On Church Planting

Here we have a straightforward & unique post on planting churches.  Rather than espousing the “planting is a hard grind, you’ve got to tough it out no matter how long” approach, it takes a look at the possibility that the non-responsive plant isn’t meant to happen (think Paul in Athens).

The logic was simple: if God has called, God will provide. If God is not providing, perhaps you’re misreading his call.

Unfortunately, no one is giving church planters a similar litmus test. We tell them that it’s going to be hard and difficult and they’d better be ready for a beating. As a result, many naïve young men assume that the harder and more difficult the work is, the more they’re in the center of God’s will. Sometimes, that’s true. But not always.

So let me propose a litmus test for church planters: if you’ve been at it for a year and haven’t gathered 30 adults around your vision, you might need to hang it up. At the very least, you need to ask some hard questions that you might not want to ask.

Of course there are exceptions to the rule. The problem is: every church planter thinks he’s the exception to the rule. So I’m going to do the unpopular work of telling you that you’re probably not. I’ll trust the Spirit and wise mentors to tell you otherwise if they need to.

If you can’t gather 30 people in a year, maybe you’re working in hard soil and God is calling you to be faithful for another year. But maybe you just don’t have the visionizing and entrepreneurial aptitude to start a church from scratch. If that’s the case, you need to have the humility to admit it. It’s wisdom – not failure! – to acknowledge your gifting and find a role in ministry that fits it.

I know there are some current/former/prospective church planters that read.  What do you think?  Did/do you have a “breaking point” where you’ll cease & desist with the planting?

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2010
09/15
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4 comments
  • Glenn Fisher

    Well, as a member of a former church plant that become a “particular” church I can say that this is an important question. While the 30 people/1 year test might raise some serious questions for a church planter, I think that there are some other important questions to ask. Like:

    Are there other Bible-believing churches nearby?
    Is your work financially viable or is it taking from somewhere else for an extended period?
    What is the population of your area like? i.e. Are there enough people to sustain the type of ministry you are planting?

  • http://jonspach.com Jason Anspach

    Good points, especially the one about Bible believing churches nearby. It seems like some groups or denominations have an attitude of “The kingdom isn’t being advanced in this area unless it’s happening under our principles.”

  • Andrew Fisher

    I think you’re both dead on here, especially in regards to the other Bible Believing churches. Without naming names or denominations I ran into this several times during my years as school. Where many times 2 even 3 solid reformed denominations were starting plants or operating particular churches in the same area. What really bothered me was that this was taking place in So. Cal where there is a huge “market” and good Reformed churches can operate successfully quite close to one another.

  • http://kkord.wordpress.com Kris Kord

    I live in little old Shelton, Washington, which has a population of about 9,000-10,000. Yet we have nearly thirty churches within five miles of downtown. This town is flooded with churches!

    That said, I travel to Olympia every Lord’s Day, because out of those 29 churches here in Shelton, not one of them is Reformed, or truly Presbyterian. (We have a PCUSA church, but even the pastor there says “We’re Presbyterian in name only.”) Yet I would bet that every one of the 29 would tell you they are ‘Bible-believing’. So, out of curiosity, what constitutes Bible-believing?