agendaAs you plant a church, you need to help people understand what it means to follow Jesus based on the DNA you disciple into them. Obviously, this is harder with people who have previous church experience than with those who come to faith through your ministry.

Sometimes planters are so desperate for people to join their church that they embrace people who don’t share their values. It’s the same mistake an engaged person might make, “After we get married, I’ll change them.” And then they don’t change. Don’t bring people in knowing that they don’t share your values. You need agenda harmony.

For instance, in one church plant, we were open to the role and gifts of the Holy Spirit, but we weren’t going to make an issue of it one way or the other. As a result, those who wanted to make sure that everyone had a particular manifestation of the Spirit didn’t feel comfortable. And those who wanted to stomp out anyone having a private prayer language didn’t feel comfortable. We were in the middle, seeking to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and resisted attempts to pull us to one side or the other.

So here’s my advice to church planters:  Be willing to have certain people not become part of your church. Be comfortable with who you are and who God has called you to be. Be willing to have people not come. If you’re not, it will come back to bite you in the form of agenda disharmony.