I accompanied the leadership team of Church! at Bethany to the monthly gathering of the Northwest Church Planters Conference yesterday. I was wondering to myself, if I have been removed from being a lead pastor and visionary of a church plant, what would be my purpose for attending a church planter’s conference? I figured it would be a great chance to connect with other church planters and see what God is up to in the metropolitan Portland area. To my surprise, Randy Shaw who leads the conference basically spoke to our whole leadership team about some of the things I foresaw as some missing systems, strategies, and vision casting elements that could help propel the church to the next level. The discussion was in the context of what a planter should do in preparation to plant a new church. However, it really did meet us where we were at as a leadership team and helped springboard us into some deeper, relevant dialog as we plan for the future.

I’m no longer a lead pastor nor am I directing a God-given vision to reach a group of people in a unique way, but I must admit that for the first time since I arrived here in Beaverton I am starting to sense some clarity and purposeful collaboration in all of the changes thrown at us during this transition. A lot of conversations I have previously had with friends/mentors about: multi-cultural (not necessarily multi-racial, but reaching people of different cultures), multi-site (multiplying campuses as a way of growth rather), attractional vs missional (or better stated, being an attractional, yet missional church at the same time), third culture (feeling displaced in an environment of people unlike myself), and mentoring are all coming to the forefront here in Beaverton. Here are some random thoughts regarding church planting bouncing around in my head today:

• “Some church planters stop planting churches while their best plant is still inside of them.” –Randy Shaw
• “Once a church planter, always a church planter.” –Marc Payan
• Jesus was a multiplying trainer of leaders…He wasn’t just out to congregate a bunch of followers. –Randy Shaw (paraphrased)
• Some people are called to the excitement and excruciatingly hard work of starting new churches, so once a new ministry gains momentum and starts operating on its own they may feel led to move on to the next adventure in their journey.
• “The first 50 [people in the church] will determine the next 150.” –Bill Easum
• Sometimes it takes big, across-the-board changes in order to see the necessary change in just one area.
• “Spend extra time taking care of my soul.” –Randy Shaw
• Sometimes others on the outside can see (and know) what is ultimately best for ourselves…we often live in denial or base things on our previous experience rather than common sense.
• The burden for the community and the love of its people must take precedence over building the church.
• People are not a commodity and we shouldn’t take advantage of their generosity and willingness to serve…if we care for our leaders, it enables and equips them to care for others.
• Having a big dream and moving forward in that at all cost may get you there, but without celebrating the small victories along the way, you may find yourself alone at the finish line.

As you can see, a lot of stuff is rolling around in my head. I’m not exactly sure why these are thoughts I am thinking about at the moment, but as with everything else, I am sure it will be clarified soon enough.

If you’re a church planter or potential church planter, please let me know. I’d be honored to be able to lend an ear to your thoughts or help pray for you in your amazing journey.

Can you imagine if I came to your Sunday worship service and told your church that they had to gather together corporately every single day? We have such a difficult time just getting people to commit to one day a week to gather together, that just asking them to help form community by meeting in a home during the week or serving those in need for a day seems ridiculous to many. In essence, we love Jesus, but we love him on our terms when it is convenient for us to do so.

When we have a reference such as Acts 2 that describes a lifestyle of worship and community, why do we then have to go and mess that up by making it about ourselves? What motivates us to believe that the church today needs to change in order to be relevant to modern society? In the first century church, do we really believe that people went around to various homes looking to see who offered the most uplifting music, the most innovative youth ministry, the most up-to-date furnishings, the best tasting food, or had the most engaging preacher? In a time when professing a faith in Christ could lead to someone’s death by crucifixion or being boiled alive in hot oil, it was just a blessing to be amongst other people of faith living out their lives together for the sake of sharing the gospel with others.

When did the gospel become about modern sanctuaries, how far we’re willing to walk in the rain to get from our car to our seat, how the worship music is performed, funny sermon illustrations, or the talent of the preacher to speak you off the edge of your seat? I seriously contend that we have individualized the gospel and therefore diffused its transformational power when we make it about us and our comforts and desires.

