Here are some facts! Church plants do fail (check out Why church plants fail? and share your comments) – but –
1. Church planting is good for the “parent” church. They are healthier & grow faster despite (or because of!) having released people to church planting. Churches that have planted another in the past 5 years have higher proportions of newcomers (11.2%) compared to churches generally. See Warning, having children could be good for you!
2. Church plants are healthier, more effective in reaching newcomers than other forms of outreach, & reach younger people. See Steve Addison's The NCLS Facts on Church Planting. For more detail check out the NCLS Occasional Paper 3.
3. Denominations that plant churches grow – reaching more people for the kingdom. (And, the converse is true – those that don't have a strategy and don't plant new churches plateau and die.) Check out some facts – Denominations Grow by Planting Churches.
If you are involved in a church that is planting another (or the planter or pastor of a church-planting-church) – share your experiences by making a comment or telling your story! (click comments below)