Home

Resourcing

Consulting

Networking

Training

About NLM

Where to Find What

Products

Contact Us

Subscribe

AEC2001

Plenary Session 3:

The Ten Most Important Things 
I’ve Learned
about Church Planting
Part 4

Stuart Murray

Return to Previous Part          Return to AEC 2001 Index

4. Prepare the planting church

If you use a church planting model that draws a team from one congregation to plant a new church, it is important to give attention to the impact this will have on the church. Just as with the birth of a child, attention is focused more on the baby than on the mother, so quite often all the attention in church planting is on the project, the planting team, the new church. But if the planting church is not properly prepared, the experience of church planting can be traumatic. It is important to understand the various implications of church planting for the planting church and to ensure the church is given adequate time to consider these during a period of preparation.

Church planting is a major decision for the planting church. It will have implications for the whole church for years ahead. It will involve very considerable costs in terms of people, relationships, time, finances, emotions, and structures. It will mean other things taking lower priority. But if the process is handled well, it will hopefully also have enormous benefits for the church.

What kinds of issues need to be explored in the preparation period?

bulletDepending on the size of the planting team, the planting church will feel different and people will be conscious of gaps in the congregation. Even if these gaps are soon filled (as sometimes happens), the spiritual balance and character of the congregation may be rather different. This can be disorientating.
bulletThere may be a sense of bereavement or a similar feeling to that experienced by parents when children leave home. Excitement that the new church is thriving may be accompanied by grieving and a sense of loss.
bulletThere will be several job vacancies within the planting church, providing new opportunities and challenges. A neglected area of planning is that you not only need to assemble a church planting team but a replacement team in the planting church.
bulletThe financial implications of planting a new church need to be acknowledged and accepted. Reduced income as financially generous members leave to form a new church may be accompanied by increased expenditure to support the new church.
bulletThe new church may turn out differently from what is expected. It may want to become independent sooner than anticipated. Both possibilities may cause the planting church to feel rejected. This needs to be flagged up before it happens, and the church can be encouraged to be tolerant, to continue to be a resource, and to learn from the new church.
bulletThe planting church needs to embrace a new vision for itself at this stage so that it does not feel that the whole of its vision is caught up with the new church. There is a danger of post-natal depression and loss of impetus.

Continue to Next Section: #5 - Research the target community

Go to:  Beginning of Article       1       2       3       4       5       6       7       8       9       10

 

 2000-2008 New Life Ministries (www.NewLifeMinistries-NLM.org). All Rights Reserved.
(see information on our copyright policy)

Top of Page