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Home > Blog > Six Mistakes as a Church Planter Six Mistakes as a Church Planter By Mark Dance My first two churches would be considered replants by today’s definition. Although both started and ended well, I made a lot of mistakes along the way. Most people will forget about […]

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Home > Blog > Six Mistakes as a Church Planter

Six Mistakes as a Church Planter

By Mark Dance

My first two churches would be considered replants by today’s definition. Although both started and ended well, I made a lot of mistakes along the way. Most people will forget about your ministry mistakes over time because love really does cover a multitude of sins. But sometimes our failures help us—and others—to grow, which is why I wrote this post for you.

Here are the six mistakes I regret the most.

1. I stole other members’ ministries. 

I am ashamed to say that in my enthusiasm to plant successfully, I outright stole other members’ ministries by doing too much of it myself. Church planters are notoriously hands-on entrepreneurs. We like to be in the middle of the action and are often tempted into thinking that the success of our ministry revolves around us. A pastor’s job is not to perform all of the ministry, but rather train “the saints for the work of ministry” (Eph. 4:12).

A maturing pastor will equip people instead of enabling them.

2. I hogged the pulpit.

I think my reluctance to share my pulpit was rooted in secret insecurities. I loved to preach, which is good, but it would have been better to have raised up other preachers. “And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2

Another bonus to shared preaching is freshness. Literally half of my time was spent preparing messages for four services each week, which was neither necessary nor biblical. Although today’s church planters are much less likely to prepare three messages, they are tempted to make themselves the star of the show by convincing themselves that it won’t go on without them.

3. I cast vision inconsistently.

My church plant was technically a replant, since there were eight remaining members left in the ashes of a struggling church which eventually called it quits. These survivors were joined by eight families who created a core team which relaunched as a completely different church with a new name.

One dirty little secret of church planting is that most of the founding members are former members of other churches. They may have taken a break to shop around, but that does not qualify these shoppers as “unchurched.”

Regardless of what your people’s church background it, most will start day one with a preconception of what church should look like. Church planters need to cast a compelling vision so consistently that the members are able and willing to communicate it conversationally to new people as they arrive.

4. I did not pursue a mentor.

In my first decade of ministry, I had plenty of ministry peers, and mentees, but cannot think of one mentor who I reached out to. The initiative for mentoring starts with the mentee not the mentor, and I made the arrogant rookie mistake of not pursuing this important relationship earlier.

5. I focused too much on buildings.

My formative years were the late 1980s, when churches believed that, “If you build it, they will come.” We spent a lot of time, energy, and money building and remodeling facilities. I have no regrets about any of those  buildings, although I do regret investing so much personal time on those projects.

Church planters need to see themselves as Ezras (priests), not Nehemiahs (builders). If you don’t have a trusted layperson to lead that charge, wait until you find one before you move forward.

6. I neglected personal evangelism.

My first two churches exceeded everyone’s expectations for conversion growth, including my own. Our sense of urgency was fueled by prayer and vision, but after a few years of fruitful growth, we became comfortably stable. Also my heart grew uncomfortably cold after the initial buzz wore off. All three churches I have served wasted too many years on the treadmill of transfer growth, which was primarily my mistake. These seasons were temporary, but they cannot be reclaimed.

These are not the only mistakes I made in my early years of church planting and replanting, but they are the ones I regret the most. What are some of the mistakes you made in your first decade of ministry?

Source: Six Mistakes as a Church Planter

The post Six Mistakes as a Church Planter appeared first on Passion for Planting.

]]> My Top Six Mistakes as a Church Planter https://church-planting.net/my-top-six-mistakes-as-a-church-planter/ Mon, 21 Oct 2019 09:00:04 +0000 https://newchurches.com/blogs/my-top-six-mistakes-as-a-church-planter/ www.newchurches.com

Home > Blog > My Top Six Mistakes as a Church Planter My Top Six Mistakes as a Church Planter By Mark Dance My first two churches would be considered replants by today’s definition. Although both started and ended well, I made a lot of mistakes along the way. Most […]

The post My Top Six Mistakes as a Church Planter appeared first on Passion for Planting.

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Home > Blog > My Top Six Mistakes as a Church Planter

My Top Six Mistakes as a Church Planter

By Mark Dance

My first two churches would be considered replants by today’s definition. Although both started and ended well, I made a lot of mistakes along the way. Most people will forget about your ministry mistakes over time because love really does cover a multitude of sins. But sometimes our failures help us—and others—to grow, which is why I wrote this post for you.

