Top Five Things Planters Wish they Had Known

January 20, 2011

Last week I sent out a tweet inviting church planters to answer one basic question: What are five things you wish you had known before you planted. A hundred of you took the challenge and answered the question. Here are the top five recurring things these planters shared.

1. How lonely, stressful, and hard on my family planting would be.

I heard my friend Gary Baldus make this statement at a church planting training event: “ 100 percent of church planters have no idea what they are getting into, 100 percent of the time!” How true! No mater how much you prepare, until you are in the heat of the battle, you will never fully know. The pressures on the marriage and family are one of the reasons most organizations won’t pass a planter through assessment if the marriage has problems. The pressures of planting will only amplify any problems.

2. How much Spiritual warfare we would experience.

My simple response to that is: What did you expect? Satan is not going to roll over and let you pass without a fight! Satan hates pastors! I am convinced he has a special kind of hatred for church planters. This is why developing a strong prayer network is the first thing every planter must do. Most planters are “Type-A”, driven people and pay little attention to less tangible issues until they are overcome.

3. How difficult it would be to raise up new leaders who would own the vision.

Raising up leaders is hard to begin with. Add to that process downloading personal ownership of the vision and you have twice the work. Good leaders often come with personal agendas, so be careful who you invite into your structure. A bad leader can quickly hijack your new church and destroy all you’ve done. How do you avoid this? Don’t give titles or roles away for at least six months. Rather, give jobs away. BTW: the best leaders will always be those you lead to Christ and disciple. Spend the vast majority of your time developing these individuals as leaders.

4. How to understand the culture in which you are planting and create something that will connect with culture.

The fact that this was mentioned gives me hope for planters. There is really no easy answer to this problem except hard work. I have found the best way to understand the culture is to live I the area you are targeting for 6 to 9 months, with a secular job, before you start the planting process. I know that seems like an eternity for most planters, b ut you can't rush this process. If you can’t wait that long go to the community leaders, take them out for a meal and ask them to give you a clear picture of the community.

5. How big of a blessing is would be to lead something that transformed lives.

What can I say about this? Nothing! It speaks for itself.

Posted 1/20/2011 in Church Planting | 1 Comment - Add Comment

Comments:

     This really helped me. We're just 2 weeks into planting a church in Australia. Still unpacking and getting some details sorted out. I hope some of this wisdom sticks and we can build on a strong foundation. This article gave me the necessary encouragement to keep moving forward! matt@lovethecity.net