PART II

n WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW TO PLANT YOUR CHURCH

The Prayer

At the Church Multiplication Training Center Boot Camp which I attended in 2004, I learned something very fundamental to the concept of church planting: Successful parish development is accomplished via “the establishment of a solid spiritual foundation and the development of a strong strategic initiative”. This part of our course begins with the instructions for developing a solid spiritual foundation upon which your church can rest.

The Christian Church was founded upon Hebraic roots. However, during the third and fourth centuries, Greek scholars such as Socrates and others began to influence the Church in different ways. The Greek influence was based more on intellect, whereas the early-Church model had appealed more to the heart. The result of this Greek influence was more emphasis on oratory skills and cognitive knowledge of God. Ultimately, we took a more pragmatic approach to the Gospel and placed less emphasis upon the importance of living out our faith.

Many of the ISCM clergy are a product of this Greek system. Their walk with Christ focuses more on what they know than on an intimate and powerful walk with God. Knowledge without power to build an intimate relationship with Christ is of little value. The more programmatic we are, the less likely we are to build deep and caring relationships that result in transformed lives.

As Clergy, we need to walk with God in an intimate fellowship rather than being involved only in programs and activities that bring Christ to others. I’m reminded of the words of Proverbs 23:12: "Apply your heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge." We first need to apply our hearts and respond to God in a heartfelt way. Only then can our charitable actions flow forth from the fountain of our faith rather than being an end unto themselves.

Getting ready to plant a church involves a period of personal evaluation and growth. The most important factor in the planting of your church is you, so you need to be spiritually fit.

After all, you can’t lead others to a place you’ve never been. Here is what you must do to become spiritually fit.

1. Prayer - Prayer is the number one path to becoming spiritually fit. You must be willing to spend time in building a church. You begin building that church by spending time in prayer. Talk to God. Ask for God’s guidance and God’s help. Ask God to transform you from what you are now to what God wants you to be in order to be a successful church planter who has drawn people to him or herself in order to lead them to Christ. Ask for God to draw you closer to God each day and to increase your faithfulness.

Ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit, that you might have a great love for others and a burning desire to bring them to the love of Christ. Look at the needs of people and pray to God to move your heart, stir you, and guide you to fill their needs. Ask everyone you know to pray for you as you prepare yourself spiritually to become a church planter. Do as Nehemiah did:

“ When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.” Nehemiah 1:4

We must learn to fast and pray as Nehemiah did, for studies have shown that leaders who pray daily for their small faith groups and churches are twice as effective as those who don’t.

Matthew 6:6 says, “…but when you pray go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen.” This would indicate that we need to set aside a daily time for prayer when we can be alone to talk to God. You need to pray for the members of your church or group, as well. Studies have shown that such prayer is a strong factor in determining whether or not a group multiplies. You should also form the habit of praying for the group and for individual church members whenever you meet. This is a way of building community and sharing your heart.

Here is a great lesson from Joel Comiskey, author of Home Cell Group Explosion: “Before prayer can make a difference in the cell, the cell leadership must know that unless God breathes His life into our methodologies, they are just wood, hay and stubble. Jesus did not tell the disciples to initiate the latest evangelism-training program. Rather, He gave them Matthew 9:38, and told them to pray for workers in the field.”

Right now, make a commitment to a set prayer time and place each day. Spend at least 20 minutes in the morning in prayer. The prayers for church planters which you will find in the Appendix should be helpful, or you can just pray in any way that feels right to you. Keep a record of your prayer time in your journal. Record any insights you receive from your prayer time with God. Before retiring, spend 20 minutes in contemplative prayer, or any other type of prayer that you prefer. Again, record any comments.

Eventually, you should pray for one hour a day. I know that this sounds impossible given that you are bivocational and have family responsibilities. However, if you break it down into three sessions, it will be easy. Get up 20 minutes earlier in the morning so that you can do your morning prayer routine. Spend 20 minutes of your lunch hour reading Scripture and/or doing Lectio. Before you retire, spend 20 minutes in centered prayer or spiritual journaling, or some other type of spiritual practice. You can change the order of these prayer methods around to suit yourself. It will take a while, but you will eventually develop the habit of spending one hour with God. This practice will work miracles!

If you are looking for the one thing that will make a tremendous difference in your success as a church planter/pastor, this is it. Spend your one hour with God. The results will be awesome!

2. Scripture – The Book of Acts is a guidebook for church planting. Read it and practice Lectio Divina. Wait and listen for God’s voice and his message to you concerning the church you will build. Do some of this each day. The Letter of Paul to the Ephesians is also a guide to the nature of the church and it’s role in the world. Read it and practice Lectio Divina. If you are not familiar with the spiritual practice of Lectio, you can find the methodology on the internet through Google. Record your experiences with Lectio in your journal.

3. Eucharist – Receive it daily. It is a source of spiritual strength and grace. In the Appendix, you will find a format for a very quick Eucharist which you can do each morning. The time that you will spend doing this has been included in the 20 minutes allocated to your morning prayers.

4. Trust in God – Remember that it is God who sends you. You do not send yourself. Therefore you must listen for God’s guidance and be willing to follow. Do not rely on your own plan, because God may have a bigger and better one for you. The Lord must build your house, otherwise your work is in vain.

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Hebrews 11

5. Self-knowledge – You must decide whether you are a pastoral person or a missional one. Church planting requires both types of people. If you are pastoral, you must be willing to put this aside as your ministry for the period of church planting. You must learn to be missional. Your job right now is not so much to nurture people, but to draw them to Christ by bringing them to the church. You must be missional at this period of your church plant, knowing that a shepherd cannot lead a flock if there are no sheep. First you go out and get them and then you can be a shepherd. (More on this in the Wings section.)

6. Kindness – Practice kindness and love for others. You must come to not only love others, but love to be with others. Practice this quality, and it will become a habit.

7. Optimism – The vision you have for your church becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

“If God is your partner, make your plans big.” D.L. Moody.

If you don’t believe that your church plant will be successful, no one else will.

8. Networking – You need to establish connections in the community where you will plant your church. In each community there are one or two people who are the leaders. These are not necessarily political leaders. They are the people who volunteer, perhaps they are the pastors of other denominations, they may be leaders in the local home association of a community, they may be the social workers or the leader of a soup kitchen in the community. They are the ones that others look to. They are also the ones who know the most people. You need to get to know them so that they will serve as

your introduction into the community. You must get to know as many people as you can in the community you will serve. You should visit local clubs as a guest just to get to know members. Be sure to give out your card and tell them briefly what you do. You may be able to make some contacts there as well. You cannot plant a church if you do not network.

9. Willingness to accept Help – Seek out the help of others. Be the first to admit that you need help and mentorship. Seek out pastors of other denominations who might be able to help you. Be willing to try the methods of those who have already built successful churches.

10. Team Building – The most important thing in team building is this: Be who you are. Don’t hide your light under a bushel. Your team members need to see your heart, so you must let your spirituality show.

11. Strong Marriage – You must seek to strengthen your marriage or committed relationship before you begin to plant a church. Being a church planter is a serious committment of your time, energy, and life. If your marriage or partnership is not strong, the strain of church planting will cause damage. Strengthen the relationship first before you set out on your church planting mission. Your marriage or partnership needs to be exceptional.

12. Freedom to Commit - You must be free of encumbrances to church planting. You should not have a lot of problems at home or with unruly children (remember that in the Bible?), you need to be free of too much debt or financial problems. You must not be in a period of grieving or loss when you begin. If there are any of these conditions in your life, deal with them before you begin to plan a church. You need your mind and spirit free to focus on this great work God has called you to.