Easy Church Planting

I have a righteously-indignant compassion for church planters who struggle year after year to get a church off the ground in spiritually infertile areas. I want to help them change their activity from "church starting" to "cultivating soil" to take the pressure off their performance and their families... at least until the soil becomes more fertile.

Look at the Apostle Paul. He didn't start churches on the first missionary journey. He cultivated the soil... and then came back to establish churches when the Gospel had taken root.

While whitewater rafting down the New River in West Virginia years ago, a tour guide pointed out the skeletal remains of a deer caught in the never-ending cycle of water pressure under some rocks. Apparently, the deer got caught in the undertow and was unable to break free from the pressure. The guide said he watched for months as the torrential gush slowly washed away the deer’s composition. That’s a gruesome picture, but I can’t think of a better metaphor to describe the struggle of so many church planters.

I'm using the phrase "easy church planting" not because it's ever easy, but because it doesn't have to be as hard as we think. A farmer doesn't plant seeds without first preparing the soil. Yet, we act like it's one big crap shoot whether a church will make it in a community or not. We turn it into Russian roulette.

If plants aren't coming up, put the seed bag down, and grab a hoe.

Jesus used an agricultural metaphor to describe Gospel-sowing because there are seasons to follow, there is a process to planting. A farmer would be a fool to drive a combine through a field 12 months out of the year.

Comments

[Rich Butler]

My Goodness! That is a good word right there. Thanks so much for the reminder. I think because of measurements of success in planting partnered with the need for "affirmation" from other planters, creates a pressure or undertow that can wear away at the soul. Great metaphor! Keep up the good posting...this is the very reason I read your blog daily.

[Scott Harris]

Yes!

[Gary]

I think there is a lot of truth here though maybe not in the ways you think (at least for us).

Here in Canton, there were several church plants attempted before we started that had closed down. Those guys without a doubt made the road easier for us but probably not in the ways you think.

As far as reaching the community goes, they had little impact on making the planting of Revolution easier.

However they paved MANY roads that made life easier for the planting of Revolution. A guy named Kevin Bussey attempted to plant here and by doing so he paved the way for church planting in our association, opened up doors in the movie theater we currently meet in, and built good relationships with other pastors that made it easier for us to be accepted.

Those connections were invaluable and we spent little time having to build bridges because he had done it before us. I have actually emailed him and thanked him. Because of doors he opened, I was able to focus more on reaching lost people then I was on playing political games.

However, I am still not a fan of the word easy because as I said earlier there is nothing easy about planting a church. Since we started Revolution there have been 8-9 church plants in the area close and I know of only 2 that run over 100 people among the others.

If it was easy, those guys would be having greater "success" (whatever that means). The fact is it is still hard here.

I am convinced that two things lead to a successful church plant NO MATTER where you are located (2 things outside of God showing up).

1.) Assessment - I am convinced that the large amount of guys planting churches are gifted in the area of church planting. They just thought it was the cool thing to do, couldn't get a job anywhere else, or thought they had to preach on a weekly basis. Most guys should never pass assessment.

2.) fitting the area - Once assessed, I think a missing ingredient in church planting is does the church planter fit the area. I know a lot of guys who could probably do a bang up job in church planting IF they had went to an area that fit them. Most guys go to glamor spots they THINK will fit them instead of places they actually fit.

God is building some very successful church plants in places we traditionally have thought of has unfertile places. Successful church plants are being done in the NE, NW, west coast, etc. because it isn't about the area, it is about God and a church planter who is truly called to plant and actually fits the area.

Just my 2 cents. :)

[Tony]

Ben,

Some good thoughts, man.

Gary,

Are you guest blogging here? Just kidding. Some really great thoughts. What about guys who pass assessment and "fail" in their church plants? Wrong place? Wrong time? Wrong lighting? Wrong format? I'm thinking it is in line with your second point about going where fits you. There is no doubt that Canton, GA fits you and to that end I think you're spot on. Taking a dude from podunk, FL to Hollywood isn't as much as the Gospel as it is about Ego.

Anyway, good thoughts gents.

[Michael]

Thanks for the word. I wish more people could understand this. I am located just outside of Portland OR. My wife and I came here a year ago with a charge to have church services started in about year. The churches in the area were supportive but were unwilling to give any of their people and the people we are reaching are far from Christ, most never going to church. I had to make a decision that to start services this fast with these people was too fast. My supporters pointed to others and how they were able to start holding services within a year.

Unless we allow time for planters to sow seeds and water then we will have more and more church plants never get off the ground or just provide another church for people already going to church. It is easy to invest in the harvest but it is hard to invest in the sowing. I believe the biggest reward will be for the faithfull who give their lives to sowing.

[Gary]

Tony, no guest blogging but Ben got me fired up on my off day. :)

I am enjoying the conversation a lot.

