Seven Steps for Planting Churches Partner Edition

PARTNERING CHURCHEDITION

General Editors:Tom Cheyney

J. David Putman Van Sanders

North American Mission Board, SBC

© 2004, North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention,Alpharetta, Georgia

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any formwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. All inquiries should beaddressed to: Editorial and Design Manager, North American Mission Board,4200 North Point Pkwy., Alpharetta, GA 30022-4176; or fax (770) 410-6006; ore-mail [email protected].

Seven Steps for Planting Churches

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Bible quotations marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible © The Lockman

Foundation 1960, 1062, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from The New King James Version, Copyright 1979, 1980,

1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.

Scripture quotation(s) marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version.

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission.

All other Scripture is from the King James Version. Used with permission.

This book is dedicated tothe many church planterswho are laying it on the

line daily.


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Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Allan Karr, J.D. Payne, Bill Brown, Dan Morgan, Ian Butain,David Meacham, and Ed Stetzer who shared their wisdom and insights for thisbook.

To Melanie Hasty who polished off the rough edges.

To Janice Trusty and the Editing and Design Services Team of the NorthAmerican Mission Board who are always great partners in completing resourcessuch as this.


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Table of Contents

Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .vi

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Step 1: Casting a Vision for Multiplying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Step 2: Identifying the Ministry Focus Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13

Step 3: Enlisting Planters and Partners While Clarifying Roles . . . . . . . . . . . .21

Step 4: Discover and Commit Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Step 5: Mobilize Sponsoring Congregations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Step 6: Support Birthing Process and Ongoing Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49

Step 7: Celebrate and Communicate Church Multiplication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .59

Appendixes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67

State and Canadian Southern Baptist Convention Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89

Glossary of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95

Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97


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Foreword

One hundred thousand Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) churches by theyear 2020 is no ordinary vision. It is a vision that forces us to think outside thebox, while forcing us to our knees. Outside of a movement from God, thisvision will never be realized. However, for one moment imagine God’s Spiritmoving across North America. Imagine thousands of pastors and laypeoplebeing awakened to plant His church among all unreached people groups inNorth America. This is our vision: large churches, small churches, traditionalchurches, nontraditional churches, churches being planted by pastors andlaypeople in schools, prisons, office buildings, storefronts, factories, on cam-puses, et cetera. It is our prayer that Seven Steps for Planting Churches can serve as asimple resource in the hands of scores of ordinary people committed to do anextraordinary work. With this in mind, we see a day when there will be 100,000healthy churches dotting the landscape of North America. To this end wepresent this resource to you.

Dennis Mitchell, DirectorStrategic Readiness Team, Church Planting GroupNorth American Mission Board, SBC


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Introduction:

Getting Ready for Parenting

Besides God Himself, the greatest resource for church planting is the existing church.

Richard H. Harris

The articulated conviction noted here from the vice president of the ChurchPlanting Group of the North American Mission Board (NAMB), has resulted inthis resource. It is to help prepare church leaders for the joys and challenges ofbirthing a new congregation. The New Testament is relatively quiet on the subjectof church reproduction and for good reason. Just like childbearing, reproductionshould be natural. For churches new to the parenting process, there are a numberof questions that should be addressed before committing to parenting.

Do you understand the basic purpose of the partnering/sponsoring church? Is the new church flowing from a God-given vision to reduce the unreachedpopulation? Is the church ready for (or needing) the changes that partneringentails?

Consider for a moment your image of a church. Is it stained glass windowstopped by a towering white steeple keeping watch over a town square? Formany, this image is the epitome of what a church looks like.

In a growing number of North American communities, such images of churchare fading from memory or never existed. At the same time, the population inmost urban areas is growing two or three times faster than the growth rate ofProtestant churches. In Rhode Island, only one Southern Baptist church existsfor every 131,000 people—the lowest SBC church-to-population ratio in theUnited States. In Canada, that number increases to nearly 200,000 for every SBCchurch. At the time of printing, Mississippi has the best church-to-populationratio with one SBC church for every 1,396 people.1

So put away your picture of the church with stained glass and a steeple, andthink instead of churches as “redemption centers” that build bridges to theircommunities. These bridges carry ministries that meet needs and take the

gospel to new people.They energizeChristians to go out andmake new disciples. Andthey look for places thatneed new churches tomeet more needs.

Together with stateSouthern Baptist conventions, NAMB hasmade church planting amajor priority so thatSouthern Baptists nowlead all denominationsin new church starts.NAMB has envisionedand articulated a goal ofdoubling the number ofSBC churches by the year 2020.

“It’s a God-sized goal,” says Richard Harris.“It will absolutely be a supernaturalmovement of God when it happens. We believe that’s what He can do and wantsto do. And He can use us as well as other evangelical Christians to do it.” Toreach that goal of 100,000 SBC churches by 2020, Southern Baptists need tohelp start 2,500 new churches in 2005. Subsequent years call for adding 100more new churches to the previous year’s goal, ultimately leading to a goal of4,000 new church starts in 2020.

“We know statistically that churches 10 years of age or older average 2.5 baptisms per 100 resident members,” says Harris.“However, churches 10 yearsold or younger average 10.8 baptisms per 100 resident members. It doesn’t take acrystal ball to see that if you’re going to evangelize North America, church plant-ing is essential.” These new churches may—or may not—look like traditionalSouthern Baptist churches; buildings complete with stained glass windows, choirlofts, and tall, white steeples. Many new churches meet in homes, schools, coffee-houses, or even shopping centers. But their presence cannot be underestimated,especially when millions of spiritually embattled people are seeking an eternalpeace and hope found only in a personal relationship with Jesus.


