A curious fact about the New Testament is that it never commands us, or anyone else, to plant churches. The great commission is thought to promote new churches, but let’s look at it one more time.

And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:18-20

Notice the command. Jesus didn’t say to start churches; he told us to make disciples. The fundamental building block of Jesus’ commission was the disciple. Obviously, the making of disciples leads to the existence of new churches (where two or more are gathered). So am I playing semantics? Possibly, but consider this. When we are focused on starting churches we have a tendency to assume that disciples will be made as a byproduct of sorts. In actuality, it is very possible to have a room full of people, doing religious things, and have little or no disciples.

If you want to start a church, you have noble aspirations, but first do this. Go make one disciple. If you cannot help one person become a disciple then then how will you help hundreds of people do so?