AEC 2001 - The 10 Most Important Things I've Learned (Excerpt) by Stuart Murray

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AEC2001

The 10 Most Important Things I’ve Learned
About Church Planting

An Excerpt by Stuart Murray
from the Anabaptist Evangelism Council 2001

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This final session is concerned not about major cultural changes or about specifically Anabaptist approaches to church planting – though both will continue to influence my choice of topics and some of my comments on these – but with the nitty-gritty of church planting. In what follows I am drawing on my own experience of being a church planter in London, the training course I have run for the past eight years, numerous conversations with others involved in church planting, and issues that recur frequently when I provide consultancy for church planters.

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1. Select the appropriate church planting model

There are many different ways of planting churches. . . .

When I teach at the seminary in London on models of church planting, I introduce my students to twelve different models or strategies, several of which can be sub-divided into further models. I do not have time to do this here, but I do want to underline the importance of recognising the diversity of strategies available and thinking carefully about which might be appropriate in different contexts. I do not advocate one model as superior to all others. Each can be appropriate in different situations, depending on the culture, the kind of church, the available personnel, and other factors. Some can be used only by larger churches; some can enable much smaller churches to participate in church planting. Some are useful for establishing another congregation of the same kind in a nearly area; some might be effective in planting new kinds of churches in urban areas where more traditional churches are not thriving.

2. Appoint the right leader

My experience tallies with that of many others involved in providing consultancy in the area of church planting: leadership is crucial. Although there are many other factors that impact the success or failure of an attempted church plant, the quality and performance of the leader of the church planting team are critical. My next point is about the importance of an effective church planting team, and I am committed to team ministry in all aspects of mission and church life, but the leader remains key.

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What guidance can I offer you in a few brief comments?

	Look for someone who is not afraid to ask questions, who is willing to pioneer and be creative. We desperately need creative church planters.
	But look also for those who are teachable, reflective, and willing to be accountable and receive counsel. I will say more on both these issues later.

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Look for someone who is more interested in participating in the mission of God than in planting a new church. Too many church plants lose their mission focus and become inward-looking.

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It has been said that "women build community, men develop institutions", so in many situations women may be preferable to men. Historically church planting movements have often depended on and offered opportunities to women.

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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. Quite often all the attention 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.

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

	Depending 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.
	There 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.

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The 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.

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6. Don’t settle for cloning

Too many new churches are clones rather than plants. A church plant shares the genetic make-up of the church or churches that gave birth to it, but it develops in ways that will make it significantly different from its parents. The analogy with human families is helpful: children do not turn out the same as their parents, even though they share many values, interests and cultural norms. But a clone is an exact replica.

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8. Establish light and flexible structures

While the core values provide a necessary foundation and will not be revisited very often, the structures and programmes of a new church should be open to frequent review. It is much easier in church life to start a new activity than to stop one. Many churches are far too busy. Their members are exhausted by trying to keep a program running, several components of which are no longer serving a useful purpose. . . . It will release its members to relate to others in the community and it will regularly assess its activities to ensure they are still effective.

Planting a new church gives you an opportunity not only to establish a light program and choose how many activities to run but also to establish a thorough review process.

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The 10 Most Important Things I’ve Learned About Church Planting

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The 10 Most Important Things I’ve Learned
About Church Planting