It was a hot and sunny day as hundreds of participants descended on the First Baptist campus for the Pre-conference seminars.
Organising things like this is something our American friends do so well. New arrivals were met in the parking lot by red shirted welcomers to registered and directed participants to the right locations. Signs were up everywhere, coffee stations and clockwork lines for our literature and lunch packs.
Around the rooms and corridors were stalls of all sorts about church planting and associated ministries. Interestingly, in this swirl of hundreds of people, the first person I bumped into was Steve Addison near what turned out to be the CRM stall – five minutes later, walking into the men’s loos, I ran into Alan Hirsch! Always a bit awkward striking up conversation there, you get funny looks!
The session I chose was led by Ed Stetzer and his colleagues. This seminar is for network and denominational leaders who work with planters. The website describes it as:
“Best Practices in Denominational and Network Church Planting Systems - Facilitated by Ed Stetzer - Issues church planters face and ways church planting leaders can address them. Ed will share the results of a study on the greatest challenges of church planters.
There were two areas of focus, (1) the "systems" around planting; particularly assessment of potential planters, and (2) church involvement (as in sponsor churches, etc.).
For the assessment portion: John Shepherd (Mountain Lake Church) and Lewis McMullen (Tennessee Baptists) shared about assessment practices. Both of these guys did their post grad research in church planting assessment. Lizette Beard (LifeWay Research) talked about the results of the largest assessment project of its kind-- with new data including predictive factors for church planting success.
For the churches planting churches portion: Rick Fountain (International Pentecostal Holiness Church) talked about their project to engage churches planting churches that has led them to strong planting involvement as a movement.
In the IPHC movement, if you plant a church they celebrate it. And, one way they do that is that those who have planted a church get a special pin to where. And, those who sponsor church plants also get a pin. This is an outworking of a cultural shift to honouring planting. In many denominations, if you are a planter you are seen as a maverick on the margins, particularly in more staid denominations. In the US, I gather, denominational leaders are suspicious; other pastors are critical, etc. And, the result is that the church planter does not feel welcome. These pins are a symbol of recognition, welcome, and appreciation.
Ed Stetzer writes: “... I tell denominational leaders regularly, "What you celebrate, you become." For too many years, my denomination was focused what we were against (though I see that changing). Other denominations did the same. And, it should not surprise us, that when we did not celebrate church planting, we were not strong in church planting. What you celebrate, you become. There are things to be against, but we must be FOR church planting. On the other hand, the last two decades have been the best decades for the IPHC. There are many reasons, I am sure, but one is perhaps symbolized by a couple of pins: for planters and for those who sponsor them....”
William Beasley (an Anglican priest in ACNA) talked about Identifying, blessing and giving scope to the apostolic gift in the raising up of a region of congregations.
Ed Stetzer also expounded on some of the top issues that church planters face, from a project done in partnership with the Exponential Conference. You can find the full report HERE.
1. Leadership Development and Reproducing Culture
2. Financial Self-Sufficiency and Viability
3. Launch Team Development and Mobilizing Volunteers
4. Systems, Processes and Cultures
5. Casting Vision and Avoiding Mission Drift
6. Evangelism and Discipleship
7. Spiritual, Physical and Mental Health of the Planter and Family
Here’s a summary of some conclusions (from Ed’s blog):- The challenges of planting commonly result in discouragement and loneliness. The importance of the right point leader (called and wired) is critical in light of the obstacles and challenges of church planting.
- The church planter and family are vulnerable to discouragement and loneliness that comes as a result of spiritual attacks. A solid foundation of faith in God, a surrendered life, and a healthy marriage are critical issues for the lead church planter.
- A rigorous assessment process (sometimes including assistance from a trained clinical psychologist) is important. Key pillars of most organizations' support systems such as assessment, training and coaching are vital.
- Spousal support systems should be added to church planting systems in the future. Most planting organizations focus on pre-launch and launch phases of church planting. Significant opportunities exist for serving planters, their families, and their teams in the post-launch phase.
- Peer-to-peer relationships and church planter networks are vital to meeting the planter's needs of support, encouragement and accountability.
- In this type of plant, getting systems in place in key before going public. Planters should have the following milestones in place before launch: (1) clarity of ministry philosophy (vision, mission, values, leadership culture); (2) solid team of leaders committed to the cause; (3) fundraising support for the planter's family in place; (4) non-negotiable priorities that shape the initial ministries of the church and create a filter for saying "yes" and "no"; and (5) solid core processes and systems in key areas such as discipleship, evangelism, leadership development, and planning.
- Church planting mentors and coaches who speak into the planter's life on a regular basis is important.
- A key issue is discerning the painfully difficult decision between quitting or persevering with the plant during critical times. The Top 7 Issues Planters Face research provides a credible template to build systems and process that address all 7 thus creating more effective church planting environments.
