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STRATEGIC MINISTRIES

New Church Starts

One of the most effective ways of reaching unchurched people for Christ is starting new churches.

Starting new churches takes the gospel to where people live. Since we all have different likes and dislikes, no single church can reach everyone. Multiple churches provide more points of entry for the pre-Christian. A growing number of churches makes it possible for more people to know Christ.

Another reason for starting churches is that our existing churches often have local traditions that are meaningful to the members but have little relevance to those who have not grown up in the church. A new church will begin new local traditions relevant for a new generation or culture. 

Most new churches grow rapidly as a result of bringing new people to Christ. Not surprisingly, the excitement of a new church in the area often spreads to surrounding churches – bringing new life and vitality back into those congregations.

Path 1 is part of the Discipleship Ministries for The United Methodist Church and supports conferences in starting new churches. Find out more about Path 1 and new church starts in The United Methodist Church.

For specific questions about new church starts see below.

What is a New Church Start?
See Characteristics of New Church Starts for more information.

New Church Start Models
The models used for starting new churches are many and varied. It’s important to note that:

• no one model will work in every setting.
• the model used for a New Church Start should reflect the need of the targeted group.
• the characteristics developed by any New Church Start may not fit neatly into any given model.

Learn about:

• Models that can be used in the East Ohio Conference to start new churches:
  
• The seven seasons of planting a new church
• The best practices for starting a new church
• Traits of a church planter
• Multiplication dynamics