The Stats are in! God is doing a new thing.
Recently I was able to hear the latest church planting figures from Ruth Powell of National Church Life Survey group. As a leader focused on church planting, I was eager to hear how things are progressing and what other denominations are doing in this space. Well, the results are in and it seems like God is moving powerfully!
In the last five years, the volume of church plants across all denominations has doubled, with over 230 new churches planted. Perhaps the most exciting statistic is that these church plants are growing – and the majority of the growth is new Christians (62%). The new churches are averaging over 16 new attendees per year, of which 10 are first-time commitments. We’ve known for a long time that one of the most effective forms of outreach is through church planting and these statistics bear that out.
The most effective church plants (at reaching the unreached) have three aspects that seem to bring health:
(1) They have a clear discipleship pathway from new Christian to volunteer leader.
(2) They are reaching young adults and have a focus on young people.
(3) Churches that run Alpha see 40% more new Christians than those that don’t.
Although overall church attendance (average across all denominations) has flatlined in the last decade, church planting seems to have a correlation with growth. The Baptist denomination has moved from 4th to 3rd largest since 2001, and the ACC has moved from 5th to second. They have planted 22% (247) of new churches since 2011, whilst Baptists account for 19% (218). Seventh Day Adventists are next with 126, then Anglicans with 120. Obviously, we are not in a race against other denominations, but this simply shows that denominations that plant churches are growing and denominations that don’t, aren’t.
I think the most exciting part of this whole report is the trend: we are seeing an escalation in church planting. From 2019 to 2025 the number of new churches each year has been: 44, 69, 86, 99, 11, 145, 163). Clearly, God is inspiring new movement across Australia. As part of Vision 33 we Queensland Baptists believe God has called us to plant and revitalise 100 new churches. It’s already underway this year and there are several in the pipeline for 2027. The size of your church is not relevant in this discussion. We are seeing churches planted from small, medium and large churches.
I believe that God is calling us to respond to the spiritual thirst in Australia. There is new openness to the Gospel, especially in the younger generations. There’s no time like the present to take the next step in your church planting or revitalisation adventure!
*Steve Meharg is Director of Local Mission for Queensland Baptists.
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