Bishops set out principles for church planting

Church planting is one among a variety of ways by which the Church of England seeks to share in the apostolic mission by proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The paper gives a set of principles for church planting and also offers practical suggestions and theological grounding for this work.

The Bishop of Chelmsford, Stephen Cottrell, said: “A few years ago there was a wonderful series on the radio called ‘Things we forgot to remember.’

“It explored various ideas and movements through human history that simply got forgotten.

“If the church were to construct such a list, then church planting would be near the top. It only feels like something new, because we forgot to remember it. Every church was planted once.

“Every church had a beginning.

“This beginning arose out of a response to God and the desire to reach out to a community of people who did not yet know Christ.

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