The Journey to Here: "Investigation"

[This post is part 2 of a series of posts regarding how we came to the decision to plant and "how" a new church gets started]

Here is the one thing that we have always known about Church planting: The best way to reach new people is to plant new churches! Sheila and I surrendered to God's call on our lives to plant a new church because we want to reach new (lost) people!

When we decided that God was calling us to plant a church and surrendered to that call, our understanding was quite limited. Like many of you, we thought that church planters decided God was calling them, raised some money to live on, moved to the area where you wanted to plant and started reaching people.

While that might be true for some people, we understand that God has not gifted us to "maverick" this plant! Over the years, I have seen God significantly develop the gifts and abilities that He has given me. Conversely, I have also seen that no matter how hard I try to be good at things I am not gifted to do... I still suck at them! '

I KNOW THAT I NEED A TEAM!

From the very beginning, I have been committed to moving forward with the right support network and systems to fill in the "gaps" in my giftedness. For instance, over the years, I have realized that my strengths are designing systems, working with people, understanding/communicating vision and preaching. In those same years, I have come to realize that I am not called to manage the system, keep the books, or mind the details (or a bunch of other things).

During the early months of investigation, I talked with a number of church planting organizations - each possessing different strengths. Some of those organizations offered better funding while others offered better marketing. Each of those organizations and groups also offered a "success rate" meaning that they have a certain percentage of their experience that has seen a new plant become a financially independent church within a period of time (usually about 3 years).

At the forefront of those organizations is a group called "Stadia." Over the past decade alone, Stadia has successfully planted over 100 churches! Those churches average 300 people in weekly attendance (more that 50 times the national average) and have a success rate of over 90% in a nation that struggles to see 50% on average! (Can you tell that I am a little proud of the team I am privileged to be a part of?)

Not only is Stadia extremely experienced and successful, but they also offer a number of resources that will help fill in the gaps in my leadership giftedness. For instance:

• Planter coaching. After we get rolling, I will be assigned a specific "coach" that has gone down this road before me. This coach will help me see the speed bumps ahead and ensure that I have the right tools in my bag to navigate them. He will also serve to ensure that I prioritize my family during this very busy season of life!
• Spouse support! We all know how important it is for our spouses to be on board during crucial times in our lives. Stadia is able to supply a connection to a ministry that they call "bloom" that serves to connect planter's spouses into a support network! I can't express how significant this was in our decision making process!
• Book-keeping. From day one, Stadia supplies the back-office support of a book-keeper to ensure that the finances and logistics are cared for.
• Boot camp. In the month of January, myself (and members of the team in Jackson who can make it) will attend a week-long intensive setting called "boot camp" that will serve to ensure that we effectively plan the efforts in planting this church! It promises to be grueling, but I am looking forward to it! (Put the date on your calendar and be praying for us... January 18-22, 2010!!)
• CONVERGE! One of the things that I have always realized I would struggle with is "how" to get the ball rolling in planting a new church! Stadia is able to provide partnership with an organization called "passion for planting" that has developed a web-based solution called "converge". This solution, along with a personal partnership with a guy who is experienced both in planting and this particular solution, will provide support through the critical first year. P4P has developed a list of over 300 crucial steps that a planter will need to take during that first year to ensure success - they help to make sure that we plan the work and then work the plan!
• Management team. One of the most pressing needs that a new church struggles with is the development of leaders. Remember that we are endeavoring to reach NEW believers, so solid, Biblical Elders and leaders are not easy to come by. For the first three years, we are kept from adding new Elders to our team which will give us ample chance to develop leaders as servants and see them grow to that leadership position. During those three years, the "management team" will serve essentially as off-site elders to protect the church in those formative years (these guys are usually pastors from around the country and their churches have a vested financial interest in seeing this church move forward)

As you can see, the partners that we chose in Stadia during the "investigation" stage are going to be a big part of what God is going to do over the next few years! But, we are still investigating the most important partners that we will have - - YOU! Over the next few years, we will need to raise a significant amount of money that God will use to reach lost people in Western Tennessee! But that is a post for another time... but pray about it in the meantime! Wouldn't it be awesome to know that you had a part in reaching people for Christ who would otherwise lived (and died) apart from Him? Now that's worth it!