When your church plant is failing...

Dan Steel  |  Comment
Date posted:  13 Jun 2025
Share Add       
When your church plant is failing...

Source: iStock

We don’t often say it out loud, but church planting is deeply vulnerable. We go in with dreams, hopes, vision statements - and then we meet reality.

In nearly two-thirds of the cases I’ve seen where church plants faltered or failed, the issue wasn’t moral failure or bad theology. It was that they didn’t get what they hoped for. People, place, and property - the practical stuff - simply didn’t materialise as planned.

One planter put it plainly: “After eight years we still do not have a building… we seem illegitimate. We don’t have a worship leader. I was playing guitar, singing, and preaching for years.” Another said they never managed to get kids work off the ground - so young families didn’t stay. “We limped along,” they said. And these aren't isolated cases.

Share
< Previous article| Comment| Next article >
Read more articles on:   church planting
Read more articles by Dan Steel >>
Features
The 'broken' are God's most useful instruments

The 'broken' are God's most useful instruments

I know we’ve only just celebrated Christmas and the Incarnation, but as Arsene Wenger famously (allegedly) said: “Christmas is important …

Features
The virtue of slowness in ministry

The virtue of slowness in ministry

In today’s fast-paced world, where productivity usually reigns supreme, the notion of slowness - or of slowing down - can …

Need to advertise?

We can help you reach Christians across the country

Find out more

About en

Our vision, values and history

Read more