Planting Churches among the City's Poor - Volume 1

P ART III: P LANTING U RBAN C HURCHES • 281

Church Planting Overview Rev. Terry G. Cornett

It has always been my ambition to preach the Gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”

~ Romans 15.20-21

I. What Is the Biblical Pattern?

A. Is there a pattern?

“Does the Bible give principles or patterns of church-planting to go along with the command to plant churches?”

Missiologist David J. Hesselgrave rightly answers in the affirmative:

And where could we find a pattern for these activities that is less likely to lead us into blind alleys than is the apostle Paul’s missionary work. As A. R. Hay writes, “Paul’s ministry and that of his companions is recorded in detail because he and they provide a typical example of the exceedingly important permanent ministry of church planting.

~ David J. Hesselgrave. Planting Churches Cross-Culturally: North America and Beyond , 2nd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 2000. p. 46

B. How do we describe this pattern?

1. The Pauline Cycle

The “Pauline Cycle” terminology, stages, and diagram are taken from David J. Hesselgrave, Planting Churches Cross-Culturally: North America and Beyond , 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 2000).