Our strategy for starting new churches begins not with an individual church planter but with existing Sovereign Grace churches. The goal is not merely to send out as many church planters as we can, but to build biblical, gospel-centered congregations that first model biblical community and then export biblical community by reproducing themselves in a church plant.

Quite simply, it takes time and the development of a relationship. Over time and through a process of becoming acquainted with each other, e.g. through conversations, conference attendance, exposure to Sovereign Grace materials, and strategic dialogue with a member of the Sovereign Grace leadership team (or, more typically, a Sovereign Grace pastor representing the team), an interested church becomes more familiar with the doctrine and practices of Sovereign Grace. The goal of this process is to arm the interested church with an accurate portrayal of Sovereign Grace, including both strengths and weaknesses. This process also affords us an opportunity to assess the compatibility of the inquiring church with Sovereign Grace.

For more information, see Joining Us.

We prayerfully consider many factors in deciding where to plant a church, and seek to determine God’s will for the next step. These factors include the contacts and requests we receive, the burdens of a church planter, and the consideration of which locations appear most strategic for the advance of the gospel.

While the process may vary depending on circumstances, a man who desires to plant a Sovereign Grace church will generally take the following steps:

1. Learn about Sovereign Grace. Discover all you can about our beliefs and practices through sermons, written materials, and conferences. The goal at this stage is for the prospective church planter to develop an increasingly accurate understanding of Sovereign Grace that will help bring clarity to whether he desires to plant a church with us.
2. Pray! Prayerfully consider whether God is leading you to partner with us. Ask God to help you as you explore Sovereign Grace and evaluate your theological and methodological compatibility with us. Pray that God would make his desire known to you and direct your decisions.
3. Join a Sovereign Grace church. Get involved in serving a specific local church, with the goal of continuing to get to know us and be known by us. Because we believe the local church is the context of the call to church planting, Sovereign Grace church planters come from within Sovereign Grace churches.
4. Handle desires with humility. In Sovereign Grace, we encourage regular evaluation of our desires and the hold they have on us. One way humility expresses itself is by making our desires known and accountable to others. This includes communicating your desire to plant a church to a Sovereign Grace pastor or leadership team member.
5. Position yourself to be assessed. Assessment takes place over time and occurs in the context of serving in one of our churches. Men who feel called to plant a church should be actively pursuing counsel and evaluation from their pastors. Among other things, it is imperative for the church planter to have an ability to preach, proven character, and a pronounced gift of leadership.
6. Attend the Pastors College. As you prove fruitful in a Sovereign Grace church, the call of God to plant a church will become increasingly clear to your leaders and to those around you. The church planter is then invited to participate in the Pastors College, providing an opportunity for concentrated training in academic study, ministry, and the development of godly character.
7. Participate in a church-planting internship. Following completion of the Pastors College, church planters continue to receive specialized training by serving in a one-year internship at a Sovereign Grace church. This internship plays a vital role in equipping you to start a new Sovereign Grace church.
8. Determine the details of the church plant. The internship then turns toward matters of location, strategy, and team development for the church planting. The church planter works with the local church, a leadership team member, and the administrative arm of Sovereign Grace Ministries to determine the details involved in starting the new church.

For additional steps that we encourage men to take to prepare for ministry, see “The Tests of Process.”

The Christian world owes a great deal to para-church ministries in many respects. They have often picked up responsibility that local churches have neglected and brought new levels of expertise and success to these areas. The fruit of their labor is real. But the proliferation of para-church ministries and the simultaneous marginalization of the local church in the minds of today’s Christians is cause for concern.

We announce our church-planting plans through the Sovereign Grace eNews and our website. To be alerted to our newest churches, latest resources, upcoming conferences, and key changes to our website, please sign up for the Sovereign Grace eNews using the link at the bottom of this page.

We are honored by any such expressions of interest and want to serve in whatever way we can. Although we receive more requests for churches than we can start, we welcome each request. Please click here for the New and Upcoming Churches section, which includes email contact/request information. 

Missions is commonly understood to be the act of taking the gospel to other nations. Jesus himself calls us to participate in seeing the message of the cross go forth to all nations (Matthew 28:18–20), and in Sovereign Grace we desire to see people from every culture and nation exalting the name of Christ. We consider it a great privilege to participate in missions to new locations as God provides opportunities.

Sovereign Grace Ministries has great respect for those who have devoted their lives to the classical missions approach—one that emphasizes the individual believer in the mission field. We are also grateful for churches that are actively sending out missionaries and supporting missions. Nevertheless, we believe that the most biblical approach to missions occurs not simply when individuals are sent out from the local church, but when the local church first builds a model and then sends forth the model by reproducing its gifts, values, and maturity in another location.

The goal of missions in Sovereign Grace is not just to take a message, but to export a biblical community that provides a compelling representation of the truth we proclaim. Our evangelistic desire to proclaim the gospel and see conversions to Christ is matched with a pastoral desire to preserve the gospel and make mature disciples of Christ.

In practical terms, our approach to missions often begins with posturing ourselves to serve and learn from indigenous leaders who have expressed interest in Sovereign Grace. Our Associate Program provides an ideal context for this to occur. Additionally, our leaders travel on a regular basis to explore opportunities for church planting and to develop relationships with other leaders who carry a common vision. Other important aspects of our missions strategy include bringing leaders from other countries to our Pastors College, sending teams from our churches to serve cross-culturally, and praying that God continues to open doors for us, in both open countries and closed countries.

For a detailed explanation of our approach to missions, see "Missiology: Entering the Field of the Lord" from our Perspectives series. (This booklet is also available as a free PDF download.)