Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission - eBook

Matt Chandler (BA, Hardin-Simmons University) serves as lead pastor of teaching at the Village Church in Dallas, Texas, and president of the Acts 29 Network. He lives in Texas with his wife, Lauren, and their three children.

This is a great new book on church planting that balances the personal spiritual issues with the theological, cultural, and technical. Church planters should all read this.
-Tim Keller,
Senior Pastor, Redeemer Presbyterian Church, New York City

Now here is a clever idea—ask an experienced church-planting pastor how church planting should be done. In Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission by Darrin Patrick, an experienced church planter speaks from deep theological conviction, pastoral experience, and missiological vision. Church planting is one of the most important movements of our era—and one that follows the pattern set by the apostles. This book will be welcomed by all who celebrate the renaissance of church planting in this generation.
-R. Albert Mohler Jr.,
President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

I like being pushed, and Darrin Patrick is a careful thinker and a hard-working pastor. Here he has written a clear, carefully considered, well-illustrated introduction to the pastor and his ministry. In reading it, I’ve been challenged, provoked and encouraged. I disagree with some things, like Darrin’s correlation between the resurrection of Christ and the transformation of cities, but this book has been exciting and helpful and I appreciate a great deal. I happily commend this book to you, and pray that God will use it to help establish churches that take the gospel of Christ to the end of the world.
-Mark Dever,
Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington DC; President, 9Marks

Church Planter is an incredible tool for pastors and church planters alike that I am confident will fuel church multiplication in countless ways in the days ahead. I highly recommend this gospel-saturated challenge to plant churches led by God-centered men.
-David Platt,
Senior Pastor, The Church at Brook Hills, Birmingham, AL

Darrin Patrick has done an amazing job detailing out what we are called to not only as church planters but as pastors and men of God. Whether you are considering planting a church or have been a pastor for decades I couldn’t more highly recommend this book to you.
-Matt Chandler,
Lead Pastor, The Village Church, Highland Village, Texas

My new friend Darrin Patrick offers an insightful look at the privilege and calling of being a church planter. As one who is passionate about growing God’s church, I recommend this book for every pastor and church planter. If you hope to plant a church for the fame of the name of Jesus Christ, be sure to read this book before you do.
-James MacDonald,
Senior Pastor, Harvest Bible Chapel, Chicagoland Area. Radio teacher, Walk in the Word

Darrin Patrick is an excellent thinker with a great heart for the Church. I believe his words in this book are crucial for men in the body of Christ to pay attention to.
-Dino Rizzo,
Pastor, Healing Place Church, Baton Rouge, LA

Darrin Patrick is a friend to church planters. He is widely known as a strong leader and good thinker in church planting today. In this book, Darrin brings together his biblical understanding, theological insight, and pastoral wisdom on what it takes to plant a missional church. For those who are planting or thinking about it, this book will help you to see if you are prepared—with the message and for the mission.
-Ed Stetzer,
President, LifeWay Research

We have all read books on church planting, planting churches, and church planting movements. This book is about the church planter—his qualifications, his theology, and his character. Make no mistake about it, Darrin Patrick covers all the bases on what it takes to be a successful church planter in the twenty-first century. Get the right man, going in the right direction, with the right message and you have impactful combination for the kingdom of God. This is a Christ- and gospel-centered approach to launching new churches.
-Billy Hornsby,
President, Association of Related Churches

Church Planter: The Man, the Message, and the Mission is a superb work. Darrin Patrick combines the mind of a careful theologian, the heart of a compassionate pastor, and the passion of a missional Christian. As someone heavily invested in training church planters in a seminary, this will be a must-read for those we teach and send out to penetrate lostness in the unreached and underserved cities of our nation and the world. Thank you Darren for this labor of love. You have rendered a valuable service to the body of Christ.
-Daniel L. Akin,
President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

Church Planter comes from the heart of a real man sharing the real gospel from real experience leading Christ’s church. Powerful, helpful, hopeful!
-Bryan Chapell,
President, Covenant Theological Seminary

If you are called to church planting, Darrin Patrick gets you. More importantly, he understands what it takes to connect you to the gospel, the gospel to the church, and the church to the mission. This book is packed with insight; it’s a boot-camp-in-print. If God has enlisted you, then read it and let the training begin!
-Dave Harvey,
church care and church planting, Sovereign Grace Ministries; author, When Sinners Say "I Do."

I love this book because I love church planters and I know this book will help them fulfill their calling. I also love that Darrin writes in such a raw way. This isn’t an ivory tower book. It’s written by someone who has some battle scars because he’s been in the trenches of church planting.
-Mark Batterson,
Lead Pastor, National Community Church, Washington, DC

Darrin slices through the clutter to give us insight on what is most important in launching a new work—a clear understanding of a biblically functioning community led by one passionately committed to Jesus. This is a strong, excellent work that goes beyond pragmatic strategies and gives principles that will serve in any context. I'm fired up about a movement of leaders who will live out the core principles of Church Planter and launch churches that honor God and share his fame!
-Jud Wilhite,
author, Eyes Wide Open; senior pastor, Central Christian Church, Las Vegas, NV

Darrin Patrick gets ministry. He understands it’s not a career for those of us trying to do something for God. It’s a calling that can only be fulfilled faithfully when built upon the foundation of scriptural norms. This is not only a great book for anyone involved in church planting—it’s also a great book for anyone involved in pastoral ministry. It will help you (and your team) keep your life, message, and mission aligned with God’s vision and calling.
-Larry Osborne,
Pastor and Author, North Coast Church, Vista, CA

Church Planter: the Man, the Message and the Mission by Darrin Patrick is a must-read for anyone thinking about planting a church or who works with church planting leaders. While I don’t hold to all of Darrin’s theology of leadership I still highly recommend Church Planter. When it comes to church planting Darrin is a guy that absolutely ‘gets it’ because he has done it! And you will ‘get it’ too if you read this book!
-Dave Ferguson,
Lead Pastor, Community Christian Church, Naperville, IL; Visionary Leader, NewThing

If I were beginning the journey of starting a church, and I could only choose two books to take with me. They would be the Bible, and Church Planter by Darrin Patrick.
-Matt Carter,
Lead Pastor, The Austin Stone Community Church, Austin, Texas

There is no greater need in the world today than for men who will embody the unchanging message of the gospel in their own lives, and then carry it into the ever-changing communities in which we live. Darrin Patrick clearly articulates a compelling vision of the kind of leader and church we need in the twenty-first century. Every Christian man should read this book, and ask the question ‘what part is God calling ME to play in planting transformational churches?’ Some may never have considered ministry, but reading this book could be dangerous for your career prospects. Other readers may be in paid church leadership, but will discover that God has been preparing a different, society-changing role for you to play. May God use this book to raise an army of church planting missionaries, some who will lead fantastic churches, others who will incarnate the gospel by being Christ-centered businessmen, caring professionals, or whatever it is that God has designed you to be. This book will convince you that there is hope for the church yet, and that the church is the only hope for this world.
-Adrian Warnock,
author, Raised With Christ: How the Resurrection Changes Everything

This book is a weapon. Church Planter is one of the more important pieces of equipment that a church planter (or a man aspiring to any level of church leadership) can own. Darrin Patrick writes out of biblical conviction and proven experience, not preference or pragmatics. I trust Darrin. I trust what he's written here. I hope this book is placed in the hands of men all over the world.
-Justin Buzzard,
Pastor, Central Peninsula Church, San Francisco Bay Area