Major Keys To Planting a Church
**** Coming Soon****
A book by Pastor George Ramirez
"The Zaccheus Principle"
(Keys to church planting when starting with zero)
This page will be dedicated to thoughts by myself and others in the area of church planting and transition growth. Here we will link you to others who are using creative and inspirational ideas that are bringing growth and change to there ministries.
by perry noble
8 reasons churches do not grow
#1 – The Vision Is Not Clear - If people don’t know where a church is supposed to be going…then it will attempt to go everywhere and eventually wind up nowhere. (Interesting experiment–ask people this coming Sunday at your church, “What is our vision” and see if people give you the same answers or different ones. BTW…NewSpring Church…THURSDAY NIGHT we are rolling out our NEW vision statement…can’t wait!)
#2 – The Focus Is On Trying To Please Everyone – There is NO church on the planet that will make everyone happy every single week…and…according to the Scriptures that isn’t really supposed to be our obsession. Too many times we become so concerned with offending people that we actually offend Jesus.
#3 – Passionless Leadership – When a leader does what he/she does for a paycheck and not because its their passion…it’s over. I’ve said at this site before…I want difference makers not paycheck takers. AND…also…it is hard to be passionate about a place when a persons average stay at a church is two years or less.
#4 – Manufacturing Energy – If a program is dead in a church…then it needs a funeral and the people need to move on. Investing time, energy and money into something that is dead will not revive it. Celebrate the fact that “that” program had its day…and then move on. AND…quit trying to fire people up over events that you would not attend if you were not on staff.
#5 – Lack of Prayer – Many times we work so hard putting our ideas together than we actually think there is no need for the supernatural power of God to be involved. Prayer should not be the good luck charm that we stick at the beginning or the end of what we do…but rather it should be our constant desperation to see God do the undeniable among us. Intense desperation often brings undeniable revelation!
#6 – Unwillingness To Take Risks – When our focus becomes to play it safe rather than to do whatever it takes to reach people far from God…it’s over. NOWHERE in the Scriptures did God ever ask anyone to do anything that didn’t involved an “oh crap” moment. We’ve GOT to be willing to embrace the uncertain if we want to see the unbelievable.
#7 – Disobedience To The Scriptures – Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:48, John 20:21, Acts 1:8, II Corinthians 5:16-21, Luke 19:10…I could go on and on…but we MUST understand that Jesus didn’t come to earth, live here for 33 years years, give HIS life for us and then return back to heaven to intercede for us so that we could get in really little circles and talk about ourselves and condemn those who are not as good as us. We are called to REACH PEOPLE FOR GOD–PERIOD!
#8 – Selfish Attitudes – Matthew 20:28 says it all…and if we are going to be more like Jesus we’ve GOT to serve others rather than expecting the church to be our servant all of the time. When a person (or group of people) refuse to embrace that a call to follow Jesus is a call to serve…then we’ve lost sight of who He is and eventually we will make being a Christian all about Jesus following/serving us rather than us taking up our cross and following Him!
Church planters are a RARE breed…no one in their right mind would EVER choose to do it…it MUST be a calling. AND…no one WANTS their church plant to fail…yet here are seven reasons I’ve seen that some have…
#1 – The Church Is Planted Out Of Bitterness Rather Than A Divine Calling From God!
What some people call a church plant…God actually calls a church split. When a group of bitter, angry, self serving people with a lot of money find a hirling who will do all that they want him to do…that isn’t necessarily a church plant. AND…usually within two or three years it goes REALLY bad. Let me be VERY CLEAR here…when bitterness and anger are the root of the plant…then the church is in deep trouble right at the beginning.
#2 – The Leadership Has A Desire For Imitation Rather Than Seeking Revelation!
We’ve seen it before…a group of guys go to a conference and see a church…and then come back to their community and try to be just like the church they saw at the conference. There is NOTHING wrong with receiving inspiration and ideas at a conference…but when one church tries to be just like another one in every area…then I believe the leaders are spending way too much time studying methods rather than the Scriptures. God calls every church to be unique in some sort of way…and that will never be found if the leadership isn’t desperately seeking God for His direction.
#3 – The Pastor Has A Desire To Be Known Way More Than He Desires To Fulfill The Great Commission!
When a leader is more obsessed with how many hits he is getting on his blog…or how many people follow him on twitter…and because of those things loses sight of reaching people for Christ–it’s over.
#4 – When The Leadership Allows The Vision To Get Hijacked In Order To Keep Everyone Happy!
