Pray for More Toronto Church Planters

I love Toronto. It's a large city of 2.48 million people (5.5 million in the Greater Toronto Area). It's multicultural, safe, and ranks as one of the top cities in the world in terms of quality of life. It really is a great place to live and work. I love living here.

I love the Church in Toronto as well. I’m very excited about many of the churches in this city, and the pastors and church planters who love the gospel and who love this city the way that God does.

The fact remains: we need new churches. I’m asking you to pray for a movement of new churches in Toronto, along with the renewal of existing churches in this great city.

Five reasons:

The population is growing. It’s expected that Toronto will grow by another 500,000 people by 2020. The entire population of the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) is expected to be 7.5 million people by 2025. This is an opportunity for both existing churches and new churches. As the population grows, so does the opportunity for new churches.

They’ve just announced a new development of 1,100 residential units down the road from where we’re planting Liberty Grace Church. This is being repeated all over the city. Who will reach even 5% of those who are moving in?

The downtown core is growing. New condos are being built as people move back into the downtown core. There are more new high-rise developments in Toronto than in any other city in North America. Many churches have left downtown for the inner suburbs, leaving a huge opportunity. While there some established churches downtown, and many new churches starting out, there’s a need for more churches in the centre of our city.

There are entire neighbourhoods with no effective gospel witness. Toronto is a city of neighbourhoods. I believe we need a city parish approach: “several smaller communities around the city that put a priority on outreach in their respective neighborhoods” that are “networked together to share resources, admin support, and more, aiming to shape the spiritual climate of the city.” A few larger churches will not do the job. There are entire neighbourhoods in Toronto where there are no churches, or only a few churches that are not equipped to reach the entire neighbourhood by themselves.

The existing stock of churches is declining. Churches have life cycles, and there are many churches that have declined or died. Their buildings are being converted to lofts and condos. As the existing stock of churches declines, and the population continues to grow, there is a need for newer churches all over the city.

Newer churches and existing churches can help each other. Tim Keller writes, “The planting of new churches in a city is one of the very best ways to revitalize many older churches in the vicinity and renew the whole Body of Christ.” Talk about win-win. As new churches are planted in Toronto and reach new people, older churches can experience renewal as they share in the vision for reaching the people of Toronto. Existing churches need renewal, and one of the best ways for this to happen is for existing churches to develop a passion for church planting.

We need new churches in Toronto! I’m asking you to pray that God will raise up a movement of people who love God, the gospel, and Toronto, and who are willing to devote their lives to making disciples here. Please pray for God to raise up a movement of church planters in Toronto.

Why You Should Attend #GCA2014

I've spent the week in Orlando. Yes, that itself is nice since I am from Toronto, which has dipped well below the freezing mark this week. The highlight of the week has not been the weather, though. It has been the very helpful, practical teaching of the Global Church Advancement Conference, a training event for church planters.

If you haven't heard of Global Church Advancement, you're not alone. It's not as well known as some of the bigger conferences out there. I wish I had received this training earlier, but I've received it now, and I'm grateful. They run an annual training event that gives you the nuts and bolts of what needs to take place in planting or revitalizing a church.

Here's why I think this is such an important event:

It's theological. I love that this is more than a pragmatic, inspirational conference. I've had my fill of those. This is a group that clearly gets the gospel and how it applies to life and ministry. Everything is grounded in Scripture, and it's also soaked in the beauty and the power of the gospel.

It's practical. I don't think I've ever attended a more practical conference. I'm walking away with a very good understanding of what needs to take place next in order to plant a church. They don't just impose a model; they help you understand the key decisions and steps that need to take place to plant a church faithfully in your context.

It's visionary. I love the quote that appears at the beginning of every module:

Do not pray only for your own spiritual renewal. Pray for a springtime of the Spirit which will enrich the church and the world, an awakening for which all earlier renewal movements have been only rehearsals. (Richard Lovelace)

That's a much bigger endgame than just planting a church.

Steve Childers says that he wants to save us from having puny goals, like merely having a large church. He's much more concerned with a vision for God's glory, expressed through church planting but extending that visibly expresses the Kingdom. The mission is not to have a great church, he says, but to have a great community as the world is changed by the transforming power of the gospel.

I'm grateful that someone (Adam Sinnett) told me about this conference. I'm going home with a much clearer picture of what has to happen next as we plant Liberty Grace Church.

If you are a church planter, or you are investigating church planting, or if you are interested in helping to revitalize a church, then I strongly urge you to consider attending next year's conference (January 28-31). It's one of the most helpful conferences I can imagine for anyone who is involved in church planting or revitalization. Check out the blog by Steve Childers, follow him on Twitter, or read more about GCA at their website.

Four Biggest Lessons

Tomorrow marks a year since I finished at Richview and began the process of planting a church. It’s been both the most exciting and the most difficult year of my ministry so far.

A year in, here are the four most profound lessons I’ve been learning.

