Having a Sending Church is the goal.

I’d like to talk to you about the vision of sending people out of your church for church planting and serving in the local community. Most people think you must be a certain size before you start sending people out. I agree and disagree. Certainly, you don’t want to send people out too soon while you’re building up a core group and developing leaders, but you also don’t want to get caught up with church politics and other people’s expectations. When do you send people out? What’s the number? I believe that’s between you and the Holy Spirit. You know your church, your mission, and the Holy Spirit will help you with that. If you have solid leaders trained and ready, then send them out. You don’t have to have hundreds or thousands of people before you start reproducing.

Small churches are multiplying, reproducing, and sending out people all around the world. It can be done. I’m doing it. People will try to discourage you from doing it because that’s not what they read in the books. “Only big churches can do that”, they say. Where is that in the Bible? Big and small churches can do it. This is about leadership. If you can raise up apostolic leaders, you will have a reproducing church, no matter the size. You can send 5 people out of a 30-member church to go start another church. Who says it can’t be done. It’s about training and sticking to Jesus’ mission for the church. Not sticking to the fads of the church world. We have been brain-washed into thinking that having a big church is the end goal. No, having a sending church that goes everywhere to make disciples is the goal!

Doc Murphy