A Reflection on Church Planting Movements in the Early 21st Century
One of the significant developments witnessed in the Evangelical Church in the past several decades is the rise and expansion of church-planting movements in and alongside various denominations. One of the remarkable leaders of this movement was David Nicholas, the founding Pastor of Spanish River Church in Boca Raton, Florida. This congregation became a founding church of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) in 1973.
As a new, small, and largely southern denomination, the PCA had to be active in pioneering congregations if it was to be faithful to the Great Commission and grow as an effective communion of witness to the gospel across North America. David’s zeal to move that mission into high gear and support the global witness of the Gospel through various missionaries was a hallmark of his leadership. That outward-facing emphasis on sacrificial mission and evangelism was at the heart of Spanish River’s DNA, and it remains a core commitment of our church.
It’s fair to say that after some years, David’s vision began to expand beyond that of helping only one denomination multiply churches. He had become progressively frustrated by the relative ineffectiveness of many traditional missionaries sent from the US to plant new works in other countries. They were not nearly as fruitful as finding and partnering with pioneering church leaders born in those countries who clearly understood how to translate the Gospel into their native cultures. Such leaders could multiply churches in far less time and at far less cost than it would take for a foreigner to learn the language and culture and establish a church. They also tended to maintain a long-term presence in their countries., carrying their ventures forward into the next generation of equipped servants. During the early 1980s, David led Spanish River to make what many thought a radical decision to shift their mission strategies to exclusively funding church planting leaders. SRC undertook this work in the US and abroad by discovering and supporting national leaders who could plant effective churches and build networks of thriving churches that would plant others.
That decision, and their experience of helping to plant churches outside of North America in other denominations, led David and the leadership of Spanish River to make an even more radical decision - to help like-minded leaders in other denominations and networks plant churches that would not be affiliated with the PCA. David knew that SRC’s work in the Gospel couldn’t be completed by any one denomination, not even his own. Nevertheless, David’s highest loyalty was to the gospel's urgent, clear proclamation and the call to spread that transforming message to everyone everywhere. The PCA was part of that work but never the sum of it.
Spanish River began to support gospel preaching churches of various denominations - and does so to this day - because the work of the Great Commission is too great for any single congregation or family of churches to accomplish alone, whether in their city or around the world. All believers need the rich diversity of Christ’s Church so that all people can receive the message of Christ. Spanish River also supported planters across the spectrum of the commonly acknowledged groups within the PCA (Pietist, Doctrinalist, and Culturalist) and has continued to do so.
In time, David came to believe that a network of churches committed to the same missional values and existing across denominational lines would enhance everyone’s capacity to train and mobilize a rising generation of leaders and plant a larger number of Gospel-proclaiming congregations. In the late 90s. David was moved to create ACTS 29 and recruited Mark Driscoll as one of the first planters. The network began to grow rapidly, in large part because of the charismatic leadership of Driscoll and significant funding by SRC. Unfortunately, several years into its development, a conflict arose between David and Mark because of some of the choices Mark was making in relation to style and demeanor. After repeated attempts to resolve the conflict, David let Driscoll take control of the network. David and SRC have continued to support dozens of Acts 29 leaders over the years, many of whom have proved to be very effective and excellent leaders; however, SRC is not connected organizationally with Acts 29.
During the last few decades of the 20th century, even while Spanish River and the PCA were developing very significant church planting efforts, many other movements were developing in North America and across the world, including those associated with networks like Vineyard, Calvary Chapel, New Frontiers, Sovereign Grace, and later churches like Willow Creek and Saddleback. Many denominations also ramped up their efforts to plant churches, most notably the Southern Baptists and Assembly of God. And we all know that the Lord was very much at work in countries like China and India. At the same time, the number of evangelical Churches and Christians also increased exponentially in sub-Saharan Africa and South America.
