10 Tips for Church Planters
Thought I'd kick off the week with a top ten list. Here are ten tips for church planters.
1) Do something different--don't try to be someone else! Be yourself. We need lots of different kinds of churches because there are lots of different kinds of people. Differentiate! If you're going to do what someone else is already doing don't even bother!
2) Pick the right place--you've heard of word association. There is something I call place association. You want to meet someplace that conjurs up good feelings! That's one reason we meet in movie theaters. Most people have good memories from good movies. And meet somewhere that has high visibility and high accessibility. 25 million people pass through Union Station every year! And it's got a metro stop, bus stop, train stop, and parking garage. It's in the middle of the marketplace.
3) Make mistakes--You've got to make mistakes early on. It creates a culture of experimentation. Don't keep making the same mistakes! But keep making mistakes. Mistakes are painful now, but you'll laugh about them later. Trust me!
4) Take the Long View--whenever I get discouraged it's usually because I've zoomed in on some situation that is frustrating. Zoom out. Take the long view. You overestimate what you can accomplish in two years. You underestimate what you can accomplish in ten years.
5) Enjoy the Journey--be the best pastor you can be at every stage. Have fun with it. There is a developmental process. If you're church is five years old you should know the alphabet song and be able to tie your shoes. That's about it. You haven't hit puberty yet! And don't take yourself too seriously. The holiest and happiest people in the world laugh at themselves the most. Take two things seriously: God and fun.
6) Think like a guest--you've got to put yourself in the shoes of the average visitor. How are they experiencing everything? You have one chance to make a first impression. Make sure you greeters are nice! Make sure your welcome packet packs a punch! And give them a virtual tour of your church via your website.
7) Do Reconaissance
8) Do ministry out of imagination--don't do ministry out of memory. Don't do it the way it's always been done. That's boring and predictable! Creativity is hard work, but it's the thing that will set you apart. Dare to be different! Normality is overrated. God ideas usually start out as crazy ideas!
9) Content is King. If you don't preach a powerful message it's all for naught. Don't water-down or dumb-down the gospel. Find new ways to communicate ancient truths! Use every means at your disposal to get the message across. Blog every day. And if it's worth preaching it's worth podcasting!
10) Hang in There--the key to church planting is emotional fortitude. It is an emotional roller coaster full of highs and lows. There are high levels of excitement and discouragement. If you're called to be where you are and do what you do then don't give up! View everything as a learning opportunity!
1) Do something different--don't try to be someone else! Be yourself. We need lots of different kinds of churches because there are lots of different kinds of people. Differentiate! If you're going to do what someone else is already doing don't even bother!
2) Pick the right place--you've heard of word association. There is something I call place association. You want to meet someplace that conjurs up good feelings! That's one reason we meet in movie theaters. Most people have good memories from good movies. And meet somewhere that has high visibility and high accessibility. 25 million people pass through Union Station every year! And it's got a metro stop, bus stop, train stop, and parking garage. It's in the middle of the marketplace.
3) Make mistakes--You've got to make mistakes early on. It creates a culture of experimentation. Don't keep making the same mistakes! But keep making mistakes. Mistakes are painful now, but you'll laugh about them later. Trust me!
4) Take the Long View--whenever I get discouraged it's usually because I've zoomed in on some situation that is frustrating. Zoom out. Take the long view. You overestimate what you can accomplish in two years. You underestimate what you can accomplish in ten years.
5) Enjoy the Journey--be the best pastor you can be at every stage. Have fun with it. There is a developmental process. If you're church is five years old you should know the alphabet song and be able to tie your shoes. That's about it. You haven't hit puberty yet! And don't take yourself too seriously. The holiest and happiest people in the world laugh at themselves the most. Take two things seriously: God and fun.
6) Think like a guest--you've got to put yourself in the shoes of the average visitor. How are they experiencing everything? You have one chance to make a first impression. Make sure you greeters are nice! Make sure your welcome packet packs a punch! And give them a virtual tour of your church via your website.
7) Do Reconaissance
8) Do ministry out of imagination--don't do ministry out of memory. Don't do it the way it's always been done. That's boring and predictable! Creativity is hard work, but it's the thing that will set you apart. Dare to be different! Normality is overrated. God ideas usually start out as crazy ideas!
9) Content is King. If you don't preach a powerful message it's all for naught. Don't water-down or dumb-down the gospel. Find new ways to communicate ancient truths! Use every means at your disposal to get the message across. Blog every day. And if it's worth preaching it's worth podcasting!
10) Hang in There--the key to church planting is emotional fortitude. It is an emotional roller coaster full of highs and lows. There are high levels of excitement and discouragement. If you're called to be where you are and do what you do then don't give up! View everything as a learning opportunity!
9 Comments:
Thanks Mark!!
This post comes at a really good time for me.
Keep it up!!
Great post...I am sure this comes from a depth of experience. I am looking forward to the day to apply these principles into my experience. I really like the "do something different" point on the list.
By the way, the NEXT Conference was great I will be blogging about it this afternoon. Lee McFarland's story is amazing. You used a quote I wanted to focus on in my blog... "I'm shamelessly addicted to finding creative ways of getting people to come to church." -LM
Isn't that what church planting is all about getting the unchurched and the dechurched in the church so they may connect with God and become Christ-followers?
Chris
Thanks Mark! As a Church Planter in training things like this post are always helpful...I have a file folder that I print things off and file away for later use...I just printed this off and added it to the collection! Thanks for the insight!
This is a great list.
Very encouraging, practical and full of great perspective!
I'm going to pass it along. Thanks!
Mark,
Thank you... This came at the perfect time. It's a God thing!
Bob
mark awesome list. we had a tremendous sunday! week 13 and we had 80 people. makes our average for the month 66! We are pumped. Thanks for the encouragement and the great advice!
Please keep it coming.
Hey Pastor Mark,
I am the children's pastor at Jordan Creek Family Church with Josh Singleton. Thanks for the great list! Doing children's ministry in the theater is challenging but is stretching me in good ways. It has helped me keep the creative juices flowing. I'd love to meet you sometime, Pastor Josh talks about you a lot and obviously thinks very highly of you. God bless your ministry.
Lori Eilers
Good stuff Mark! Thanks!!
Mark,
Great Top 10-- way better than anything Letterman ever came up with.
You're right... it's so easy to do ministry out of memory. Because of the sheer work load church planters carry, it becomes easy to slip into "auto pilot". You've challenged me to constantly push for more ideas and more innovation. Thanks
Oh, by the way, Happy Birthday and thanks for sending me your book--just started reading it and it's going to be awesome.
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