Church Planting
We are a church planting church. Our hope and dream is to see more churches planted in Memphis, and we humbly asking God to use Redeemer as He sees fit.
A church plant is the establishment of a new congregation of Christians in a city. This is different from a “satellite church,” a second location that streams in the service from the mother church. A church plant is the establishment of a new church with its own local pastor and staff, its own particular identity, and its own unique mission to a specific area.
Our first plant, Resurrection Presbyterian Church, is being led by Austin Lenox. Future planters may come from inside or outside our church. We are committed to making sure that whoever the Lord provides would go through a formal church planting assessment process, as well as receive ongoing church planting training and support.
Church Planting FAQ
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First, because God loves Memphis. God’s heart particularly longs for entire cities to know Him and to flourish under His reign. One way that we can partner in God's mission and share His heart is through planting more churches in our city.
Second, because it is strategic. Church planting has proven to be exponentially more effective than simply building a bigger church. Multiplication is more strategic and covers more ground for the kingdom than addition. We believe it is more strategic to be a ‘multiplying church’ (a church actively moving toward outsiders) than to be a ‘monument church’ (a church passively waiting for outsiders to come to us).
Third, because this is simply what the church does. Jesus called his followers to ‘Go therefore and make disciples…’ (Matthew 28:18). At its very core, discipleship to Jesus involves reproduction. Just like how an apple tree produces apples, churches produce churches. This is simply the normal and natural function for a church.
Fourth, because this strengthens and renews our missional commitments. The paradox of the kingdom is that we find our lives by losing our lives. Planting a church certainly involves loss; we sacrifice financial resources, we lose leaders, and we release people to pursue new relationships. However, what might be felt as an immediate loss for Redeemer is not only a net gain for the Kingdom and for Memphis, it is also a net gain for Redeemer. Planting energizes and strengthens our missional muscles.
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Our first plant, Resurrection Presbyterian, is in Northwest Midtown in and around Crosstown Concourse. For our first plant, we would like to plant another church in Midtown for the same reasons that we were planted in Midtown almost 20 years ago, namely, to reach a center city, unchurched/dechurched population.
Church plants typically take 2-3 years from initial idea to formal launch. Our hope is to plant 3 churches in the next 10 years. Our first plant is just getting started!
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The plant will be initially funded during the early phases by Redeemer, the ‘mother church’. We are already setting aside money in our annual budget to prepare for this process. In addition, individuals and families that are part of the initial stages of the plant (along with the church planter) will be part of the funding equation, so it will be more than just RPC corporately helping to fund the plant. Overall, our hope would be to slowly decrease Redeemer’s support so that by the start of the plant’s fourth year, it is financially self-sufficient.
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A handful of interest meetings have already been held that give a ‘preview’ or ‘feel’ of the ethos of the new church plant. Several families have expressed a serious interest in joining the launch team.
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At this stage, we are inviting people to dream and to pray. Dream about how the Lord might use a new church to reach the hurting and the needy with the gospel. And pray about how the Lord might be calling you to participate in this exciting chapter in the life of Redeemer.
Interested?
Contact Austin Lenox at austin@respresmemphis.org if you are interested in joining or supporting the church plant.