Out of these initial efforts in the late decades of the 20th century, the wider church-planting emphasis emerged across various denominations and affiliations. 21st-century American Christianity has continued to witness the emergence of numerous church-planting movements. These missions, driven by a desire to reach new communities and revitalize existing congregations, created a wave of innovation and collaboration, along with the rise of new leadership and Gospel communication approaches. At the forefront of this movement were several influential networks and founders who played a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of church planting in the United States.
SRC remains a hub of church-planting strategy and support, and we pray that we may stay faithful to that calling and deepen and widen those efforts in the years to come.
Tim Keller, Redeemer, and City to City
One of the churches that SRC played a key role in helping to plant was Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, led by Tim Keller. Keller developed an extraordinarily effective church in Manhattan that was able to reach thousands of non-believers in the city even while helping to plant dozens of churches in New York and the Metro area. By 1999, its influence was felt in many other large cities in the USA and Canada. In 2000, Keller and the leadership of Redeemer were led to create a church planting center, which would later be called Redeemer City to City. It quickly became an influential network not only in North America but across the cities of the world.
Keller recognized the unique challenges and opportunities presented by urban centers and began to think that what they were learning in NYC might be effective in other cities with similar characteristics. Thus, Redeemer City to City sought to equip and empower church planters to establish vibrant congregations in major cities. Through its training programs, funding, and strategic partnerships, Redeemer City to City played a pivotal role in the proliferation of urban church plants across the United States.
Redeemer City to City emerged as a key player in the movement to revitalize urban centers through church planting. With a commitment to holistic gospel ministry and urban renewal, City to City trained and supported church planters in cities worldwide, including New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
The organization's emphasis on cultural engagement, mercy ministry, and leadership development resonated with urban practitioners seeking to make a tangible impact in their communities. Through partnerships with churches, nonprofits, and civic leaders, Redeemer City to City catalyzed a wave of church planting activity that transformed cities and neighborhoods across America.
In addition to these prominent networks, recent years have witnessed the rise of numerous other church planting initiatives, each with its own unique approach and emphasis. Organizations like the Exponential, Forge, Confluence, ARC, New Thing, SEND, Harbor, and the Stadia emerged as critical players in the broader church planting movement, offering training, resources, and support to aspiring church planters. In the PCA, the Perimeter Network, many international partnerships, and numerous regional church-planting networks have grown, assisting planters in fund-raising and creating a unified strategic mission for partner Presbyteries. The Southwest Church planting network, pioneered by Brad Bradley and Park Cities Church in Dallas, along with the UK Partnership begun by Ed Norton and Frank Hitching, are noteworthy examples of such engagement.
Hallmarks of the Movement
One of the hallmarks of the 21st-century church planting movement was its emphasis on contextualization and cultural engagement. Drawn from the missional movement and informed by the theological and practical insights of Lesslie Newbiggin and Harvie Conn, networks and churches grew especially concerned for translating the Gospel in often dismissive and sometimes openly hostile ecosystems of major cities and their institutions.
Rightly considered, contextualization didn’t embody a compromise of the message of Christ; it sought to make that message even more clear and compelling to those who did not share the values, politics, aspirations, or language of a deeply rooted evangelical culture. Far from softening the offense of the Gospel, it made the offense even clearer by stripping away unnecessary hindrances to its clarity and, in doing so, unleashed its transforming power among many who would not otherwise have heard the message in the first place.
It is also true to note that the cultural reinforcement of Christianity that existed due to its majority acceptance in the West was rapidly diminishing under the weight of the changing social and demographic landscape of the United States. This called for creativity and diversity in mission, especially since the goal was to reach and disciple non-Christians as the core of a new congregation rather than simply attract those who already believed. Church planters sought to develop congregations deeply rooted in their local communities, addressing their neighbors' unique needs and challenges. This shift away from a one-size-fits-all approach to church planting marked by locally shaped sensitivities in communication offered a significant departure from previous denominationally-rooted eras and paved the way for a more dynamic church landscape.
