Church planting work often begins long before anything recognizable as a “church” exists. It starts with prayer, relationships, hospitality, Scripture, and gospel conversations. Over time, a few people become a group. A group becomes a discipleship community. Believers emerge. Leaders begin to form. And eventually – sometimes slowly, sometimes suddenly – a church is born.
That process is rarely neat and tidy, despite what people might say.
Practitioners know there are seasons of in between…moments when it’s unclear whether we are still forming a group or shepherding a church. But if our aim is not simply to gather people, but to plant and multiply churches, then clarity on what we mean by church matters deeply.
And clarity does not rush the process; it gives it direction and a trajectory. Just like sanctification, the journey toward becoming a healthy church is often slow and crooked, not a straight line.
The Church: Beautiful and Broken
The church, in all her forms, is both beautiful and broken. And that’s precisely because the Church is composed of people created in God’s image, fallen in our sinfulness, some of whom are redeemed, and some who just look like they are (read Matthew 13:24-30).
From God’s perspective, whether a church is large or small, established or newly formed, it exists as a display of His wisdom and grace. Paul describes the church as the place where “the manifold wisdom of God” is made known (Ephesians 3:10). That wisdom is not displayed through perfection, but through redemption.
Every church is a work in progress. Every disciple within the church is being sanctified “from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18). Most, if not all, churches will have people who appear godly but deny power (2 Timothy 3:5). We do not plant flawless churches. We plant churches that must grow, mature, repent, and reform over time.
A clear definition of what constitutes a church does not deny this reality. It helps us walk faithfully within the boundaries of Scripture and the realities of humans and culture. And defining the minimum criteria to call something a church is an exercise in summarizing what is helpful to differentiate ministries of churches, ministries alongside churches, and the beginnings of what can (and perhaps should!) become a church over time.
Why Definition Matters in Church Planting
Over the years, particularly in international church-planting contexts, we worked hard to clarify a shared understanding of a minimum definition of the church. This work involved elders, field leaders, practitioners, and extended seasons of theological reflection. Our goal was never to export a single cultural expression of the church, but biblical precision with contextual flexibility based on the discernment of cross-cultural workers and national partners. And this work has also served me in working alongside many “parachurch” ministries – those entities that come alongside local churches to serve in ways that a local church cannot or will not.
And one thing I have found to be true in both conversations. When everyone talks about “church” but defines it differently, confusion is inevitable. Shared definition allows us to communicate clearly, evaluate progress honestly, and remain faithful to Scripture without becoming rigid in practice.
Definition serves formation.
From Disciples to Churches: The Arc of Faithful Obedience
At the heart of church planting is a simple, reproducible arc. Disciples are sent with the authority of Christ to make disciples. Healthy disciples form discipleship communities. Healthy discipleship communities keep pursuing obedience to Jesus. Obedience to Jesus leads us to become and belong to healthy, maturing churches over time. And those healthy churches reproduce disciples, and the cycle above (hopefully!) continues.
Church planting is not a shortcut around discipleship, despite how often it’s done that way in modern North America. It is the fruit of discipleship, patiently cultivated under the lordship of Christ. And I deeply believe the church should multiply over time because of this!
From Group to Church
With that arc in mind, I believe a group (discipleship community) becomes a church when it meets the following essential requirements. These are not marks of a perfect church. No such church exists. Rather, these are foundational indicators that a community has crossed from formation into ecclesial life. These are the first steps on the pathway toward health, maturity, and multiplication.
1. The Group Is Two or More
At its most basic level, the church is a people, not an individual person. Christian faith is personal, but never private. The life of the church begins where believers commit to walking together under the lordship of Christ. And this should go without saying, but a church must be two or more people based on Matthew 18:20.
2. They Regularly Gather as Baptized Believers in Christ
The church is composed of those who have responded to the gospel in repentance and faith and have publicly identified with Christ through baptism. Baptism does not create salvation. Confessing with your mouth and believing in your heart does (Romans 10:9). Baptism marks belonging to Christ and to His people following salvation. And baptism is an act of obedience to Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 28:18–20, and a group becoming a church means baptism has taken place.
3. They Gather Around the Word and the Worship of Christ
The gathered church is centered on Scripture and oriented towards the worship of God. This does not require formal sermons or structures, but it does require shared submission to God’s Word and a Christ-centered focus that shapes belief and practice and is expressed in affectionate worship. This kind of gathering also has some structure and order (one might say liturgy), as 1 Corinthians 14:26 indicates.
This isn’t the only practice, however.
4. They Practice Mutual Edification and Outward Witness
The church exists to build up believers and to bear witness to the gospel. Members encourage one another, bear one another’s burdens, and stir one another toward love and good works (Hebrews 10:24-25). At the same time, the life of the church bears public witness to those who do not yet believe (1 Corinthians 14:24-25).
A church that is only turned outward isn’t focused on the biblical instructions for the church. And a church that turns inward alone eventually loses its way. Both ministry and mission are present in a church.
5. They Faithfully Practice the Ordinances
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper anchor the church in the gospel story. Through baptism, new believers are welcomed into the community. Through the Lord’s Supper, the church remembers Christ’s death and proclaims His promised return, and this is practiced regularly in the gathering. These practices shape the church’s identity, hope, and rhythm of life together (Matthew 28:19–20; 1 Corinthians 11:23–26).
Clarity That Serves Growth and Renewal
By no means is that list comprehensive or prescriptive for all that the church should do. It’s my best attempt to describe the essential requirements, or prerequisites, before I’d feel comfortable calling something a church. But take note, there is a good deal of freedom in how this is practiced, and also, there is much more to a church maturing (read 1 Timothy 5!).
The global church is diverse in expression, form, and structure, and God delights in that diversity. Church practices show the remarkable glory of God as He redeems a people for His own possession from every tribe, tongue, and nation. And the Church is continually being renewed and reformed as the gospel takes root in new places, cultures, and communities. But renewal does not require a redefinition of the biblical basics.
Basic biblical clarity helps us recognize the church wherever it exists, nurture it toward maturity, and trust God to bring growth in His time. And biblical clarity on the minimum essentials for a group to be called a church is a helpful paradigm for extending charity and unity on various expressions of the church.
Church planting requires patience. It also requires faithfulness. And clarity about what the church is allows us to labor with hope, confident that God is at work, even in small, unfinished, and ordinary beginnings.
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