Replanting churches when others throw in the towel

Standing outside the front door of the church in West Conshohocken

Planting and replanting churches are tasks that many Christians believe need to take place, but at the same time, many believers struggle to know how to help make that happen.

In 2008, I had the privilege of replanting Core Creek Community Church in Langhorne, PA.  For years, it existed as "Newtown Community Church" and had many good years of ministry.  Then, for a variety of reasons, it dwindled down to a handful of people and sought the outside counsel of others as to whether it should sell the building, liquidate assets and donate the proceeds to church planting and foreign missions or if a new church could be planted in its place using the existing building.

After some conversation and prayer, the Lord made it clear to my family that he wanted us to move to Langhorne and plant the new church.  We did so and since that time, we have been joined by some wonderful people who share a desire to see our community impacted by the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Over the past eight years, we have watched and continue to see God doing some amazing and encouraging things.

As a recently re-planted church, one of the ministries we have been supporting with our prayers and finances is the planting and replanting of other churches.  From the start, it has been our desire to make the concept of church planting part of the DNA of our church and very recently, an intriguing and exciting opportunity has come our way.  We have been given the opportunity to re-plant another local church that has died.

About 30 minutes from us is a church building in West Conshohocken, PA.  Years ago, a vibrant church family met in the small facilities of that building and had a good impact on their community as they served as ambassadors of Christ to their neighbors.  In recent years, for a variety of reasons, the church dwindled and several months ago, it closed its doors.

The network of churches that we are a part of made this known to us and sought the input of area pastors as to what should be done with what was left of the church.  Should it be sold?  Were there other options?

One option that was quickly discussed was the idea of planting a new church in that facility and the building was turned over to the care of our church and one of our sister churches, Hatboro Community Church.  Since that time, I have been meeting with Pastor Kerry Ritts who is a long-term friend of mine, and we have been brainstorming ideas related to our churches adopting this project together.

I presented the idea to our church leadership and church family and he did the same with his congregation.  Both churches have expressed enthusiasm regarding the idea and we are now in the beginning stages of getting the building ready, making connections in the community and preparing for long-term leadership once we get everything up and running.

In the coming months, my intention is to chronicle the experience on this blog so you can get a first-hand glimpse into how the process is moving along and what we're learning along the way.  Please be in prayer for Kerry and I as we lead this.  Please be in prayer for our churches as they partner together to help make this happen.  And please be in prayer for the community of West Conshohocken as we seek to do our best to share the gospel of Jesus in that community through the planting of a new church.