Note: This is the second article addressing challenges in church planting. You can read the first here.
Planting churches means working through challenges that arise. Working through these challenges reveals the real grind of mission that heightens a demand for the Gospel, within individuals and a congregation. The whole church must work through these challenges, not just the leaders. I am committed to equip LifePoint to be a church that plants churches.
Many people think planting a church happens overnight, or at least in a relatively short period of time. People may think that the start of a new church is easy. But a great amount of work takes place before the final product becomes a visible reality. What appears to be a church may start quickly, but a healthy church plant takes time to originate, develop and launch. The church is a fellowship of relationships between the Lord Jesus and his people. Real relationships take time to develop and mature. I want to discuss four relationships that serve a vital role in planting a new church.
The first relationship is with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the real church planter. He is the head and leads His body. The work of church planting involves many tasks but remains primarily a spiritual labor. Jesus works in the heart to lead, build and send out His people. Spiritual labor makes prayer the principle strategy for planting. Prayer sources all church planting work. Prayer unites God’s people with Him in worship and mission and with one another in fellowship. Prayer exercises this first relationship with the Lord Jesus in the labors of planting to grow the people together as one.
The second relationship is between the elders and the planter.
This relationship serves to counsel and guide the planter during assessment. A biblical church does not exist until a congregation of covenant members and a plurality of elders has been established. The process that leads to the establishment of a local church requires leadership and accountability as challenges arise. This process of assessment involves the testing of the planter toward full qualification.
This second relationship incubates the church plant and planter to protect the fellowship during the assessment process. The purpose of assessment is important for the church to understand. Elders can assess the planter without fully exposing anyone to a potentially un-qualified leader. Assessment allows elders to guard the planter from continuing a labor that he may desire, but not be skilled, gifted or qualified to lead. This is important because the burden of planting can blind a planter from honest and accurate discernment. Wise counsel from elders sets parameters for accountability and decisions in each step of the process. Assessment also allows elders to guard the congregation from premature conclusions or expectations. (These are two of the earliest and greatest challenges in planting.) Assessment creates opportunity for a planter to labor in the work without bearing the full responsibility of a congregation. It also affords elders the necessary opportunity to evaluate, assess and confirm a planter’s call before placing people fully under his shepherding.
The second aspect of this relationship demands that the elders lead the church to stay focused on mission. As the plant develops, separation occurs. Elders serve the church planter to strengthen and encourage him, help develop vision, assess and send him out. But the elders must also guard against allowing the mission of the church plant from consuming the mission of the church. Different strategies for planting cause this challenge to arise in differing measure, but it always remains a great challenge. Good causes are the greatest threat to the mission of the church. There is no greater cause for the church than church planting. But elders must draw a distinction between planting a church and allowing the vision of the church plant to replace the mission of the planting church.
The third relationship develops between the planter and the people in core group development.
The Lord works among His people as the vision is shared. People who prayerfully consider joining a church plant need time to pray and seek the Lord’s direction. This involves much more than liking or agreeing with a vision. Liking or even loving the planter is not sufficient reason to follow. The Lord Jesus leads people to labor in planting a church.
When people commit to plant a church, they commit to follow a new leader and a new vision. There must be a spiritual unity with the planter and the vision. This requires time to adjust to the lead planter’s style, teaching and relationship. This requires spiritual discernment through the Word, prayer, the leading of Holy Spirit, circumstances and wise counsel. The Lord may lead a person to commit for a specific project or work, a season or period of time or to commit permanently. Ultimately, a person must decide to follow a new under-shepherd. This decision should be pursued with sober consideration and intentionality. The process of assessment allows people to pray and discern God’s will for this decision.
The fourth relationship emerges between the sending church and the plant.
This relationship emerges as the Core Group develops and begins to function like a church body. This relationship begins early on and develops along with the new plant. Early on the elders from the sending church serve as oversight for the planter and for the new work. As the plant grows, people get trained and systems and structures for operations get established. The plant becomes able to handle the demand of their organizational load. The final indicator comes when additional elder(s) are ready to be installed to form a plurality of elders. A transition plan enables the oversight elders to hand full responsibility to the new plurality of elders. The churches can then work alongside each other to bless the city in Kingdom mission, and plant more churches.
Many opportunities present themselves for trouble through the challenges that arise in church planting. The Gospel is sufficient to grow and mature all God’s people through the challenges. Every person must remember that the first relationship never ceases to be the priority; Jesus must remain first.