Category Archives: Church Planting
Benefits of Sponsoring a New Church
In Ed Stetzer and Warren Bird’s new book Viral Churches: Helping Church Planters Become Movement Makers:
A study of church-sponsoring churches showed that the typical sponsor fared quite well from the experience. Worship attendance increased 22 percent for the five years after sponsorship of the church plant. Financial giving to the local church increased 48 percent over that same period, and designated gifts such as toward foreign missions giving increased 77 percent.
Seems like I read something one time about giving and it will be given unto you. Now where did I hear that?
Exponential: The Largest Gathering of Church Planters on the Planet
Great first day at Exponential. Worshiped with over 3,100 church planters and team members, heard messages from Mark Batterson and Louie Giglio, attended breakouts on Social Media in ministry with Kem Meyer and Reproducing Vision with Will Mancini, and got to hang out with Florida Church Planters at the ReproducingChurches.com Network Dinner with Jason Dukes. I’ll share some takeaways at the end of the conference.
Best Freebies so far: Besides the coffee, of course, Zondervan gave away over 2,000 copies of Dave Ferguson‘s new book Exponential: How You and Your Friends Can Start a Missional Church Movement. Almost bought it last week. Thanks Zondervan!
Looking forward to hearing from Ken Blanchard, Matt Chandler, Reggie McNeal, Ed Stetzer, and Alan Hirsch tomorrow.
Worth Reading: A Few Links
A few posts that caught my attention this week related to church planters:
- David Putman On Budgeting / Financing the Mission / Raising Money
- “Are you a Leader or just a Boss?” – On Leadership
- Critical Issues related to Church Planting in North America by JD Payne. Enjoying these series of post on critical issues.
Small Things, Big Breakthroughs
Planting a church I’ve learned to celebrate the small things. A big pile of them will often produce big breakthroughs. Last year we identified the needs of a large local trailer park and began doing whatever we could to serve the residents. That’s included delivering food to needy residents, cutting trees, pressure washing trailers, building handicap ramps, picking up trash, throwing block parties for kids, assisting park management with domestic issues, and a Christmas toy drive for kids in the park. We’ve built significant relationships, several residents have began a relationship with Christ, and tomorrow night we are launching a small group Bible Study in the park. Thanks God for opportunities and breakthroughs. Looking forward to more big breakthroughs in the lives of people.
Assessing the Need for New Churches in the South
A common question I’m asked as a church planter and strategist: “Why do we need new churches when we have so many already?”
Stated in other, more direct ways:
- “We’ve got that area covered already, there’s no need for a new church.”
- “Planting a new church will make Pastors in the area feel unappreciated or like they’re not doing their job.”
- “Why plant a new church when my church needs so much help?”
- “Do we really need another ‘little’ church in this area?”
- “Won’t a new church just take resources from other churches.”
These can be legitimate concerns, when brought with a kingdom mind set, and these concerns should be addressed by strategists and planters in the planning process. And I’m sure there have been occasions when for the sake of #’s we have ignored legitimate concerns and good questions from partners about the why for a new church in a given area. I’d really like to work through each of these concerns individually at some point but now I’m asking, what are the right questions and the key indicators of the need for new churches or ministries in the seemingly overchurched south?
- Is the community being transformed for the good or bad? Instead of starting by looking at ourselves (i.e. the existing churches in the community), maybe we should take a look at what’s happening in the lives of people in the area. Church planting should start with a desire to see the community transformed by the gospel. Is it happening as we need it to? Are we willing to admit that the task of transforming our community may be more than one church can handle? Are we committed to life change at all costs?
- Are there places where the Church is not? Flowing out of the first question, what do we find when we look at spheres of influence and places of engagement in the community? Are churches able and willing to engage the local schools, multi-housing complexes, business communities, correctional facilities, chat rooms, neighborhood associations, etc.?
- Are there population segments or people groups that are not being touched by the Gospel? Next, are there language, socioeconomic, or lifestyle groups, that are not being touched adequately by a consistent Gospel witness?
