Apostolic Church Planting: Birthing New Churches from New Believers

J. D. Payne (PhD, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is a writer, speaker, church planter and currently serves as the pastor of church multiplication with The Church at Brook Hills in Birmingham, Alabama. He previously served with the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention and as an associate professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, where he directed the Center for North American Missions and Church Planting.

J. D. has written extensively in the areas of missions, evangelism and church growth and he speaks frequently for churches, networks, conferences and mission agencies. He is the author of books such as Missional House Churches, The Barnabas Factors, Discovering Church Planting, Strangers Next Door, Kingdom Expressions and Pressure Points. In addition to these works, he and Mark Terry coauthored Developing a Strategy for Missions and he coedited Missionary Methods with Craig Ott.

J. D. has pastored five churches in Kentucky and Indiana and has worked with four church planting teams. He formerly served as the executive vice president for administration for the Evangelical Missiological Society and as the book review editor for the Great Commission Research Journal.

He and his wife Sarah and their three children live in Birmingham, Alabama.

Apostolic Church Planting is less like a how-to manual and more like a clinician's guidebook. It deals with the theology and theory of church planting as well as the practical steps involved. Few missiologists could have written it, but J. D. Payne is one of them. All who are in any way involved in church planting should study this book to be informed. All should read it to be refreshed.
-David J. Hesselgrave,
professor emeritus of mission, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

J. D. Payne strategically shows how sustainable and sanctified apostolic church planting (churches birthed from disciple making) is actually simple, and he skillfully does so without being simplistic.
-Tom Steffen,
emeritus professor of intercultural studies, Cook School of Intercultural Studies, Biola University

Many church planters who would say they follow the apostles' methods fail to see churches multiply as the apostles did. They must read J. D. Payne's Apostolic Church Planting! He graciously points out the shortcomings of conventional church plants in a way that does not appear 'anti,' untying the usual knotty problems and simplifying common complications. I love his phrase, 'Plant the church that is, not the church to come.' Had I read that when I was young, I'd have avoided years of foolishly trying to birth mature churches! You will find these gems throughout the book, but brace yourself to face challenges from Scripture, field experience and testimonies of a healthy number of highly effective practitioners.
-George Patterson,
church multiplier

Church planting must always be grounded in evangelism - reaching people who are not yet Christians with the gospel. When church planting degenerates into gathering disaffected Christians or otherwise reshuffling the already-converted into new congregational forms, it really isn't church planting at all! This book clearly articulates a model of true church planting and calls us to fulfill its biblical mandate. Read it and be challenged!
-Jeff Iorg,
president, Golden Gate Seminary

In a concise and readable manner, J. D. Payne has written a foundational book for church planters. Whether ministering in North America or around the globe, this is a must-read for anyone who is called to plant churches. For veteran church planters, it could serve as a useful reminder of, and perhaps as an encouragement to recalibrate, the principles of their church-planting ministry.
-James Kim,
executive director, Pioneers Canada

In this excellent work, J. D. Payne draws from his experience as a practitioner in the roles of church planter, sponsoring church mission pastor and planter coach to provide timely wisdom for those who are about to begin or are already traversing the church planting journey. Writing as a practitioner, his insights are practical and relevant. As a leading missiologist, his wisdom is well-grounded and trustworthy. In this book, Payne addresses some specific issues not covered in his earlier book, Discovering Church Planting. These two books should be tattered from use, highlighted, dog-eared and at the fingertips of every person leading any church planting endeavor.
-Mark Custalow,
church planting strategist, central east and southeast Virginia, Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia

Church planting is not a new concept to many, even in North America. However, the idea of apostolic church planting will be new and novel to many. The idea of teams who start with evangelism, allow those they reach to become a body of believers, focus on growing leaders and do all of this with an eye to leaving represents an old-new idea - old as the New Testament, new to us. In a nation that is increasingly hostile to the things of Christ, J. D.'s work is a much-needed call back to a biblical pattern of seeing the church take root among people who do not know him. If you are looking for biblical and practical help in how to mobilize teams of people for church planting, this book is a wonderful resource.
-Van Kicklighter,
associate executive director, church planting team, Illinois Baptist State Association

