It’s been six months and a day since I started the adventure of church planting. We’re still early on, but I’m learning lots.
Here are 21 things I’ve learned that they don’t tell you about church planting:
1. Church planting is fun. Really fun.
2. Church planting is a lot of work. I’m busier now than I was pastoring an established church.
3. If you plant like you should, you probably won’t have as much time for blogging.
4. Church planting is lonely, especially in the early days when you’re doing the work but have little to show for it.
5. Church planting involves spiritual warfare. I’ve experienced more of this in six months of church planting than in 10 years of pastoring an established church.
6. The book of Acts is better than all the other church planting books put together.
7. People will have ideas about what you should be doing. You’ll go crazy if you listen to all of them.
8. Organic types will think you’re too institutional. Institutional types will think you’re too organic. That’s life.
9. The admin work will catch up with you, even if you try to ignore it.
10. Outsourcing as much admin work as possible is a really good idea.
11. People’s prayers really count.
12. People you think will be supportive often aren’t, and people you don’t think will be supportive often are.
13. You’re going to confront the money issue more than you expect. Don’t get into church planting if you’re not prepared for the uncertainty of where the money is going to come from.
14. Church planting involves the whole family.
15. Other church planters start to make a lot more sense to you when you plant.
16. Church planting reveals your idols and issues.
17. You will tell people that you aren’t just replicating the traditional church model. They will nod and ask you where your building is and what time you meet.
18. When you pastor an established church, you have to work at spending time outside of the church world. When you plant a church, that’s not a problem.
19. God surprises you when you least expect it.
20. Planting and ministry is an overflow of your relationship with Christ.
21. Planting makes no sense apart from Jesus’ promise: “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
