There’s more freedom to try new things and more freedom to innovate with less risk as we seek to reach the lost. The new things that church plants try and that ‘work’ often find their way into existing churches after the kinks have been ironed out, helping to refresh and renew broader church practice.

While this is true, the central reason for church planting is not to outsource creativity from the established church into a safer environment. The central reason for church planting is because new churches reach new people.

The National Church Life Survey statistics from Australia in 2011 show that 6% of people in existing churches weren’t in church five years ago. But this figure was 33% in church plants. That’s five times more effective at drawing in people who either have no history with church or who haven’t been to church in a very long time.

Church planting is not just a good idea. It’s a biblical and effective strategy that is reaching many people who would otherwise remain unreached by existing churches. If we’re going to reach Australia with the gospel, church planting is not optional.