With the news a few weeks ago that we called an end to our church planting experience in Sacramento, I became aware that there is a lot of pain and sorrow associated with going through this, yet few resources there to help in the healing process. I met Wayne Park about a year ago through some blog post dialog and had a chance to talk to him about his experiences with a church plant that shut down after one year. I picked his brain before we went forward with preview services for our church plant in Sacramento believing that through his story we could avoid the same fate. It didn’t work out that way. Pastor Park started with a lot more support than we did as he was initially a church plant from Eugene Cho’s Quest Church in Seattle. Wayne has graciously agreed to share his experiences in the hopes that you can learn from his experiences. Here are his responses to 10 questions I asked about shutting down a church plant:
- 1. On a scale of 1-10, how confident were you in your call to plant a church?
In this question if I were to emphasize the word “confident” I would say 5 and upwards (being quite self-confident, perhaps in this case, overly); if I were to emphasize the word “plant” I would say 5 and downwards. I was very ill-experienced in the area of church planting.
2. Were you launched from a parent church, denomination, church plant group, or independently?
We started out independently with the intention of joining up with the Evangelical Covenant Church denomination. We received a great deal of support and coaching from Quest Church in Seattle however.
3. Where were you strongest in your resources (finances, people, equipment, etc.) at time of launch?
Almost none of the above. I think our vision was strong, but woefully inadequate in almost all of the areas mentioned above. Just goes to show that it takes more than just a visionary to start an institution, and that is what we are trying to start now is it not? Edifices. Institutions. In this I am unapologetic and don’t do too well with all the anti-institutional rhetoric. I believe there is weight to the “institution” of the church, and am somewhat sacramental in my outlook. We’re not planting symbols here, but meaningful institutions with mediating sacraments. I hold a high view of baptism. The Eucharist. And exposition of the Word. Thus the place of the Church as institution is important.
4. Where were you the weakest in your resources at time of launch?
I think the previous answer pertains :)
5. Where did you expend most of your time and energy following your launch date?
In an assortment of activities. I am now convinced that there are certain things done that don’t contribute to the starting of a new church, e.g., creating a perfect website, amassing an online following, blogging my ears out, preparing sermons for 20+ hours. These things draw attention but don’t gather people, nor do they create a church culture. I think one of the first objectives of a church planter is to facilitate chemistry (a Holy Spirit thing). Chemistry leads to culture. And on this I think Stevens and Collins have a lot of good things to say in their book “The Equipping Pastor: A Systems Approach”.
6. What was your biggest disappointment?
Failure sucks.
7. Was starting the church plant, or shutting it down the hardest for you?
They were both equally difficult in different ways. Starting was hard work, and shutting down left a dull ache that continues to last to this day.
8. Would you consider (or have you considered) church planting again? Why or why not?
Yes I have. It took me a while to get to this place, but I realize that if there were certain “definites” in place I would do it again, e.g., a parenting congregation that exhibits evidence of the Spirit’s move towards starting a new church, trust gained by the congregation, a sending team of 50 people at least, comprised of stable and contributing members of the community, and of course, time. I liken this approach to all the difference between a half-court throw-up where you’re just praying for it to go in, and a step-by-step slam dunk where there’s no chance of missing. The difference is this: in the prior you are saying “God this is my plan; now show up!”; in the latter you are saying “Spirit I see this is where you are moving; let me go there.” The problem is we all like the glory and glamor of the ESPN highlight reel when the truth is most half-court throw-ups miss the mark. If I were to do it again I would look for some of the “guaranteeors of success”. Guaranteeors. Is that even a word? It should be.
9. What is the one thing you’d tell someone before they got involved in church planting?
You need two things: people and a (well-conceived) plan. If you’ve neither of these, DON’T START. I know of a guy in one city who’s been planting for ten years now. The church still hasn’t gotten viable yet, and is about 50 people. I mean, here’s a guy who’s blown 10 years of the prime of his life trying to start something that shouldn’t have started in the first place. That’s the epitome of trying to force God into your vision. I take quite seriously Bonhoeffer’s statement that he who loves community destroys it. Your ideals of community can be quite idolatrous.