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Population-to-church ratio

in the United States and Canada

by geography

Even with all the resources, support, and strategies, Harris admits that thedegree that this church planting movement impacts North America and Canadais contingent solely on the willingness of followers of Christ to step out in obe-dience to a clear biblical mandate.

“Healthy Christians should be reproducing other Christians through theempowerment of the Holy Spirit just like healthy churches should be reproduc-ing other churches,” says Harris.“When God shows us a need, He has alreadymet that need if we will get on His agenda. And God’s will is God’s bill when itcomes to any task on His agenda.”2

I believe healthy leaders lead healthy churches—and healthy churches multiplythemselves. This short book is designed to help you through each step of thechurch reproduction process. Although most will find reading this booksequentially to be most beneficial, it has been designed to allow you, the reader,to jump to the step that is most relevant for you at the moment. The Appendixeshave been designed to provide often-requested resources. At the end of somechapters, starting points and resources for that step are provided.

Note: Throughout the rest of this resource as well as in future resources, thesponsoring church, parenting church, or partnering church will be referred to asthe partnering church. The vision and goals of all three aforementioned typesof churches (as well as others that may be used but not mentioned here) areoften one in the same although they may be referenced differently. This impliesno difference on our part in the philosophy, challenges, or regard given to asponsoring church, parenting church, or partnering church now nor at anytime. We are simply streamlining terminology for the sake of clarity in our com-munication.

Notes1. OnMission magazine, March-April, 2002.2. Most of the above text was taken from “Starting Healthy Churches,” OnMissionmagazine, March-April, 2003.


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Casting a Vision for Multiplying

“Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Prov. 29:18, KJV).

“Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained” (Prov. 29:18, NASB).

During the Jesus Movement, the story is told of a small but growingBaptist church that was on fire for the Lord. One of the newer members ofthe church used his artistic talents to paint a mural behind the frequentlyused baptistery. Across the painted sky he chose to include the words fromProverbs 29:18,“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”Years later,one of the young men whose life was dramatically changed through theministry of this once vibrant church returned to worship while on a business trip to that community. When he pulled up to the church, theparking lot that was once filled with cars and motorcycles was now filledwith weeds. A paltry collection of vehicles in the lot gave hint that a churchwas still there. Once inside, a handful of people occupied the once crowdedauditorium. The building’s disrepair was evident. The most telling sign wasthe mural over the baptistery. Whatever the cause—neglect, oversight, orsimple apathy—no one in the congregation had seemed to notice that the“W” on the word “Where” had chipped off. Almost prophetically, the muralnow read,“Here there is no vision, the people perish.”

If you are like many church leaders, you dream of leading a congregationlike the one in the story above during its heyday—but are faced with thereality of a church that is more like the one at the end of the story—achurch that has lost it’s vision. This book is designed to help you lead yourcongregation to catch the vision for multiplication through church plantingas a partnering church.


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1Step

The vision for church planting flows from the Great Commission Jesus gave toHis church. In this commission, Jesus defines the target as “all nations.” Fromthe original Greek, ta eqnh (ta ethne) has been translated most often as “thenations.” Today, we consider nations in terms of geography; however, the term isbest understood as people groups. In fact, our English word ethnic comes fromthe Greek word ethne meaning people.

And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto mein heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizingthem in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen (Matt.28:18-20, KJV).

The number of people groups, when tabulated, are astonishing and are projected to change the demographics of America. More than 85 million peoplein the United States make up 200 people groups other than Anglo. By 2050,approximately 47 percent of the United States population is projected to benon-Anglo.1 Obedience to the Great Commission requires making disciplesamong every people group.

Ed Stetzer helps church leaders comprehend this biblical concept with the illustration of a waffle. If viewed horizontally and at eye level, the waffle appearsto be flat. However, when one turns the waffle to its side, the surface projectionsof the waffle become apparent. Many church members (and leaders) view theircommunities like the horizontal waffle. They do not see the projections ofsociety that make up the varied cultural and social groups. Although the top ofthe waffle may contain many people, it is unlikely that one church can reachboth the surface and the subcultures of a community.

The Great Commission demands that we go into the cultures (nations). Often,the best way to accomplish this task is through church planting. Consider thefollowing question, then read again Christ’s Commission: “Can the GreatCommission be fulfilled without the planting of new churches?” It is hard toimagine a scenario that allows for the fulfillment of the Great Commissionwithout planting thousands of new churches.

In His departing words to His disciples, Jesus said,“but you will receive powerwhen the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both inJerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the


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earth” (Acts 1:8, NASB). Many have viewed this commission to be concentriccircles. However, the best rendering of this passage is simultaneous missionwork. The word “all” translated is best understood as “all the peoples” of Judea,“all the peoples” of Samaria—and “all the peoples” beyond. The early churchaccomplished this commission through church planting. And the marchingorders given to the original gathering of disciples are still in effect today.

The original impetus for becoming a partnering church may come from one ofmany directions. There have been situations where a church planter came to me in need of a partner. At other times, I have gone to churches as a churchplanting missionary and asked the pastor to pray about becoming a partneringchurch. But when it comes down to casting the vision for church planting—themost powerful motivation will be your ability to say,“I know that this is whatGod wants us to do.” That is where the vision becomes a nonnegotiable aspectof the church planting process.

Receiving the VisionReceiving God’s picture of what can be (the vision) is a lot like receiving Hisblessings. Often, they are unexpected. Many times we feel they are undeserved.But most of the time, the Lord’s blessings flow from obedience. The churchleader whose eyes are open to the needs of his community will be receptive toreaching people groups that are going unreached by his and other churches.Jesus said,“Lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest” (John 4:35, NASB). Vision will seldom come to those whose eyes are uponthemselves and not upon the fields of souls.