EVERY church planter WILL experience SOMEONE trying to hijack the vision of the church…MOST of the time before the church ever officially launches. Pastor..BEG God for HIS vision, let Him BURN it in your heart…and then go for it and don’t let anyone talk you out of what God has clearly spoken into you.
#5 – The Pastor Isn’t Willing To Call People To Commit.
The last thing we need in the body of Christ is a room full of people who are more commited to watching their favorite TV shows every week than they are to following Christ. Pastors…you can’t be afraid to ask people to commit to Christ, to volunteer, to give and to read their Bibles. If you back down from this then you will do nothing more than raise a co-dependent group of people who learn to depend on you rather than Jesus.
#6 – The Pastor Lacks Courage!
This sort of goes along with #5. I believe that every church planter will be tested early in the process…usually within the first six months…and also usually it will relate to finances. A big giver will begin to list out his or her demands…and then the leader must decide whether or not he is a prositiute (paid for a service) or a prophet (someone who belongs to God.) Pastor…leadership requires courage. People WILL take shots at you. People WILL take what you say out of context. People WILL lie about you. You are NOT going to be loved by everyone…and to face that reality takes courage. If you lack it then you won’t make it.
#7 – The Pastor Tries To Do It All By Himself!
Dear pastor…you are NOT that good! You can’t do it all (even though some will expect you to.) You’ve GOT to delegate ministry to others. You’ve GOT to listen to the people God intentionally places around you. You’ve GOT to admit when the load is too heavy so those who care about you can take things off your plate. You’ve GOT to understand that Jesus cares WAY more about the church than you do…and He will send the right people along side of you to make sure HIS vision becomes reality. We are NOT called to do it alone!!!
by Ed Stetzer
Here are 10 reasons to partner for church planting sooner rather than later.
1. The current economy is a perfect opportunity.
The current recession will force people to make hard decisions about where they place their values. It is not unprecedented to discover many anecdotal reports that say people are more open to church during such times. According to a recent Texas Tech study, economic growth and evangelical church growth are counter-cyclical. As the economy goes down, church attendance goes up...
The consequential reason for this is simple: when our money and possessions disappear, we are forced to face our spiritual crises. Just as the prodigal son "came to his senses" after he'd squandered it all (Luke 15:17), the prodigals of our nation are primed to face their spiritual needs since they can no longer mask the need with their material wants...
2. Plants do better when local people are sent out.
3. Churches get healthier as and after they plant another church.
Although counterintuitive, sending out people for church planting support not only benefits the church planted but it benefits the church planting church. In a Leadership Network study, "The State of Church Planting in the United States," we revealed
Significantly, all surveyed churches have experienced growth in their own attendance as they faithfully continued to pursue outreach and mission
as the priority for their existence.
And according to the research conducted by Jeff Farmer in his Ph.D. dissertation, "Church Planting Sponsorship: A Statistical Analysis of Sponsoring A Church Plant as a Means of Revitalization of the Sponsor Church," a "mother church" ends up in better condition six months after it plants a church than it was previous.
4. Shared DNA is better than solo DNA. 5. Planters who partner benefit from increased accountability.
6. Partnerships lessen the financial and resource burdens.
7. People in the community need to reach their community.
8. You can take advantage of more effective exposure.
9. It creates a vivid witness.
10. It is ultimately Kingdom-minded.
Partnering isn't only a witness to the lost world; it is a testament to the universal reign of Jesus. By setting aside our own preferences and ambitions, we create a new story for people to consider. When we submit to each other and honor each other in loving cooperation, we do much more for the spread of the kingdom than when we cultivate our own private enterprises. Many times, church planting, even inadvertently, becomes about planting our own flag rather than flying the banner of the kingdom of heaven. When we work at having "all things in common" in church planting partnerships, we find ourselves more faithful to the presence of the kingdom.
Perry Noble writes
One of the questions often asked of me by other pastors is, “How do you transition the church you are in from something that got lost in time to where you really feel the Lord wants you to take it?”
My answer is always the same…
“I don’t know!”
The best I could EVER offer to pastors in this situation are some untested philosophies and wild ideas…because…I didn’t transition a church, I planted one.
However, I do think that God has called some pastors not just to plant…but to transition existing churches as well…and EVERY time someone asks me about how to transition a church…I always point them to the same person–Scott Hodge.
SO…when I saw that Scott is beginning a coaching network for pastors who really have a desire to transition a church I almost yelled out loud!
Scott is the real deal…I can’t tell you how much of a WIN I believe this is for the Kingdom!!