Well, I’ve given it a lot of thought and decided to something kind of radical today. I have yet to see this being done on anyone else’s blog, so hopefully you’ll take advantage of it: Today, my blog is exclusively for you!
Rather than post what was on my mind, I figured I’d ask you what was on yours. I open up my life, ministry, theology, church planting, hobbies…ask a question in the comment space below and I will respond. Many of you only know me through this blog, yet don’t really know much about me or my life outside of being a church planter. As long as it’s not ridiculous, I’ll be open and answer about anything.
So, are you willing to ask something of me while you have the chance?
Related posts:
So here goes…Aside from raising funds, finding space, and gathering leadership (because those are typical to every church planter) – what’s the most difficult part of church planting for you?
Stan: Thanks for the great question! For me, the most difficult aspect has been trying to explain the vision of our church to others. I’ve read several books & articles on casting vision and listened to some great visioneers talk about it, but it’s never the same when practiced on our own. In my case (even though I’m not alone) it has been even harder as most people can’t quite see the vision in action because no other local churches approach ministry or effectively reach the target group of people we are connecting with. One of the most common questions I get from people is, “What other churches can you point me to that are doing ministry in a similar way?” This is one of the key reasons why I felt that even though we weren’t quite ready for public services, I wanted to give us some time with the people. It has helped us build some momentum and make connections with people that will be better prepared and more committed to our vision by having experienced a preview service than if they just knew us to meet in a house as a Bible study.
Thanks again for the question Stan!
Dave – Cool idea on the blog post. You are about two years ahead of me in your planting journey. Talk with me (us) on your journey with your family toward your church plant. How did raising $$ impact your family? What are your wife’s and kids’ roles in the process?
Hi Dave, it’s been a while. I pray all is well. It’s good to see the vision come closer to fruition. Once Revolution is up and running will you… use it as your home base to plant more churches? or will you let someone take it over so you can plant the churches yourself?
May God multiply your tribe, ha ha!
Chris: We are in preview services through June only. I explain a little bit about that in my reply to Stan above, but also I felt compelled to be a part of One Prayer this year. So, since we were given meeting space for free by another local church, the only cost was for sound equipment and room accessories. We are borrowing a projector from our sending church. Once we finish up One Prayer we go back to meeting in homes and solidifying the vision and our leadership team and praying about our next steps. I believe we are on the right track and honoring God with our actions.
I must admit though that we have shouldered the burden of the church finances on our own up to this point. The preview services just kind of happened, so we weren’t really prepared with a starting budget. We do have funds pledged from some other ministries to help us launch our official weekly gatherings which we have targeted to begin around late August. Additionally, my wife and I both work separate jobs so we’re doing this bi-vocationally and won’t need as a large a budget as some other church plants.
As for family roles, that is a little trickier. The reason being that since I was an atheist until 5 years ago, I raised my kids up from that perspective. During my time as an atheist I was divorced and later re-married my current wife as a Christian. When I first started in ministry my kids were very supportive and helped a lot. Now, they stay pretty independent of our plant. This is something I pray about constantly that God will grant his favor and grace on the rest of my family that do not know his Son Jesus eternally yet. As for my wife, she is very gifted in music and longtime believer. She helps in connecting others with our ministry and with worship music.
Let me know how I can be in prayer for you and your journey with the Lord in trying to reach his people. If there is anything else I can do, you can always find me on twitter :)
Sambi: Once we get established in the community, our goal is to plant churches as leaders are raised up from within. I have a burden for the needs of people the city and for people to come to know Christ eternally and that is why this church plant is so special to me. There are lots of singles and young couples in their mid-20′s to mid-30′s that have no place to gather with others and worship God and experience life together. So many here that don’t even recognize Christ yet. So, we are hoping to make a difference through seeing people coming to know the transforming power of the gospel in their lives. To do that effectively we need to go into different parts of the community and meet people where they are at. Having local leaders within these areas every day allows us to have the most influence with others. Sacramento is a small city by most people’s standards, but we have about 2.2 million people in the general area. We tend to go home to our suburbs and camp out without much interest in driving too far. With that said, if we are able to get to a part of town that I want to take root in, then we will continue there as long as the Lord allows us to. It is my position right now to not be a continual planter, but to I do want to help others plant under one united vision of loving others and living life together. I don’t know if I’d have the strength to go through another church plant myself, but being able to share this experience with others would be a way to give back and see the gospel continue to be advanced.
Thanks for the great question Sambi! Blessings to you and your family as you endure the heat of Las Vegas summers :)
if starting new churches became illegal, would you do it anyway?
sumptesam: As I reply at this moment, I would say yes I would start Revolution Church Sacramento even if it were illegal to do so in the eyes of the city/state/nation. I am very moved by the faith of the first century church meeting in homes and secret places under cover of darkness for fear of persecution. It is a much different faith than what we tend to experience in 2009 America! In China, the gospel is not about prosperity and Christianity is exploding with millions coming to know Christ through sharing their faith.
With that said, I’d have to say that if starting churches were illegal I am not sure I would have been called to do it. I think I share my faith and my life experiences too openly to be an undercover warrior. I’d probably end up in prison like the Apostle Paul, but boy would I rejoice for the sake of Christ to see an explosive, relevant and real faith like what happened in the first century and what is happening in nations where threat of persecution is a reality.