No American alive today has seen church growth keep pace with US population growth. This reality seems to suggest we should stop doing church planting our way. J. D. points back to the simple biblical cycle designed to multiply. Grasping this cycle demands we wrestle with serious questions: Can new churches be formed from new believers? Can new pastors develop and emerge from within new churches? Can faithful church planting include an exit to leave new churches to develop on their own? J. D. Payne not only defends the potential of such notions, he demonstrates the biblical expectation that church planting be done this way.
-Nathan Shank,
church planting catalyst in Asia

"No American alive today has seen church growth keep pace with US population growth. This reality seems to suggest we should stop doing church planting our way. J. D. points back to the simple biblical cycle designed to multiply. Grasping this cycle demands we wrestle with serious questions: Can new churches be formed from new believers? Can new pastors develop and emerge from within new churches? Can faithful church planting include an exit to leave new churches to develop on their own? J. D. Payne not only defends the potential of such notions, he demonstrates the biblical expectation that church planting be done this way."
"Church planting is not a new concept to many, even in North America. However, the idea of apostolic church planting will be new and novel to many. The idea of teams who start with evangelism, allow those they reach to become a body of believers, focus on growing leaders and do all of this with an eye to leaving represents an old-new idea—old as the New Testament, new to us. In a nation that is increasingly hostile to the things of Christ, J. D.'s work is a much-needed call back to a biblical pattern of seeing the church take root among people who do not know him. If you are looking for biblical and practical help in how to mobilize teams of people for church planting, this book is a wonderful resource."
"In this excellent work, J. D. Payne draws from his experience as a practitioner in the roles of church planter, sponsoring church mission pastor and planter coach to provide timely wisdom for those who are about to begin or are already traversing the church planting journey. Writing as a practitioner, his insights are practical and relevant. As a leading missiologist, his wisdom is well-grounded and trustworthy. In this book, Payne addresses some specific issues not covered in his earlier book, Discovering Church Planting. These two books should be tattered from use, highlighted, dog-eared and at the fingertips of every person leading any church planting endeavor."
"In a concise and readable manner, J. D. Payne has written a foundational book for church planters. Whether ministering in North America or around the globe, this is a must-read for anyone who is called to plant churches. For veteran church planters, it could serve as a useful reminder of, and perhaps as an encouragement to recalibrate, the principles of their church-planting ministry."
"Church planting must always be grounded in evangelism—reaching people who are not yet Christians with the gospel. When church planting degenerates into gathering disaffected Christians or otherwise reshuffling the already-converted into new congregational forms, it really isn't church planting at all! This book clearly articulates a model of true church planting and calls us to fulfill its biblical mandate. Read it and be challenged!"
"Many church planters who would say they follow the apostles' methods fail to see churches multiply as the apostles did. They must read J. D. Payne's Apostolic Church Planting! He graciously points out the shortcomings of conventional church plants in a way that does not appear 'anti,' untying the usual knotty problems and simplifying common complications. I love his phrase, 'Plant the church that is, not the church to come.' Had I read that when I was young, I'd have avoided years of foolishly trying to birth mature churches! You will find these gems throughout the book, but brace yourself to face challenges from Scripture, field experience and testimonies of a healthy number of highly effective practitioners."
"J. D. Payne strategically shows how sustainable and sanctified apostolic church planting (churches birthed from disciple making) is actually simple, and he skillfully does so without being simplistic."
" Apostolic Church Planting is less like a how-to manual and more like a clinician's guidebook. It deals with the theology and theory of church planting as well as the practical steps involved. Few missiologists could have written it, but J. D. Payne is one of them. All who are in any way involved in church planting should study this book to be informed. All should read it to be refreshed."