The Importance of Planting

Christ has called the church to be a light on a hill that cannot be hid. He has called us to the process of sowing the seed of the gospel.

Getting Involved

If you feel called to participate in a local plant, this is the section for you. To find out how you can invest in current or future mission plants, contact your presbytery's representative.

Financial Aid Forms

If your Presbytery is currently seeking aid from the HMB you can download the needed form.

At the international conference of 2004, the Lord stirred our hearts through the preaching of Ted Donnelly on the subject of "Our Calling in Christ." Following Pastor Donnelly’s lead, we pray that you would commit to the calling of sowing the gospel in three specific ways.

1. Being called to sow begins with the personal commitment to evangelism. We bear a precious seed. However it is precious not in the hoarding but in the scattering. Christ has called us to labor in the gospel fields. He has taught us to pray, "Your kingdom come," praying that God would be glorified by the salvation of sinners. God has called us to represent Him, to present Him, to proclaim Him. In this light, the call to sow is a call to be personally active in sharing the love of Christ to the world around us. In order to strengthen our hands in this work, the HMB sponsored an evangelism workshop at the 2004 International Conference. In it, we were confronted and convicted about the sin of silence, and we were given practical help in presenting the gospel. Several congregations have taken that material home to encourage their congregations. Being called to sow, pray that God would use you personally and as congregations to advance the kingdom of grace and to bring others into it.
   
2. Being called to sow is intimately connected to planting churches. We believe that God has ordained the church to be the pillar and ground of the truth and the corporate instrument of proclaiming His Good News. If we as individuals will give ourselves to the calling of sowing through personal evangelism, we must also give ourselves to sowing corporately through church planting. Believing it to be part of our calling to sow, the HMB would prayerfully set before you a vision for the year 2020, a "2020 Vision" if you will. Currently, in 2005, we have 77 congregations and 6 mission churches for a total of 83 combined congregations and mission churches. "2020 Vision" – 100 combined congregations and mission churches. To meet this goal, we would need to plant six new churches every five years. Being called to sow, pray that God would build His church through the addition of healthy, growing, multiplying congregations.
   
3. Being called to sow is expensive but God is expansive. The call to sow involves people and money.
   
   A. The call to sow is a call for men for the ministry, for soul-winning men and women to be committed to working in church plants, for college graduates to consider vocations in areas where the church is planting, for each congregation to recommit to evangelism in their its back yard. As we are called to sow, pray and commit to investing your time and gifts in service to God by making deliberate decisions to be involved in evangelism and church planting.
   
   B. The call to sow is a call for investing money in kingdom work. Our Great God financed much of the recent church planting efforts through the visionary generosity of many individuals through the "Time to Plant" Fund. That fund is almost exhausted. The Board projects being out of funds in 2008. Being called to sow, pray and commit to investing your money in kingdom work. "But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully" (2 Corinthians 9:6).