| Church DevelopmentWhy Start New Churches?
By Dr. Montfort C. Duncan Jr.,
Executive Director, Church Development
 Why
start new churches? This question is posed to me often as I travel
around the conference. Perhaps you or someone in your church has asked
it also.
Jesus shared the Great Commission in Matthew
28:19-20—“go and make disciples.” That is the task of the
church. This is a biblical concept that is found in many of the
letters Paul wrote in the New Testament. This is how the early church
grew. Our Book of Discipline states the mission of the church is to
make disciples. Planting new congregations is the best tool of
evangelism we have to make disciples.
In almost every community in Florida between 62
percent and 68 percent of the population is unchurched. Many of these
people are waiting to be reached with the good news of Jesus Christ.
In most of our zip code areas between 50 percent and 60 percent of the
population has moved in within the last five years. Many of these
people are being reached not by existing churches, but by our new
churches.
Dr. Lovett Weems, president of St. Paul School
of Theology, wrote in one of his new books that a recent study “showed
70 percent of United Methodist Churches are located where only 30
percent of our population now lives.” If we are going to take our
mission seriously, we need to start new congregations where the
majority of the population currently lives. This is part of our
strategy for new church development.
A few years ago, Florida had one United
Methodist congregation for each 20,760 people. Today we have one
congregation for every 21,675 residents. The bottom line is that we
now have fewer congregations serving more people. Across the United
States there is one United Methodist congregation for every 7,000
people. In Arizona there is only one church for every 45,000 people,
and in Las Vegas, only one church for every 100,000 people.
A recent study I did of this conference
indicates we have 33 population areas with no United Methodist
congregation or mission. Several years ago it was only 29. As our
state’s population continues to grow, shifting from rural to
suburban and urban, our mandate becomes even clearer—go and make
disciples. People whose lives are broken and hurting need to hear
about God’s incredible love and forgiveness. These are the people we
are trying to reach. It is our biblical mandate; we really don’t
have a choice.
Imagine the impact we could have in the state of
Florida if we increased our commitment to new church development. We
are moving in that direction. It takes the support of the whole
conference for us to create a movement, not just start new
congregations. I am excited about what God is doing in our midst. Let’s
join God in this amazing adventure of sharing the gospel and reaching
people for the sake of God’s Kingdom.
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