A vision from God is also not dependent upon the resources that are already inplace. God will often use what a church already has—just think of Moses—didGod use that shepherd’s staff or what! In the Leadership Challenge, the authorswrite,“Visions are statements of destination . . . they are therefore future-orient-ed and are made real over different spans of time.”2 The challenge many partnerchurches make is to overestimate what can be accomplished in one year, andunderestimate what can happen over five years. As a Great Commission activity,leading out to start a new church is an activity that the Lord Jesus Himselfassures us of His presence (“I am with you. . . .”) and His power. (Matt. 28:20and Acts 1:8). Only disobedience—such as impatience—can hinder His plan.


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The vision for the new work sometimes originates with the planter. Most churchplanters look for a place they want to go to and where they are invited. Thevision sometimes starts in the mind of the church planter strategist or directorof missions. I have worked with churches where the vision came to the pastor ofthe partnering church. Another time, the vision arose from an associationalstrategy planning process. If the vision is from God, the partnering church,church planter, and other partners should all have a clear sense of God’s bestowal of the vision.

What is important is that the church plant itself flows out of a clear vision fromGod.3

Impediments to VisionThe potential impediments to vision are as varied as a list of sins. That said,some of the common impediments to vision are listed.

Vision Hijacking: This term has been used to describe the process wherebymembers who join a new church following the launch impose their plan andideas upon the church, thus, hijacking the original vision.4 The same dynamicscan take place when members of a partnering church superimpose theirchurch’s vision on the new work. If the vision came to the partner church and isdifferent from the planter’s vision, then they may have called the wrong planter.

Take a moment and contemplate the implications of an airline hijacking. Thenegative consequences are similar when a vision from a source other than Godis superimposed upon a new work. Not only does the new work not arrive at itsGod-ordained destination, the spiritual vitality of the members is jeopardized,and resources are wasted. Vision hijacking is most likely to occur when the original vision is unclear.

Apathy and Neglect: The vision for partnering a new congregation can beclouded by apathy and neglect. These two sins often creep in so slowly that theygo unnoticed. As a young church planter, I served a church in which a brokenmirror in the men’s bathroom illustrated how apathy can sneak up on a church.

The morning the mirror broke one of the members said,“We need to get thisfixed right away.” Another said,“Curtis (the church handyman) is good at this.”Everyone agreed that it would be wise to have Curtis replace the mirror.However, Curtis was on vacation. After Curtis returned, the broken mirror was mentioned a few more times, but since Curtis seldom used the church


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bathroom, he never actually saw the broken mirror. By now, all the men whoused the bathroom had gotten used to the broken mirror. The next summer, avisitor came to me after the service and said,“I thought you might want toknow that there’s a broken mirror in your bathroom. You may want to hurryand get it fixed before someone gets hurt.” Ouch!

In a similar way, one can go through life oblivious to the changes in one’s community that might necessitate a new church. We may overlook peoplegroups in places such as apartment complexes, retirement centers, new subdivisions and communities that our church does not or cannot reach. Mostominous is the very real possibility of overlooking the Great Commission.

The Fear of FailureIn a survey of church leaders in one state Baptist convention, the fear of failurewas the most often voiced reason for not starting new work. No leader wants toinvest time and resources into a project that fails. Many leaders have heard thestatistic that states two-thirds of all church starts fail. However, in the state Iserved as a church planting missionary, four out of five succeeded. The key tosuccess is planning. And the partnering church makes the difference. RickWarren, author of The Purpose-Driven® Church points out that one of the reasons new churches fail is that “they are started with uneducated enthusiasm.”Many failures are related to a lack of support, a lack of planning, and a lack ofleadership. If the partnering church provides more than mere partnership inname only, this fear can generally be averted. As author Bill Tinsley says, thosewho never fail in church planting are the ones who never attempt to startchurches.5 I would change this to,“The only churches that always fail in churchplanting are those who never try.”

It is true that nobody likes to fail. No leader wants to invest time and resourcesinto a project that fails. Both Genesis 26:15-22 and Matthew 13:3-8 remind usthat not everything we dig, seed, or sow will be successful.

The Cost of PartnershipAnother concern raised by potential partnering churches is the cost ofpartnering. Few parents would dream of basing their decision to have childrenupon the potential cost. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, itcosts the average family $170,460 to raise each child between the ages of 0 to 17years.6 And that is before college expenses kick in! Despite the cost, people


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continue to have children. Churches need to accept the reality of the cost issues,and focus on God’s provision. The following passages serve as a reminder ofGod’s economics.

• Matthew 16:26, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the wholeworld, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange forhis soul?” (KJV)

• Matthew 25:14, Parable of the Talents. Investing in the kingdom willplease the King.

• Luke 6:38, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure,pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men giveinto your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal itshall be measured to you again.” (KJV)

• 2 Corinthians 9:6, “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap alsobountifully.” (KJV)

• Galatians 6:9, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due sea-son we shall reap, if we faint not.” (KJV)

The liability factor: New work partnership entails benefits and liabilities. Unlessclearly stated otherwise, the mission falls under the umbrella of the motherchurch. If the mission meets in the facilities of the mother church, generally little needs to be done as long as the church abides by the policies of the motherchurch. If meeting in another facility, questions of insurance, child protection,tax-exempt status, and finances will need to be clearly dealt with.

Waiting for More GrowthJ. Paul Getty, once the richest man in the world, was asked after installing a payphone in his mansion,“How much is enough?” His classic answer,“Just a littlemore,” describes the attitude of many leaders when asked,“How large should achurch be before partnering to start a new church?”7

I have worked with successful partners that averaged fewer than 30 in attendance. Others, running over 1,000 in membership, have declined the challenge to partner a new work on the basis,“We’re just not big enough yet.”