[Jason]

Great Thoughts, Ben! I think you, and Gary nailed it!

Church planting is never easy, but I do believe there are places in our country that are more ready for a harvest than other places!

I think the thing we need to remember the most is that God has a plan for each planter! Some planters have to PLOW, others PLANT, still others WATER, but it is GOD who gives the increase!

Sorry for the long post...just great thoughts from you as usual!

[Tally Wilgis]

Late to the party... glad I arrived.

Bravo Ben & Gary.

[Ben Arment]

Gary rocks.

[Zak White]

Gary,

Begin Rant.

I agree on the assessment stuff. I am tired of seeing our local association throw money away on guys they pass through an obviously flawed assessment process. By the way the assessment process they use is basically if you have a "Type A" personality, then they pass you through.

It kills me to see all of these churches shutting down. It kills me even more to be able to "call it" (when they'll shut down) before they even launch their church.

It also kills me to see several hundred thousand dollars going to something we all know won't last. Our church is much like yours I think and reaches the lost. It takes a little while to teach them how to be givers.

I often wonder how many people we would be reaching now if we had those additional resources coming to our church rather than all of these other plants that are failing in the area.

Also, those who came through and shut down before we got here did NOT make it easier. I meet people in our community all of the time who are unwilling to attend a church like ours because they already did once only to have it close down on them. We also had a guy try to plant in the area here just 2 miles from us who was always asking for money for personal things from the pulpit. He'd say "my daughter needs braces, so give big." I'm pretty sure that's illegal, but I'm definitely sure that it HAS MADE IT TOUGHER for us to reach those who are far from God.

The churches before us met in schools and although they were fundamentally different in every way, most of the people in our community lump us together with them in their minds. That makes it hard when you have all these guys out there doing dumb stuff and shutting down...

End Rant.

:)

[Billy Chia]

Ben,
I love the metaphor.

Do you have any examples of what it looks like to "cultivate the soil" vs "start a church" ?

Would this be something like serving the city by cleaning up the park instead of focusing on holding worship services?

[Dale Schaeffer]

Great post Ben...and great thoughts Gary.

I've found cultivating to look a lot like developing a relational network within the community. Prior to planting BridgeWay Church in central Illinois 3 years ago we spend 2 years developing relationships in our community. I played in several local bands, played in a couple softball leagues, talked to almost everyone I met and began to get to know as many people as possible. Then when we actually started forming a core team...we had a strong relational network to draw from. Most of our core team and first supporters were deveoped this way and through the relational networks of these first few friends.

To support Gary's view...we were assessed and believe that to play a significant factor in our success (however you define it...for us it's conversions and unchurched percentage...192 conversion & 82% unchurched attendance...heard Gary talk about reaching truely unchurched people at Evolve great stuff man, you guys are really doing it!)

I believe that cultivation makes planting look easier than it really is...sorry this went so long.

[Don Record]

I was never "assessed" so I don't really have anything to base this on...but if I were assessing a potential church planter I would tell them chances were NOT good for them to succeed and they would NOT be recieving any start- up capitol. If they proceeded anyway I would know they were either "called" or crazy...both of which are absolutely necessary to start a church.

[travis johnson]

Gary's thoughts on assessment and the fit with community are good. But, there are without a doubt areas of the country where the Gospel has greater barriers. It is the same Gospel. It is just as powerful. But, it is not as easily accepted. It would seem that statistics would readily demonstrate that.

Even Jesus, Luke, and the Apostle Paul spoke of towns which were not very receptive to the Gospel to the point that as you leave, you should shake the dust off your feet and move on.

With that said, there is no town that I know of that is impervious to the Gospel.

[Pat Gillen]

Diggin' the conversation.
We're stuck right in the middle of the mecca of a consumer brand of Christianity - and our culture definitely needs some spiritual cultivating.

It's like trying to grow peaches in a cotton field... both methods aren't that different (plant, water, harvest, repeat) but what we're trying to accomplish can be very different.

I dig Gary's comments... only I can understand the 'easy' comment. Sometimes things just work. Right person, right place, right time, and God just opens the doors. It's not easy, but comparably we all long to hit that sweet spot!

[Gary]

Travis, I am by no means saying that some areas are not harder. I'm just saying it isn't easy to plant a church anywhere.

[TW]

"Wrong lighting?" HILARIOUS!!!!

[Ben Arment]

Tim Fanus of Guilford Baptist (TW): I'm trying to understand your comment here...

[travis johnson]

Gary, you said: "I'm just saying it isn't easy to plant a church anywhere."

I'm going to have to go out on a limb and agree with you on that one. :)

[TW]

Ben Arment, formerly from RCC, I'm not sure where that comment came from or where it belongs? It was a 4:30 AM wake up call this morning. My bad.