2. David Hayward – Give Up Trying to Control Things
David Hayward (the artist known as The Naked Pastor) suggests that we’ve made administration and planting too complicated. Hayward says, “It is a control-driven church culture that demands there be theologically trained leaders who are accountable to centralized authorities. That isn’t necessary, and it isn’t required. Don’t be afraid.” His list of 10 steps on how to start a church point to metrics beyond the normal concerns of administration. You can read his “10 easy steps” here.
3. Michael Lukaszewski – Plan Ahead
There does come a time when things like facilities and meeting space must figure into our plans. Michael Lukaszewski, director of Church Fuel, an organization “dedicated to providing insanely practical resources to pastors” recalls the early years when he was both administrator and planter.
Lukaszewski says, “When we renovated and moved into the House of Rock, I didn’t do enough homework on how much renovations would truly cost. We had to go back to our people and tweak our fund-raising campaigns, and that’s never good. It’s better to take the time in order to get accurate financial projections and timetables.”
How to Start a Church – A Bonus Bible Perspective
Considering how to start a church does, eventually, mean thinking about money, though. The book of Acts reports that the very earliest churches had financial concerns. Acts 4:32-37 details the financial practices of the church in Jerusalem. It’s worth noticing how their priorities differed from our 21st-Century models, though.
