they received it as representatives of the church throughout the ages. Yes, you and I were represented in the audience at the premier of the Great Commission. But the disciples also received it as apostles who would actually carry the gospel to the world.

There’s that word again, apostles. Let’s go to a wide-angle lens and take in the big picture.

Jesus gave the commission to ordinary men—men who would receive a unique commissioning as Apostles by the risen Christ. Joined by Paul of Tarsus, they would be the essential human agents in the proclamation of the gospel and the establishment of the church after the ascension of Christ. These men would play a unique and unrepeatable role in redemptive history. There are no contemporary reproductions of these men and their role. They are long gone.

Yet the mission they undertook remains. So the question: did “apostolic ministry” cease with the passing of the first apostles?

If we’re talking about the writers of the Scriptures, yes. Apostles of that brand are done, gone, they’ve left the building. However, this does not mean that they were the last men God would call and grace to extend the mission of the gospel through church planting. Such men are still around and quite essential. Here’s the thing: the continuity between the original recipients of the Great Commission and the present practitioners who extend it on behalf of the church is not one of office, authority, or anointing. It is function. As Jeff Purswell, the other guy (the smart one) sharing C.J.’s blog, says, “The function of first century apostles finds its ongoing expression in the efforts of those called and gifted to lead the church into missions.”

Mobilized for Mission

This “apostolic function” persists primarily to help the church reach the world with the gospel. This requires leaders whom the church sends to break new ground or explore new mission opportunities. Their function can be rooted in the Great Commission, but we can readily see a pattern for their labors in the missionary strategy of the Apostle Paul. “And thus I make it my ambition,” he said, “to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named” (Romans 15:20). Elsewhere Paul states to the Corinthians his impassioned gospel-goal: “to preach the gospel in lands beyond you” (2 Corinthians 10:16).

The take-home point? The function fulfilled by men following in Paul’s (and Timothy’s, and Silas’s, and Epaphras’s, etc.) footsteps is primarily missiological, not ecclesiological. The accent rests on gospel mission, not church maintenance. And the specific expression of that mission is church planting. “[Paul’s] more functional understanding of apostleship,” says Gordon Fee, “would certainly have its modern counterparts in those who found and lead churches in unevangelized areas.”*

The Apostolic Aim: Mobilizing Everyone???

Make no mistake: the church is sent to the lost. No one is exempt from this responsibility. But God doesn’t send everyone in the same way. God sends most locally (reaching their community with the gospel) and a few globally. I think that is why we don’t find Paul just moving through New Testament churches recruiting missionaries. Nor do we see the Great Commission applied in the New Testament in a way that mobilizes all believers to go to the uttermost parts of the world.

Here’s a summary: The Great Commission is entrusted to the church. But the church is called to identify, send, and support those graced specifically to extend the apostolic mission. Such men are called and gifted by God to provide leadership for mission and to orchestrate the planting of churches. Just because a man is a great pastor, or a great preacher, or a great evangelist, or a great leader doesn’t mean he is called to this apostolic function. But if a man can theologize, strategize, mobilize, and organize with a view to where the gospel hasn’t gone, then maybe we need to set him apart to do just that.

Why? Because mission activities are closest to the pattern in Scripture when they flow out of this Great Commission strategy: missions flowing from the church and stewarded by gifted, theologically informed church leadership.

The Apostolic Mission: Don’t Hear What I’m Not Saying

Does this mean that the activity in foreign fields that is not defined this way is not legitimate? (How about that for some double negatives!) Not at all…don’t hear what I’m not saying! There are certain areas of expertise—medicine, translation, business, disaster relief, etc.—that make a vital contribution to the mission field. It’s not like every time a medical team is formed we think someone with apostolic-type gifts should be on the team—actually, most folks would rather just have a doctor. And by the way, just because Hudson Taylor, David Brainerd or John Paton didn’t think in terms of apostolic function doesn’t mean that they weren’t doing it. We can recognize right out of the gate that they had more apostolic game than anything we are bringing to the court!

But here is the challenge: It would seem like the church’s mission ministry could function more scripturally, and therefore more strategically, if it were married to a biblical vision for this apostolic function.

May God give us men gifted for this function so we can go further into the fields!

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Dave Harvey leads international expansion and church planting for Sovereign Grace Ministries and is based in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. For more information about the Sovereign Grace church-planting process, click here.

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*Gordon D. Fee, The First Epistle to the Corinthians (Eerdmans, 1987), 397.

I’m one of those guys who responded to an altar call at a concert. I shot to my feet so fast I got dizzy…and I was already a Christian! The altar call was for radical Christians; believers who would risk life and limb to become missionaries and take the gospel to faraway lands. Being radical for Jesus sounded like a great career move to me, way better than my minimum wage job. So I stood! I stood up to be counted, stood tall for Jesus, stood ready to leave that night for the radical life.