Many established churches share their facilities with immigrants and ethnicgroups in an effort to share their faith and give a hand to a new congregation.By planting a church within a church, congregations have become churcheswithout borders.


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Rodney Webb, of NAMB’s Church Multiplication Team says,“A large percentageof ethnic work is started in another church’s building. Partnering churches don’tneed to be big—they just need to be willing.”8

Casting the VisionThe greatest help for casting your vision may come from those who have recently and successfully parented new churches. For example, consider thewords of one partnering church pastor in an e-mail sent to the church plantingmissionary who encouraged him to lead out in partnering a new church.

Thank the Lord, our church is doing better than ever with income since westarted the mission. The attendance is up, and we have gained several newmembers—as well as more baptisms than last year. And finances, wow!We can always use more, but we are really receiving above budget inrecent months. 9

Casting the vision means keeping the vision before the people. Effective leadersweave the vision for the new work into their messages, their church programs,through the Sunday School and small-group ministries and other forms ofchurch communication.

I once fished using the same lure and cast hour after hour. Pastor Jim Williams,who combines fishing for men with his passion for fishing for fish, showed methe importance of changing lures and approaches when fishing. The effectiveleader will discover and use appropriate times and methods to cast and communicate the vision for church planting.

Starting Points for Casting a Vision for Multiplying ❑ Have I actively sought a vision from God for partnering with a new

work?

❑ Is apathy, neglect, sin, or other impediments to parenting keeping the leadership from hearing and seeing the opportunities for involvement as a partner church?

❑ Have I considered the fears and objections that may arise?

❑ Have I talked to others whose churches have successfully partnered anew work?

❑ Have I cast the vision for our involvement in a 30-second, 3-minuteand 30-minute presentation?


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Cooperative Relationships

1. The local Baptist association: http://www.sbc.net/stateconvassoc.aspCheck your state first. A list of local associations is provided undereach state convention listing.

2. The area church planting missionarywww.namb.net/root/beonmission/missionaries.

3. The Baptist state convention http://www.sbc.net/stateconvassoc.asp.

4. Additional congregations that may wish to partner in the new congregation.

Additional Resources

1. Seven Steps for Planting Churches, Planter Edition. Available from theNorth American Mission Board, Readiness Team. Contact:[email protected].

2.“Time-Share Your Church,” OnMission magazine, September-October2000. http://www.onmission.com/webzine/sept_oct00/time_share.htm.

3. Visit: www.ChurchPlantingVillage.net.

Notes

1. “Sharing Christ Across Cultures,” OnMission magazine, March-April, 2001.

2. James M. Kouzes, Barry Z. Posner, Tom Peters, Leader Challenge (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,1996), p. 100.

3. Seven Steps for Planting Churches, Planter Edition (NAMB, Alpharetta, Ga.: 203), p. 11.

4. Ed Stetzer, Planting Churches in a Postmodern Age (Nashville: Holman, 2003), p. 179.

5. See Bill Tinsley, Breaking the Mold (Dallas: Creative Church Consultations, 1996), p. 95.1.

6. “The Cost of Raising Children,” http://moneycentral.msn.com/articles/family/kids/tlkidscost.asp.Accessed February 3, 2004.

7. http://www.luthersem.edu/stewardship/daabase.asp?filter+illustration. Accessed February 3, 2004.

8. “Time-Share Your Church,” OnMission magazine, September-October, 2000.

9. This e-mail was sent to author from Jack Gallagher, pastor of the Prosperity Avenue Baptist Church,Tulare, Calif. It was written six months after their church had launched a new work in the same


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Identifying theMinistry Focus Group“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that Imay win more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; tothose who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself underthe Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who arewithout law, as without law, though not being without the law of God butunder the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. To theweak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to allmen, so that I may by all means save some. I do all things for the sake of thegospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it” (1 Cor. 9:19-23, NASB).

I’ve heard it said that if you don’t know what you’re aiming at, you’ll hit itevery time. This is analogous to the saying,“If you don’t know where you’regoing, any road will do.” As a partnering church, the vision for parentingbecomes your road map, and reducing the unchurched population throughmaking disciples (in both your church and the new church) becomes theaim of your partnering church’s involvement.

In chapter one, I referenced the waffle. This second of the seven steps topartnering with a new church is akin to pinpointing the surface projectionsof the waffle that will be targeted by the church plant. Some churches will beresponsible for identifying the area of the community in which the newchurch will be planted. For others, the ministry focus group will havealready been identified, and the sponsor/parenting church’s role identifiedas one of support and resourcing.


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2Step

Identifying the ministry focus group is much more than targeting a particularpeople for a new church plant. Identifying the ministry focus group is the processof developing a portrait of people who will reveal their spiritual aspirations, theirreal and felt needs, their values, their lifestyles and the way they look at theirworld. It is the skillful application what can best be described as cultural exegesis.The partnering church’s involvement will enable the planter to apply God’s truthto the surface projections of the waffle with confidence and relevance.

Aubrey Malphurs lists five things that church partners and planters can do inorder to develop this community portrait.

1. Build relationships with non-Christians.

2. Listen to the culture.

3. Read what (community) people are reading.

4. Collect and interpret demographic and psychographic data.

5. Develop and implement a community survey.1

For additional help, visit: [email protected].

