Planting by Pastoring: A Vision for Starting a Healthy Church (9Marks)

Recentering the Goal of Pastoral Ministry to Cultivate Christ-Treasuring Church Plants

As churches rapidly expand, Christians risk viewing the church with an entrepreneurial mindset. Church planters can be tempted to fixate on gaining numbers and achieving financial stability as their only metrics for success. They fail to focus on lifting up Christ’s people within the church. 

In Planting by Pastoring, author Nathan Knight challenges our view of church planting and centers the goal of pastoral ministry on a basic biblical foundation: a church plant is in fact a church, and a planter is in fact a pastor. A healthy church plant is not measured by size, speed, or level of self-sufficiency but by good pastoring that produces faith, fruit, and a flourishing community. Once pastors and church leaders redefine their plant as a church, their ministry will begin to align with Jesus’s mission to shepherd the flock and bring glory to God alone. 

• Provides Wisdom: This book reminds church planters of the heart of the church and the core purpose of pastors
• Offers a Unique Perspective: Addresses foundational elements of church planting other books fail to address
• Appeals to Pastors, Elders, and Church Planters: Great for those in the process of planting a church

Nathan Knight (MDiv, Southeastern Theological Seminary) is a pastor of Restoration Church and serves on the lead team for the Treasuring Christ Together church planting network. He and his wife, Andi, live in Washington, DC, with their two sons.