Field Guide

Planting Healthy Churches

Drawings of a tree, leaves, and the life cycle of a seed

Illustration by Emily Fernando / Source Images: Pierre Joseph Redouté, John Constable & Elizabeth Blackwell / Artvee

CT Pastors December 17, 2025

The pastor of a new church plant writes: “The non-denominational church I started wasn’t even a year old when a successful church-planter declared: ‘Your church will never make it. You’re too insecure!’

Ouch. All these years later, I still feel the sting from his words. But I feel some satisfaction now. It’s now 12 years later, and the church is not only alive, it’s also healthy and growing stronger every day. He was wrong about the future of the church, but he was right that I was way too insecure.

That’s just one of many dynamics at work in church planting. The articles in this Common Challenge feature the wisdom of church planters on the challenging but significant task of starting new churches. Whether you’re pastoring a new church yourself or encouraging those who are, these stories will help you do it better.

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