Many planters will be tempted to skip the labor-intensive survey. Not onlyshould the planter be strongly discouraged from sidestepping the surveyprocess, he should be accountable that he will do it! The partnering churchshould, when possible, play a supportive role by availing both people andresources to assist the planter in this survey process. Perhaps it would be betterfor the partner church to identify the focus group then find a planter that fitsthe people. There is no easy way to accurately gather community information.Up-to-date demographics and psychographic profiles are beneficial, but thebest way to understand the community into which the gospel seed is to beplanted is to visit with as many people as possible. A reasonable goal before thelaunch would be 10 percent of the homes in the ministry focus group visited.To ensure the usefulness of this information, several carefully chosen questionsshould be asked. These might include:

• Why do you think many people don’t attend church these days?

• What do you believe are the greatest needs in this community?

• What kind of music are you most likely to listen to?

• What kinds of ministries should a new church offer this community?

• What would you identify as the most important, unresolved issue inour world today?


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• If a close friend invited you to church, would you consider acceptingthe invitation?

• Would you be open to receiving information about a new church orhome Bible study in your neighborhood?2

The survey information will help the planter and partner church understandthe opportunities and challenges they face. Understanding the focus group canhelp prevent one of the greatest dangers a new church faces—that of alienatingtheir target group by the use of inappropriate methods. For some sponsoringcongregations, helping the members understand that the new church will beusing means and methods different from those employed by the sponsoringchurch is confusing. Why not do it the same way? Communicating the results ofthe survey—or better, having members help with the survey—will assist thesponsoring church members understand the missiological approach to churchplanting being used.

In a survey taken in preparation for a church start in Frazier Park, Calif., thesurvey team rated each home visit on a scale of 1-5, with 1 being hostile (i.e.,door slammed in face) and 5 being opening, as in,“We’ve been waiting for youto start a church here.” Although such ratings were subjective, the results weretelling. First, through the survey we discovered two “persons of peace”—fami-lies who were willing to host a home Bible study. Secondly, the team discoveredpockets of the community that were significantly more responsive to a churchplant than others. During the survey, community members also provided help-ful insights into the community.

In another survey in Ventura, Calif., the church planter was questioning whetherthe word “Baptist” should be included in the name. A survey of the communityin which the question,“What comes to mind when you think of the word“Baptist” resulted in hypocritical, legalistic, and uncompassionate as the topthree answers. Needless to say, the planter opted not to use “Baptist” in the nameof the new church. The same question, when asked in Frazier Park, resulted in atotally different result. Most respondents were neutral to the term or believedthat Baptists were a “good group” of people. There, the planter and the sponsoropted to include Baptist in the name of the new church.

Surveys are also important to establishing the spiritual condition of the community. For many church plants in North America the objective of the newwork will be reconnecting the “opt outs”—those who have a strong religiousmemory. People living in areas with a high number of opt outs will require a


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different approach than those in areas of radically unchurched people. In hisexcellent book The Unchurched Next Door, Thom Rainer addresses this issue indetail.3 His “Rainer Scale” identifies the faith stages of the unchurched on a scaleof 1 to 5 and is a helpful tool during this step. Included in his book are severalapproaches to reaching people within each faith stage.

Missional ThinkingIn the New Testament, the first churches were planted among God-fearers.These were men and women who embraced a worldview and culture similar tothat of the church planter. However, by the time Paul got to Athens, the ministryfocus group had changed. His target group was then a pluralistic populace thatembraced a totally different worldview to that of the predominantly Jewishfocus group of Acts 2. Both groups needed the gospel. Yet, the approach used toreach these groups differed radically.

In Acts 2:16, Peter basically is able to say,“Open your Bible to the book of Joel.”However, by the time he arrived in Acts 17, Paul, knowing that the Scripturesheld no special authority in the hearts of his hearers, employed a radically dif-ferent tactic. There, he first explored the city, studied its inhabitants, andbecause of this, he was able to draw a mental portrait of the people living inAthens.

Because the apostle spent time learning the culture, when he finally engaged theAthenians in evangelistic conversation, he was able to speak the Word of Truthfrom an informed position of greater affinity. Ian Buntain notes that theEpicurean and Stoic philosophers who heard Paul were not required to jumpthrough the “hoops” of Christian culture (or to Christian cultural icons) tobecome fully engaged in the spiritual discovery process. They did not have toknow when to sit or when to stand; they were not required to “turn to” obscurepassages in a book. Paul began with their area of expertise—even to the point ofquoting some of their own poets (see Acts 17:28).4

What becomes clear is that in places like the Jerusalem of Acts 2, where there isa well-seeded, pre-evangelized culture, the gospel can be communicated withrelative ease, and the primary question that the church planter must answer is:“Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). In such communities, the newlyinformed believers can then be quickly grafted onto the new church. However,in most of the urban centers of America, Canada, and many cultural groups


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where the “soil of souls” is an unseeded, unevangelized culture, we will mostlikely be required to answer the question,“What is this babbler trying to say”(Acts 17:18, NIV)?

If a planter finds himself in Athens-like Canada, or one of the increasingly plu-ralistic urban centers of America, he may be frustrated in his attempts to launcha church through what has become the traditional method of preview servicesfollowed by a launch-large public service.5 In pre-Christian Athens (Canada orAmerica), the planter may discover a ministry focus group that requires a con-tinuing conversation before its members can come to belief. The results that canthen be expected in this kind of context are,“Some of them sneered, . . . otherssaid, ‘We want to hear you again on this subject. . . .’ [and] “A few men becamefollowers . . . and believed.” (Acts 17:32-34, NIV).

