Preparing to Launch
The most important dynamic when starting a church is
building the launch team. It is most likely one of the hardest aspects of
starting a new church. And yet, it is
mission critical. In his book, Planting
Fast-Growing Churches, author Stephen Grey identified 21 differences
between fast growing churches and struggling ones. One of the things he reports
was the importance of healthy launch teams. Grey found 88% of fast-growing
churches had a launch team in place before launch compared with only 12% of
struggling churches. Furthermore, C. Peter Wagner, writes that a minimum of 50
people is needed for a healthy launch of a new church. From personal experience, I would say both of
these positions are right on.
From personal experience, I understanding both the
importance and difficulty of building a healthy launch team, here are 5 things to consider during this
phase of planting…with the hope it makes the process more fun and easier.
Determine and define what being on a launch
team means
It is hard to know if someone is really on
the launch team; if the requirements, or qualifications have never really been clearly
defined. Consider things like: Is there
a launch team covenant or interview? Are there expectations when it comes to
serving, giving, and attendance? Does someone have to be a Christian to be on
the launch team? When are we no longer a launch team?
Know the culture
If you are moving into a new city
and region (parachute planting), consider slowing down for a season. Take time to work a regular job for a year or
two. This time period allows you to learn
more about the community and its people.
The bonus of this method is it provides you adequate time to develop
natural relationships.
Pray
Bring the need to God. Pray that God will bring the right people at
the right time to help establish this new church. Remember…it is His church more than it will
ever be “your” church. He knows exactly
the team needed to move it forward.
Be extremely intentional
This step requires some discipline. Be intentional about where you go and who you
talk to. Shop at the same places and
visit the same cashiers. Join the chamber of commerce team. Consider visiting
all the local businesses in the direct vicinity, of your meeting place, and get
to know the managers and owners. Tell
them what you are doing and ask if you can pray for any specific concerns for
their business. Make sure you write
their names down along with their requests. The magic happens when you return a
month later asking how things are going.
Be a coach
Remember that you are in the process of
building a launch team. People that have
committed to the process and joined the launch team are looking for ways to
help and to be an asset. As the coach,
you have to move people from having a relational connection- to belonging- to
contributing- to reproducing. Coach
people in this journey, and allow the launch team to help build the launch
team.
Mountain Biking and Church Planting
Until just recently, the last eleven years I lived in Arizona. I love Arizona. There are many things about Arizona that I fell in love with: the desert, cactus, sun sets, the heat, mountains...and most importantly mountain biking.
Over the years, I have spent countless hours on the bike riding over rocks and down the side of mountains. There is just something about the challenge of riding up the side of a trail and the seclusion that were good for my soul.
During our time in Arizona, I also had the great privilege of starting a church. Looking back at the journey required to start this church I find many similarities to mountain biking. Below are a few things that mountain biking taught me as I prepared to start a church.
- The journey is more important than the destination
- At every intersection there is an easy way and the hard/rewarding way
- Desperation births mistakes
- Boldness pays
- Just around the bend you can be certain there is fresh "horse pucky" on the trail
- The hardest parts are also the loneliest
- Climbs are always followed by downhills and downhills are always followed by climbs
- Balance and momentum get you to your destination
- Confidence is important but cockiness gets you hurt
- It's important to stop and take a breather so you can enjoy the view from time to time
- The journey is shaped by millions of small decisions made on the fly
- It's fun
- You can get hurt, you can heal, and do it all over again
- The things you don't see coming are what cause you to crash
- Practice makes you better
- What you love doing can also hurt you...but don't let that stop you!
Breaking Growth Barriers
Truth be told...barriers are a part of life. Some barriers are overcome naturally without any or little effort. While other barriers take everything to overcome - including time, people, and resources.
Churches face barriers too. One of the most recognizable barriers in church ministry is the attendance barrier. Churches can get stuck for a number of reasons. Below are 8 "lids" that keep churches and organizations from moving forward.
1. Desire
This really is the primary barrier to church growth. Some churches and organizations never grow simply because there is no desire to grow. Growth requires things to change. If the desire is there then commit to the goal and be willing to accept the necessary changes.
2. Systems
Systems have to keep changing and morphing to keep up with attendance trends and even cultural trends. There are 6 key systems that church plants and even existing churches have to pay attention to, or forward progress can easily come to a stop. These 6 areas are as follows: leadership development, children's ministry, the guest experience/follow-up, parking, the facility, and group life. If any of these systems are broken or getting outdated they will become a barrier and hinder forward progress.
3. Cultural Trends
This can be an area that you can do nothing about. Take for instance, area where demographics are changing and as a result the area is shrinking in population. Sometimes there are trends that are out of your control that can impede growth.
4. Culture of the corporation
Culture is always the most important thing of an organization. This is true for a church too. What is your culture and what do you want it to be. It can become a problem when new people to your church feel the culture is different than it does for those on the inside. You can read more about culture and why it is important on two of my previous posts here.
5. Competency
Think of competency in terms of capacity. There is a different set of skills needed to lead a small group than a group of 100 people. Furthermore, there is another set of skills needed to lead a group of 1000 people. The dynamics of leading people and teams changes as things get bigger. This can be a hard transition to master. It takes time to develop the necessary skills to lead a larger corporation. And let's be honest...sometimes there is no desire to go there because we have become comfortable with where we are.
6. Courage
Many times we know what needs to happen or where we need to go and the only thing lacking is the courage to make it happen. When fear becomes a greater motivator than courage- churches get stuck.
7. Communication
People want to know where they are going. If people feel uncertain as to what, where, and why they will leave. Here are a couple of things to think about when it comes to communication:
- Clear is better than clever
- Take time to define systems of communication
- Make sure to have a process as to the timing and tone of communicating big changes.
8. Character
People want to get behind people that they can follow and trust. When church leadership is lacking integrity the church gets stuck.
When these things are unhealthy and neglected- they become barriers to church growth. What else have you seen get in the way?