Church Planting

All is not well in ministry world, shared one concerned pastor and church planter.

Distressed with the state of pastors and churches throughout America today, Shawn Lovejoy, founder of churchplanters.com, spoke truthfully to some 2,000 people at the 2011 Radicalis Conference.

“The church planting world, the church planting movement on the surface looks like a successful movement,” said Lovejoy, “but I want to tell you being up close and personal with it that there is a dark side of the force.” more >>

Author and pastor Steven Furtick tackled the "why bother" syndrome that can plague the faith of many pastors during his address Wednesday morning at the Radicalis conference.

Furtick, who leads Elevation Church in Charlotte, N.C., spoke from Mark 5 on Jairus, the synagogue leader who asks Jesus to come to his house and heal his sick daughter. But along the way, a woman who has been bleeding for 12 years "cuts in line" and gets healed by touching Jesus' cloak. Meanwhile, Jairus learns that his daughter has died at home.

He said pastors attending the event at Saddleback Church can become inspired by the conference but then can fall into depression and despair as they compare the size of their ministry and church to the magnitude of what they see at Saddleback. more >>

NEW YORK – Carl Lentz, senior pastor of Hillsong New York City, never imagined that a deal he had roughly 10 years ago with Joel Houston, son of Hillsong Church's founder Brian Houston, would actually pan out one day.

Today, the long-time friends from Bible college lead Hillsong NYC, the first U.S. location of the Australian-based Pentecostal megachurch.

The Manhattan-based church, which meets at Irving Plaza near Union Square, recently kicked-off weekly services on Feb. 13, 2011 following it's official launch on Oct. 17, 2010. more >>

NEW YORK - During the kick-off of Hillsong Church New York's weekly services on Sunday, lead pastor Carl Lentz told his growing congregation that Christians have the responsibility to live out the vision and apply the unique gifts that God has given them.

Using Luke 12:48 as the main passage, the 32-year-old pastor encouraged worshippers to act upon their faith.

"To whom much is given much is required. Jesus said that just as we've (Christians) been given the vision, the vision is great but what are you going to do with it," Lentz told The Christian Post. more >>

NEW YORK – After months of drumming up support through worship gatherings and volunteer meetings, Hillsong NYC, the first U.S. location of Hillsong Church, is kicking off weekly services this Sunday.

When the New York City branch of the Australian-based Pentecostal megachurch started meeting in October, there may have been critics who wondered whether the city really needed "another church."

But the Hillsong church plant, led by Pastor Carl Lentz and his wife, Laura, has laid some of those doubts to rest as hundreds of people kept pouring in for the occasional services. more >>

A megachurch in Florida is using house churches to expand its network, showing that reaching out on a smaller scale doesn't mean retreating in the multisite movement.

Northland, A Church Distributed, based in Longwood, Fla., currently has 15 to 20 house churches in several states that virtually participate in the worship services held at the main campus every Sunday.

"House churches are the next extension of the multisite movement," said Dr. Dan Lacich, pastor of Distributed Services at Northland, to The Christian Post. more >>