1. Spiritual attack is real. I wasn’t prepared for the intensity of attack in the past year. Our family has been through some intense periods of suffering. I’ve been learning the truth of what Spurgeon once said: “When you sleep, think that you are resting on the battlefield; when you walk, suspect an ambush in every hedge.” Church planting is a battle.


2. Idolatry is rampant. I can’t wait to read Jared Wilson’s forthcoming book The Pastor's Justification: Applying the Work of Christ in Your Life and Ministry. The reason: it’s so tempting to find my justification in ministry, either past ministry at Richview or my current performance as a planter. Of course, my justification can only be found in the finished work of Christ, but I’m often tempted to look elsewhere.


3. Busyness is a struggle. I honestly thought I would have more time than when I pastored an established church. Was I ever wrong. I am currently recalibrating my schedule because the work is so intense, and things can get out of control very quickly.


4. Planting is an overflow of one’s relationship with Christ. Adam Sinnett told me this, and he’s right. “Fight to remain Jesus-centred, not planting-centred,” he told me. “It is easy to make planting the focus, and miss God.” It’s probably the best advice I heard all year.

Planting is for Every Church

My latest column at ChristianWeek:

I used to think that church planters are deviants—nice people with a rebel streak. I liked them, and I admired them, but I couldn't relate to them, and I certainly didn't want to join their number.

Tim Keller, a pastor and church planter in New York City, changed all that. I read an article of his called "Why Plant Churches?" (PDF) and I still haven't recovered. Church planting, he argues, is the biblical strategy for reaching people with the gospel. Church plants reach people that established churches won't.

Church plants are also the best way to renew established churches. Keller answered every objection I had to church planting, and he convinced me to see church planting as essential. It's not for deviants; it's essential for every church.

I remember sitting in my office a decade ago while pastoring an established church. A friend of mine had just planted a new church. We had a huge building, money in the bank, and a couple hundred people. They had a dozen people meeting in a basement.

A decade later, that church plant has outgrown the established church I pastored, and they have also planted a number of new churches that are also growing. While I'm still convinced that we still need to work on renewing existing churches, I began to appreciate church plants like never before.

I also remember sitting in a meeting with two pastors of established churches and three church planters. As we talked about our churches, the two of us from established churches struggled to articulate our vision. We lacked clarity. The three church planters spoke with great clarity about the vision of their churches. I walked away from the meeting wondering how their vision and clarity could rub off on us.

I've come to believe that every church needs to be involved in church planting. It's not just because I'm now a church planter—it's because I've spent 20 years pastoring established churches, and I now realize what I was missing.

First, church planting is strategic. In every city and town, we need new churches to reach the people that existing churches can't. According to Keller, the average new church brings in six to eight times more new people than an older congregation of the same size. I agree with Peter Wagner: "Planting new churches is the most effective evangelistic methodology known under heaven."

Secondly—and this is new to me—church planting benefits established churches. My mother is often asked why she seems young for her age. She has a one-word answer: "Grandchildren." Because she's investing in the lives of those who are young, she's stayed young. Every church was once a church plant; the way to maintain some of that energy is to continue to live close to the youth of other church plants.

Church planting isn't for deviants. It's the way to reach new people, and it's the way for the established Church to maintain its vibrancy. Church planting is for every church.

A Year-End Update from Liberty Grace Church

It’s hard to believe that a year ago we hadn’t yet started the process of planting Liberty Grace Church. In just a few short months we’ve begun in Toronto’s fastest growing community, one with no existing churches. We’ve rented space, and we’re meeting regularly as a Launch Community. We’ve seen God at work in big and small ways. We are so grateful.

We can’t wait to see what God does through us in 2013! In the next few months, we have big plans:

• Continuing to grow our Launch Community as we prepare to publicly launch Liberty Grace Church;
• Sending thousands of postcards into the community promoting our ministries in a fresh and creative way;
• Offering open houses to introduce ourselves to the community, and as a connecting event for people who live in Liberty Village;
• Running a Christianity Explored course for those who would like to investigate Christianity; and
• Launching public worship services.

This is on top of the daily work of building relationships and living, praying, and serving within the community. In fact, next week our family is moving into a condo right in Liberty Village so we can be part of that neighborhood.

Our desire is to share the Gospel in a compelling way with those who have never heard it, so that many will respond in faith to Jesus Christ.

Would you partner with us? Randy Alcorn says, “Don’t ask how your investment will be paying off in just thirty years. Ask how it will be paying off in thirty million years.” Your investment will, by God’s grace, be one that is paying off for eternity.

Please consider a year-end gift. You can easily make an online donation through Canada Helps. Simply designate the fund to Church Planting and mention Liberty Grace Church in the instruction box. You will receive a charitable donation receipt immediately by email.

We especially need people to become monthly partners, committing to financially partner with us monthly as we establish this church. Just download and complete this form (PDF). In the life of an urban church plant, every dollar counts.

Thank you for standing with us, and please continue to pray that God will be glorified through the ministry of Liberty Grace Church. We're so excited to be part of this church plant.