Church Planting for Guys Who Aren't Spurgeon
Hi Dee,
Did my publisher pay you to ask that question? I have indeed written a book on church planting. Hopefully it will be out next Spring. It's a sort of follow-up to the eleven-point anarchist manifesto I've been mimeographing in my basement since I was thirteen years old (though the publisher doesn't know that).
Anyway, I am really excited that the elders at CHBC are investing so much energy and time in thinking about church planting. Since you asked, here are five things that I have learned in the past four years:
- Preach God's word -- It really is as powerful and effective as it says it is. I knew this intellectually and theologically, but now I know it experientially. As a church planter there are temptations to spend your time doing all other kinds of things (publicity, planning, etc), but your #1 priority is preaching the word. As a sending church, you can set this expectation up front with your church planter. Don't put pressure on him (and help him not to pressure himself!) to do other things.
- Mission -- The point of planting a church is the extension of the gospel in the world (and with it, God's glory). We don't need more institutional churches, America is littered with them. What we need more gospel witnesses. And so the goal of church planting is mission, not programs. Tim Chester put words to my experience in this talk. God is the great missions director. So we didn't have a particular strategy for mission in Loudoun County; we've simply prayed and began to do a few things and then walked through the doors that God has opened for us. And he has been faithful.
- Take Care of Your Family -- Everyone will love you for killing yourself for them. No one will applaud you for taking care of your wife. Beware your heart. A sending church can help with accountability and connection so that the planter isn't out there alone.
- Develop Leaders -- With all of the outreach and assimilation work to be done, it can be easy to forget to take time to develop leaders. But if the church grows, you'll need them. A sending church can make this process easier by sending leaders with the planter.
- Stay Patient and Realistic -- Too many guys beat themselves up over the fact that growth seems to happen slowly. Be realistic! You're not Spurgeon, and that's OK. The best case scenario for 99% of us is that we are faithful to the gospel, God in his kindness lets us see some real and enduring fruit from our labors, and we don't do anything that disgraces the gospel. That's a win.
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