Church Planting: Laying Foundations

by Stuart Murray

Stuart Murray lays some theological foundations for church planting and invites church planters to think seriously about missiology and ecclesiology. 292 pages.

Genres: Ecclesiology, Church

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Stuart Murray Williams works as a trainer and consultant under the auspices of the Anabaptist Network. Based in Bristol, he travels widely in the UK and overseas and works with local churches, mission agencies, denominational leaders, conferences and individuals. He has worked with at least 25 denominations in recent years. His particular areas of expertise are in:
•Church planting
•Emerging church
•Urban mission
•Mission in post-Christendom
•Anabaptist history and theology

Under the name Stuart Murray, he has written books on a number of topics, including:

The Challenge of the City
published by Sovereign World in 1994

Explaining Church Discipline
published by Sovereign World in 1995

Church Planting: Laying Foundations
published by Paternoster Press in 1998

Hope from the Margins
(jointly with Anne Wilkinson-Hayes) published by Grove Books in 2000

Biblical Interpretation in the Anabaptist Tradition
published by Pandora Press in 2000

Beyond Tithing
published by Paternoster Press in 2000

Coming Home: Stories of Anabaptists in Britain and Ireland
(jointly with Alan Kreider) published by Pandora Press in 2000

Church Planting: Past, Present and Future
(jointly with George Lings) published by Grove Books in 2003

Post-Christendom: Church and Mission in a Strange New World
published by Paternoster in 2004

Church after Christendom
published by Paternoster in 2005

Changing Mission: Learning from the Newer Churches
published by Churches Together in Britain & Ireland (CTBI) in 2006

Church Planting in the Inner City
(with Juliet Kilpin) published by Grove books in 2007

Planting Churches: A Framework for Practitioners
published by Paternoster in 2008

Reviews

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Murray offers an excellent theological and scriptural reflection of the practice of church planting, challenging both uncritical enthusiasm for the practice without careful missiological reflection and poorly substantiated objections to church planting even in contexts that seem at first glance to be oversaturated with churches.

His perspective as an experienced church planter in Western post-Christian society is unmatched. A great read for a more nuanced understanding of a complex evangelistic practice.

[Chris James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good theological framing.

[Dennis Podryadchikov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Almost one of kind book that tries to outline theological considerations for wide-spread practice of church planting and not mere practical steps. Even though sometimes a reader gets an impression that the author beats around the bush, the work is worthy of attention because of many ways it enriches the discussion. Some may say that the work is outdated; yet, there is no other book that gives such a foundational overview of the subject grounded on well done research.
Church planters of all kinds as well as students of theology and missiology will benefit by getting acquainted with the materials and observations comprised by Stuart Murray.

[Rick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Murray lays a clear theological foundation for church planting and then discusses various models. He considers the effectiveness of each in light of a postmodern, post-christendom context.