In the first century church it was evident that lives were radically transformed in the name of the gospel. The Apostle Paul is a perfect example. If Paul, who was probably the last person any of us would have chosen to be the minister to the Gentiles, can be used by God for the beauty of the gospel, what is our excuse? What are we waiting for? Do we honestly believe that if we keep trying, we will find that one perfect church where our description sounds less like a church and more like our living room? When we gather together in the name of Christ, that is the church. When we love God and love others as ourselves, that is the church. Just like a car does not need a garage in order to function, we as Christians don’t need a building in order to be a church. Funny how we can look back in history and see how we’ve gotten things all wrong.

We in ministry try to cater to our consumers to attract and retain them, yet in Acts 2:47 we learn that it is not our ideas that grow the church–If we gather together and study the Word, share in fellowship, live life together, and give sacrificially God tells us that he will honor that by adding to our numbers daily. When we make the gospel about us, it becomes less about God. Are we really smarter than God? Do we really believe in the transformative power of the gospel as described in Romans 1:16 or do we use it merely as a tool for our own works?

When one talks about change, yet doesn’t embrace it, in the end they don’t experience the joys of change. Yes, I believe that there can be great joy found in change. Too often we get comfortable–even when it involves pain–and we see things change around us yet are stuck in the same place. Change scares me, yet at the same time it excites me. However, change for the sake of change doesn’t make sense to me. There must be either something positive or something negative that results in change. You can’t experience change and end up the same. I know, because all I’ve ever known was change. It’s like a cause-and-effect situation.

When I encounter change, I too must change. Whether it’s for better or worse, I need change in order to be changed. It’s my life cycle. I find it rooted in my relationship with Christ. He changed me so that I would never be the same. Even my actions, if repeated, are not exactly the same. My heart…mind…soul…have been transformed. I can never be the same. I choose to embrace change and find renewal in it. In my heart is repentance, yet I am not sure why. I must embrace it.

Father God, I am not sure why I feel this way today, but please show me how I have been trying to live apart from you. Bring me clarity to my ever-changing surroundings and situations and draw me closer to you. Show me how to embrace this change with the passion and enthusiasm that Christ has in me as I am led to seek your will for my life. I want to embrace this new change, but I feel misplaced somehow. Thank you Lord for surrounding me with some wonderful, supportive friends that share their love for me without conditions. I am who I am because of who you have brought into my life. I know I need a change and that I need to change. Please help me get through this time and share your wisdom with me for this new season. Show me what I need to turn away from so that I may know your peace. In the name of Christ Jesus, amen.

1. On a scale of 1-10, how confident were you in your call to plant a church?

For me, there was no doubt in my mind that I was a 10+ in my calling to plant a church. I felt the call from the first time I sensed God’s voice speak to me and lead me to a seminary that met me where I was at and equipped and empowered me to take the next steps in my journey. Going from Atheist to church planter in 4 years I think was an outward sign of my confidence in that calling.

2. Were you launched from a parent church, denomination, church plant group, or independently?

Initially our hope was to be birthed as a daughter church from a strong mother church, but that never really came to fruition. So, we were independent and continually seeking to network and partner with more-established churches to help us with spiritual and financial support as well as accountability.

3. Where were you strongest in your resources (finances, people, equipment, etc.) at time of launch?

We were weak in every single area that church planters are expected to be prepared in, however I felt strong in my calling. Many, many people believed in my calling and supported our faithfulness as a church plant, but obviously it takes more than calling and faithfulness in order to survive as a unique ministry with no model already in existence to look towards. We went into preview services with the belief that we had a strong group of people committed to start something new, but had some issues with alignment and expression of vision. In other words, it was probably the right people, but the wrong place and wrong time.

4. Where were you the weakest in your resources at time of launch?

Again, we were pretty weak across the board, but our biggest weakness I think was people. We had no finances going into this, but God always seems to provide for that, but I think we should have spent more time as a group engaging each other and connecting with our community more before we had thoughts of launching weekly, corporate worship gatherings.

5. Where did you expend most of your time and energy following your launch date?

We never really launched. We went from preview services to disbanding and trying to regroup. Most of our energies following our preview services though went in to figuring what we did wrong and how we could move forward without making similar mistakes.