The tug on my pant leg came just above the knee. It was my new bride. I had, ummm, momentarily forgotten about her. She was still seated and not a little confused. Stow the passport—this needed to slow down a bit. Eventually God showed us that we should be seated in a church before we could stand for missions. So we joined a church, and it was there we discovered that God’s mission to the world—the Great Commission—doesn’t sidestep the church but actually involves the church. That’s part of what makes it a GREAT Commission.

Our commission is great because it recruits the church.

The Great Commission is given to the disciples, not just as apostles who walked with Jesus, but as representatives of the church (Matthew 28:16–20). Sure, the apostles received it (v. 16), but the church has to finish it.

Why would I say that? Three reasons:

1. Look at the target of the Commission: “make disciples of all nations” (emphasis mine). Is it possible that these eleven men could circulate to “all nations”? The obvious answer is “uh-uh.” It’s evident that other people—a lot of people—are in view here. But that’s not the only reason.

2. Think about the duration of the Commission: “to the end of the age.” The eleven may have been special, but they certainly weren’t eternal. That means the “you” referenced in verses 20 and 21 refers to people beyond the eleven. Christ is talking to the church as well.

3. But also look at the application of the Commission: If Acts and the rest of the New Testament chronicle the disciples’ understanding and application of the Great Commission, local churches seem to emerge as the fruit, focus, and fuel of missions.

Much of the telling of missions history reveals a different understanding. Many pages are filled with stories of exceptional missionaries—amazing men and women who made incredible sacrifices and demonstrated heroic faith. They portray the work of God through individuals, but only in exceptional cases do we see the centrality of the church in missions.

But our commission is great because it flows not just to the eleven but to the entire church. John Piper said, “It was given not only to the apostles for their ministry but also to the church for its ministry as long as this age lasts.”*

Remember, the eleven got it; the church finishes it.

Our commission is great because it results in the church.

The origins for church planting are seen in the shadows of Matthew 28. Just think about the ingredients of the commission itself. “Go. Make disciples. Baptize. Teach.” That’s explosive stuff.

It’s funny. Often in evangelicalism, the Great Commission is reduced to just a couple of menu items. It’s like a buffet—a commission buffet—where we spoon ourselves the portions that appear most appetizing. A little going and baptizing? Oh yes, that sounds delicious. Teaching and making disciples? Hmm, I think I’ll pass. Takes too much time…sours the stomach a bit.

But hold on. As Christians, we’re supposed to embrace the full scope of Matthew 28. After all, going without making disciples is an aborted commission. Baptizing without teaching is birth without growth. If my mission strategy is to relocate to Latin America or Asia to preach the gospel, I may be godly and well intentioned, but I may only be “going” and maybe “baptizing.” That’s a commendable commission, but not a complete commission. To fulfill the Great Commission we must reach for all of the ingredients of Matthew 28.

Think about how the Great Commission was applied in the New Testament. Missions in the New Testament was about churches and church planting. It was profoundly church-centered. That’s why Paul was sent from local churches and received into churches. It’s why his labors resulted in churches and his letters were addressed to churches. It’s why the aim of missions was never to separate from the church, but to result in the church.

For our commission to be great, we must have more than preaching good news. We must be creating new communities—local churches! And that takes time and patience. At that concert when I responded to the altar call, I had collapsed the commission down to “going.” How grateful I am that God revealed the whole picture and showed me the extraordinary link between the mission and the church.

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Dave Harvey leads international expansion and church planting for Sovereign Grace Ministries and is based in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. For more information about the Sovereign Grace church-planting process, click here.

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* John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2003), 160.

If you could buy stock in church planting, this would be a bull market. I’m serious. Church planting is white-hot right now. I think that’s terrific. But to keep it from simply becoming trendy, we must anchor it in something eternal. That’s where the Great Commission comes in.

Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:16-20)

What makes the Great Commission so great? Is it the great sacrifices it calls for…or the great places we’re called to go? How about the great people it calls into action? I don’t think so. Our commission is great because it ignites church planting.

But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. The Great Commission is not great simply because it results in the church. It’s great, first and foremost, because it originates from the finished work of Christ.

The Gospel: The Point and Power behind Church Planting

Read it again. The Great Commission starts with the gospel. It fixes us on what the cross secured for Christ —“all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me” (v. 18). Right out of the gate, God invites us to look at the fields of our community, the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Africa, and Asia with a new sense of confidence. Why? Because…and get ready for this…the contract is inked, the rights reserved, the deal sealed. The authority to put the gospel into circulation is secured by the substitutionary death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Think about it. The reality of that authority now forms the foundation for all local evangelism, church planting, and missions. Authorized for action, Christians can now serve God’s warrant to the world. We get to tell lost souls they are loved…and wanted by the Savior. That’s a jaw-dropper.