10. What can we as the local church do to be more supportive of church planters?
I think that says it all: be supportive of church planters. Probably the best thing is to catch the concept; once more larger churches understand this notion and become willing to send out their people they’ve understood the missionary vision.
Thank you Pastor Wayne Park for sharing your experiences, insights, wisdom, and pain with us.
Has your perception of church planting been reinforced or shaken based on Wayne’s commentary? Do you have a similar story to share? Would appreciate your comments below:
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There’s a lot of wisdom in this post. Wayne – thanks so much for sharing.
Wow. I have to admit I was rather shocked by some of these comments. I live in Montreal, Quebec and have been involved in church planting for over 10 years now. This is a province of over 7 million people. Less than 0.3% are evangelical Christians. Our church has about 16 adults attending, plus a whole bunch of children. They are among the most dedicated, commited people I have seen anywhere. With a small handful like this, we not only operate a church, but run a very successful fulltime elementary and secondary school in an innercity environment, with no financial support from the government. We work with several ministries around the world, encouraging and supporting through prayer, fellowship and whatever limited finances we can offer. We stream our services and receive constant feedback from people all over the world of how much they are being blessed by our ministry, True, it’s not “viable” and most of us live well below the poverty line, but there is no way I could consider the past 10 years a failure. This is mission work, and most churches in this province face similar challanges and obstacles. Church planting is not for everyone, and it is, by it’s nature, the toughest ground-breaking work there is, but we are here to establish a Kingdom, and our success is not measured by numbers, but by our faithfulness to the call. True, there may be some who have at times, to reasses thier calling, but let it not be as a reaction to the response of people, but to the response of the Lord.
So I have been a follower of your story …
I became interested in your progress because I too am a church planter right here in sactown (Carmichael) …. we are very small after 5 years, 40 strong, 5 Mylife community groups … we focus on Jesus and we love being forever friends and would never dream of folding our tents, I hesitate to ask because it may seem like a leading question ( read: looking for more members hah!) but God has been on me every since I came to understand today that revolution sac is “done”(?) …so please hear me caring, not prying… my question is : what happens now to the people who were with you trying to form RS? Are they still meeting somewhere -regrouping ? … what I read regarding Rev Sac , sounded like a sister church , out there reaching people who Jesus misses the most …
our whole “City” family will be praying as I share with our team – for God’s guidance, direction, resources and blessing on Dave, his health, His new mission in OR… and those still here in Sacramento
Greg: We disbanded quite awhile before I pulled the plug on Revolution Church Sacramento. We tried to regroup and get away from being an exclusively Asian-American church as I felt God calling us to minister in a multi-cultural context, but that never really shaped up, so we just shut things down and waited to see where God would lead us next. I never imagined it would be Beaverton, OR though.
Thanks for following our journey and know that while we are in a new place with new people right now, I think there will be more to our story that will continue to unfold as we are prepared for greater works. Thanks too for your prayers!!!
thanks for the article. I know several people that are planting churches and this is good advise
Wow, great article. Church planting is still a few years away for me so I appreciate learning from the wisdom of both of you. Thanks for posting.
I know some would consider closing a church plant a failure, but I’m reminded of Erwin McManus and his LASER church planting project which first brought him to LA. He left everything behind in TX to follow a vision from God to plant 100 churches in one summer. They planted 1. And that was only because he was pastoring that church. But he eventually had to fire himself, so the sum total was 0. Failure? Maybe to some. But God knew what He was doing.
Pete: I always thought with all my study and preparation, that I would not be one of those church planters that failed to launch and sustain like those other guys. Wayne Park was one of the guys I talked to before we did our preview services for Revolution Church Sacramento and he really gave me some great insight, as he has in responding to the 10 questions in the post. Sometimes we move as if we know more than God. I concur with Wayne on many things he points out from his experience and am thankful that there are guys like Erwin McManus and countless others that have not tasted success in their early endeavors as they were prepared and humbled for future ministry. Thanks for the encouraging example and for your support :)
I agree that we have to measure success in light of kingdom values.
I just wonder if the two can ever be seen as compatible and necessary to each other? On this I think Donald Mcgavran has some compelling thoughts on “church growth” – a misnomer by today’s standards. But as the OG on the subject I think he brings a different spin on what we term “success”… MacGavran, Spontaneous Multiplication of the Church