New England Missions Context
"For God so loved the world [including New England], that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)
New England is an incredibly beautiful part of the country with wonderful people. It is home to world-class education, healthcare and global businesses. Mountains, lakes and miles of seashore define the landscape of the Northeast. However, it is also the most post-Christian corner of the United States. According to Barna's recent research five of the top ten cities in New England have people who do not believe in the good news of Jesus Christ.
How do we reach more people with the good news of God's love?
- Pray. "And he [Jesus] said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." (Luke 10:2)
- Make disciples and baptize. And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)
- Start new LCMS mission churches.
- Click here to financially support new LCMS churches in New England [please designate "missions"]
How do we get started?
There are several approaches to starting new churches. We encourage you to work with your local LCMS pastor and the New England District to get started. There are several ways to start new LCMS mission churches in your community. Here's just a few examples to make it more concrete.
- Mother-daughter. The parent church accepts a new church pastor and then sends the pastor with a core group of people from the parent church.
- Multi-site. An additional campus of the parent church is started, while leadership remains the same. The DNA of the hub church is copied into the new additional site.
- Church within a church. The host church plans to start a new church within their church building (e.g. English-speaking church is the host for a non-English speaking church plant). For example, the English-speaking church puts resources together in partnership with the New England District to start a new Spanish-speaking church within their church building.
- Circuit sponsored church plant. We have seven circuits made up of about 10 churches in each circuit (i.e. nearby geographic region). The circuit partners together to start a new LCMS church.
- Third Place. Some church plants are designing their ministry in ways to meet the community at places where there is a community need.
Additional Articles
- Introduction to Church Models
- Five Future Trends of Church Planting
- LCMS Church Planting: Mission Field: USA
- What Will Your Next Church Building Look Like (LCEF)