Reaching the UnreachedAn annual conference for churches trying to reach out in the hard places of our land

In September, along with another couple, my wife Sophie and I are hoping, by God’s grace, to plant a church on an unreached estate nearby to where we’re living (more info at http://www.hillcitychurch.org/garn). So I was pretty keen to read Graham Beynon’s new book, ‘Planting for the Gospel: A Hands-on Guide to Church Planting’.

I’ve got admit, as I read the introduction, my heart sank. Graham describes the first Sunday service of a church plant he was involved in: “About fifty adults and twenty children from a nearby church were meeting together” (p9). And my first thought was, “That’s more people than at my current church! I thought this was a book about church planting, not church transplanting!”

But pretty soon, as he examines some Bible basics concerning church planting, it becomes clear that he’s not putting forward a ‘bigger is better’ approach. In fact the book as a whole is very broad, with a good focus on the necessity to plant where there is need, rather than just ease. Like a good game of football, it’s split into two halves of more-or-less equal length – the first outlining church planting principles, and the second providing case studies from a wide variety of church plants (including contributions from RTU bloggers Andy Mason, Dai Hankey, Steve Casey and Tim Chester!)

The book goes a long way towards removing the ‘mystique’ of church planting, unfolding the process in short, easy-to-read chapters. I’m almost left thinking, “Surely it can’t be this simple?!” But of course, even if the theory is straightforward, the tough part is putting it in practice! It perhaps would have been helpful to have some ‘failure’ case studies in the second section – church plants that haven’t been sustainable.

My main criticism is that the book lacks sufficient emphasis on the need to seek God for his guidance, leading and equipping when moving forward with a new church plant. Graham states in the introduction, “Our desire and aim is that Jesus uses us in His plan of building His church,” (p11) and yet the chapters almost come across as a “formula” (p29) which we follow to achieve success. Presumably prayer is taken for granted, but I would have appreciated seeing it woven throughout the first half, as an essential rather than an assumption.

Overall, the book is a positive and brief introduction to church planting, perhaps best for helping enthuse unconvinced church leaders/members of the need to think about planting. The questions at the end of each chapter would also make it suitable for discussion in a homegroup setting. Personally, I was encouraged most by the case studies – testimonies that Jesus is indeed still building his church in the UK and beyond!

Keen to read it? Buy the book at thegoodbook.co.uk

Have you read this book? What did you make of it? Post your comments below.