Church Planting

Think of it this way: if your church has been in its community for 50 years and people haven’t come to it, unless you really retool what you are doing they’re probably not going to come next Sunday either. So think of church planting as scattering seed in another place.

The Rt. Revd Chip Edgar. Read the full article

We have an incredible opportunity here in the ADOSC. While we celebrate the established church and all the Lord has done in our midst in the past, we also are poised to become a great vehicle for planting new churches. While we are grateful for how our well-established churches continue to be a “city on a hill,” we also acknowledge the most effective way of reaching non-Christians with the love of Christ is through the planting of new churches.

While no two church plants are the same, we typically see a church planted from one of three scenarios:

•  An existing congregation seeks to plant a ‘daughter’ church.
•  A group of Gospel-focused laypeople seek clergy leadership to join their existing fellowship.
•  A clergy (or someone seeking ordination) feels called to reach a geographic area or specific people group with the Gospel.

If you are in one of these categories, please know that we are here to support and partner with you. For more information about Church Planting within ADOSC or if you identify with one of the three scenarios listed above, please contact The Rev. Canon Todd Simonis, Diocesan Canon for Church Planting who also serves as an Associate Rector at the Parish Church of St. Helena’s, Beaufort, to learn more.  He heads up a group of like-minded Christians committed to church planting.

Related Articles

Ready, Set, Launch! Holy Cross, Daniel Island, Prepares to Become an Independent Church

You may or may not know that Holy Cross, Daniel Island is preparing to launch as an independent and autonomous church within the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina. Here's an overview of what we are doing, why we are doing it, and where we are up to. Why are we launching? In the spring of 2024 the Holy Cross Daniel Island campus will launch as its own church within the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina. Over a period of six ...
Read More

Church Planting in All Sorts of Places (Not Just the “Cool, Hip Ones”)

A Church Planting Interview with Bishop Chip Edgar Our new Bishop comes to the Diocese having successfully planted a church, sent out several young clergy to plant churches, and then, in 2019, his church planted a daughter church. So on March 31, 2022 we sat down together to talk about some of his experiences and what he’s learned. Editor, Joy Hunter Where does the idea for church planting come from? It comes from the Book of Acts. That’s the ministry ...
Read More

Church Planting Builds Muscle

Earlier this Fall, our family invested in a new exercise bike. It’s a fancy one with a screen and countless pre-recorded workouts with instructors who say things like, “You’re doing great!” while I’m gasping for air during a warm-up ride. Needless to say, I have been using some new muscles and have the soreness to prove it. In much the same way, church planting requires muscles that most of us don’t often use. We are used to using gifts of ...
Read More

Good Samaritan: Bringing the Vision of a Neighborly Church to Life

News from the Field of a Church Plant On a cool December morning in 2019, I was sitting in a coffee shop when I decided to “test drive” the potential name of our church plant. I mentioned the name that had been floating through my mind for a few weeks—Good Samaritan Anglican Church—to an unchurched barista. Immediately, she responded, “You mean, like, the character in the Bible who serves and takes care of his neighbors?” For me, that was confirmation ...
Read More

Church Planting From a Different Perspective

When my daughter was an infant, my role as a parent was to protect her and provide for her. As my daughter grew in age and maturity, my role as a parent changed. I realized how much time I was now spending preparing her for experiences she would have without me at school, with friends, at her first job and (gulp) dating. I confess that, as a parent, there is a constant wrestling within me. On the one hand, I ...
Read More

Connecting Through the Arts

Newly Welcomed St. Thomas, Mt. Pleasant, Invests in the Arts and Artists as Outreach to the Community St. Thomas Anglican Church was welcomed into the Diocese at our Diocesan Convention in October. By way of introduction, the church prepared a brief “who we are” video. Their emphasis on the arts seemed worth exploring further, so I sat down with their Rector, the Rev. Hamilton Smith, to learn a bit more about what makes St. Thomas unique. (View video: https://vimeo.com/459396362) How ...
Read More

Not According to (Our) Plan: Social Media Post Leads to New Worshipping Community

The Habersham worshiping community first took shape in response to a simple social media post. Five of us had been meeting regularly for lunch and praying for God to show us how to express His love in our community. We were made aware of a beloved member of the neighborhood who was scheduled for a significant surgery. Feeling led by the Holy Spirit, we posted an invitation on the online app Nextdoor for the neighborhood to join us the following ...
Read More