4 Reasons To Plant Churches In The South
When it comes to places that seemingly already have plenty of churches, the American south immediately comes to mind (because there are a lot of churches). Because of that, every church planter in the South has at some point been asked (likely multiple times) why start another church here?
So in this post, I want to give four answers to that question to share the need and encourage others to plant churches in the South.
1. A lot of people are moving to the South
Many of the fastest-growing cities in the United States are in the South. In fact, a big reason we planted New City Church in Raleigh, NC, is because it is one of the fastest-growing cities in the entire country. If a revival broke out in our city, there wouldn't be nearly enough churches for people in our community to get connected to.
This also means more churches are needed not just to reach more people, but simply to keep up with population growth. We need more churches everywhere, which certainly includes places where people are flocking to move to.
2. Familiarity with Church ≠ familiarity with the Gospel
One of the unique challenges of church planting in the South is bringing the Gospel to people who think they already know it. After all, many grew up around the church so they already "know" everything there is to know.
The reality is, in the South, we are really good at moralism. As pastor James Walden writes,
American Christianity has been aptly labeled by sociologists as Moralistic Therapeutic Deism. Tyler Jones has refined the label in application to southern Christianity, referring to it as “quaint moralism.” If you’re Old South [read: traditional], this quaint moralism looks like avoiding stereotypical taboos like, “don’t drink, smoke or chew, or go with girls that do.” If you’re New South [read: more progressive], it’s a bit more complicated. Tolerance, open-mindedness, authenticity, transparency and suspension of judgment – these are the shared values of our culture. And we dutifully perform them in our own southern way.
In other words, it's your behavior that determines how God views you. You better be a good person or else! And to our shame, many churches in the South (sometimes intentionally, sometimes not) have taught this very thing.
And so, there is a unique challenge in the South of sharing the good news of Christ to people who think they already know what the "good news" is. Which to many in the south means something along the lines of "be a good person because God is always watching." Legalism and moralism are not the Gospel, and people in the South are often crushed by it.
This means the South needs more churches that are pointing people to Jesus and the hope that he brings.
3. The South is the most churched region of the United States, and our churches need help
This may seem like a reason not to plant in the South, but it's actually a strong reason to do it. Interestingly, it is when church plants come into an area that established churches nearby learn from what they are doing and begin to engage their people and community in a fresh way (of course, the opposite is also true. Church planters would be wise to meet with and learn from seasoned pastors/churches in their area).
Ed Stetzer writes,
I remember (way back in the day) when I planted a new church in a suburb of Erie, PA, we were the only contemporary church in town. Within a year of our launch, two other churches had started contemporary services and were reaching the young adults who, prior to that, were not engaged in their churches. Within a few more years, others followed-- and, today, some of those services have exploded as new families have been reached.
It can be easy for churches to get comfortable, and combining the excitement of new churches with the wisdom of established ones can make quite an impact on a community.
4. Don't overcomplicate it
There are many differing opinions on how one decides where God might want them to plant a church. I personally am of the belief that there is a lot of freedom when it comes to following Jesus, just like the Scriptures say. In other words, God's primary call on every believer's life is to love God and love others. Period.
This means that you can faithfully follow God's call on your life anywhere you live. Yes, you should earnestly pray and seek wise counsel if you're a potential church planter. And if you have a desire to plant in a particular area of the South for any number of reasons, you should do it.
Love God, love people, and serve his Church in the South, we'd love to have you.
Interested in church planting?
If you feel lead or are interested in church planting (regardless of where it may be), don't do it alone. Personally, our church is a part of Acts 29, a global family of church-planting churches.
If you’re interested in learning more about, connecting with, or planting churches through Acts 29, I’d love to connect with you. Feel free to send me an email, or click here to learn more about Acts 29.
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