It’s essential that we develop our philosophy of ministry—including our philosophy of church planting—from the Scriptures. I often tell church planters that the best book on church planting is the Bible. Sometimes they look at me like, “Duh. Thanks, Captain Obvious.”
But it’s essential that we stay rooted in the sacred text. We must do this for the sake of our churches and for the good of our own souls. This doesn’t mean church planters shouldn’t read other books, or that the Bible will tell them everything they will want to know—like where to order chairs, how to build a website, how to do a budget, and so on.
But God’s Word does give us all the essential convictions we need for faithful ministry—convictions regarding preaching, shepherding, ecclesiology, and mission. It shows us what should drive our ministry: the gospel. And it reveals how the church should both declare and also display this gospel to the watching world.
So today we’re going to talk about the Bible in general, and the New Testament in particular, says about gospel ministry and gospel-driven church planting. We have New Testament scholar Michael Bird with us to discuss these things.
You can listen to this episode of Churches Planting Churches here.