Exciting Partnership – College Church Planting Movement

When we planted the Avenue a few years ago we lamented the fact that there were no church planting organizations committed to planting churches on college campuses.  We were frustrated by the fact that everyone agreed that we were losing a generation,  yet no one was willing to risk with us to attempt to pioneer new frontiers into college ministry.  In fact, when we presented our vision of starting missional communities on College campuses we were told by most of the large church planting organizations that our model was not financially sustainable and it was not feasible long term.

Well, they were wrong!  We have not only found economic engines to help us with financially sustainability but we are preparing to bring on a church planting resident to plant our 2nd campus.  What we have done is not only feasible but it is reproducible!  The average church plant in the US costs between $250,000 to $300,000.  I also know of many churches who are investing millions in mutli-site campuses.

We planted the Avenue for around 100,000 – Imagine if we took the millions invested in one multi site and we redirected it to start 10 college church plants?  Imagine if we could plant 3 college church plants at the cost of each church plant we are currently planting?  What we get very quickly is a movement!

We believe the secular college campus is one of the largest unreached people groups in our country.  We believe that we can re-imagine church planting on the college campus.  We believe that we can create a movement of multiplying disciples and churches on these campuses that change the face our faith in the next 20 years.  We believe that we don’t have to lose 70% of our young people when they go to college.  We believe students can actually use their years in college to prepare themselves to become kingdom workers.  We believe that God is raising up church planters who want to pioneer new efforts & that the apostolic call on their lives will lead them to the college campus.  We believe that the stakes are too high for us not to take risks and not to invest in the next generation.  We believe that we can actually bring the kingdom to life in a dark place.  We believe that we can actually restore what is broken and bring revival to the hearts of the next generation.  The return will not be mega churches, the return on that investment will be disciples, kingdom workers and a new generation of students graduating from secular colleges not just with degrees but with the ability to create disciples and be the church!

It won’t be easy but wow is it going to be fun!

So I’m excited to announce that in partnership with the New Thing Network, 3DM and TOM – We are launching a network of college church planters.  If you have already launched a church plant on a college campus or if you are dreaming about planting in the future we want to talk to you, we want to invite you into what God is doing and we want to dream together of how God can bring revival back to our college campuses.  Every revival in our countries history has 2 things in common, the first is prayer, the second is, it started with college students!

Here is what Mike Breen has to say about this today:  

Here is a link to the vision of the TOM Project our vision to plant churches on the 100 most influential college campuses in the US.

If you are interested email me at ben@avechurch.com

We are looking for 3 to 5 new planters to join us this month and we are looking for church planting residents who are committed to spend 2 years training on a college campus in order to plant in the future!