6. What was your biggest disappointment?

Initially, my biggest disappointment was within me. I did my best to cater to our launch team rather than stay true to the vision I felt God compelled to operate within. In hindsight though, I actually don’t feel the emotions of disappointment. I think our church plant experience did much to humble us and draw me personally back to God, rather than try and find my worth chasing after an idol known as “Church planting.” Some members of our launch team are now gathering to explore the possibilities of working towards an second generation Asian-American ministry, others have re-connected with their families and are now attending worship services together rather than apart, some have moved away to new cities and others have become closer friends of mine as a result of our time in ministry together. While I am somewhat disappointed that my dream of seeing a viable multi-cultural ministry with a focus on racial reconciliation take shape in Sacramento, how can I really be disappointed seeing all the positive things that have emerged through connections made as a result of our church plant efforts?

7. Was starting the church plant, or shutting it down the hardest for you?

I go back to my calling to answer this. Starting the church plant felt like my destiny. I dreamed it, studied it, lived it, shared about it…I knew no other future than starting Revolution Church Sacramento. Shutting things down–although the decision came quickly–was difficult to accept. I had to recognize that I had failed and as a result began beating myself up over the experience.

8. Would you consider (or have you considered) church planting again? Why or why not?

Originally I felt like Revolution Church Sacramento was a fulfillment of my dreams–my destiny as a church planter. So, when that got shut down, I felt like my church planting days were behind me. I was being moved into something new and had no idea what that was going to be. As I’ve had time to reflect on things and evaluate how I perceive things, I must admit that I feel the calling of church planting is a part of who I am and who I was created to be. I don’t feel called to actively pursue reaching a community of people with the goal of leading another church plant, but I do feel a draw to a group of people and sense that the time will come when I will be passionately engaged in helping to form a missional community that wants to share the transformation power of the gospel of Christ in acts of service and compassion rather than obligation. For now, I am at peace with where we are at and excited about some new opportunities that weren’t even in my line of sight when I lived and breathed Revolution Church Sacramento. I’m thankful for second chances.

9. What is the one thing you’d tell someone before they got involved in church planting?

Calling is not everything! You were not called to be alone! Really pause and discern prayerfully when you sense God changing the direction of your ministry! Don’t put your worth in your ministry…God wants to have a relationship with you through his Son Christ much more than he cares about how well you plant a church. It’s not one thing, but I feel each is equally as important as the other.

10. What can we as the local church do to be more supportive of church planters?

Some churches support church plants through finances or gifts of equipment, while others support them through sending people. However, if you’re a church that pledges to pray for a church plant, please honor that commitment and keep them in your prayers. Once is not enough! Remember that for the most part churches were started in a time when giving and raising financial support for new ministry was much easier than it is today. Imagine what it’s like for that new church plant venturing in faith in this climate of post-Christian life. Maybe you can’t (or won’t) sacrifice with finances, people, or other resources, but in reality each of us can pray and stay encouraging…it costs us nothing, but always returns much.

Please know that none of the 4 posts in this blog series were meant to be critical of the church or discouraging of church planters. Our experiences were shared in the hopes that they benefit others who are struggling or can be better-prepared as a result of our collective insights. Somedays the only thing holding everything together may be your calling, but your calling isn’t sufficient to provide everything it takes to be a healthy and thriving church plant. Always stay open to learning and if there is anything I can do to help you or you’d like someone to pray with you for a season, I am here for you. We all are here for you!

1. On a scale of 1-10, how confident were you in your call to plant a church?


10! There was not a doubt that I was called to sell my house, leave my secure job and travel to move 350 miles to help plant a church. Even now, as things fell apart, there is still no doubt it was the right thing.


2. Were you launched from a parent church, denomination, church plant group, or independently?


We initially were independent, though the lead pastor had participated in a year-long church planting residency. We were then supported by an additional church plant group and denomination.


3. Where were you strongest in your resources (finances, people, equipment, etc.) at time of launch?


We were strongest in preparation–systems, planning, knowledge, learning from other church plants.


