Church Planting
Living the Book of Acts
We understand the challenges involved in starting a new ministry from scratch. We also understand the amazing possibilities. If you’re considering planting a church or are in the early stages, we’d love to walk alongside you through the process.
We can help you understand the different stages of planting a church—from vision to team building to leadership development. We can help you think through the essential issues to consider along the way—including prayer, finances, structure, and outreach.
And if you have a vision for planting not just one church, but many churches– a multiplying movement of churches — then you’ll definitely want to connect with us to be better prepared and resourced for the amazing adventure that lies ahead.
Straight talk from a church planter
Enjoy the entry below, courtesy of one of the church planters I’m coaching: We had gotten to the point of starting a worship service, but it was not going well. Something was wrong. Not the numbers, those were okay. But we weren’t attracting the crowd I was looking...
Chuck Ridley on Creating Ownership of Ministry
My friend and colleague in ministry Chuck Ridley recently posted some thoughts on creating ownership of ministry on www.churchplanting.com. He observes that this is one of the most significant weaknesses many church planters face. Definitely worth checking out the...
The two essential ingredients of a children’s ministry
An effective children’s ministry-- whatever form that may take-- is really important for most church plants. The one exception I can think of is New Song Church because they were primarily reaching college students and singles. They didn’t have any form of children’s...
Mission of God Study Bible released
A new study Bible is being released that focuses on God’s mission throughout scripture. I have an article in it called, “The birth of intentional church planting.” I’ve included an excerpt from that article here: Acts 13 marks an important shift in church history: ...
The pastor factory
Don Stewart, executive pastor of Hope Chapel in Hermosa Beach, California, coined the term “pastor factory” to describe a model of ministry that rapidly trained proven lay leaders. These leaders became founding pastors and lifelong learners through intense mentoring...
Two for the money
Forbes magazine conducted a study called “two for the money,” where they studied businesses that started. Those that started with partnerships were four times more likely to succeed than those with solo entrepreneurs. At first they thought that might be due to...
Another way to do theological education
One of my favorite seminaries is in Indonesia. They live by the principle that obedience and follow through are what really matters. Dr. Chris Marintika has created a unique theological education program in Indonesia. In addition to completing traditional seminary...
Planter assessment vs. planter development
We’ve done a lot of work with church planter assessment. Many organizations offer helpful assessments, and I wholeheartedly recommend that every potential planter undergo an assessment of some kind. Yet I find that another issue—equally as important—is not being...
Is it catching?
Craig Whitney of ELI Church Planting talks about the role of relational evangelism in planter effectiveness: “One of the four characteristics the ELI measures [in church planters] is relational evangelism. One of the things we asked in our research was what...
Lessons learned from ELI church planting
I just connected with Craig Whitney, executive director of ELI Church Planting. Here are a few highlights from what he’s been learning lately (shared by permission). Experience counts. To those who believe God is calling them to start a church, Whitney says, “The best...