Feb. 12, 2010 - Missiologist Ed Stetzer on Thursday visited southern California to try to persuade thousands of pastors to get involved in what he considers the most effective form of evangelism – church planting.

Though church planting has become the "hot big thing" in recent years, it's still something most churches in the country are not engaged in.

"I want to ask all of you to believe in church planting," Stetzer, a sought-after speaker, said at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., during the "Radicalis: For Radicals Only" conference.

According to Stetzer, who serves as president of LifeWay Research, only 28 percent of Protestant churches are involved in some way in church planting. The percentage drops to a mere three percent when it comes to being the "primary sponsor" of a church.

Stetzer recognizes that many pastors do not think church planting is for them but he's convinced that starting new churches is central to societal transformation and worldwide evangelization.

"I'm convinced," said the missiologist, "that God's calling you to church planting and you're checking out of that call because you're thinking 'no, I'm called to church, not to church planting.' "When did those things become separate things?"

He stressed, "If you love Christ, you'll love his church. And if you'll love his church, you'll want to see more of them."