- What is God stirring up in and for this community? God is in the world reconciling people to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). What is He doing in this community in that regard? When our Father’s work includes stirring the heart of a church to multiply and send out its own to start a new church or launch a new campus or reach out to a population segment, we should not oppose what He is stirring. We can assess if this is a genuine call from God or a call to disgruntlement or if it is born out of divisiveness. We can also hold our planting teams accountable to be agents of transformation not division, focusing on where the church is not, and reaching out to unreached peoples.
Many Pastors, me included, tend to think about a new ministry or church through the lens of what it may cost us. What if we thought about it in terms of the great cost to those who may never hear the Gospel, or those who are going through life without the joy of a relationship with Christ, or those who are going through life’s challenges without a family of believers who can love and provide for them along the way? Can we look honestly at our communities and see the need and God’s activity if it’s there and then partner together to plant for God’s glory and the good of our communities?
Are there other good questions and key indicators as we plan to plant the Gospel in North America?
10 Biblical and Practical Ways to Get Involved in Church Planting
There’s no right or wrong way to support church planting in North American and beyond. I like this list. Don’t let failure of imagination or the excuse, “I don’t know how”, keep you and your church from engaging the lost through church planting and multiplication.- Engage in strategic intercessory prayer – Proverbs 16:3.
- Adopt a church planter and his family – Philippians 4:14-15.
- Contribute to the financial needs of a church plant – Acts 11:29.
- Provide materials and equipment for a new church – Acts 11:30.
- Share your campus facilities with a new church – Acts 3:6.
- Serve on a church planting mission trip – Acts 12:25.
- Discover unreached or under-reached people in your community – Matthew 28:19.
- Start an outreach Bible study that could become a new church – Acts 16:32.
- Send people and families to help a church get off the ground – Acts 13:2-3.
- Mentor Church Planting leaders – Philippians 2:22.
Reproducing Churches coming to Louisiana
On January 21st, we will have our quarterly Church Planting Network Gathering on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain. I’m pumped to have Jason Dukes and friends joining us from ReproducingChurches.com. Reproducing Churches is a growing Church planting network focusing on togetherness/gathering, timeless training, and direct coaching. Jason is also a church planter and author of Live Sent: You Are A Letter, which I’m reading now.
Having been a church planter for a decade now, I’m more than sold on the need for networking for collaboration, encouragement, training, etc. I posted about that here. Looking forward to this years gatherings.
If you’re a church planter, church plant team member, church planting enthusiasts, join us on January 21st, 6:30pm, at Life Church in Mandeville, LA (5200 Hwy. 22, Mandeville, LA).
I’m Part of a Church Plant – Where are we now?
Since last fall, our family has been a part of a core group/launch team for a new church in St. Tammany Parish. The question of viability is always on the mind of an entrepreneur. How do you think this is going? How’s it going so far? What are we supposed to be doing right now? are questions that can be hard to answer. One of the most helpful and practical books on Church Planting helps with this. Steve Sjogren’s Community of Kindness is the dream book for a church planter. It answers almost every question you could have in short bursts of experience laden advice. Most chapters are less than two pages, so it is great for those who may have a deficit of attention and focus, like most in the first year of a church plant.
One of the most helpful sections of the book is part four where Sjogren outlines the focus of the planter and team at each phase of the plant. Currently, myself and several plants in our region are in the 5-50 People phase, so I share I wanted to share it here in brief. Planter and plant team members take note.
5-5o People: Where are we now?
- Focus: Meet the people, Reproduce people
- Sr. Leader Role: Gatherer, Philosopher
- Burning questions: Where can I find people to talk to?
- Theme song: “Heigh ho, heigh ho, it’s off to work we go” and “It’s gonna take a lotta love”
- Greatest Assets: Infectious smiles, enthusiastic handshakes, a great love for people.
