"The pace of population growth continues to race faster than the growth of the church.  Visionary, focused, healthy, and strategic new churches are our best and maybe only hope for bridging the gap.  Yet church planting is fraught with numerous land mines that can derail even the best of prayerful intentions.  Here's a tool designed to keep you on course and out of the ditch from leading practitioners who've been in the trenches and a few ditches themselves.  Every team considering the adventure of church planting will serve their vision well by reading this book before taking another step."

Gene Appel, associate pastor

Willow Creek Community Church

S. Barrington, IL

“Here is a most useful book on church planting that combines practical wisdom with theological substance.  It is written by practitioners who have learned not only by doing but also from Scripture and from significant literature on the church and church planting.

The range of topics covered is impressive.  Particularly noteworthy are the emphasis on an incarnational, contextual approach; a focus on urban, not just suburban, church planting; and an important stress on community, discipleship, and leadership development.  The approach advocated seeks to be biblically and theologically informed, not just pragmatic in a “whatever works is OK” mode.

The authors are right that faithful church planting is the primary cutting edge of the Good News within society.  Anyone engaged in church planting, or wanting to know more about it, will benefit from this book.”

Howard A. Snyder

 Professor of the History and Theology of Mission

Asbury Theological Seminary

"The church planting movement within the independent tradition of

Christian Churches is strategically significant.  In ratio to their number

of prior churches, they seem to plant more churches that become large

regional churches than any other tradition or denomination. They have been

teaching each other 'how to do it' for years.  While any collection is

uneven, this one permits a wider audience to access much of their

practical wisdom."

George G. Hunter

Distinguished Professor of Evangelization

School of World Mission and Evangelism

Asbury Theological Seminary

"This resource is for everyone--demonination executives, college and seminary administrators, professors, pastors of established churches, scholars and researchers, students, members of the laity as well as church planters.  Found in the pages of this handbook are engaging chapters that integrate sound foundational principles on specific topics with practical ministry application."

Charles Ridley
Professor, Counseling Psychology

Associate Dean, The University Graduate School

Indiana University 

Pioneer in Church Planting Assessment 

Author of How to Select Church Planters 

Dr. Tom Jones practices what he teaches in this book. I know because I met regularly with him regularly as he built Princeton Community Church in Princeton, New Jersey.  This is not just a basic church-planting book.  The writers of this book  cover everything from contextualizing the  message to developing a leadership culture , and they do it out of their front lines experience.  Church planters and church leaders of existing churches will all benefit from reading this book. 

Robert Cushman

Senior Pastor, Princeton Alliance Church

“Don’t put this book down - if you are thinking about planting a church.  Historically, nearly 80 per cent of new church plantings fail.  But Tom Jones knows solid advice when he sees it.  He is both a seasoned theologian and a veteran church planter – plus an effective coach of church planters.   In this volume, Tom hand picks a cadre of crack troops from the church planting trenches to address crucial issues of church planting with him.  The result is profound yet immensely practical and it reads like a primer.”

Dr. Lynn Anderson

President Hope Network Ministries

“Here is a valuable contribution to the literature on church planting. The authors are biblically grounded. They bring credibility in that their insights are birthed and nurtured in personal experience. The range of topics covered is comprehensive. It is one thing to birth a church (as painful and challenging as that might be), but it is another to see those new churches grow to maturity, become a breeding ground for new church planters, and demonstrate that they are reproducible. “

Dr. Eddie Gibbs

Fuller Theological Seminary

“Every church planter, denominational supervisor and pastor needs to read and

benefit from the practical wisdom, raw urgency and passion in CHURCH

PLANTING FROM THE GROUND UP.  Not the product of theoreticians, CHURCH

PLANTING FROM THE GROUND UP...was forged in the heat of experience.

Developed by a team of church planters, this wonderful resource reads, at

times, like dispatches from the front lines of a war and at other times

feels like that much needed cup of coffee with an experienced friend.  This

welcome addition to the much needed field of church planter resources will

empower, encourage and equip you the reader to a more effective and fruitful

ministry.”

Dr. Tom Clegg

Vice President

Church Resource Ministries

Anaheim, California