My good friend Matt asked me a good question: why plant a church in the US? Instead of replying in a comment, I thought I’d blog my response.

There are a number of reasons to plant in the US. First of all, my missions philosophy is “both/and”. Long-term and short-term, overseas and domestic, church planting and pioneer. You get the idea. So, just because I am planting in the US doesn’t mean I won’t be involved in planting overseas.

Another reason to plant in the US is so that we can plant overseas as well. America is a rich country. Let’s tap the financial resource to further the Kingdom across the globe. Also, Americans have a certain mystique in many other nations. If we take Americans to those countries to preach and teach, often the locals will come and listen just because they are Americans. Again, lets use that resource for the furtherance of the Kingdom.

The third reason is that America is a mission field. More and more people are either non-religious or are becoming interested in religions other than Christianity. Also, the cults are continuing to spread themselves so why should we let them go unchallenged?

Finally, I like a challenge. I want to try to figure out how to penetrate a culture that is not interested in being bothered. How can I reach people who are bombarded by mass mailings, telemarketers and have the Jehovah’s Witnesses or Mormons knocking on their doors every other weekend? Many of the people in my area of Southern California commute to work and when they’re home they don’t want to be bothered. They want to go water skiing or hiking Saturday and Sunday and can’t be bothered to go to church. I want to find a way to convince them that it is better, more enjoyable and more worthy to worship the Living God on Sunday with His people than it is to go camping or boating with your family.

Call me insane.