- Greatest Needs: Belief that you will succeed with faithfulness
- Growth Strategy: Gathering, Planting seeds of kindness and generosity around the city.
- What Steve wishes he would have done differently at this stage: Taken the difficult people less seriously and spent more time meeting a broad base f people in the community.
Well said.
Out Being the Church
Launching a new church in North America is not easy, success rates are low, momentum can be elusive, and detractors can be found everywhere. The first church plant I was a part of, we focused on “having church,” which was in a borrowed building, without Air Conditioning, and with as many inconveniences as you could think of. In that environment God was able to open my eyes to the fact that church isn’t just something you “have,” it’s something you “are.” The congregation of God is a people, not a place. So the focus should be on being. Now I’m a part of a new launch team/core group and the cornerstone of our strategy is to “BE” the church. As we “have” church by gathering together (1) we are encouraged by the results of our “being” during the week and (2) we anticipate God using our new church in incredible ways in the coming days. So here is what many churches and plants lack: (1) encouragement because the crowd in attendance when they “have” church is small and (2) anticipation of future fruitfulness. Solution: Get out and be the church!
This week our launch team of 25 accomplished some big things through small acts of “being”:
– Monday, four volunteers taught Recovery and Life Skills at our local jail. Three hours commitment, but fulfilling the call of Christ to visit those imprisoned is a big feat.
– Tuesday, received word that the launch of a new church is rural Zimbabwe that we helped to sponsor financially and with prayer was successful. As a church that doesn’t yet have weekly worship services we are already investing in church planting and evangelism around the world.
– Saturday, our launch team got together and cleaned the yard of a family in need in our area. Loving our neighbor as ourselves through simple ministry projects can bring hope to many in our communities.
Being the church is not difficult. You just have to find a need and say yes. And being the church is just plain fun. Let’s not focus on what kind of Sunday you are “having”, but on what kind of people are you “being.”
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” Ephesians 2:10.
“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” 1 Peter 2:9.
North Shore Church Planting update
Sometimes I can’t believe they pay me to do what I do. Spent this weekend hanging out and worshipping with church planters from various demographic contexts.
Friday and Saturday I was privileged to conference with our Filippino-American Church Planter Network. Lito Magbanua leads our network and his passion for people to know Christ has ignited a mini-movement in our region. I learned a ton about Church Planting movements and the Filippino culture. International Director of the Philippino Missions Association was our presenter. We talked Church Planting Movements, House Churches, and the need for missionaries and missions monies in the the least reach regions. Most challenging question of the weekend: How do we reach Muslims for Christ? Answer: Increase the witnesses in the Muslim world. Problem: This would also most likely increase the martyrs in the world as well. Still more interesting is that the word for witness and the word for martyr are one in the same in the Net Testament. 73% of the Bibles printed today are printed for the 33% of the world that have much access to the gospel. .5% of mission monies actually go to reaching the 172 billion unreached peoples in the least reached regions. We’ve got a lot to do, and we as Americans have a lot to learn from Asian believers about moving the Gospel through and over obstacles.
Today, our family had the honor of worshipping with and teaching at Stillwater Baptist Church in Hammond. The sign outside said, “Worship Experience, 10am” and it was not false advertising. Stillwater Baptist Church is alive. They are a four year old church that were bounced around by Hurricane Katrina and currently worships in a 2,300 square foot warehouse. Today, they celebrated the signing of a contract on a 12,000 square foot former gym. Lonnie and Frankeya Tucker have led well and are sure to bring in a great harvest for God’s kingdom. I’m looking forward to being back at Stillwater real soon.
The church that I am planting, Bridge Church of West St. Tammany met this
evening for Admin. night. Matt Marrs, our worship pastor is in South Africa for a Mission Trip, so we punted on music and crunched numbers for the glory of God all night. We decided to give away 25% to Missions and try to increase it 2% each year. Glad to be a part of Church Planting efforts in Southeast Louisiana.
Lane Corley 