We’re Better Together
Like every healthy organism, Jesus designed His church to grow and reproduce. Ephesians 4 tells us, “It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up,” (Ephesians 4:11-12). Right here Paul shares with us the “secret” to healthy church development. It’s equipping and empowering the saints to use the gifts and passions God’s given them to build up the church.
If you’re a church planter, now is the time to cultivate a culture of leadership development within the church. Don’t wait until later, because what you do in the very first days of the church will influence the culture of the church for years to come. If individuals on your launch team observe that you, or a select group of leaders, take care of every ministry task within the church, they will assume ministry is restricted to a chosen few. But if you involve everyone in the church’s ministry, whether it’s setting up chairs for a launch team meeting, caring for hurting people, hosting small group gatherings, or building your website, this empowering will help your church mature just as described in Ephesians 4.
Unfortunately, some church planters struggle to empower people because they know other people won’t do things as well as they can. That’s a legitimate concern. You don’t want to abdicate authority and you don’t want to ask someone to do something they aren’t equipped to do, but if someone can do something 80% as well as you can, let them do it. Equip and empower them, so you can focus on something else, like helping other people identify their gifts and organizing them into ministry teams.
Ministry teams possess great power. The synergy created within a team empowers members to produce greater outcomes than they could on their own. In other words, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
Through this month’s newsletter, we want to inspire and equip you to help every member of your church or launch team find a place to serve within the body of Christ. That’s why below you’ll find ideas, resources and encouragement to help you mobilize more people into eternity-altering ministry. Enjoy!
-Patrick Bradley, Director of Operations
Nov 2023 – Content
- You Are An Equipper
- Leadership Matrix
- Ministry Teams Strategy Template
- Starting A New Ministry?
You Are An Equipper
As a church planter, what is your primary function? Are you predominately a preacher, teacher, pastor, or event coordinator? No. Your primary function as a church planter is an equipper. You need to supply your people with a constant source of vision, so they can see where God is leading the church, but you also need to equip them with the knowledge and training necessary for using their gifts and resources to accomplish that vision. Some people connecting with your church plant have leadership gifts, some have financial gifts, some have administrative gifts, etc. It’s your job to help them cultivate those gifts and figure out how to use those gifts to contribute to the church’s mission.
To encourage you in your equipping duties, watch this short video, You Are An Equipper, by Tim Cole, Director of Waypoint Church Partners. Then watch Quick Effective Quarterly Leadership Meetings (one-minute video) in which Tim offers tips on how to conduct 20-minute equipping meetings with ministry team leaders.
Leadership Matrix
While “organized” may not be the first word that comes to mind when you think about a church planter, typically their effectiveness as a leader hinges on their ability to build and organize teams. Knowing that church planters could use some assistance developing leaders and structuring teams for them to lead, we’ve created a Leadership Matrix Template.
Utilizing this template will help you structure ministry teams and stay up to date with where people are serving. It also helps team members see where they fit into the larger organization and where other service opportunities exist. Download your free Leadership Matrix Template today!
Ministry Teams Strategy Template
When we’re assessing a leader’s readiness for church planting, one trait we look for is their ability to build teams that accomplish a goal. This is an invaluable skill for church planters. Without it, you will be leading a church of lone rangers by yourself. That’s not a recipe for church planting success. Instead, from day one, build ministry teams that work together to accomplish specific objectives. What types of ministry teams does a new church need to have, and what will they focus on accomplishing? Get clarity on those questions with the help of our Ministry Teams Responsibilities Template.
After you’ve thought about what ministry teams your church will need, download our free Ministry Teams Strategy Template, which will help you develop and organize those teams. It will guide you in articulating the importance of teams and describing their basic structures at your church.
Starting A New Ministry?
If you have experienced the disappointment of witnessing new ministries (and their supporting teams) lose momentum shortly after their inception, rest assured that you are not alone in this predicament. Such is the nature of pioneering endeavors. It is inevitable that some of your efforts will fail as you explore uncharted territory. In the realm of church planting, it often feels like an experimental process, akin to throwing spaghetti against a wall and observing what sticks.
Nonetheless, is there a way to enhance the effectiveness of developing and organizing new ministries and their accompanying teams? Absolutely! Church Fuel, in their helpful article titled A Step-by-Step Plan to Starting a New Ministry in Your Church, provides practical guidance on getting there. Read the article and consider how to use its advice to equip more people for ministry.