Here are the six mistakes I regret the most.

1. I stole other members’ ministries. 

I am ashamed to say that in my enthusiasm to plant successfully, I outright stole other members’ ministries by doing too much of it myself. Church planters are notoriously hands-on entrepreneurs. We like to be in the middle of the action and are often tempted into thinking that the success of our ministry revolves around us. A pastor’s job is not to perform all of the ministry, but rather train “the saints for the work of ministry” (Eph. 4:12).

A maturing pastor will equip people instead of enabling them.

2. I hogged the pulpit.

I think my reluctance to share my pulpit was rooted in secret insecurities. I loved to preach, which is good, but it would have been better to have raised up other preachers. “And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2

Another bonus to shared preaching is freshness. Literally half of my time was spent preparing messages for four services each week, which was neither necessary nor biblical. Although today’s church planters are much less likely to prepare three messages, they are tempted to make themselves the star of the show by convincing themselves that it won’t go on without them.

3. I cast vision inconsistently.

My church plant was technically a replant, since there were eight remaining members left in the ashes of a struggling church which eventually called it quits. These survivors were joined by eight families who created a core team which relaunched as a completely different church with a new name.

One dirty little secret of church planting is that most of the founding members are former members of other churches. They may have taken a break to shop around, but that does not qualify these shoppers as “unchurched.”

Regardless of what your people’s church background it, most will start day one with a preconception of what church should look like. Church planters need to cast a compelling vision so consistently that the members are able and willing to communicate it conversationally to new people as they arrive.

4. I did not pursue a mentor.

In my first decade of ministry, I had plenty of ministry peers, and mentees, but cannot think of one mentor who I reached out to. The initiative for mentoring starts with the mentee not the mentor, and I made the arrogant rookie mistake of not pursuing this important relationship earlier.

5. I focused too much on buildings.

My formative years were the late 1980s, when churches believed that, “If you build it, they will come.” We spent a lot of time, energy, and money building and remodeling facilities. I have no regrets about any of those  buildings, although I do regret investing so much personal time on those projects.

Church planters need to see themselves as Ezras (priests), not Nehemiahs (builders). If you don’t have a trusted layperson to lead that charge, wait until you find one before you move forward.

6. I neglected personal evangelism.

My first two churches exceeded everyone’s expectations for conversion growth, including my own. Our sense of urgency was fueled by prayer and vision, but after a few years of fruitful growth, we became comfortably stable. Also my heart grew uncomfortably cold after the initial buzz wore off. All three churches I have served wasted too many years on the treadmill of transfer growth, which was primarily my mistake. These seasons were temporary, but they cannot be reclaimed.

These are not the only mistakes I made in my early years of church planting and replanting, but they are the ones I regret the most. What are some of the mistakes you made in your first decade of ministry?

Source: My Top Six Mistakes as a Church Planter

The post My Top Six Mistakes as a Church Planter appeared first on Passion for Planting.

]]> Rookie Disciple Making Mistakes: Driven by Fear https://church-planting.net/rookie-disciple-making-mistakes-driven-by-fear/ Fri, 18 Oct 2019 09:00:04 +0000 https://discipleship.org/blog/rookie-disciple-making-mistakes-fear/ www.discipleship.org

by Discipleship.org: Are you a disciple making rookie? Rook • ie Meaning: A new recruit, especially in the army or police. A member of an athletic team in his first full season. In sports, rookies represent hope. Some arrive to the team as hyped prospects expected to be the future […]

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by Discipleship.org: Are you a disciple making rookie?

Rook • ie

Meaning: A new recruit, especially in the army or police. A member of an athletic team in his first full season.

In sports, rookies represent hope. Some arrive to the team as hyped prospects expected to be the future of the franchise. Others are unknown players who have defied expectations to get there. Fans watch rookies eagerly because they each unfold a unique story. How will this one work out?

At some point every disciple maker was a rookie. I still remember the first meeting I had as a discipler. I had prepared and prayed a lot for my meeting with Brad and as we sat down together I was nearly shaking with fear!

Like most disciple making rookies, I was afraid of so many things: looking stupid, coming on too strong, and most of all, failing. I lacked what every rookie lacks: experience. And as you know, there’s no substitute for experience.

