Journal: Faith and Mission
Volume: FM 19:1 (Fall 2001)
Article: An Inquiry into the Validity of the Niche Church: An Acceptable Effort to Fulfill the Great Commission, or an Ill-informed Stratagem That Threatens the Unity of the Spirit and the Witness of the Body of Christ?
Author: Tony Preston

FM 19:1 (Fall 2001) p. 66

An Inquiry into the Validity of the Niche Church:
An Acceptable Effort to Fulfill the Great Commission,
or an Ill-informed Stratagem That Threatens the Unity
of the Spirit and the Witness of the Body of Christ?

Tony Preston

Assistant Professor of Pastoral Leadership
Director of Doctoral Studies
Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Kansas City, Missouri 64118

Introduction

Planting new churches is essential to fulfilling the Great Commission. This motivating conviction compels Southern Baptists and other evangelicals to invest significant energy and resources in new work strategies. The writer applauds the passion and sacrifice of those who labor in giving birth to new congregations and agrees that such is essential.

One also does well to acknowledge the contributions of scholars from various disciplines, including the Church Growth movement, whose expertise significantly shape contemporary church planting ideology. A passion for evangelism and church growth, as expressed by Donald McGavran and later amplified by C. Peter Wagner,1 clearly influences current philosophies of church planting.2 McGavran’s “emphasis upon identifying unevangelized peoples, his demand for critical self-assessment in relation to our ministries and programs, and the valid application of some of the insights of scientific disciplines such as anthropology and communications science”3 are indeed beneficial.

However, one frequently employed stratagem, introduced by Donald McGavran and vigorously promoted by C. Peter Wagner and most contemporary practitioners in the Church Growth movement, causes serious concern.4 The homogeneous unit principle5 currently employed by many church-planting strategists under the new title of “the niche church” is, in the opinion of the present writer, seriously flawed. Planting churches for the purpose of reaching a particular niche within society is much in vogue and increasingly popular. However, one should ask, “Does this pragmatic strategy synchronize with New Testament models?” Perhaps, “The real issue is whether church planting should be carried out so as to enable people to become Christians without crossing barriers (McGavran 1970,198f£); whether this principle is ‘essential for the spread of the

FM 19:1 (Fall 2001) p. 67

Gospel’ and biblically and theologically defensible. “6 If not, serious correct...