4. Where were you the weakest in your resources at time of launch?


We had all the ‘right stuff’ and all the preparations, but we never really invested in or connected with the community. We were new to the area & did not give sufficient time to be a part of the community.


5. Where did you expend most of your time and energy following your launch date?


We never officially launched. We held picnics, a community event & preview services, but we never gained momentum for an official launch.


6. What was your biggest disappointment?


I was so consumed with trying to get everything done, all the systems/processes/day-to-day operations in place that I feel we never really did what I was called to do—reach people. Also, personally, my teen sons saw the ‘negatives’ of churches/church planting and although also have no doubt we were called to do this, they became a bit disillusioned with the church in general.


7. Was starting the church plant, or shutting it down the hardest for you?


Shutting it down was hardest because I felt like if we could have ’started again’ with all we had learned & everything we now had in place, we could have spent the time connecting with & investing in people.


8. Would you consider (or have you considered) church planting again? Why or why not?


I immediately began volunteering with multiple church plants, offering what I had learned to help them ‘fill the gaps’ that existed. I had learned so much that I had to get involved. I think it helped me to define more specifically what my gifts are, what skills I had begun to develop and to ‘pick and choose’ what I got involved in based on where I felt God was leading. I’m now on staff part-time at a 2 1/2 year old church plant. I definitely have a heart and calling for church planting.


9. What is the one thing you’d tell someone before they got involved in church planting?


Make sure you’re called and you don’t have a doubt, be more concerned about what God is telling you than what ‘the church planting world’ expects. Of course, you have to be sure your family is on board, but more than that, don’t expect them (especially kids) to HAVE to be a part of all the work—keep time separate & don’t make everything about the church plant.


10. What can we as the local church do to be more supportive of church planters?


I don’t think most churches and church-goers really understand what church planting is all about and what it takes. I also see a lot of training for leadership, which is great, but training for the ‘nuts & bolts’ is needed too, not only for lead pastors, but for others on the team.

Thanks to Rindy for sharing her experiences with us! While it may seem uncommon, know that this situation is much more common than you know. It’s just that failed starts like this aren’t often talked about because they are difficult to accept. May this help many others about to get involved in church planting or those struggling whether to keep going when it seems like you’re going no where.

1. On a scale of 1-10, how confident were you in your call to plant a church?

6.5

Two weeks after moving to Austin we met over coffee with the pastor. I had questions, but everything was falling into place and opportunities were opening up for Russell and I to serve, so we jumped for it. We moved to Austin completely blind – with only a few leads on some area churches. We didn’t want to make any rash decisions, but we also didn’t want to become lazy in our pursuit of community. One Sunday led to another, and before we knew it, we were the worship leaders. It felt right. And on days where we wondered whether or not we made the right decision, we just kept going, hoping it would get better.

2. Were you launched from a parent church, denomination, church plant group, or independently?

We launched from a parent church with a vision to plant churches across Austin. The day of our commissioning service there were three other churches launching with us.

3. Where were you strongest in your resources (finances, people, equipment, etc.) at time of launch?

Our charter service was incredible. People were incredibly generous with their first gifts and at the time of launch we had twice the budget than what we were anticipating. I would also say our kids ministry started off with a stellar backing. I saw the research going into choosing the curriculum and praying through some of the choices – no short cuts were taken. Those in charge of children’s ministry did an outstanding job at letting the Lord lead them.
4. Where were you the weakest in your resources at time of launch?

People. I’ve heard it said before you can have people – even those willing to help – but unless they are the right people your labor is in vain. We averaged about 40-50 people a week coming to the services – but many of these people weren’t truly committed to the vision of the church. People were called to minister in areas they weren’t passionate about, and leaders who promised support verbally didn’t really follow through after the launch. Many weekends we felt…stranded.

5. Where did you expend most of your time and energy following your launch date?

Worship. Finding songs, practicing, chunking songs, practicing some more…I would say every day there was always the thought of Sunday morning worship in the back of our mind simply because for all the time we put into the setlist,  twice as much time was spent defending it or changing it or trying to bend to people’s wishes. It didn’t matter if we had prayed over which songs to sing, if the people didn’t know the song, the leadership didn’t want us to lead it.

