The EFCA recognizes some Biblical foundations for church planting:
- Church planting is a central part of God’s mission to form a new people of God (Ephesians 1:3-14, 1 Peter 2:4-10).
- Christ loves the church and promised to build it (Matthew 16:18).
- God grows His church by adding those who are saved (1 Corinthians 3:6, Acts 2:47).
- God’s plan goes beyond rescuing the lost to transforming lives, families and communities (Parable of salt and light — Matthew 5:13-16; of yeast — Matthew 13:33; and ministry of Jesus and apostles).
- The Great Commission implicitly includes church planting (teaching, baptizing, discipling all nations — Matthew 28:18-20).
- The task of evangelism is complete only when people are brought into the fold of the church (Luke 14:23, 15:1-10).
- The book of Acts demonstrates that new churches are the normal and necessary result of evangelism and disciple-making.
- Church planting is central to Pauline understanding and practice of mission (Romans 15:19-20, 1 Corinthians 3:5-6).
- Jesus will not return until there is a witness to every ethnic group (Matthew 24:14).
These principles are valuable to planting new churches and in the work of revitalizing established, plateaued or declining churches.