DemographicsTwo of the most common tools used to identify and understand the ministryfocus group are demographic and psychographic studies. Be forewarned thatthese tools can mislead if used incorrectly. In Planting New Churches in aPostmodern Age, Ed Stetzer warns of the “Fallacy of Average.”6 This problem aris-es when the demographic study covers an area that includes people groups out-side of the ministry focus group. For example, one church planter in Californiawas excited when the demographic study showed the average age of his min-istry focus group was 34 years—the exact age he was targeting. However, itturned out that almost no-one 30-39 years old lived in his focus area. The aver-age stemmed from a large number of “busters” and their young children and ahigh number of couples over 60. The same fallacy of average can occur withother demographic statistics.

This problem of “fallacy of average” can be greatly minimized by clarifying thearea to be studied. The most commonly requested demographic study areas are ZIP codes. However, these also result in a high fallacy of average. Manycommunities of 50,000 residents are covered by one ZIP code. A betterapproach is to use “census tracts.” Demographics can also be requested usingstreet boundaries, driving times and “micro-grids.”

When requesting demographic and lifestyle reports, remember the old computer adage—garbage in—garbage out. Generally, the only way to receiveuseful information is to have firsthand knowledge of the area for which you arerequesting demographic information.


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Starting Points for Identifying Ministry Focus Group❑ Ensure that the vision for church planting partnership is focused.

❑ Gather demographic and psychographic data from your state orCanadian Baptist convention or NAMB.

❑ Consult and initiate partnership with associational director ofmissions or (in Canada) area church planting catalyst.

❑ Enlist workers to help with the community survey and execute survey. Use as an opportunity to promote vision casting.

❑ Assist the church planting team in establishing a budget and calendarfor the survey work.

❑ Provide clerical help in the gathering and analysis of the survey data.

❑ Help the planter to use gathered data to create a “portrait” of hiscommunity and then how to use that portrait to develop a ministrystrategy that will lead to relevance.

❑ Give prayerful consideration to sending out members who share the vision and fit the ministry focus group profile to join the newwork. This is especially helpful if the partnering church is in closeproximity to the new work ministry focus group.

Cooperative Relationships

1. State Baptist convention church planting leaders

2. Associational directors of missions

3. Readiness Team, Church Planting Group, NAMB

4. Research Team, NAMB


1. Contact your state or Canadian Baptist convention for availabledemographic resources.

2. Logan, Robert E., and Steven L. Ogne. The Church Planter’s Toolkit: ASelf-Study Resource Kit for Church Planters and Those Who Supervise Them.Alto Loma, California: ChurchSmart Resources, 1991. See 3-14 to 3-16 for resources.

3. Canada online resources: www.statcan.ca/.


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4. United States online resources www.census.gov.

5. Most communities in the United States and Canada will post demographic information on community web pages.

6. Psychographic/Lifestyle Research: Probe 2 (available throughNAMB).

Notes

1. Aubrey Malphurs, Planting and Growing Churches for the 21st Century: A ComprehensiveGuide for New Churches and Those Desiring Renewal, 2nd. ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books,1998), pp. 175-77.

2. Adapted from Ian Buntain’s doctoral thesis on cultural exegesis. These questions are closelyrelated to those used by Rich Warren in his original community survey work. Note that SevenSteps for Planting Churches assisted Saddleback Community Church’s survey.

3. Thom Rainer, The Unchurched Next Door (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003).

4. From a paper presented to the North American Mission Board by Ian Buntain.

5. Buntain notes: “These are sometimes called ‘Preview Services’ and although they are commonly used in Canada and the United States by those who espouse Rick Warren’s Purpose-Driver Church” model, Warren specifically warns against using events to drive one’sministry (see Rick Warren, The Purpose-Driven Church, p. 79).

6. Ed Stetzer, Planting New Churches in a Postmodern Age (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2003),p. 179.


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Enlisting Plantersand Partners While

Clarifying Roles“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. Forif they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone whenhe falls, for he has no one to help him up. Again, if two lie down together, theywill keep warm; but how can one be warm alone? Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is notquickly broken” (Eccl. 4: 9-12, NKJV).

A student of mine works for United Parcel Service (UPS). His job is loading the brown trucks—a grueling task that involves much lifting.A prerequisite to employment is the ability to lift 70 pounds by one’s self,or 150 pounds with a partner. Now, in grade school I learned that 70 and 70totaled 140, not 150. Can it be that UPS understands the scriptural truthbehind Ecclesiastes 4:9 better than many church leaders?

Bob Reccord, president of the North American Mission Board, notes,“Theessence of successful partnership is synergy—the theory that the outcomeof the whole is far greater than the sum of the parts. Two people workingtogether can accomplish more than the total of what each does individually.So partnering is the effective leveraging of assets, abilities, and strengths.”1

However, to effectively leverage assets and create synergy, each participantmust be working toward the same vision. The resources for this step willhelp the various partners achieve the “good reward for their labor” as seenin the above Scripture.


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3Step

Steps to Developing PartnershipsAccording to Dennis Mitchell of NAMB’s Church Planting Group, as of July2001, only 5.2 percent of Southern Baptist churches are partnering new works.

2

More churches want to be involved but are not familiar with the processes forinvolvement. A survey of pastors and staff from 38 churches in Californiarevealed that not one had received training in college, seminary, or throughtheir continuing leadership development that would have prepared them to leadtheir individual congregations to birth a new work.3

It is not surprising that many partnering church leaders feel unclear about theirrole. This step is designed to help bring the partnering churches’ role into focus.It should be noted that not every point will be relevant for every situation, sofeel free to skim through those that are not pertinent to your situation.

Multiple Church Planting PartnersEngaging multiple partnering churches for a church plant is a task that shouldnot be ignored. For starters, requesting partnerships is biblical. Paul, in his letterto the church at Rome, boldly asks the church to partner with him in starting anew work in Spain (Rom. 15:24). In an attempt to strengthen the work inJerusalem, Paul drew up a strategy of multiple ministry partners. On his missionary journeys, Paul sought out the best members of the church to joinhim in the missionary task of church planting. Paul’s ministry followed a pattern: form a team to go, as you are going tell people about Jesus, and as theybelieve organize them into local churches. Paul’s ministry is replete with examples of establishing partnerships to accomplish these goals.

