Why the City of a Hundred Congregations Needs Another Church

I have been told that there are intersections in my town that have a church on every corner. While I am not 100% positive that this is true, there are areas I can think of that have at least three corners covered by church buildings. The church I currently attend has another church across the street. Every denomination under the sun is represented with multiple congregations. There is no shortage of para-church ministries and Christian preschools, day care centers, and private academies. Searching for churches on yahoo.com will bring up over 70 churches in Hemet and San Jacinto, which doesn't include the vast sea of churches that do not have any king of web presence. There are easily 100 churches meeting through out our valley through out the week. One could easily assume that Hemet and San Jacinto are "reached".

Now subtract from that number at least 10-15 congregations that are connected to different cults, such as the Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, and the like. Remove another 10-15 for Roman Catholic Congregations. Now subtract the vast majority from that new number all of the churches that are in decline, are predominately elderly (or 100% elderly), are theologically liberal, or are smaller than 30 and you are left with a handful of churches. Now subtract all of the churches that and have abandoned faithful biblical expository preaching, reaching a new generation for Christ, and the faithful proclamation of the gospel and you are left with a number you can count on one hand. There are over 150,000 people that live within this valley, most of which do not know Jesus Christ. So here are my reasons for planting a church in this valley at this time.

1. A desire to see Jesus Christ worshipped where he currently is not - there are thousands of people in our area who do not treasure Jesus Christ above all things. New churches are needed to bring about worship where there is currently no worship.

2. A desire to preach the gospel and the whole counsel of God - as so many churches have abandoned the gospel and the faithful preaching of the Scriptures, new churches are needed that will proclaim Jesus Christ and him crucified according to the Scriptures.

3. A desire to reach the next generation - most of the faithful congregations left in Hemet and San Jacinto tend to be older. Senior citizens fill most of these churches. Praise God for them! But, young adults and young families are not being reached to the same degree. New churches are needed to incarnate the gospel in this new and emerging culture.

4. A desire to encourage other congregations into faithfulness - many churches are stuck in a rut, stuck in their ways, or are unwilling to change. New churches are needed to encourage them to be faithful to the Lord Jesus Christ and the proclamation of the gospel.

Lord willing we will start services on September 6th, 2009. There are several ways to be involved in this church before we begin meeting in September. First, there is a Bible Study taking place on Tuesday nights at my place, that will be transitioning into this church plant. Second, there will be a informational meeting at Hemet Valley Baptist Church on August 2nd, where we will answer questions, objections, or concerns. Thirdly, starting on August 16th and the following two Sundays we will be having meetings to teach those who are interested in joining the church our doctrine, church structures and ministry philosophies, and membership responsibilities. If you want information regarding any of this please contact me or Joe Slunaker. I am excited for what God is going to do through this new church and it is my prayer that you will be able to support this kingdom advancement, whether in prayer, with resources, or with participation.