14550 Lee Rd, Chantilly, VA 20151

Newsletter — May 2017

Church Planter Assessment

Dale Spaulding, Director, Passion for Planting
Dale Spaulding
Director, Passion for Planting

At Passion for Planting we’re focused on equipping leaders to plant healthy multiplying churches. Healthy multiplying churches start with healthy multiplying leaders.

You’ve heard it said that church planting isn’t for everyone. It requires a unique vision and calling from God. That’s why we recommend that everyone considering church planting affirm their calling by participating in a formal assessment.

We believe so strongly in the value of assessment that we’ve decided to offer our own. The process we are leveraging is time-tested and has helped over 150 planters affirm their call to church planting. To learn more about Passion for Planting’s new Church Planter Assessment process click here.

If you or someone you know is sensing a call to plant a church, please take the time to undergo the assessment process.  The stakes are too high not to.

–Dale Spaulding, Director

May 2017 – Contents

  • Church Plant Equipment Thoughts
  • Exponential Regional
  • Preaching To An Unconvinced Generation
  • New To Five FREE eBook

Church Plant Equipment Thoughts

My mom used to say, “Son, don’t be penny smart and dollar stupid.” Most church planters don’t have very deep pockets and are tempted to save a penny whenever they can. However, saving money on certain purchases will cost church planters in the long run. (i.e. 1 ply toilet paper for the church office – c’mon man!)

Many church planters have found themselves the victim of what Patrick Bradley calls the stupid tax: a common, but unnecessary expense that leads to volunteer burnout and endless equipment repairs. To learn how you can avoid paying the stupid tax and how you can discern the best approach to purchasing church equipment, check out Patrick’s blog post Church Plant Equipment Cost vs Time Diagram.

Do you have a strategy for your church plant’s equipment and facility needs? Use our free template to make some important decisions before ever getting your figurative checkbook out.

Exponential Regional

Does the size of your dream reflect the size of your God? That’s the question the leaders of Exponential are asking pastors all over the country, and it’s the question they want to ask you when the conference comes to a city near you. The conference is making tour stops this fall in Washington D.C., Chicago, Houston, and the SF Bay Area.

At Passion for Planting and New Life Christian Church, we’re honored to host the D.C. regional event September 11th-12th at the nZone in Chantilly, VA. Exponential has designed theses regional events to make the main stage programming at their national conferences more accessible to church leaders. Combining pre-conference equipping labs and 5 main sessions, the D.C. regional will challenge and resource church leaders.

The regional is offering special pricing packages for teams, so mark the dates on your church calendar and invite your team to join us for an event that will leave you inspired and equipped to discern and pursue the God-sized vision He has for your ministry. Space is limited, so register today!

Preaching To An Unconvinced Generation

It’s been said, “Words are free. It’s how you use them that may cost you.” So, church planters beware. As the primary communicator of your church, you’re entrusted with the consequential opportunity to influence the thoughts, emotions, and actions of others through your preaching. Therefore, use your words wisely.

Effective communicators know you can only do this if you know your audience and can connect with them on their level. Church planters, especial ones that seek to reach the younger unchurched population, cannot afford to communicate God’s word the exact same way Billy Graham and Charles Spurgeon once did. Their contexts are different.

Millennials view the world in a unique way. Their questions about faith are different from the questions posed by past generations, and require a new approach to communicating the gospel. .

What does a church planter need to know to develop a communication style that engages unconvinced Millennials? Read this practical article by Ed Stetzer and Jason Hayes to find out: Preaching to the Younger Unchurched. Their answers may surprise you.

New To Five

In the recently released eBook New To Five, Ralph Moore presents his insights on how to start a Level 5 Multiplying church, a church that can’t help but multiply. The book challenges the approach many church planters take while starting churches. The focus should not be on gathering and growing a large congregation, but on developing disciples that multiply. Through sharing personal stories and scriptural principles, Moore reveals how planting a church focused on its own growth will inhibit it from multiplying disciples and expanding God’s kingdom.

To read more about the book and to get your free copy click here.