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Another blog I caught up on was Matt Sweetman’s. He interviewed Steve Nicholson, the church planting director of Vineyard USA. Here are two of the questions:

Matt: How do you go about finding guys who are church planters and then training them to do so?

Steve: For me, I tend to start fairly young. So, with some guys I figure out that they are a church planter when they are still in high school. Even though they may not plant for another 10 years. But you are looking for people who are leaders, who can articulate themselves, who know how to put a team together, who can break a vision down into steps which they can actually do. You are looking for catalytic people who tend to start things and lead people everywhere they go. A good church planter looks like a good business entrepreneur.

Matt: Do you find that you get a lot of guys from the business world who are interested in church planting?

Steve: Sometimes we do, later in life. They spend time in business and then feel like they are ready for a change. They always make good church planters.

Well, even though my personality test may have revealed otherwise, I know that within my inherent nature the above-used words do describe me. Does it mean I should continue as a church planter? That is completely and solely up to God, but it’s a bit of encouragement I could use today

Just found a great post on Matt Sweetman’s blog. This was another find through twitter (you can follow matt here). Matt interviewed fellow church planter Rick Kuhr. Rick planted as a bi-vocational pastor in Chicago that started in 2007 and they are seeing around 15-30 in attendance at their services. After reading the interview it’s obvious numbers don’t matter–Pastor Rick is a success story!

The last question Matt asked Rick had a surprise answer, but one that resonates loud & clear with me. It’s been kind of a mantra of sorts:

Matt: I am doing a church planting internship, in St. Louis. You are already doing the stuff, out in the field. What would be your advice for me?

Rick: I would encourage and challenge you to have a team. The research that has been done shows that if you don’t have a team you are setting yourself up for disaster. So, I would challenge you to bring a team, people that will help you along the way. Make sure you love God and loving Jesus and loving people as the main thing. Also, maintain that balance. We are useless as followers of God if we forget that we are following God. It may sound obvious, but if we are not receiving, others can’t receive from us as easy. We need to be able to have a balance with our family, our wives. There is a huge witness in loving our wives and loving our families. That responsibility in the community needs accountability. You need an established overseer. Those would be my advices. Go with where you are strong. My most recent blog is about we as individuals are meant to live in co-dependence with God and others to advance the kingdom.

It’s all about teamwork, baby! …But *every* piece of advice from Rick is mandatory wisdom for a planter. I am very encouraged by the work God is doing through Pastor Kuhr and Near West Vineyard Church in Chicago.