2 Oct 2026
Church Planting Stop Planting the Same Church in the Same City
Too many church planters are planting the same church, in the same places, for the same people.
Lifeway found 43% of people in new church plants came from other churches. In this episode, Jeff names the problem, explains why it matters, and lays out what to do better: the honest reasons planters cluster, the motives we don't say out loud, the good reasons to plant near other churches, and five options to consider before you sign a lease. Plus the Hudson Taylor "Brighton Beach" challenge.
In this episode:
The issue: same church, same places, same people
Why it matters: what Lifeway's data says about where church plant attenders come from
3 honest reasons planters cluster (and the gravity of funding)
4 motives nobody puts in the prospectus
3 good reasons to plant where churches already exist (Keller, Barna, Romans 15)
5 options: follow the data, cross a line, go overlooked, replant, go unreached
The Brighton Beach challenge, from Hudson Taylor's 1865 prayer
All verified before scripting. Flags noted where a number could move or a detail needs care.
Hudson Taylor / China Inland Mission
7 of 18 provinces had missionaries, mostly in a few coastal cities/treaty ports; 11 inland provinces had none; 24 workers = 2 per province + 2 for Mongolia; Bible-margin note; CIM eventually present in all 18 provinces — Christianity Today (https://www.christianitytoday.com/behemoth/2015/issue-25/hudston-taylor-cim-omf-150-years.html)
Brighton, June 25, 1865; founding of CIM, now OMF International — OMF (https://omf.org/160-years-of-gospel-mission-how-hudson-taylors-vision-continues-through-omf/)
Mission societies said funds didn't cover current demands — VanceChristie.com (https://vancechristie.com/2018/05/09/hudson-taylors-founding-of-the-china-inland-mission/)
Bank account opened with ten pounds two days later — Half Crown Media (https://www.halfcrownmedia.com/did-you-know-brighton-balm/)
Sailed within a year with a team; 294 missionaries in 14 provinces by 1888 — Church for Vancouver / OMF account (https://churchforvancouver.ca/hudson-taylors-prayer-150-years-ago-still-affects-china-and-asia/); Don Sweeting (https://www.donsweeting.com/hudson-taylor-and-the-founding-of-china-inland-mission-150th-anniversary/)
Lifeway Research 2015 National Church Planting Study
42% of attenders previously unchurched, 43% from existing churches; Stetzer's "dissatisfied, disgruntled, or re-energized Christians" comment; ~4,000 Protestant churches opened and ~3,700 closed in 2014 — Baptist Courier summary of Lifeway data (https://baptistcourier.com/2017/03/needed-strong-existing-churches-and-healthy-church-plants/); Lifeway Research (https://news.lifeway.com/2015/12/08/study-new-churches-draw-those-who-previously-didnt-attend/)
Coaching/assessment strongly tied to plant survival — Stetzer & Bird, Asbury Journal (https://place.asburyseminary.edu/jascg/vol19/iss2/2/)
NOTE: this is 2015 data. Still the most-cited national study on attendee origin, but say "2015" on air
Tim Keller, "Why Plant Churches"
"Single most crucial strategy"; new churches best reach new generations, new residents, new people groups; older churches resisting new plants in "our neighborhood" as turf — Keller paper (PDF) (https://hppres.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/keller_-_why_plant_churches.pdf); NewChurches.com (https://www.newchurches.com/article/why-plant-churches/)
Joshua Project — Philippines
~200 people groups, 28 unreached, ~6.95 million people in unreached groups — Joshua Project: Philippines (https://joshuaproject.net/countries/RP)
CONNECT:
churchplanting.com (churchplanting.com)
Jeffhoglen.com (Jeffhoglen.com)
Open Arms International Ministries (www.oaim.net)