6. What was your biggest disappointment?

Miscommunication. This was more than just our biggest disappointment – it fueled our greatest hurt. The miscommunication came swift and unannounced – stripping us of our position as worship leaders. Even then – in the midst of the pain – we knew the decision wasn’t malicious or intentional. And even though we both were wondering if we could go back, we still went the Sunday after we were told. We sat by ourselves. No one spoke to us until after the service when it was announced they were giving Russ a break to pursue his career. What happened then is what prevented me from ever wanting to return. I just couldn’t. Not with the hurt – not with the misconceptions and everyone else believing it was our choice to stop leading. Someone even asked us “so you decided to chase the almighty dollar?” For the next two weeks, I didn’t go a day without crying. I scheduled to meet a friend for coffee, and I went dragging – knowing she would ask how I was doing. Every time I was forced to read an e-mail or someone asked me a question about what happened, it was like the bandage being ripped off before it healed completely.

And I don’t say this to draw sympathy or make you believe I can’t handle my emotions – but to be as honest as possible. I never anticipated this pain. I never anticipated the hurt caused by the church. But now I know. I can say I’ve been there – I’m still there. And you know what? Christ has never left me. In fact, he’s been closer than ever before.

It’s been two months since the blow, and Russ and I have since found another church home. Slowly, healing is taking place. But the fear is still there. I know eventually I will be able to frequent local coffee shops without hesitation, wondering if I’ll run in to someone from the plant. And more than anything, I continue to pray for those still involved. This church has the possibility to do incredible things for the Kingdom. I’m praying and hoping they tap into their resources and learn that taking risks is sometimes the most beautiful method of drawing closer to Christ.

7. Was starting the church plant, or shutting it down the hardest for you?

It was leaving – hands down. Even though we knew there was no way we could go back, even thinking about going somewhere else caused me to worry. Will the same thing happen again? Is community even possible? Will we ever find anyone to do life with us? The first time we visited somewhere else was the first time in my life I was nervous going to church. I’m still nervous. Just last night I started crying when Russ and I talked about joining a missional community. I didn’t want to go. My heart wrapped its arms around my chest and started squeezing in protest. Please don’t hurt me again, it seemed to be saying. Please don’t make me open up to people…

I went anyway – knowing even though those feelings are legitimate, bowing down to fear is not. I won’t let fear get the best of me. Looking back, we see now how God has orchestrated our lives – even the hurt – to lead us to where we are now. We are blessed. God’s sovereignity is worth every moment of pain. And I know that’s a dangerous statement, but I’m beginning to believe its truth.

8. Would you consider (or have you considered) church planting again? Why or why not?

Yes. Mainly because I don’t want to put limits on what God can accomplish. My life is his – and if he wants us to step forward in faith to help assist another church plant, then we’ll be there.

9. What is the one thing you’d tell someone before they got involved in church planting?

PRAY. Sounds so simple – but it’s SO important. Be specific in your prayers too – and don’t freak out when he answers them in a way you weren’t anticipating.

10. What can we as the local church do to be more supportive of church planters?

Don’t assume plants have it all together. Ask if they need help. Come along side them on projects. Be more than just a prayer partner. There was nothing more humbling than seeing a crowd full of micro-churches, mega churches, bar-churches, house churches and church plants all mixed together at the Verge Conference – worshipping together – drawing strength from each other. We need more of this. We are all one body and I think far too often we act as if we are all our own entity.

Leaving something you love and are passionate about is incredibly hard, but being asked to leave your role prematurely must be even more difficult. Thanks Elora for sharing your story and blessings to you and Russell in your new ministry!

1. I need some more organization and structure to be more effective.

2. Being introverted is something I cannot change, but isolation is something I can do something about.

3. Routine is not only boring, it doesn’t suit me. Whatever happens here in Beaverton, I needed this change to break out of my rut.

4. I love my family more than anything else. As crappy as some of the moving experience has been, having family with me helped so much.

