3. How Will You Make Disciples?
Do you realize it’s entirely possible to gather a mass of people without ever actually making a disciple? That’s the scary thing about church growth techniques—most of them work really well. When I’m coaching planters, I always want to know how their why (Question 1 above) connects to their how (How they make disciples). Now, I’m no anti-church-growth guy. Who doesn’t want the church to grow!? I simply mean that attendance and decisions are not the metrics Jesus asked us to track. He told us to make disciples. If you can’t figure out how to do that, you’re probably in the wrong business.
4. Who Is Pastoring You?
Planting a church is difficult, soul-draining, devil-fighting, marriage-stressing and financially-challenging work. You need a pastor. Scratch that, you need pastors—individuals committed to telling you the truth, asking you about your marriage and kids, and keeping your soul healthy. Ideally they will be older and wiser than you—people to whom you’ve given permission to speak into the deep, dark recesses of your soul. Our church is doing really well right now, but I’m convinced I’d have wrecked it at least three times without the men who pastor me. Church planter, who is pastoring you?
When thinking about planting a church, answer these questions. The future of your work—and probably your soul—depend on it.
