Christ taught that Christian discipleship comes with a cost, and that cost must be counted. He famously said, “For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’” (Luke 14:28–29). The same holds true for church-planting.
If the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is going to become a more vital church-planting body in the future, we must count the cost of starting and sustaining new congregations all over the country. So, what is it going to take? What needs to characterize our church-planting efforts in North America if our goal is to pursue continued faithfulness and missional renewal in the PCA through church extension?
There are three essential values that must, by Word and Spirit, mark our efforts: missional clarity, proactive integrity, and compelling leadership. If we lack any one of these three values in our church-planting plans and pursuits, then failure and—as our Savior suggested in Luke 14:29—ridicule is sure to follow our attempts.
Missional Clarity
The first essential value for church-planting success in the PCA is missional clarity. When we go into a community, we need to be crystal clear about what we trying to be, accomplish, and present ourselves as being. Toward that end, it is wise to formulate and publish a clear vision, mission, and values one-sheet that can be shared with interested team members and those considering involvement in the church plant.
If that sounds daunting, then I have good news for you: most of the work has already been done, for God has defined the church’s mission, we are called to pursue His vision, and He has revealed His values for kingdom living (and church extension). The following texts are extremely useful for prayerfully putting together a vision-mission-values prospectus:
- Leviticus 19:2–4: You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy. Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am the Lord your God. Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods; I am the Lord your God.
- Deuteronomy 6:4–7: Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.
- Micah 6:8: He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
- Matthew 28:19–20: Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.
- Acts 1:8: You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.
- Acts 20:18–21: You yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Romans 1:16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
- Romans 10:12–15: For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!”
- Revelation 7:9–12: After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands; and they cry out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures; and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen, blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might, be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”
Though most of the work has been done, it is nevertheless a useful exercise to involve a church plant’s internal stakeholders beyond the planter himself (e.g., core group members, launch team members, mother church leadership, provisional session, presbytery) in praying together and framing such a resource as a guiding document for the plant. Once the document is in-hand, it should then be regularly (at least annually) deployed for review and presentation to both internal and external audiences.
The apostles knew what they were tasked to do as preachers, pastors, and churchmen, gathering the elect of God and equipping the saints for the work of service (Eph. 4:12).
Proactive Integrity
The second essential value for church-planting success in the PCA is proactive integrity. This characteristic builds on the first value in that it involves transparency of purpose in church-planting, but that is just one part of the whole of what I mean by integrity. There are two virtues and one issue to explore under the heading of this essential value.
The first virtue to explore is charity. As we go about planting PCA churches from coast to coast, we need to recognize the breadth and depth of our denomination in all its manifold expressions. We are the body of Christ, and we know that “the body is not one member, but many” (1 Cor. 12:14). In developing this understanding of the church as Christ’s body, Paul emphasizes the “care for one another” (1 Cor. 12:25) that every member should put into practice. This serves the purpose of promoting the unity of the church in its local expression as individual church members have different roles, but it can and should be applied to the church in its regional and national expressions “so that there may be no division in the body” (1 Cor. 12:25). As Peter says in addressing the regional church of Asia Minor, “you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). We are called to a loving unity in the truth “once for all handed down to the saints” (Jude 3).
Therefore, let us resolve to love one another after the pattern of Christ, who is Himself love incarnate (1 Cor. 13). Remember the apostolic injunction beautifully set in a letter of strong rebuke, “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith” (Gal. 6:10). Putting the virtue of charity into practice will involve mutual encouragement in church-planting, even where there are differences in ministry approaches, worship styles, leadership philosophies, and pastoral emphases. But note that such encouragement does not consist of mindless affirmation. Paul writes, “We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all people” (1 Thess. 5:14–15). Proactive integrity calls for proactive love that includes admonishment and correction when needed. Being proactively involved in our presbyteries and other regional networks presents opportunities for putting love to work across the divides that inevitably result from our differences.
The second virtue to explore at this point is honesty. We have to be unflappably honest in our church-planting pursuits. Whether or not ‘Presbyterian’ is in our mission work’s name, or ‘PCA’ is on our church signage and branding, we must not shy away from what we are. Recall Paul’s words to his church-planting protégé, “Do not neglect the spiritual gift within you, which was bestowed on you through prophetic utterance with the laying on of hands by the presbytery” (1 Tim. 4:14). If the Apostle to the Gentiles was not ashamed of his Presbyterianism, then who are we to shy away from it?
Practically speaking, your Presbyterian commitments should be on your church plant’s website About page and in similar literature or published materials. But far more profoundly, it should express itself in how you go about church-planting and implementing pastoral care in developing contexts. Consider the approved examples recorded for us in Acts 13:1–3, Acts 14:23, Acts 15:1–35, and Titus 1:5. Recent publications authored by PCA pastors are excellent on this point and worthy of your attention. I am thinking especially of Timothy Z. Witmer’s The Shepherd Leader (P&R Publishing, 2010), Jon Stoddard’s Lead My Sheep (CDM, 2025), and Kyle McClellan’s Biblical Church Planting (Christian Focus, 2026).