5. As I unpacked 3 boxes of books and put them in my bookshelf I realized that I don’t want to read anymore books. I’ve been in learning mode too much. Now I want to spend more time reading and applying Scripture.

6. I am most comfortable being around people that do not know I’m a Christian or have served as a pastor.

7. There is an essence of my not being in the majority that I believe must be expressed more. I am still working through this myself right now, but there is so much cultural application around in Beaverton that people don’t see.

8. Change is inevitable. How we handle it and what we do with it is a reflection of who we are. I preach this often, yet I’ve failed at living it out lately.

9. No matter how much people want to change, sometimes they just won’t. I can’t fix them–instead, I must learn how to adapt to them no matter how it makes me feel.

10. I need to stop looking too far into the future and start being more open to living life in the moment. Forward thinking and visioneering has its place, but for me that place is not for today.

There are many more thoughts flowing through my mind, but I’ll save those for another time…or maybe not :)

This weekend I’m looking forward to getting fully unpacked, exploring my new surroundings, then getting to work next week digging into to what it is that I am here to do and trusting God to reveal his will in his perfect timing.

In reality, moving to Beaverton was probably the single most questionable thing I’ve ever done in my time as a follower of Christ. I had no prospects for employment, no formal offer of a ministry position, the demographics of the city didn’t reveal much diversity, and I seriously hate extended periods (meaning like more than a week) of rain. However, I knew three things going into this journey:

1. Some friends in Beaverton at Church! at Bethany really showed me that they felt like I should be here (even though the meaning of my presence is yet to be revealed)
2. After devoting a lot of time and travel to my The Idea Camp friends in the Los Angeles/Orange County area, I knew I wanted to get to know some of my The Idea Camp friends in the Portland area too, and this was a definite way to do that.
3. I really felt like my wife Charlotte would benefit greatly from our time in Beaverton being around people with similar passions for worshiping God through song, being amongst a lot of trees and natural surroundings, and feeling much less pressure financially as we could reduce our monthly living expenses here.

I did a lot of research on the area and have to admit that I felt like I was going to be a fish out of water in Beaverton, but felt like this really was where Charlotte and I should be at the moment. However, after only having been here 3 days, I have to admit that what I thought I would see was not even close to what I got after arriving here. As much as I really hoped to have a nice newer house in the suburbs, I ended up “settling” for an old house in need of some repair near the downtown area of Beaverton. To my surprise, this has been the friendliest neighborhood I’ve even lived in! Three of our neighbors came over and said hello (two of them within minutes as we were unloading the moving truck) and that’s more than I met during the last two years at my previous house. I expected rain and dark skies until July, yet it’s hardly rained at all and I’ve seen the sun two days this week already. My research showed Beaverton to be a very caucasian town with not a lot of diversity, yet I can’t go more than two blocks without seeing Asian restaurants with native languages on the signs, Asian markets and Mexican carnicerias, and diversity on the sidewalks and in the coffee houses. No one here in Beaverton seems to want me to go back to California (or Japan)–instead, everyone has been overly friendly and has welcomed me to their city. What I expected to be a difficult transition with me taking some time to connect with the people of Beaverton has been quite the opposite.

Fortunately for me, things happened quickly to cause me to realize that my perceptions coming into Beaverton just weren’t accurate. However, had it not happened that way, I wonder how long I would have carried my notions of what Beaverton was going to be like with me and let it infect my viewpoint in a (possibly) negative way. To say I was pleasantly surprised doesn’t cut it. For me, I feel like an idiot that sort of passed judgment on a city and its people even before I arrived. Don’t get me wrong, I was very open-minded and as you can imagine, based on my circumstances I had to be or this would have been absolutely the wrong move. However, I was a little worried and concerned about some things that were foolish of me. What you see if not always what you get and I knew that.

To the city of Beaverton, thank you for being so welcoming and friendly. I didn’t deserve your hospitality and grace, but you showered me with it anyway. May I learn to be more like you and less like myself in the days to come.

Sorry for not being able to keep up with the blog. I’ll continue with the 10 Questions series on failed church plant experjences next week.