An obvious benefit of multiple church planting partners is that they can sharethe load. When our Lord said to His followers, Come, you who are weak andheavy laden—take my yoke upon you (see Matt. 11:28), He was saying, join Me(notice, the yoke is His, not ours) and together we’ll carry the load. An examplewould be a church plant I worked with in the West. The primary partner pro-vided housing and financial support for the church planter. Other partneringchurches provided supplementary financial support, ongoing prayer support,help with visitation and evangelism, and a one-time welcome gift for the churchplanter and his family, which brings us to another benefit of multiple partner-ships, an opportunity for entry level church planting involvement.


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Sixty percent of churches average fewer than 100 adults in worship.4 Where I am in the Midwest, it is not unusual to find churches that are much smaller. Acongregation of 25 to 50 could be considered robust in the context of manycommunities. For some of these smaller congregations, taking on the role as aprimary partner of a new work would be intimidating at best, and a disaster atworst. For these congregations, becoming a copartner or partnering church canbe a great entry point into Great Commission mission work. Clarifying the rolethese partners play will help ensure a positive experience for them and the newwork and promote continued involvement as a partnering church. Consider thefollowing account.

The director of missions (DOM) asked the pastor of a small, rural congregationto consider helping with a new language church being planted in a neighboringcommunity. As the pastor was readying his torrent of excuses, the DOMexplained that what he really needed was for a church to adopt the churchplanter and his family by providing food and cleaning supplies for their newapartment. He went on to share his dream of the planter and his wife walkinginto their new apartment and finding the pantry filled, refrigerator full andcleaning cabinets stocked. After a few moments, the pastor said,“You mean, likean old fashioned pounding?”5 The church went on to accept the assignment,with the anticipated results. Later, the pastor came back to the DOM and said,“Our church would like to do this again. Next time you have a church that isstarting, we would like to do even more.”

What churches do you know of that could be entry level partners?

POWER in partnershipMichael Ebert writes,“Can we share Christ by ourselves? Sure. Can God bringsomeone to Himself without any help from us at all? Without a doubt! But joining arms with fellow believers in the effort to reach people for Christ bringsall kinds of advantages that, on our own, we don’t have.” In short, partnershipgives us more power for sharing Christ. Using POWER as an acronym, Elbertmakes a strong case for partnerships!6

Perseverance. The strength gained in teaming with other Christians also gives usendurance. Alone, our fear, lack of experience or desire to be comfortable mightcause us to give up when things get tough, but the partnership of other Christianswill help us press on.


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Opportunity. Sometimes on my own I don’t see all the open doors available to mefor telling others about Christ. Other Christians and my church can open my eyesto dozens of faith-sharing opportunities I didn’t even know existed.

Worldwide impact. Partnerships can take me beyond my normal sphere of influ-ence. Missionaries are the best example of this partnership. My partners wereintroduced to Christ by a Southern Baptist pastor while Dad served in the navy inYokohama, Japan, during the Vietnam War. If it hadn’t been for the faithfulprayers and offerings of Southern Baptists in churches back in the United States,that pastor might never have made it to Japan. Through prayer, financial support,and by helping to educate others, we can support believers who are ministering inplaces we’ll never see and impacting people we’ll never meet.

Encouragement. Isolation breeds discouragement, but a partnership forged toaccomplish a worthy goal energizes and helps build momentum. After the VietnamWar, studies showed that prisoners held in complete isolation were more likely tobreak down under interrogation and give information to the enemy. But prisonerswho could interact—even if only by tapping Morse code on the walls—held up tothe rigors of captivity much better. Just as interaction with allies strengthenedprisoners of war, fellowship with other believers gives us strength for our mission.

Resources. Christians partnering together can support each other with money,ideas, communication, materials, our time. In that effort, I once volunteered for afew days at a new mission church just outside of Atlanta. The building needed a lotof work and materials to ready it for the worship services scheduled to begin in afew weeks. The people living in the surrounding neighborhood didn’t have theeconomic means to keep the mission operating. But the financial partnership of a

church in another Atlanta suburb and the time given by volunteers made therenovation possible.

God has created us as interdependent beings and we are more productive andeffective when we band together (Heb. 10:24-25). Ebert concludes his thoughtson partnerships with this story.

Our pastor drove this point home one Sunday not long ago when he

handed each of us in the congregation a piece of string about 16

inches long. “On your own,” he said, “you can put a hook at the end of

your string and catch a few fish.”


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Then he instructed some of us to tie our strings to the strings of those

sitting to our right and left. Others were instructed to tie their strings

to those in the rows in front of them. After sorting out some tangled

string, our congregation had joined to form a huge net spanning the

entire worship center.

“Just think how many more fish we can catch together,” our pastor

noted.7

An added word of caution is that partnerships only function effectively whenthere is consistent communication and team planning. The greater the numberof partners, the more communication and planning must be done as there aremore lines of communication to keep open. The fewer number of partnersneeded to effectively plant the church, the better. The primary reason to addmore partners than necessary to effectively plant the church would be if part ofthe vision is to develop other churches into the Church Planting Process (CPP).

Enlisting the Right Church PlanterIf your partnering strategy included finding a church planter, some on thesearch team may be tempted to call the first willing soul. Bad idea. A denominational leader in Canada once told me that any church planter with aSouthern accent is a death sentence to success. My personal experiences inMinnesota provided ample support, although not complete agreement, to hisstatement. Steve Melton, state missions director for the Minnesota-WisconsinSouthern Baptist Convention has said,“Our greatest need is for indigenouschurch planters. Ones who won’t leave the first time it hits 30 below zero.”

