Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

I think this is a fine idea and its so good to see GCTS students doing good work. However, as a former pastor in the Detroit area, I still see the same problem: every one wants to start their own new church in Detroit and as they go they walk right past the many churches already there trying to do God's work.

On Mack Ave, between Gratiot and Cadieux, I once counted 62 churches. That's a distance of less than 10 miles. 62 churches in 10 miles on one street. That does not count the churches a block or two off Mack Ave as you go.

Not so long ago there was a very good article from GCTS' Okengee Institute talking about how the vast majority of church growth in Evangelical churches was not from new converts and the spread of the gospel but from people already in church simply shifting membership or affiliations. ... See More

I love new church plants. However, sometimes I wonder about dueling congregations, the nature of religious competition and how much more we could do if we worked creatively with already existing organizations and programs. For instance, were the founders of Mack aware of Fort Street Presbyterian Church in down town Detroit that already has a funding stream for school supplies to the kids and toiletries available to any who ask as well as a distribution center for those items? Just something to think about.

Sometimes there can never be enough church plants.