Should we start a new church?

Are you thinking about starting a new church? 

Before taking that step, the Bible gives us sobering guidelines and surprising examples—from the chaos of Corinth to the warnings in Revelation. 

In this episode, we explore the questions every Christian should ask before planting a new congregation: What’s motivating the move? 

Is it prayerfully planned—or emotionally driven? And how do we know when a church is truly “meaner than Corinth or deader than Sardis”? 

This conversation will challenge assumptions, sharpen discernment, and help believers make decisions rooted in Scripture rather than reaction.

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Transcript

 081 Should We Start a New Church?

Are you thinking about starting a new church? Before taking that step, the Bible gives us sobering guidelines and surprising examples—from the chaos of Corinth to the warnings in Revelation. In this episode, we explore the questions every Christian should ask before planting a new congregation: What’s motivating the move? Is it prayerfully planned—or emotionally driven? And how do we know when a church is truly “meaner than Corinth or deader than Sardis”? This conversation will challenge assumptions, sharpen discernment, and help believers make decisions rooted in Scripture rather than reaction.

I’ve often been asked a question about starting a new congregation.

I like to ask some questions.

• Why do you wanna to start it?
• Where do you wanna start it?
• Is this a project planned after much thought, prayer, and discussion with other brethren?
• Is this a reaction to things that happened where you’ve been worshiping, and you’re still angry and upset about that?
• Do you want to grow from people you plan to convert or by recruiting members of other area congregations?

Several people’ve told me they want to start another church because the congregation they’re worshipping with has become so bad that they can’t worship there anymore. I realize we can get disappointed in our brethren.

Here’s a guideline I’ve suggested several times.

Scripturally, to start another congregation for some reason other than for evangelism, the church where you’re worshiping now should be meaner than Corinth or deader than Sardis.

The church in Corinth faced multiple problems.

1. Division. They were following their favorite preachers.
2. Members who were arrogant and boastful.
3. A man was living in fornication with his father’s wife, but the church wasn’t concerned about it. They took an arrogant attitude toward this sin rather than being grieved about it.
4. Christians were going to law with other Christians rather than following Jesus’ instructions for conflict resolution.
5. The people there had marriage problems.
6. They had questions about previous pagan practices, such as eating meat offered to idols.
7. They had problems with partaking of the Lord’s supper in an irreverent manner. Paul said they changed the focus of their assemblies.

When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat. For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. — 1 Corinthians 11:20, 21

1. They had the apostolic problem of people wanting to be greater and more important than others. There was a conflict between superiority and inferiority complexes, depending on which spiritual gifts each person had.
2. The public assemblies and worship were in disarray. People were talking at the same time and speaking in languages that other people couldn’t understand.
3. There was serious false doctrine by some who said there was no resurrection of the dead. Some were denying this fundamental fact of the gospel. They said that a dead person couldn't live again. Paul replied that if resurrection is impossible, Jesus hasn’t been raised, and we have no hope beyond this life.

In all 16 chapters, I can’t find a suggestion or hint from Paul that the way to remain faithful to the Lord was to leave the less-than-ideal congregation in Corinth and start the Faithful Corinth Church of Christ.

In chapters 2 and 3 of the book of Revelation, five of the congregations mentioned had serious problems.

• Ephesus — Lost First Love. They were doctrinally sound and hardworking, but they had abandoned their initial love and devotion to Christ. Their hearts were no longer warm, grateful, or joyful as they had been at first.
• Pergamum — Compromised With False Teaching. They lived in a spiritually hostile environment.
• Thyatira — They had love, service, faith, and perseverance. But they tolerated a deceptive teacher, Jezebel. This led many into sexual immorality and idolatry.
• Sardis — They had a reputation for being alive, but spiritually they were dead. Their works were not complete; they needed to wake up, repent, and strengthen what remained.
• Laodicea — They were neither hot nor cold—spiritually lukewarm. They had a deep problem of self-sufficiency and blindness: Though they thought they were rich and didn’t need anything, they actually were wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked. Jesus stands outside, calling them to repent and return to Him.

Jesus teaches in Revelation 3:4 that you can be a living Christian in a dead church. He assures those few in that congregation that they’ll be saved, and their names won’t be blotted out of the Book of Life.

For these reasons, I’ve observed that:

Scripturally, to start another congregation for some reason other than for evangelism, the church where you’re worshiping now should be meaner than Corinth or deader than Sardis.