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Newsletter — January 2018

Starting 2018 Strong

Dale Spaulding, Director, Passion for Planting

Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? Have you stuck to them?

I didn’t make any resolutions, but I did set several goals for the coming year. These goals help me focus my attention on what’s important. Without these goals, I’m vulnerable to chase after good things while neglecting the best things. Without goals, I lack a clear direction for how I’m developing as a disciple of Jesus and helping to start new churches.

It’s sad when church leaders don’t set goals for how they’re going to make disciples and advance the Kingdom of God. They settle for keeping their doors open with the hope of adding a few more people to their flock. In reality, they settle for just surviving and making it through the year.

Is this the year your church will set a goal to multiply?  Will this be the year you will commit to help start new churches so more people hear the gospel of Jesus Christ?  This won’t happen by accident. It will require an intentional strategy. We at Passion for Planting can help you with that. Please contact us to discuss how your church can multiply its kingdom impact through church planting.

We hope you enjoy this month’s newsletter, which highlights a few of the resources we’ve been working on to help your church multiply.

–Dale Spaulding, Director

January 2018 – Contents

  • Multiplication Strategy
  • Assimilation Strategy
  • Kids Follow Up
  • Free Church Planting Equipping Lab

 

Multiplication Strategy

Leaders know that hope is not a strategy. You can’t wish something into existence. Yes, sometimes God blesses us when we don’t deserve it. Yes, sometimes he moves in spite of ourselves; but more often he works through the plans we develop in his name.

Perhaps this is why 80% of churches in the United States aren’t growing.  Just 16% are growing, 4% are reproducing and less than 0.1% are actually multiplying.  Simply put, most churches hope to reproduce, but don’t have a clear plan to guide them to this goal.

Proverbs 14:15 says, “A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thoughts to his steps.” Hoping your church will multiply isn’t going to cut it, but brainstorming and articulating a Multiplication Strategy is the prudent approach. Use Passion for Planting’s free Multiplication Strategy Template to help jump start your church’s multiplication journey.

Assimilation Strategy

Does your church struggle to retain first-time guests? If so, it’s probably time for your church to rework the Assimilation Strategy. That might sound complicated, but with the help of our Assimilation Strategy Template, it won’t be.

This template will guide you through the steps of developing your church’s assimilation strategy, which articulates how your church will help visitors move from being first-time guests to active participants in the life of your church. Don’t just dream about it, start developing your strategy today!

Kids Follow Up

One way to help families stick at your church is by showing them how much your church loves their children. While creating a fun, safe, and Christ-centered environment for their kids to enjoy on Sunday morning is important, it may be what you do for the kids during the week that excites them about visiting your church again.

This may be as simple as sending a postcard to kids thanking them for visiting your church. Or you could send something more unique from the church or your children’s ministry. For more ideas on how to follow up with children as a part of your church’s Assimilation Strategy, read Patrick Bradley’s blog 7 Creative Things You can Mail for Children’s Ministry Followup.

Free Church Planting Equipping Lab

Next month at the Exponential Conference we’re providing a free pre-conference church planting equipping lab. This learning environment will feature 6 fast-paced, TED-style talks, kicked off by Ralph Moore, author of New to Five, sharing on the topic of church multiplication. If you don’t know Ralph, he’s the founding pastor of three churches. And beginning with just 12 people, the Hope Chapel ‘movement’ now numbers over 2,300 churches, worldwide. Talk about multiplication! Come learn from his experience.

Others speakers include Brett Andrews, Phil Ling, Shawn Lovejoy, and Dave and Anne Milam. The dates of the equipping lab at Exponential in Orlando are February 26-27, 2018. To learn more about the conference and to register click here.