For those of you have been praying for my wife and I–and Church! at Bethany and the community of Beaverton, OR–thank you so much! With all the adversity we’ve been facing here in Sacramento, it must mean something important is awaiting us once we start out next chapter in Oregon. I just hope I’m up to the task.

1. On a scale of 1-10, how confident were you in your call to plant a church?

In this question if I were to emphasize the word “confident” I would say 5 and upwards (being quite self-confident, perhaps in this case, overly); if I were to emphasize the word “plant” I would say 5 and downwards. I was very ill-experienced in the area of church planting.

2. Were you launched from a parent church, denomination, church plant group, or independently?

We started out independently with the intention of joining up with the Evangelical Covenant Church denomination. We received a great deal of support and coaching from Quest Church in Seattle however.

3. Where were you strongest in your resources (finances, people, equipment, etc.) at time of launch?

Almost none of the above. I think our vision was strong, but woefully inadequate in almost all of the areas mentioned above. Just goes to show that it takes more than just a visionary to start an institution, and that is what we are trying to start now is it not? Edifices. Institutions. In this I am unapologetic and don’t do too well with all the anti-institutional rhetoric. I believe there is weight to the “institution” of the church, and am somewhat sacramental in my outlook. We’re not planting symbols here, but meaningful institutions with mediating sacraments. I hold a high view of baptism. The Eucharist. And exposition of the Word. Thus the place of the Church as institution is important.

4. Where were you the weakest in your resources at time of launch?

I think the previous answer pertains :)

5. Where did you expend most of your time and energy following your launch date?

In an assortment of activities. I am now convinced that there are certain things done that don’t contribute to the starting of a new church, e.g., creating a perfect website, amassing an online following, blogging my ears out, preparing sermons for 20+ hours. These things draw attention but don’t gather people, nor do they create a church culture. I think one of the first objectives of a church planter is to facilitate chemistry (a Holy Spirit thing). Chemistry leads to culture. And on this I think Stevens and Collins have a lot of good things to say in their book “The Equipping Pastor: A Systems Approach”.

6. What was your biggest disappointment?

Failure sucks.

7. Was starting the church plant, or shutting it down the hardest for you?

They were both equally difficult in different ways. Starting was hard work, and shutting down left a dull ache that continues to last to this day.

8. Would you consider (or have you considered) church planting again? Why or why not?

Yes I have. It took me a while to get to this place, but I realize that if there were certain “definites” in place I would do it again, e.g., a parenting congregation that exhibits evidence of the Spirit’s move towards starting a new church, trust gained by the congregation, a sending team of 50 people at least, comprised of stable and contributing members of the community, and of course, time. I liken this approach to all the difference between a half-court throw-up where you’re just praying for it to go in, and a step-by-step slam dunk where there’s no chance of missing. The difference is this: in the prior you are saying “God this is my plan; now show up!”; in the latter you are saying “Spirit I see this is where you are moving; let me go there.” The problem is we all like the glory and glamor of the ESPN highlight reel when the truth is most half-court throw-ups miss the mark. If I were to do it again I would look for some of the “guaranteeors of success”. Guaranteeors. Is that even a word? It should be.

9. What is the one thing you’d tell someone before they got involved in church planting?

You need two things: people and a (well-conceived) plan. If you’ve neither of these, DON’T START. I know of a guy in one city who’s been planting for ten years now. The church still hasn’t gotten viable yet, and is about 50 people. I mean, here’s a guy who’s blown 10 years of the prime of his life trying to start something that shouldn’t have started in the first place. That’s the epitome of trying to force God into your vision. I take quite seriously Bonhoeffer’s statement that he who loves community destroys it. Your ideals of community can be quite idolatrous.

10. What can we as the local church do to be more supportive of church planters?

I think that says it all: be supportive of church planters. Probably the best thing is to catch the concept; once more larger churches understand this notion and become willing to send out their people they’ve understood the missionary vision.

Thank you Pastor Wayne Park for sharing your experiences, insights, wisdom, and pain with us.

Has your perception of church planting been reinforced or shaken based on Wayne’s commentary? Do you have a similar story to share? Would appreciate your comments below: