Note: This blog entry is part of a series on church planting. If you would like to see all entries that have been posted so far in this series, you can bring them up by doing a search for “church planting series” on this blog. You can also purchase the full 27 page Church Planter Coaching Guide, with multiple coaching questions for each subpoint, in the Logan Leadership store.
- How is God leading you to develop a vision for church planting?
- Write out, in a series of bullet points, the immediate action steps you need to implement in order to develop your vision.
- In a few sentences, what is your vision?
Cultivate your heart
Ministry flows out of a life with God. A vibrant relationship with God sustains you in the challenges of church planting. We hear from God better and see what he wants when we are connected to him. Our ministry is more fruitful when our intimacy with God encompasses a passion for the harvest, the ability to listen to God, and an understanding of how God has transformed our life. Intimacy with Christ is the sole source of vision, and the character of the leader determines the credibility of the vision.
Discern God’s calling
Your ministry calling is the specific contribution to the kingdom that the Lord wants you to make at this time. Your contribution will take into account your spiritual gifts, temperament, life situation, and passions. It will also be shaped significantly by your internalized theology—what you really believe about God, life, people, and what’s truly important.
Mobilize people to pray with you
The first step in birthing a church is birthing prayer. Birth prayer out of prayer. An intercessory team that will stick with you is a crucial part of raising up a body of believers. Make a list of any people who have said they will pray for you, then establish mutual commitments with your intercessors. What are you asking them to do? Set up a two-way flow of communication and create a covenant with your prayer partners.
Picture a multiplying movement
Where are you going? This is a question to ask yourself as a church planter, and this question is answered by vision. Vision is the preferable future God wants to create through you. It is the mental picture you carry in your mind of the future. Start micro and think macro: see the end result of your ministry, and imagine it becoming a movement that spawns across generations.
Dialogue with others about your vision
Confirm the vision with others. Before you nail down your vision and set it in stone, check with others to confirm its authenticity, relevancy, and Christ-centeredness. You’ll need the encouragement if you have a big enough vision. Refine the vision with others. Dialogue with friends, relatives and co-workers who can help you edit the vision and simplify it. Own the vision with others. If the vision is all yours, and nobody else shares it, you’ll have a hard time planting a church. With others around you, sharing and contributing to the same convictions, you’ll have your first ministry team.