The Costs of Church Planting

We can think about the costs of planting a new church in several ways.  One is the dollar cost.  Church planting costs money.  Zion is commited to planting multiple churches in Lincoln, and this will always be a challenge for our budget.

But every family faces the same kind of thing.  Raising kids costs money.  Sometimes there seems to be no end to the financial demands.  But would you rather do without children?  A thousand times no.

Raising kids is also difficult when they come of age, because there comes a day when you say goodbye.  They move away.  The house seems empty.  But that is the natural way of things.  A boy who still lives with his parents at age 35 is not what you hope for.  At Zion we are preparing to go through the same kind of thing with the Redeemer plant.  The day is not far off when we will say goodbye to a hundred of our dear friends and family.  They will move on.  To those of us who remain, our building will seem empty.  But this is the natural way of things in the church.  We will feel the loss, but we can be glad to pay the cost.

And I believe that committing ourselves to such costs pleases our Lord Jesus.  The kingdom of heaven is like a woman who took a pound of very costly ointment and poured it out at the feet of her savior.  And the whole house was filled with the fragrance. 

Posted on April 15, 2008.