Perhaps it goes without saying that the twin virtues of charity and honesty are necessary for ensuring integrity in the various church-planting efforts of a national denomination such as the PCA. In addition to these virtues, the issue of recalibration calls for proactive integrity.
Every church-planting team faces the issue of when to recalibrate. We see this clearly illustrated for us in the history of the apostolic church when Paul and Barnabas had to make a painful recalibration of their partnership, resulting thereafter in two church-planting missionary teams (Acts 15:36–41). There are at least three situations especially relevant to the PCA’s church-planting efforts that call for proactive integrity along these lines.
Situation 1 – If you determine either to expand or to restrict your officer bodies or membership in unbiblical ways (e.g., 1 Cor. 14:35–38; 1 Tim. 2:12; Titus 1:10–16), then it is time to recalibrate through reformation (i.e., 1 Tim. 3:1–13; Titus 1:6–9) or a change of denominational affiliation.
Situation 2 – If you encounter a community unwilling to tolerate a PCA church in its midst, then it is time to recalibrate by moving on (e.g., Matt. 10:14; Luke 9:5).
Situation 3 – If you find yourself wanting to promote (as opposed to engage) teaching or teachers out of accord with biblical teaching, then it is time to find another line of work entirely! Consider Paul’s sobering Spirit-inspired words, “But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds” (2 Cor. 11:12–15).
Compelling Leadership
The third essential value for church-planting success in the PCA is compelling leadership. It takes compelling leadership to set forth a clear mission and to execute on it with proactive integrity every step of the way. But we live in an age that makes the exercise of compelling leadership fraught with acute social difficulties.
For example, the “bully pulpit” discourse has made many PCA elders too timid because we rightly fear becoming sinfully pushy or insistent upon our own way. We are mindful of Paul’s description of Christian love that “does not seek its own” (1 Cor. 13:5), and of Peter’s instruction to overseers to pursue their calling “nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock” (1 Peter 5:3). However, we must be bold, confident, and courageous without becoming abusive. When Paul wrote “all things must be done properly and in an orderly manner” (1 Cor. 14:40), he was casting a vision for elders in the church to correct improper conduct and to right the wrongs of disorder. Thus, he subsequently offers the stirring call in the same letter’s conclusion, “Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love” (1 Cor. 16:13–14).
Here is how I propose we in the PCA pursue bold, confident, courageous, and compelling leadership in the development and training of officers, in particular. Rather than insisting on our own ways, we must insist upon Christ’s way, which involves self-sacrificial service (Matt. 16:24; Luke 9:23). Our families, and those of our colleagues in church leadership, will be called upon to bear a cost for the Kingdom, and we cannot sugarcoat or soft-pedal that. Instead, we must count it and help our fellow leaders do likewise with proper expectations. As we have already considered, the apostles did not downplay the reality of the cost that Christ Himself preached to thronging crowds of potential disciples.
While we too must teach on counting the cost of Christian discipleship, church leadership, and the unique ministry of church-planting, we must likewise put the cost into proper perspective. As Christ and His apostles made clear, God will provide for all our needs, and so we are not to be anxious for anything (Matt. 6:25–34; Phil. 4:6–7). Not only will He provide for us in our ministries today, but He is reserving eternal rewards for those who persevere in Christ: “an unfading crown of glory” (1 Peter 5:4).
By way of example, I found myself saying to the members of Antioch Presbyterian Church at a recent congregational meeting at which I introduced the Session’s appointment of an Officer Nominating Period, “I have been very careful not to be pushy, but I think that I have failed to be as insistent as Christ would have me be about our urgent need for officers. And with our current number of communicant men, I would be shocked if we can’t come up with a handful of officer candidates. Brothers, some of you need to step up into leadership and self-sacrificial service here.” I followed up this statement with much individual encouragement afterwards, and in subsequent weeks it was clear that the congregation had received it well, by the Spirit of God, to the glory of God.
Conclusion
What needs to characterize our church-planting efforts? Let us count the cost. We will need missional clarity (vision, mission, values), proactive integrity (charity, honesty, recalibration when needed), and compelling leadership (convictions about the right things, never abusive or pushy, but insistent on the crown rights of Christ in His Kingdom). Where these three essential values are present and active by the ministry of God’s Word and Spirit, the PCA’s church-planting efforts will help us to succeed in our shared pursuit of continued faithfulness and missional renewal through church extension.
Editor’s Note – This article originally appeared on the blog for the Carolinas Church Planting Collective here, and is republished by permission.
