Lausanne Church Planting Infographic

I found this church planting infographic that is worthy of sharing from Lausanne. I like it as a conversation starter for healthy missions partnerships. Because very rarely do you get on a plane and land in a city without any local churches. Therefore, what's the best way to honor what God has already done in the city, and move forward together to see churches gathered for his glory. Here are X conversation starters from this infographic.

What role can I best fill to see church planted in this community?

When we cross cultures, there are certain limitations of our effectiveness. For instance, one study Craig Ott highlights in Teaching Across Cultures shows preferred Western teachers their first year. But then they strongly preferred their Chinese teachers by the end of their program. Cross cultural workers are great to increase interest, but empowering local partners will be the only way to increase effectiveness and depth in the long run.

This country map is a great way to think through areas in the world where there already exists a legacy of church planting, and causes outsiders to think, "What's my role to empower and support local ownership?"

How big should a church plant be?

The chart shares that the average church plant size to be sustainable is 25-100. One, that's a large difference. Two, that large difference shows cultural preferences. For instance, in Louisville where my home church planted, the 100 person mark is more the need to feel sustainability because that's what people are used to in the community. My main desire is for us to see the number in our thoughts decrease in seeing a church planted. I believe that's the pattern of the New Testament. I love big churches, I come from them. But if we start more churches and help them mature over time, I think we will see a larger influence. Church America from 1776-2005 is a great example of this in the United States.

The need for more churches

Have you ever considered how many churches we should plant? This graphic claims 1 for every 1500 residents. I have seen various numbers from 1 to every 350 to 1 to every 1500 residents depending on the case study they are relying on. However, the important takeaway is that hardly any city you know has that many churches. Therefore, we need a lot of churches and a lot of church planters. Are we challenging people with the vision?