Having participated in two church plants as a planter, and now working with church planters on a regular basis in a coaching capacity, I know firsthand about church planting fears. It’s a leap of faith, and one God is calling many to these days.
My theory here is that recognizing the fears and realizing their legitimacy is part of guarding our hearts against them. The fact remains that for a church plant to be successful, at least in Kingdom terms, God must provide His grace, even in the face of church planting fears.
5 Legitimate Church Planting Fears
1. No one will show up.
If we do all this work and it doesn’t work, what will we do? You’ll be thankful you were obedient to what you believe God called you to do and wait patiently for Him to provide. We had to consistently remind our core team that God was in control of numbers. Our job was to be faithful. That doesn’t mean you stop inviting people or investing in the community around you, but you trust that God will stir hearts for His work.
2. We can’t afford it.
You probably can’t. There will seldom be enough money, or so it may seem at times. God calls us to big tasks. Church planting is hard and not cheap. But the Lord will provide resources for His vision. Again, that doesn’t mean you don’t need to educate people on the needs or help them understand the command, value and blessing of giving, but it does mean you trust God even when the checkbook balance is low.
