As some of you know, I’m not standing on the firmest ground at the moment. I know I’ll get through this difficult time, but I’m not exactly sure what I’ll look like on the other side. Changed for the better for having gone through this struggle? I sure hope so! Regardless, I felt like I wanted to share some thoughts rather than keep them private in the hopes that someone may avoid some of the things I’ve experienced or at least be better prepared for a call to church planting:
- If there is anything you can be doing other than church planting, do that instead!
- When you say you don’t love money, situations will arise that will cause you to question that when church planting.
- Husbands, do you love your wives? Wives, do you love your husbands? Be sure of that before starting a new church as this will be tested more than any other area of your life.
- In the early stages, no matter how great things seem to be going, you will be forced to make some sacrifices. Just be sure to carefully choose which sacrifices are worth making, as some of them definitely won’t be.
- Please heed the advice in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and use this as a guide every step of the way. Refer to this passage often and know that the Lord will use it to speak to you often…if you listen.
- Friends that you thought were friends for life may not be there as you pursue the church and the needs of your city.
- Not everyone that has the gift for leadership belongs in a church plant. It takes a special type of person with a very clear calling.
- Just like in coaching professional sports, as a church planter you can fail and still be coveted by some other team to lead again. If you know you can always take over an existing church or call a friend and get on staff as a pastor at their church if you fail at planting a church, go do that instead.
- Church planting *always* takes more than is just required to succeed.
- No book or internship can properly prepare you for what you will face as a church planter. God calls individuals to a specific city with a targeted group of people he will bring together as his church. No matter how much one ministry may resemble another, they won’t be exactly the same and involve exactly the same people.
- Don’t--this means do not--try to model your church plant after what someone else has done. Be it Rick Warren or Perry Noble or Steven Furtick or whomever. It just simply won’t work as their vision is not your vision.
- No matter what others may tell you, perfecting your preaching style is not the single biggest thing you must work on in order to grow the church. Focusing on God and his vision for you is.
- Have at least one person that will invest into your ministry without judgment or requiring reciprocation. A friend, a mentor, or a coaching partner…someone needs to be there to help when you need to vent or seek counsel. Don’t go it alone…ever!
- Power is something most people crave, even if they won’t admit it. Even the humblest people that approach you and want to your new ministry may be seeking to invoke their power and wants into the mission statement. Beware.
- Money doesn’t grow on trees, and also rarely comes without some kind of strings being attached.
- Don’t even begin to gather people and share the vision of your ministry until you have a group of dedicated and faithful intercessory prayer partners. Not just people that say they’ll pray for you, but people that care about God’s church and want to see no harm come to it. Find a prayer team of people that go to the Lord and lift up you, your family, the church plant, the city, etc. even before you fill them in on the details. No weapon can prosper when formed against this kind of concerted effort of prayer. No weapon!
- Always be open to receiving wisdom from others, no matter how successful you judge their ministry to be. It’s not in the big things where you fail, but it’s in the small cracks that eventually become spread and destroy the work that will be your downfall.
- You will help your church plant more by spending quality time getting know the people of your city and conversing about how to meet needs than you will from going to conferences and finding new ways to try more things.
- Not every negative thing standing in the way of the church plant’s forward movement is an act of Satan. We as church planters can be our own worst enemy.
- It should never be about numbers or a chronological calendar. Make it about people knowing God and the love and grace of his Son Jesus and you will always be guided in the right way.
- As Rick Warren says, where there is a beginning there is an end. In the Bible there is a Genesis and an Exodus. Know when to begin, but also know when to end it.
- There are church plants that have called it quits moments before a breakthrough was coming, but there are also church plants that hung onto a dream rather than been true to a vision that should have quit sooner than they did. Be careful in your discernment process and seek counsel when you face a crossroads.
- Through the pain, there will be a time of celebration. If this is what you feel called to do, go do it with all the love and peace you can muster. Be the church God called you to be and never look back.
Please know something. I love God’s church and believe that Christ will be known through it’s love and mercy. I think that it’s through the freshness and innovation of church plants that excitement and momentum can bring about change for the better of God’s people. Transformation incites passion, which evokes action, which reveals Christ. Also know that I am committed and dedicated to church planting and to Revolution Church Sacramento. However, know that this journey is not for everyone. Many days I find myself thinking that it may not even be for me. Let the Lord be your guide and seek him through every step. After all, we can’t forget that it is God’s church and we are just his workmen. Many are called, but few are chosen. Don’t take church planting lightly and definitely don’t feel so confident that your training and networks will stop you from failing. Only 60% of church plants still exist after 5 years of starting. I guarantee you that many of those 40% f failed church plants were started from a solid church planting network or parent church or skilled, experienced church planter.
If there is anything else you can do, do that instead and save ourself the stress, pain, and heartache that may come if you move forward. However, if there is nothing else you can do and the vision God gave you is clear and undeniable, walk with others at your side and with a spirit of humility and steadfastness. Nothing you have known in the past can truly prepare you for what you are about to face, but it’s an experience I don’t think I would have traded in for anything else. Don’t let church planting be your slow death.
I am here for anyone that has questions, wants to share experiences, or would like prayer. You can leave a comment or send an email anytime.
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You make some good points, but I feel like you are painting too dark of a picture. We prepared for our church plant for 2 1/2 years, and have sacrificed many things, and have 3 kids to boot. But, I wouldn’t change this life for any other. Even being in a larger stable ministry position with a Salary can’t beat doing what God has fired into your soul…
Heidi, thanks for taking the time to read the post and share your thoughts! I can see how you may find my thoughts in this post to be more difficult than your reality, my intention was to share the hardships and unexpected things that *can* occur while planting a church so that people coming into this can consider them. For me, I’d rather they know the extreme difficulties they could potentially face and come through the process easier, than to look at church planting as something easy as long as they stay true to the vision and end up being overwhelmed or eventually fail because they weren’t prepared.
In contrast to this post, I posted something with only positive attributes that I’ve taken away from my journey so far: http://www.daveingland.com/2009/08/14/life-by-church-planting/
Hello Dave,
Death by Church Planting is a huge blessing and my wife and I have stood the test for 5 years. We are now seeing the buds of our harvest. I appreciate the truth of the entire message because we can identify with those struggles. We believe this is done so that God can get the glory all by Himself. Praise Him!
Pastor Jermaine, Thank you for your words of encouragement as people of the struggle who have remained steadfast! May it always be so God can get all the glory. Thank you for standing up for truth and love and be patient to see God overcome the hurdles placed in your way through your obedience!