Another key aspect of the 21st-century church planting movement was its focus on leadership development and succession planning. Recognizing the importance of raising up the next generation of church leaders, many church planting networks and initiatives invested heavily in training, mentoring, and equipping aspiring pastors and church planters, often in non-traditional models. This emphasis on leadership development helped ensure the church planting movement's long-term sustainability and growth as new generations of leaders stepped up to carry the torch.
Throughout this period, technology and digital media also played a significant part in expanding church planting efforts. The rise of online resources, social media, and digital communication platforms allowed church planters to connect with a broader audience, share best practices, and mobilize support for their initiatives. This technological revolution, coupled with the growing emphasis on contextualization, helped to fuel the rapid growth and diversification of the church planting movement.
At the heart of this church-planting renaissance was a deep commitment to the Great Commission and a belief in the transformative witness of the local church to the Gospel. Church planters and leaders like David Nicholas recognized that congregations that could effectively engage their communities with the gospel best furthered the mission to reach the lost and unchurched. Spanish River is an example of this approach, serving in the multi-lingual, deeply cosmopolitan region of South Florida and supporting church planting initiatives worldwide. Our commitment to continuing this focus on mission as a church is undiminished.
Global Initiatives
While Redeemer City to City (CTC) made significant strides in catalyzing urban renewal and church planting within the United States, its influence extended far beyond national borders. At the heart of this global expansion were key figures Tim Keller, Al Barth, Terry Gyger, and Jay Kyle, whose leadership and vision played a pivotal role in shaping CTC into a catalyst for international church planting.
With Keller's support, Redeemer City to City developed a partnership approach with churches, organizations, and leaders worldwide, providing training, resources, and support for church planting initiatives in cities such as London, Johannesburg, and Tokyo. The essential understanding was that the task in such cities was bigger than any single church or movement could tackle alone. Partnerships were necessary to achieve the Great Commission and also demonstrated a visible unity in the Gospel that offered a strong testimony of Christ’s reconciling message and ministry. Keller's emphasis on contextualization, cultural engagement, and gospel-centered preaching were guiding principles for CTC's international endeavors, shaping how churches approached ministry in their respective contexts.
Al Barth and Strategic Partnership
Al Barth, a seasoned leader passionate about global missions, was crucial in establishing Redeemer City to City as a force for international church planting. As the Executive Vice President of Redeemer CTC, Barth brought a wealth of experience in organizational development, strategic planning, and cross-cultural ministry.
Under Barth's leadership, together with his colleague Jay Kyle, Redeemer CTC forged strategic partnerships with churches, denominations, and mission agencies worldwide, leveraging resources and expertise to support indigenous church planting movements. Barth's visionary approach to partnership-building enabled CTC to navigate the complexities of global ministry and effectively empower local leaders to reach their communities with the Gospel. Barth now directs the Spanish River Church Planting ministry and, together with the rest of that congregation’s ministry team, is looking to pave the way for the next generation of church-planting missions.
The late Jay Kyle, a seasoned missionary, catalyst, and church planter, played a vital role in equipping leaders for effective ministry through Redeemer City to City's training programs and initiatives. As the Director of Global Training for CTC, Kyle oversaw the development and implementation of training curricula, coaching networks, and leadership resources designed to equip church planters and pastors for the challenges of urban ministry in the leading cities of Asia and Latin America and was responsible for developing both regional and city networks in those regions of the world through Redeemer City to City's training programs.
Through innovative training platforms such as the Incubator program, Church Planting training Intensives, and the Global Learning Communities, Kyle and his team empowered leaders to cultivate vibrant, Gospel-centered communities that reflected the transformative power of Christ in their cities. Through innovative training platforms such as the Incubator program and the Global Learning Community, Kyle and his team empowered leaders to cultivate vibrant, Gospel-centered communities that reflected the transformative power of Christ in their cities.
