Western Church Planting Movements

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The Upstream Collective provided everyone at Exponential ‘09 with free CDs loaded with information from David Garrison and Ed Stetzer. David is the author of the groundbreaking book Church Planting Movements and one of the world’s leading authorities on global CPMs (Church Planting Movements). Ed is the author of Planting Missional Churches and considered an expert on North American church planting. Needless to say, this CD is loaded with excellent data that will take some time to sift through and process.

Immediately, a paper concerning CPMs titled The Holy Grail caught my attention. The paper’s title is explained in its opening paragraphs. It reads:

When Ed served at the North American Mission Board (NAMB) several years ago, a team of church planting strategists returned from a meeting in London very excited about the prospect of rapidly reproducing Church Planting Movements (CPMs). The excitement was contagious, and Ed, as well as others from NAMB, began the process of locating and reporting on movements occurring in the United States. They began to hear about movements in Colorado, California, Rhode Island, and Texas.

While conducting research for the church planting group, Ed contacted or visited each of these locations and engaged in conversations with leaders serving in the field. Talking with the folks in Colorado, he said, “I hear you guys have a church planting movement.” Their reply was curious. “No,” they said, “We don’t have a movement, but they do in California.” So Ed called California and they said, “We don’t have a movement, but you should call Texas.” So Ed called Texas, and they said, “Nope. Try Colorado.” The reality turned out to be very different than the rumor.

Everybody hears the buzz about a movement, and everybody thinks there is one. However, when we begin to investigate, it becomes a lot like looking for the Holy Grail in the middle ages. Everyone knows that it exists, and everyone knows someone who has seen it. But, the Grail always ends up two villages away, and when you search two villages away, the treasure never materializes.

Should we conclude, then, that CPMs, as we are jointly characterizing them, can’t occur in the Western world? Can they take place in Western contexts such as North America, Europe, Australia, etc.? Are we destined to keep chasing this legendary Holy Grail of church planting down obscure dusty roads without ever being able to see the elusive treasure? Or can real, explosive, exponential, Acts-like church growth happen in our corner of the world, like it is happening in other places around the globe at this very moment?

The question that is the last paragraph of the above excerpt is a huge one. Can CPMs take place in our Western world? Perhaps it would be good to actually explain what an authentic CPM is before deciding if one could take root in America? Dave and Ed answer the “What is a CPM” question in the paper. A few of their characterizations follow.

A CPM is “a rapid and multiplicative increase of indigenous churches planting churches within a given people group or population segment.”

CPMs are rapid and multiplicative in their starting of new churches because they move quickly to plant, and their planting produces exponential growth. Two churches becomes four, four becomes sixteen, and so on. And such movements are indigenous because they grow up from within, even if a missionary or planter acts as the initial catalyst.

…this is to be distinguished from individual planters saturating an area with new church starts. In this individual planter model, churches only get planted if the church planter is heavily involved, and it takes much, much longer to start any significant number of churches – it is definitely more of an addition model. With CPMs, the gospel always enters an area from the outside, but when it truly takes root, a movement blossoms from and within the locals.

Garrison has identified Ten Universal Elements of CPMs in the Two-Thirds world: 1) Prayer; 2) Abundant Gospel Sowing; 3) Intentional Church Planting; 4) Scriptural Authority; 5) Local Leadership; 6) Lay Leadership; 7) Cell or House Churches; 8) Churches Planting Churches; 9) Rapid Reproduction; and 10) Healthy Churches.

There are no identifiable universals for CPMs in America because there are no CPMs in America to be analyzed. In fact, and according to the paper, there are “Thirty-four western, industrialized democracies exist in our world. Not one CPM can be observed among majority peoples in any of those democracies.” The question obviously is why? Garrison and Stetzer summarize their answer with two words and one phrase: Institutionalization, Ecclesionomics and Discipleship and the Christian Subculture.

Institutionalization in Western Church

The institution, which first ascended out of the culture, eventually became acclimated to the culture and lost its impulse for meaningful, evangelistic engagement. For example, momentum grew in the church among Latino immigrants, and the result was indeed a sort of socio-economic redemption. A “lift” took place, and if any proto-movement existed out of that momentum, it unfortunately became hindered by the body’s benefiting from the transformation of social status. In addition, momentum was lost as more Americanized versions of church were adopted to the extent that those expressions of church did not connect as well with unreached Latinos. The unconscious institutional transformation was created by the conversion to Protestantism and the immigration to the United States that resulted in economic uplift.

Ecclesionomics in Western Church

The way Protestant Christianity “does church” – and this is true whether it’s in India or Africa or America = typically means there’s a building and there’s a salaried pastor and/or staff. These two elements alone create an entire web of ecclesionomic behavioral responses that impede CPMs. In Protestant Christianity, “building” + “program” + “clergy” = “church.” (Rather than, as Ed has written: “body” + “mission” + “kingdom” = “church”).

Discipleship and the Christian Subculture

The Christian subculture, which is now distinct from the prevailing culture of the West, is a hindrance to the rapid propagation of the gospel. In the United States, we have equated discipleship with teaching our families to read James Dobson in order to raise their kids, listen to Dave Ramsey in order to balance their checkbook, listen to Third Day for their musical enjoyment, and read Tim LaHaye for their literary enjoyment. None of these are necessarily bad things, but we have effectively created this “Christian bubble” that makes it impossible to engage in the rapid propagation of the gospel. Discipleship has been redefined by many Christians as acclimating converts to the Christian subculture. Moreover, one can be fully immersed in the American Christian subculture and have no connection to God whatsoever.

Wow! The above roadblocks really seem impossible. Our paradigm for church in America is deeply ingrained into the psyche and lives of the churched and unchurched alike. So, it seems that to even reach unchurched peoples in America a few very recognizable things have to be in place first, and these things are sourced from Institutionalization, Ecclesionomics and Discipleship and the Christian Subculture. If the paradigm is going to be changed in a way that will foster CPMs it will be a very long and very slow process, if it happens at all.

Until then, we will have to function as missionaries and do our best to meet our culture where it is at this very moment. That might mean saying goodbye to this legendary Holy Grail of church planting, at least until the larger culture shifts all on its own.

Work Cited: The Potential for Church Planting Movements in the Western World. By Ed Stetzer and David Garrison

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