There are different strategies and philosophies that go into what you do in the Pre-Launch phase of a church plant. My purpose is not to give you another in this post, but to tell you what MUST happen along with the strategy you adopt so as not to derail success. I mentioned five things you MUST do before you plant a church here. Here’s my list of five things for the Pre-Launch first phase of a church plant.
5 Things You MUST Do During the First Year of Church Planting
1. Build Your Network in the First Year of Church Planting.
Ended here last time, start here this time. Your support network is your lifeline. As an entrepreneurial leader you should ALWAYS be building your network. But in the first year of a church plant, your network must expand into the community. Meet with community political leaders, other pastors, school administrators, apartment complex managers, fire and police departments, business owners. Talk to as many people as possible to gather info, share about the church plant, find opportunities to serve and share the gospel. So many sound bites that instilled vision into our church plants came from these types of conversations in our first year.
2. Gather a __________.
Small Group? Yes! Core Group? Yes! Launch Team? Yes! I don’t care how many or what you call it, but GATHER! Somebody said there three keys to church planting: 1) GATHER, 2) GATHER, 3) GATHER. Whatever the strategy or philosophy, it must include gathering people together around the word of God and the mission of God.
We started with two gatherings in each of our church plants. A Discovery Bible Study for seekers and pre-Christians and a Leadership Development Group that went through studies like Experiencing God and The Barnabas Factors. The two groups multiplied and played off of each other, culminating in the launch of the new church. If you struggle with gathering people, then get somebody that doesn’t on your team, or expect slow growth, or consider a different role. Gathering is essential!
RELATED: The First Year, Step by Step
3. Make it Sticky.
Our first church plant was in a community with hard soil. Gathering was difficult and slow. I had no experience or coach to help me read success or failure, so I invited a friend with experience planting in pioneer areas to come to a gathering. Afterward I asked him if I should quit and go do something else. He said, “If you quit it will be the stupidest decision you every make, because you can’t get people to sit down and shut up so that you can start and you can’t get people to quit talking and leave afterward so that you can lock up.” He was helping me see the relational stickiness of our gathered group.
Several things that I’ve observed that help make new churches sticky:
• The Gospel. One of the great miracles of New Testament Christianity was the different people groups that were brought together and unified to make up the body of Christ. It’s still a miracle today. Gather around the Gospel and you can expect supernatural glue.
• Relationships. I love Ed Stetzer’s quip, “People are not looking for a friendly church, they’re looking for friends.” Don’t get organized and programatic too quickly (or at all if you can help it). Build in lots of time for getting to know people, being vulnerable and caring for each other’s needs.
• Mission & Ministry. Tackle a huge project that everyone can get involved in. Get messy if possible. Celebrate what you did together that you could have not done separately. Mission and ministry create a story.
