AEC2001
The 2000 Anabaptist Church
Planting Survey:
Reflections and Practical Implications
Part 5
Steve Clapp
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What are the major practical implications?
We’ve looked at the good news which we can celebrate
about Anabaptist church planting in North America, and we’ve looked at some
issues which merit reflection. What are the main practical implications for
future church planting which we have gained from this study? I would suggest the
following:
1. As already suggested, church plants which target a
somewhat larger first worship service attendance are almost always stronger by
numerical measures in the future than those which target a smaller first worship
attendance. We should consider having more church
plants target an initial worship attendance of 100 or even 200. Waiting until
that core size has been reached before having the first service can have a wide
range of positive effects on the new church.
2. The more training and orientation the initial planter
and others on the planting team have received, the more likely the church plant
is to be strong and successful. Those who have
received training and orientation know better what to expect and how to plan. We
did not find a single model which clearly correlated with strong church plants,
but we did find that those leaders who are better prepared for the planting
process are more likely to succeed.
Stuart Murray, in his writing and his presentations at our
Council, refuses to be pushed to offer one church planting model as the best.
The choice of a model depends on those doing the planting, the purposes of the
plant, the area in which the plant is being done, and the persons most likely to
be reached by the plant. Our research certainly confirms that view. People need
training, however, if they are to understand the range of models available, to
select the best model, and to anticipate at least some of the problems and
opportunities which will come. Programs in new church development like those
offered at Ashland Theological Seminary have tremendous potential to strengthen
the planting process.
3. Careful study of the area in which the church plant was
to be located strongly correlated with the success of the plant.
That includes the study of government statistics and demographic information,
interviews with key community leaders, observations in the area, and
door-to-door visits in the area. It is also crucial that the pastor (or other
key church planter) and most of the others who are part of the initial team live
in the area where the church plant will be located.
4. Successful church plants are based on a clear vision of
what the new congregation should be but are also open to the input of new people
and to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. New
churches that are begun with a clear vision and clear core beliefs are more
likely to be strong than those that have not taken the time to clearly describe
that vision and beliefs. Comments from those in strong church plants, however,
also make clear that those who become part of the church plant may bring new
ideas and perspectives that will shape the development of the congregation. It
is important that new people feel that they have the opportunity to help shape
the direction of the congregation.
5. Healthy new churches are more likely to be started by a
team than by a single individual. There are
certainly instances of one person, generally a pastor, starting alone and
developing a successful new church; but those instances are the exception. The
size of the initial team (or core group or cell group, depending on the
terminology most comfortable to you) can vary considerably, and an employed
pastor may well be the clear leader of that team. The presence of a team,
however, makes a tremendous difference. The team brings a larger number of gifts
and a larger support base than any individual or couple alone can have.
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