"Planting by Pastoring: A Vision for Starting a Healthy Church" by Nathan Knight

Knight, Nathan.  Planting by Pastoring: A Vision for Starting a Healthy Church. Wheaton, Ill: Crossway, 2023.   

As church planting networks and planters often focus on rapid growth and innovative strategies, Nathan Knight's Planting by Pastoring offers an encouraging and much-needed perspective. Published by Crossway in 2023 as part of the 9Marks series, this book is a call to prioritize church health over numerical growth. Could we have expected anything less from 9Marks? It's a short read at about 120 pages, but it packs a punch, offering a critique of current church planting paradigms and a biblical framework for planting healthy churches.

Nathan Knight planted Restoration Church and worked with 9Marks and Mark Dever in Washington D.C. He is also part of the Treasuring Christ Together Church Planting Network. His experience and background in Baptist theology shaped his perspective, but he's upfront with that. 

Knight's chief question in this book is, What would happen if we slowed down and aimed for more biblical health in church planting? He challenges the reader to consider the importance of shepherding and pastoring in church planting rather than focusing so much on innovative strategies, quick growth, and planting pregnant. Knight found that most planting literature is light on church health, and he does an excellent job calling planters to change this pattern. 

Knight's arguments are rooted in Scripture, aligning with the Apostle Paul's pastoral epistles and other New Testament teachings on church leadership. The book offers a reasonable and needed critique of church planting organizations that prioritize speed over health. Knight shares his own experiences, both successes and failures, in church planting, making the book relatable and authentic.

However, Planting by Pastoring could have benefited from additional examples, especially from those who have succeeded in what Kinght is arguing for. Knight draws heavily from his own experiences, but incorporating success stories from other church plants following his principles would strengthen his argument. Additionally, exploring how churches outside the Baptist tradition approach these issues could offer a more rounded perspective.

This book is a must-read if you are a church planter, involved in supporting church planting, or even just considering it. It should not only be on your shelf but be the first one you turn to. Why? Because it challenges us to aim for what should be the ultimate goal in any church plant: a healthy, Christ-centered church.

"Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve" (1 Peter 5:2).

In a time when we often measure success by numbers and speed, Planting by Pastoring calls us back to what church planting should be. It's a call to shepherd well, care deeply, cherish Christ, and plant robustly biblical and spiritually healthy churches. I highly recommend this book.