That’s why we can’t get all hyped up on the latest way to do missions, the latest research, the latest means and methods of doing ministry. Because nothing we can concoct will ever prepackage the power of the gospel. Church planting shouldn’t start with techniques, technology or talking to territorial spirits, often the launching point for church planting in certain parts of the world. It must begin with our confidence in the explosive message embodied in Christ and entrusted to us in Matthew 28. It’s the one message that makes all the difference. And we’re the megaphone.

But we have to remember that it’s not a static message that we just share when we have time. It’s not content we load into our cutting-edge curriculum. The gospel is a dynamic, unstoppable force that God has unleashed in creation through the cross. Dwight Moody once likened the gospel to a lion. Just pop open the cage and stand clear!

The apostle Paul was supremely confident in the power of the gospel. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).

Guaranteed Success

Are you starting to see it? Our commission is great because the founder guarantees the fruit (Ephesians 2:10). Yep, the Great Commission is stamped with “results guaranteed!” How cool is that? And we know that a king’s edict, closed countries, recessions, wars, natural disasters, cultural opposition or indifference, even the failures of the workers, won’t stall the commission. Going forth with the message of God in the power of God means we are entrusted with a message that never stops. It is an unstoppable commission.

If you’re like me, just thinking about this stuff gets the blood pumping. To think that we have a job to do and success is guaranteed because of the finished work of Christ is thrilling. We serve a great Savior who has established our call upon his great work—it must be a Great Commission!

Tune in next time, when we’ll discover how the church and church planting are embedded in the Great Commission.

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Dave Harvey leads international expansion and church planting for Sovereign Grace Ministries and is based in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. For more information about the Sovereign Grace church-planting process, click here.

Today’s topic is “why plant churches?” I’m going to answer this question in two posts, or maybe three. Or maybe 40.

In my first post, I mentioned that church planting is part of our DNA. That’s worth explaining because it goes to our history. I’m going to get to the more important reasons from Scripture in my next post, but let me first tell you a brief version of our story.

Way back in the 1970’s, before rock was classic and when disco still had shreds of respectability, there was a teaching ministry in the Washington, DC, area called Take and Give (TAG). For several years, TAG’s weekly meetings attracted up to 2,000 people, most of them young and eager for genuine encounters with Christ. C.J. Mahaney was one of the primary teachers.

I’ve heard C.J. say that season was the closest he’s ever come to experiencing authentic revival. Hundreds upon hundreds of young people were powerfully converted to Christ. But as TAG’s attendance grew, there was a concern among some in leadership about the limitations of regularly gathering people for teaching in a non-church context.

The Lord was blessing the teaching meetings, but a mere teaching meeting seemed insufficient. People needed care, training, and meaningful relationships in a loving but accountable context. They needed pastors who would teach them and care for their souls. This cast them back upon Scripture. Through study, the TAG leadership began to see that their approach to teaching and caring for Christians lacked a biblical context. They began to gain a burden and a vision for the local church.

So imagine this scene. One evening, at the height of TAG popularity, the TAG leaders stun the large crowd by announcing that the Tuesday night meetings are ending. I wasn’t there, but I’m told it was quite the evening. Why would these men possibly tamper with that kind of success?

It’s simple. A conviction had reached critical mass. The TAG leaders were convinced that God’s appointed means of caring for his people was the local church, not simply a teaching meeting. Soon thereafter, Covenant Life Church was born. And soon a passion for church planting developed.

Our church in Philadelphia was a first fruit of that passion. A small group of families and singles relocated to the Philadelphia area in 1984 for the express purpose of starting a church. As we became established, the vision for church planting was internalized through study and a growing awareness of how God had blessed us through the sacrifices of our sending church. Covenant Fellowship has since planted other churches (ten, to date!) and helped train many other leaders for church plants. And, now, some of those churches are themselves beginning to explore and enjoy the adventure of church planting! Similar patterns have emerged elsewhere within the Sovereign Grace family too.

Early in our journey, it became apparent that our churches needed a stronger link than name and common doctrine. A leadership team was formed to help establish strategies for future missions direction. Sovereign Grace Ministries—then called People of Destiny International and later PDI—was formed. The result has been slow, intentional growth from a single church to, as of this writing, more than 85 churches…including eight being started right now. We also work in 22 nations worldwide by helping leaders catch a biblical vision for planting gospel-centered churches. By God’s grace, these churches are joined by a commitment to the gospel and a passion for the local church and missions, which itself spills over from our love for the gospel and the application of God’s Word.

