The “Easy Part” of Church Planting

Church planting is exceedingly hard and relentlessly challenging. Anyone who has participated in creating a new community of faith knows how difficult it can be. I recall my earliest days as a volunteer helping to form a new church in a rented movie theater. There was never enough money, time, or people to do all that was required! So how in the world could I have the audacity to suggest that there is an “easier” dimension to church planting? Is it possible to make those who lead churches that have been around for several years or decades to feel a bit envious? What is the upside that church planters sometimes miss being grateful for? I can think of at least three...

GENERATING EXCITEMENT

An unmistakable energy surrounds the small teams of church planters I have witnessed in many countries. Who doesn’t have energy and enthusiasm for the vision of something new? As the prophet Isaiah spoke the very words of our Creator:

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?

            I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. (Isaiah 43:19)

Church planters offer weary followers of Jesus the captivating possibility of being a co-founder of something new God is up to in the world. I believe it’s easier to stir up that excitement than calling volunteers to wake up something that is past its prime in an older church.

CALLING OUT SERVANTHOOD AND SACRIFICE

When the mega-church I served launched brand new campuses, I admit I was mystified by how many attenders who previously had not served much or given much all of a sudden became far more devoted and sacrificial. I thought, “Where have they been all along? Why are they just now joining the ranks of the servants and stewards?”  But with a little thought, it made sense to me. When something new is being launched, no one can miss the obvious and glaring need for….well, for everything! Every gift is desperately needed. Every dollar given matters. And followers of Jesus can see that showing up with all that they have truly matters. In fact, some church planters have to remind their fiercely devoted inner core to carve out a little balance and not neglect family or rest time.

When planting a church, it’s vital to teach that small eager band of volunteers about spiritual gifts, servanthood, and stewardship of resources. Of course, in the early days, it’s not possible to focus exclusively on serving in only one gift area. I recall that everyone in the first couple years of our church plant had to help clean the movie theater, unload the truck of equipment, pay attention to all the guests who risked joining us, serve the little ones, and clean up quickly after the service before the matinee film began! This was normal, and we could not afford the luxury of specialization in gifts.

But over time, we can steer one another to serve in the area where we were created and gifted to contribute. We can actually fan into flame the gifts of others as we discover who God designed each one to be. It’s thrilling to watch the body of Christ form limb by limb, knowing that, as Paul taught us, no part is more important than any other, and we all need one another to flourish.

WITNESSING TRANSFORMATION

I am currently a part of a church in the city of Chicago that was planted 11 years ago in a converted warehouse. Soul City Church’s mission is: To lead people into a transforming relationship with Jesus. Having a front row seat to life change, to baptisms, to new life day by day is the fuel that keeps church planters going when the challenges keep coming. Many leaders who risk it all to plant a church in a dark place know that the tiniest speck of light can be evident in the deepest dark. Whenever we witness a human being move from darkness to light, rejoicing erupts in both earth and heaven! The earliest days and months of a new church, while massively challenging, often display the most abundant fruit. We used to call baptism Sundays “Pay Day” because it seemed in those moments of celebration that all the sacrifice was more than worth it.

I hold in such high regard all those who dare to plant and seek to grow a church. You truly are heroes. It is my sincere hope that in the midst of obstacles that may at times seem unsurmountable, you will take heart in the glorious opportunity to generate excitement, to call out servanthood, and to witness the astonishing wonder of life change. May you savor those moments of God’s breathtaking goodness as you continue to face yet another challenge that surely greets you every morning.