The Dummy’s Guide to church planting
So, you want to plant
a church.
Great!
You could work alongside a church
planter, read some books, do a course, attend conferences or hook up with a
network for some assessment or training.
Or, you can read this post
and follow these tips.
LOCATION
Find an area where
there are already many church plants that are doing okay. After all, if they
could do it there, the ground is fertile, and you may as well join in. Avoid areas
where churches are thin on the ground as they are clearly the rocky soil of the
parable and your pearls will fall to unappreciative swine.
For a flying start,
choose a location with hipster cafes and a craft brewery – that almost guarantees
that you will be the next star.
PEOPLE
This one is tricky.
Pastors who say they
support you fully, may try to offload their problem people to you. Don’t fall for
that and don’t take other’s discards.
Instead, do some advance
networking in select churches and cherry pick the best people. That’s the
willing workers who will influence others and who can help pay the bills.
While having some diversity
looks good in your promo picks, too much diversity can be counterproductive. The
best bet is to collect a group of uni students and graduates born not much
earlier than 1990. They tend to have lots of energy and are ready to follow the
leaders who inspire them without asking too many questions … so long as you are
attentive to their needs.
Do have some good filters
to encourage certain types of people that another church may be best for them. You
know the ones ... they are ‘different’, ask too many questions and have ideas
of their own. Proactive greeting is a good way to keep these certain types at
bay.
STYLE AND TONE
This is really important,
and we suggest your church has a digital stylist. Think logo and slogan;
colours; fonts and layouts. Match it to your community. Be aspirational. Have a
style that hints at something higher without being too specific about it.
Music is a special
part of your style. The play list doesn’t
need to be long, but it does need to match your audience. nothing earlier than 2,000
in composition please (after all, the Bible urges us to sing a new song unto the Lord). Reserve the
front of stage posts for the younger and more attractive musicians. Some cute girls
and spunky guys is a good look. A drummer is essential.
DIGITAL PRESENCE
We know a church that
existed in its digital presence for some time before anything actually
happened. We’re not suggesting a purely virtual church, but do observe that a
good Facebook, twitter and Instagram feed can cover a multitude of sins.
MESSAGE
Okay, you stand for
the age-old message and have nothing to do with that liberal nonsense.
Great!
But you still need to
be all things to all people. Discard the dross and focus on the core. What do
you really stand for – what is the irreducible minimum message? Once you have
that, think how to express it. You don’t want to raise barriers or give
needless offense, so take care to make the message short, memorable and positive.
If you give it from a trendy perspex stand and with slides that capture the “how
did he do that?” feeling, it really doesn’t matter what you say.
READY TO GO
Go for it!
Assemble the launch
team; give them plenty of food, sound like you have a vision and go launch. With
a bit of luck, you’ll last long enough to write a post like this and be an
expert.
On second thoughts,
maybe you had best read the books, apprentice yourself to a church planter and
hook up to the assessment and support networks.
