Part VI
The concluding chapters of Planting Churches in the 21st Century ask "Who?" and "What next?" To the first of these questions, Murray answers that church planters should be people who are self-aware, creative, flexible, resilient, and team-oriented (p. 167). These characteristics are "essential" or "highly desirable." Murray longs to see more women involved in church planting, and he criticizes the "patriarchal--and frankly sexist--attitudes [that] are still surprisingly evident among those who plan and organize church-planting events" (p. 168).
In his final chapter, Murray looks at what is likely to happen after a church is birthed. Even if things go well, there will be challenges. And sometimes things do not go well--for reasons ranging from "unexpected demographic changes" to a failure to reach "'critical mass'--the point at which there is sufficient momentum for [the church] to sustain itself" (p. 191).
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