by John A. Gross
The vigorous, continual planting of new congregations is the single most crucial strategy for (1) the numerical growth of the body of Christ in a city and (2) the continual corporate renewal and revival of the existing churches in a city.1
6. Almost every denomination in America is declining because they have been unable to start enough new healthy churches to offset the number of churches that are closing.
7. The most unreached people group in the United States is the 20–something group.
8. Today there are approximately 200 million non-Christian people in the U.S. (The third largest mission field in the world!)2
9. During the decade of the 90s, the United States population increased 11.4 percent (24,153,000 people), while the church membership declined 9.5 percent (4 million 498,000 2410)!
10. No county in America has a greater percentage of church people today than a decade ago! Half of all churches in America did not add one new member through “conversion” growth.3
Another young man who has heard the call: Lynn Phipps grew up on the north side of Houston. From his childhood, Lynn participated in church and Sunday school at New Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, a strong Bible-believing church with sound preaching from Pastor Waley Dunn. Though Lynn was taught the foundations of Scripture, he wandered away from the Lord in his teenage years. Later, he sensed the call of God on his life and found himself in a motel room, all alone, listening to a sermon on the television. He fell on his knees, asked God to forgive him, and surrendered his life to the Lord. He preached his first sermon at the age of 27.
Today Lynn is employed with the City of Houston as a director of maintenance while he builds his foundation and core team. He is taking courses from Liberty University where he is less than one year away from receiving his Bachelor’s degree in Christian Counseling.
Through much prayer and seeking the Lord’s will, an opportunity presented itself in the Angleton area (South Houston) with a debt-free building and land. The people have given Lynn an invitation to come and lead them into the future. With this amazing open door and opportunity, Lynn and his family began to pray and ask for the Lord’s direction in this decision. After seeking counsel from his pastor, friends, and mentors, he continued to pray over the area. Convinced in his heart that this was the Lord’s will, he accepted the challenge and is moving forward with a re-organization that promises to be the ground work for a new planted church in the South Houston area. He is seeking your prayers and support in this step of faith.
1 Tim Hawks. “The Essentials Training on Church Planting”
2 George Barna. Growing Your Church From the Outside In (Ventura: Issachar Resources, 2000),12-13.
3 Neil Cole. Cultivating a Life for God (Carol Stream: Church Smart Resources,
1999), 11.