Toward a Theology of Ecclesial Mission
31 Mar 2023Church Planting Theology (Dale)
Summary of paper Dale presented at the Church Planting Theology Conference in March 2023 at St. John’s College, Durham University Centre for Church Planting Theology and Research (UK).
Books and articles that deal with church planting are common, but seem short on theological considerations about church planting. In general, church planting literature seems to predominantly emphasize the pragmatics of church planting such as strategies, case studies, goal setting, demographic surveys, leadership styles, cultural insights, etc. Now, this is helpful and appreciated by church planters like myself. But it would also be beneficial to see more of a focus on theological aspects of church planting. Even publications on theology of mission seem to give little attention to church planting.
Despite this apparent lack of theological reflection about church planting in the literature, implementation of church planting seems to remain a priority for cross-cultural evangelical missionaries and mission agencies as well as for in-country evangelical denominations. Given this situation, an attempt to place church planting in theological context might be a timely reminder that church planting is ultimately rooted in a theological framework.
The purpose of this paper is to suggest a hypothetical book that attempts to present church planting from a theological perspective, drawing from the fields of biblical theology, systematic theology, and missiology.
Books and articles that deal with church planting are common, but seem short on theological considerations about church planting. In general, church planting literature seems to predominantly emphasize the pragmatics of church planting such as strategies, case studies, goal setting, demographic surveys, leadership styles, cultural insights, etc. Now, this is helpful and appreciated by church planters like myself. But it would also be beneficial to see more of a focus on theological aspects of church planting. Even publications on theology of mission seem to give little attention to church planting.
Despite this apparent lack of theological reflection about church planting in the literature, implementation of church planting seems to remain a priority for cross-cultural evangelical missionaries and mission agencies as well as for in-country evangelical denominations. Given this situation, an attempt to place church planting in theological context might be a timely reminder that church planting is ultimately rooted in a theological framework.
The purpose of this paper is to suggest a hypothetical book that attempts to present church planting from a theological perspective, drawing from the fields of biblical theology, systematic theology, and missiology.
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The biblical theology piece of this integrative project focuses on the following: (1) the progressive plan of salvation in the Old and New Testaments with emphasis on the people of God; (2) discipleship and ecclesiological themes in Luke-Acts; and (3) church founding in Pauline context.
The systematic theology piece emphasizes ecclesiology, hopefully without ignoring other theological categories such as the significance of theology proper to the missio dei. The following points will be covered: (1) derivative elements for a theology of church planting in Barth’s ecclesiology; (2) theological significance of the church gathered and scattered; (3) making salvation accessible by clothing the gospel with community; and (4) locating church planting in the soteriological context of postmodernism and religious plurality.
The theology of mission piece emphasizes: (1) God’s mission; (2) God’s mission and ours; and (3) comparative values of possible theology of mission lenses (theocentric, compassion-centered, ecclesiocentric, and gospel-centered). These pieces will only be touched upon in this short paper. The paper is only a first step toward developing something like a theological perspective on “ecclesial mission” that might help fill the gap in the literature. The fuller version awaits the light of publication.
On a practical level, it is hoped that a published theological reflection on church planting as is being suggested here might encourage evangelical church planters, whether they have been in church planting ministry for decades or are just getting started.