Church Planting Movements – Ten Universal Elements

Garrision found ten components common to all of the Church Planting Movements he studied:

1. Prayer – there was an urgency, passion, and vitality to believers’ prayers.

2. Abundant gospel sowing – believers use all possible means, including mass media, to get the message of Jesus to as many as possible, so the entire area is gospel saturated.

3. Intentional church planting – Christian leaders, realizing that church planting is the most effective means of discipleship, devise a strategy from the outset where starting new churches is the single-minded focus. Everything not contributing to this focus is discarded.

4. Scriptural authority – the Bible is translated in the heart language of the people and believers unhesitatingly see it -- not other books, aids, or teachers -- as the authority in their daily lives.

5. Local leadership – local leaders and not outside ministers or missionaries give direction to the movement and take responsibility for it.

6. Lay leadership – believers realize that if they are to reach their own culture for Christ then they personally need to take initiative and not wait for professional clergy to do it.

7. Cell or house churches – small, easily led and reproducible churches meeting in homes or storefronts predominate in a CPM.

8. Churches planting churches – Christians believe that reproduction is natural and they do not need outside resources to obey Christ’s command to make disciples.

9. Rapid reproduction – believers have a sense of urgency to reach their lost neighbors and avoid everything non-essential to planting churches.

10. Healthy churches – each church caries out the following five purposes: worship, evangelism, discipleship, ministry to others, and fellowship.