The 21st Century Church is poised to make the greatest church starting impact in the history of Christianity. This is due primarily to two significant factors: a worldwide profound sense of spiritual hunger and an unprecedented commitment to church starting.
A convergence of religious and socio-political transitions in the dusk of the 20th Century have contributed toward a deep sense of spiritual hunger in the dawn of the 21st Century in both the western and non-western areas of the world.
Twenty-first century church starters in Western societies face the challenge of understanding, reaching, and discipling people who are spiritually hungry, yet, may be resistant, indifferent or ignorant about Christianity.
Church starting, like starting any other new endeavor, requires and demands adequate preparation. In fact, preparation marks the first and vital stage in the pilgrimage to any effort at starting new congregations. Prior to beginning a new church, the church starter needs to have a strong motivational, biblical, spiritual, evangelistic, strategic, philosophical, leadership, and financial foundation.
This book focuses on the concepts that contribute toward the establishment of a solid, balanced and challenging foundation for 21st Century church starting.
Dr. Daniel R. Sanchez is Professor of Missions, Director of the Scarborough Institute for Church Growth, and Chairperson of the Missions Department at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He has served as an appointed Missionary to the Republic of Panama, Assistant Director, Language Missions Department, Home Mission Board, SBC; and Evangelism Director and State Missions Director for the Baptist Convention of New York. He has started two churches and supervised the starting of more than sixty churches. He has lectured and conducted workshops on church starting and church growth in over fifty countries. He has taught church planting courses since 1983.
Dr. Ebbie C. Smith is a retired Professor of Christian Ethics and Missions at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, and served fifteen years as a Southern Baptist missionary in Indonesia with responsibilities in theological education and church starting. While teaching at the Indonesian Baptist Seminary, he directed students in church starting activities that resulted in over thirty churches. During his last five years in Indonesia, Smith founded an extension Bible School for lay pastors. He served as the Pastor of five churches before going to Indonesia, and served as a Pastor of a church in Fort Worth before his retirement in 2001. During his ministry, Smith has had responsibilities for teaching missiology, missionary strategy, including anthropology, church starting, church development, and cross-cultural communication.
Dr. Curtis E. Watke, serves as Resourcing Preparedness Associate on the Readiness Team of the Church Planting Group, North American Mission Board, SBC. His primary work relates to research, missiology, systems, and electronic resources. Previously he served as Vice President for Research & Development at Church Growth Resources, and was Executive Director of the Cambridge Centre for Ministry Leadership Studies, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. He consulted primarily with urban Canadian churches, leading them in strategic ministry development processes. He also served as Professor of Evangelism & Church Planting at Prairie Bible College & Graduate School, Three Hills & Calgary, Alberta, Canada where he taught a variety of subjects including sociology and cultural anthropology. He served in Baptist churches in Georgia, Virginia and Pennsylvania with responsibilities in evangelism, missions, church starting, and supervision of seminary pastoral/church starting interns. Watke also has twelve years experience as a small business entrepreneur, starting two marketing companies related to the financial services industry.