Experience is earned. It’s impossible to get experience by completing discipleship curriculum or listening to sermons. In fact, no amount of disciple making knowledge or understanding can make someone a disciple maker. Disciple makers are made by making disciples. And since the process of making a disciple is never without challenge, each experience has the potential to bring growth.

I’m no longer a disciple making rookie. Somehow, I’ve accumulated over twenty years of disciple making experience (I don’t feel that old!). My experience is broad and deep. I’ve discipled younger students and older adults, men and women (in triads), Americans and Asians (Africans too), new believers and seasoned Christians, extroverts and introverts; you get the picture.

Like a wily veteran on a sports team, I want rookie disciple makers to learn from my mistakes and the mistakes I’ve seen others make. It turns out that most rookie disciple makers make similar mistakes. So, this post is the first in the “Rookie Mistakes” series.

Let’s start with the biggest mistake made by rookie disciple makers. What is it? Rookie disciple makers are often driven by fear instead of trust.

Unlike other mistakes, the posture of fear drives rookie disciple makers to make decisions that are self-protective rather than Jesus modeled. Instead of discipling a person who is FAT, they disciple someone who is friendly. This protects them from being rejected. Instead of using the Bible as the main tool in discipling they use curriculum. This keeps them from being wrong. Instead of formally inviting someone to start being discipled, they keep the relationship loose and undefined. This keeps them from being accountable. Instead of opening up about their struggles, they hide behind tools. And there are still other ways that fear pollutes disciple making.

Fear may never completely go away in disciple making, but it doesn’t have to drive your discipling practices. Veteran disciple makers have learned to manage it by marinating in these two truths:

1. Failure Is an Option

Are you ready to fail at disciple making? I’m not looking for an enthusiastic YES. No discipler should be eager to crash and burn, but veteran disciple makers know that sometimes it doesn’t work out like you hoped. Regardless of how spiritual you are or how prepared you are, there’s no guarantee of success.

Fear of failure can imprison rookie disciple makers. Instead of focusing on the needs of the disciple, she focuses on avoiding failure. If a disciple maker is grounded in Christ, she can handle failure. . .even if failure is largely her fault. As they say, failure doesn’t have to be fatal.

I’ve failed and lived to tell about it. I’ve discipled people who have never passed it on, who have ghosted me, and who have simply rejected the offer of being discipled. Each time, it’s hurt. But it’s also been a learning experience for me. Maybe I failed. So what? The ability to handle failure is part of maturity. And disciple making is the work of someone more mature helping those less spiritually mature. Don’t fear failure!

2. Trust Over Fear

There are plenty of other fears that rookie disciple makers carry. Some fear being exposed for lack of understanding or existing sin in their life, others fear their relational weaknesses being uncovered, others fear of giving bad advice, etc.

For a disciple maker the antidote to fear isn’t courage, it’s trust. Veteran disciple makers disarm fear by trusting deeply God’s call to disciple. Since Jesus has promised His presence as we disciple (Matt. 28:19-20) we can disciple from a place of safety. It’s okay if we look stupid, ill-equipped, weak, or incompetent because He is with us. He has sent us and so our power comes from Him, not in our sufficiency.

In fact, experience has shown me that our weaknesses have far more power in discipling than our strengths do. It’s as if when the Bible says, “His power is made perfect in our weakness” that it’s really true (because it is) (2 Cor. 12:9)!

Soaking in these truths disarm fear and allow us to surrender the results to God. When we disciple we are obedient to His call on our life. Since Jesus is with us, what can man do to us?

So, if you are a rookie disciple maker, beware of being driven by fear. Not only will fear cause you to make many less than ideal choices as a disciple maker, it will also weaken the power of a healthy disciple making relationship. If left untended it will obliterate both your disciple making relationships and your long-term survival discipler.

Those who disciple for the long haul have learned to make peace with failure and to trust God instead of wilting under their fears. I’m praying you will do the same!

Written by Justin Gravitt

Justin Gravitt is the Dayton (Ohio) Area Director for Navigator Church Ministries. Read more from Justin at his blog, “One Disciple to Another,” where this article first appeared.

The post Rookie Disciple Making Mistakes: Driven by Fear appeared first on Discipleship.org.

Source: Rookie Disciple Making Mistakes: Driven by Fear

The post Rookie Disciple Making Mistakes: Driven by Fear appeared first on Passion for Planting.

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