Sovereign Grace owes its existence to the grace of God through church planting. That’s why it’s in our blood. But more importantly, it’s in our Bible.

Join me next time to examine why Scripture compels us to plant churches.

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Dave Harvey leads international expansion and church planting for Sovereign Grace Ministries and is based in Glen Mills, Pennsylvania. For more information about the Sovereign Grace church-planting process, click here.

So my buddy C.J. says, “Why don’t you contribute to my ‘view from the cheap seats’ blog a couple of times a month?” This was a real honor, ’cause C.J. has been a dear friend and mentor for over two decades. Still I did wonder if I should hold out for a blog from better seats. Maybe the guy who blogs “from the box seats” or “from courtside” will extend an invitation. Probably not. I should probably just be grateful to blog from anywhere in the arena. I mean, if C.J. sees things from the cheap seats, then I’m outside in the parking lot—much further away, but delicious if you find the right tailgaters.

Really, my first thought was, what an honor to serve my dear friend by speaking to the people we both love and respect the most—pastors!

Okay, let’s move to introductions. I’m Dave Harvey. I’ve pastored in the same Sovereign Grace Ministries church for 23 years. But I’ve also worked in Sovereign Grace Ministries for a good part of that time, kinda on the side. This past October, I turned the senior pastor role over to a 28-year-old man named Jared Mellinger. I’m going to tell you all about that in upcoming blogs, but let’s press through this one first.

Because we love proclaiming the gospel, Sovereign Grace Ministries created a new role and asked me to fill it. We’re not big on titles around here so I’m the “person-responsible-for-church-planting, international-expansion-and-church-care-in-Sovereign-Grace.” People typically start yawning about halfway through my title, so I often grab attention by also throwing in “bomb disposal.”

I live in Philadelphia, home of the world champion Phillies and some pretty awesome cheesesteaks. If you don’t know what a cheesesteak is, then eating one someday should immediately go on your prayer list. Many young men feel called to plant churches in Philly after eating one.

But I digress.

The church in Philly where I am based (Covenant Fellowship Church) hosts the SGM Church Planting Group. You’re going to hear a lot more about them as I write, as well as how they partner with our regional leaders to plant healthy churches. But here’s a quick overview on the Church Planting Group. They are a team assisting Sovereign Grace pastors in the recruiting, assessing, training, and launching of church planters. It’s a wonderful job since we’re in the process of planting eight churches right now. One of them is being planted by a good friend of mine named Kenny Lynch, who was just sent from our home church last month.

I can’t believe I get to do this kind of stuff; it’s epic sweetness.

Sovereign Grace Ministries defines success partly by planting gospel-centered churches. It is so important to us that we dedicate an enormous amount of time, training, resources, and personnel to it. We’ve been doing it for 25 years…it’s in our DNA, our genes, our blood, it’s…well, you get the picture. But here’s the neat thing: It still feels like we are just getting started. There’s still so much to do, so much to learn. And then we’ve got to effectively transfer the whole thing to the next generation so that they can continue the mission in strength.

I hope this is important to you as well. But sheer enthusiasm is not enough. We need to understand from God’s Word why we as a ministry are called to plant and build gospel-centered local churches around the world.

Wow, I get excited just writing about this stuff. And I hope my blog contribution will encourage those of you with the same burden for church planting.

Next time we’ll get started by answering the obvious and foundational question: Why plant churches in the first place?

So log on, grab a cheesesteak and join me next time.

Get to know Toby Kurth and you will observe his passion for the advance of the gospel through urban church planting. But urban church planting is more than a passion for him. He has previously assisted in several church contexts and helped in the 2004 launch of Sovereign Grace City Church in Brooklyn, New York. Last year Toby graduated from the Pastors College and he now leads Christ Church, a church plant in urban San Francisco.

During our recent Pastors Conference, Toby explained the reasons why he wanted to plant in the city. He explained his path to planting in San Francisco, recounted some of the answered prayers along the way, and explained why this pursuit promises both reward and difficulty.

Listen to Toby’s 10-minute update for an inside look at the most recent Sovereign Grace church plant:

Download MP3 (2.4 MB)

Ian McConnell grew up in North Philadelphia, the oldest of six boys in a “rough-around-the-collar” Irish-Catholic family. Today, by God’s grace, Ian is an urban church planter and the lead pastor of Grace Bible Church in Philadelphia. On July 5, Grace Bible Church will celebrate their adoption into the Sovereign Grace family of churches.

At our 2009 Pastors Conference, Ian shared his passion for urban church planting and told the story of his path into Sovereign Grace. You can listen to the 14-minute audio clip here:


Download MP3 (3.2 MB)