The result has been the genesis of effective strategic partnerships, training initiatives, and a commitment to gospel-centered ministry. City to City remains a crucial ministry that helps empower leaders and churches worldwide to plant seeds of hope and transformation in their communities.
From the busy streets of South American metros to the crowded neighborhoods of many Asian cities and teeming new super cities of Africa, Redeemer City to City has played a vital role in equipping leaders to engage with urban ministry's unique challenges and opportunities. As churches multiply and disciples are made, the ripple effects of CTC's work continue to spread, catalyzing renewal and revival in cities across the globe.
Mixed Outcomes?
It’s safe to say - and to predict - that not every new venture in church planting will prove fruitful or endure. Some new missions will take root and flourish, some will do so only briefly, and others will quickly fail. Some methodologies will prove effective, and others will be jettisoned. Those who garden know that even the most vigilant tending to soil and seed doesn’t always lead to a harvest.
It’s also true that some well-established congregations that are initially clear in teaching and mission may one day become unfaithful to the Gospel. This has always been the case throughout church history; Christ warned the early churches to remain faithful, or he would extinguish the flame of their witness and remove their lampstand. It’s also true that some leaders who begin well may later exhibit problems in character and practice that discredit the gospel and wound the Church. Such things have always occurred, and no gospel movement is invulnerable to these subversive attacks of the enemy.
It is also true that self-seeking leaders who demonstrate significant character flaws that lead to the abuse of people are not always recognized at first, their harmful behaviors and demeanor causing serious trauma to many. This harms the testimony of Christ and wounds the souls of many. Some systems and models are also toxic, inevitably creating painful outcomes for those who are caught up in their excess, legalism, elitism, folly, or unjust handling of conflict and challenge.
These tragic outcomes are neither new nor peculiar to any Christian movement, denomination, or mission, and while their occurrence doesn’t mean that gospel work and mission should be abandoned, neither can those failings be ignored. The authentic fruitfulness of the Spirit’s work goes forward in the power of the gospel despite the Church’s many sins and shortcomings, highlighting our need to remain humble and repentant, always seeking to be found faithful before the Lord.
Learning the Lessons
Looking back, it’s important to note that by leveraging his extensive experience, strategic vision, and tireless efforts, David Nicholas pioneered a path to help equip and empower a new generation of church planters, providing them with the resources, training, and support they needed to succeed. Through his work with Spanish River Church and involvement in broader church planting initiatives, Nicholas emerged as a central if understated and less well-known figure in the 21st-century church planting movement, leaving an indelible mark on the landscape of American Christianity. His work went forward under his successor, Tommy Keidis, and the dedicated labors of Planting Coordinator and Executive Pastor Ron Tobias. Their work has led SRC to partner in planting over 600 churches on every continent (except Antarctica), contributing over nineteen million dollars and countless hours to this effort over the decades.
The legacy of the 21st-century church planting movement can be seen in the countless vibrant congregations established in cities, suburbs, and rural areas across the country. From the urban centers of our two coasts to the heartland of the Midwest and the vast stretches of the West, the impact of this movement can be felt in the lives of millions of believers who have found life in Christ through these new churches. That’s also true regarding many other countries that have leaders deeply influenced by this movement.
That kind of visionary leadership is still needed as the church experiences significant realignment today. The generation that primarily moved to support these new movements fiscally is now passing the baton to the next generation, and the Church in the West faces a very different mission field than the one it encountered fifty years ago. As Aaron Renn has observed in his work on the “Negative World,” the changes in our society and the consequences of this for mission and communication are immense. In the Great De-Churching, Jim Davis and Michael Graham have outlined “the largest and fastest religious shift in US history” and noted how a response at several levels is needed. The call to create resilient faith disciples and communities while maintaining an outward and missional focus is an immense challenge. What will the mission look like fifty years from now? What should it look like next week?
What’s Next?
Looking ahead, the future of church planting in America faces significant challenges in personnel, funding, and discovering ministry models rooted in evangelism and discipleship rather than outdated church-growth models that value attracting people to events and high-production services. A new and innovative generation of leaders is emerging with fresh vision, passion, and faith to meet this challenge. A renewed emphasis on updated apologetics and confessionally rich theology will be essential to rooting people, families, and congregations in God’s love and truth. A more humbly bold and highly visible church that actively demonstrates the servanthood and the clarity of Christ will surely be essential to the Church's public witness.
Navigating the complexities of ministry in the West, where so much of the Church's central influence has collapsed under the weight of scandal and aggressive secularizing, will remain a mountain-moving enterprise. The hostility to the Gospel that is much more pronounced in the prevailing culture, including the ways in which religious communities have responded politically with decidedly secular tools, may yet present new opportunities for the Gospel among those who discover the inconsistencies and despair of a materialist worldview. As with public intellectuals like Tom Holland and Jordan Peterson, it may also be true that the memory (or the rediscovery) of the Christian foundation of Western values, whether public or private, will lead to a fresh encounter with the Gospel.
Whatever may occur regarding the current hostility to the Faith among some cultural elites and the manipulation of the faith by some in the political industry (and their ecclesiastical accomplices), the Church’s mission in the Gospel will move forward. Far from bemoaning what has become of our world, we must always joyfully and intelligibly proclaim the Savior who has come into the world. Subverting the idols of power to join the global mission of the Gospel will occur; the only question is whether we will be part of that mission.
New models of ministry (co-vocational ministry among them) and new ways of seeing the Church as a missional people (the Priestly-Pilgrim work of Stefan Paas is but one example) will be needed. New networks of micro-churches, back-porch congregations that regather sheep scattered and wounded in the wake of abusive leadership, and new evangelistic missions led in many cases by our sisters in Christ are all beginning to emerge. How witness to the faith is integrated with work and neighboring will certainly be front and center. All of these efforts will need encouragement and support. A new dependence on prayer and repentance as the daily heartbeat of the Church must be embraced if the revival we hope for is to emerge.
The passing of such effective leaders as Tim Keller, Jay Kyle, and Ron Tobias has made apparent the need for a new generation of dedicated, informed, and gracious leaders to offer themselves to the work of pioneering further church planting. The PCA’s Mission to North America under Irwyn Ince and Mission to the World under Lloyd Kim will certainly be vital parts of what emerges in the next few years. Crucial to this effort in the PCA will be a renewed focus on the mission of the Gospel. It is unclear whether such a widespread renewal is near, but I remain hopeful. The PCA has many excellent men and women who can inspire and serve that purpose, but whether or not the PCA recovers this focus, the mission itself will move forward in the power of the Spirit.
We are in a season of significant realignment within the US Evangelical community. The entire movement is, in many ways, utterly fractured - as Michael Graham has noted.* Christian Nationalism, a concern to build stronger walls against the world rather than bridges to it, debates over human sexuality, responses to Covid, and the identification of the very word “evangelical” with the political right in the US and the GOP in particular, are all factors in this shift. In the 1970s and '80s, evangelicals wrestled with divisions over spiritual gifts, eschatology, and predestination; today’s scene is riven by deep and divisive hostility over party political loyalties and the place of the church in the world as a fortress witness or a serving witness.
Finally, to open new horizons for creative and bold ministry initiatives, the lessons of the last forty years will have to be synthesized with the proven theological pathways of the ancient Church and Reformation, the boldness of the early Celtic mission movement, the proven testimony of beauty and the arts as soul-opening vehicles of grace, the engaging use of technology, and the zeal of contemporary Pentecostal movements. Those who can innovate and inspire, just as David Nicholas did 40 years ago, have an unprecedented opportunity for the gospel before them.
Spanish River Church Planting will seek to humbly and prayerfully take up that challenge in response to the Great Commission, serving alongside faithful partners who will lift up Christ our Savior. I can’t wait to see what God will yet do.
* See https://mereorthodoxy.com/six-way-fracturing-evangelicalism