Where can a mission-minded church discover the right church planter?

Current MembershipThere may be someone in your church who God has burdened with an area inneed of a church. At Trinity Baptist Church, Wamego, Kan., retirees Gail andBarbara Dexter felt a growing sense that they needed to be involved in reachingpeople outside the church. When they mentioned the area they were burdenedfor they discovered the area they wanted to help was already targeted for a newchurch by the association. The couple went on to plant Emmanuel SouthernBaptist Church in Manhattan, Kan., with Trinity Baptist serving as the partnering congregation.


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As the church leadership begins to cast a vision of participating in a church plant-ing movement do not be surprised to have laymen step forward. In the SecondGreat Awakening the Methodists grew in the South by 300 percent utilizing circuitriding clergymen. That is great growth. During the same period, Baptists grew by400 percent through the ministries of laymen serving as farmer-preachers.8 Agodly layman who is already established in a community has tremendous advan-tages over someone moving into the area. Besides calling out laymen from yourchurch God may also burden one of the church staff members to lead a daughtercongregation. The booklet Discovery Tools is an invaluable resource in helpingpotential church planting leaders discover their church planting potential.Information on obtaining this free resource is included at the end of this step.

Associations and State Baptist Conventions: Over the years, some of the bestplanters I have worked with were referred by associational directors of missions.After the local church, the local association is a great place to look for churchplanters. State conventions and many local associations have personnel assignedchurch planting responsibilities. The people are aware of individual churchplanters seeking partnership and ministry opportunities. A list of state Baptistconventions is included at the end of this book.

North American Mission Board: The Church Planting Group coordinates theresources and training of church planting networks throughout North America.Churches can visit www.ChurchPlantingVillage.net or call the home office inAlpharetta, Ga.

Southern Baptist Colleges and Seminaries: The state conventions and NAMBhave partnered with seven Southern Baptist Convention seminaries in NorthAmerica and Canada, creating the Nehemiah Project. Each seminary has aNehemiah Project director who oversees the identification, recruitment, devel-opment, and deployment of church planting interns in North America. Theseinterns usually qualify for Nehemiah Project funding when appointed to anapproved Nehemiah church plant location. Campus directors also maintaininformation on many students who feel called to church planting but do notfulfill all the requirements of the Nehemiah program.

Several colleges and non-Southern Baptist seminaries are also involved in theNehemiah Partnership. These students have taken church planting coursesdeveloped by NAMB. Many of these students have participated in the ChurchPlanter Assessment process. Some may qualify for appointment as US/C2church planting missionaries.


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Is the Planter a Match? When identifying a church planter and potential team members, the questionmust be asked,“Do they fit the community we are attempting to reach?” In achurch in Kansas City, the planting team and community were a classic mis-match, and the church plant never got off the ground. In retrospect, a change inlocation of only a few of miles and the planting team and community wouldhave been a much greater match.

Appendix 9 is a tool to assist in determining the compatibility of a churchplanter, core group, leadership team and the ministry focus, which is the com-munity. All too often churches are planted with classic mismatches between thechurch planting team and the community. The objective is not necessarily tohave a perfect match. It is to avoid so many areas of difference that the newchurch is stillborn.

The MCN: Connecting with Other ChurchesWith the help of many partners in the field, the Church Planting Group hasdeveloped a resource to undergird the Multiplying Church Network (MCN).One potential outcome of the MCN is for churches to partner together in plant-ing new churches. The MCN process presents an enjoyable, easy to follow planthat encourages the natural development of partnerships through relationshipsthat already exist among the churches. Additional information about MCN isincluded in Step 5.

Do not be surprised if other churches in your local association are also lookingfor opportunities to help in a church planting effort. Just like the churchpotluck, it is amazing what can happen when everyone brings a little somethingto the table.

Clarifying the RolesUnderstanding the Roles of the Parties Involved: The best way to ensure a greatexperience for the church planter and the partnering church is to have a writtencovenant stating the responsibilities and expectations of each party.

First, Build the Relationship. After the church has determined with whom Godwould have them partner, the partnering church and the church planter need tocultivate relationships. Depending on the church planting timeline many things


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can be done to strengthen the relationship. Some church planters know theirdeployment locations six months or more prior to relocation. In such a case, theplanter may be able to visit the partnership church on several occasions prior todeployment.

One church planter appointed to a New England state utilized a missions teamfrom one of his partnering churches to complete a week of critical survey workseveral months prior to he and his wife arriving on the field. The planterworked with the partnering church during that week and developed closerelationships with them during the weeklong experience.

Another useful tool in developing a close relationship between partner andchurch planter is the Internet. Frequent newsletters, mission reports, digitalphotos, and Web sites can help build partner/planter cohesion.

Next, spell out the roles and expectations.

The Church Planter Needs to Know . . . The length of the partnership. The partnering church’s partnership needs tobe more than one year to enable all of the partners to share the excitement ofgrowth. Church planting is exactly that, planting. No seed immediately springsforth and bears fruit. In many North American locations, the church planterwill not have credibility in the community until he has been there at least a year.Northerners and Westerners all take pride in their cold or heat. It is common fora church planter to be asked,“How long are you going to be here?” To planttheir lives in a community, the church planter needs to have the sense of stabil-ity multiple year partnerships provide. However, there must be a phasing out ofsupport to help the young church develop into a healthy self-supporting body.

The faithfulness of the prayer support. A church planter arrived unan-nounced and late to a partnering church for Wednesday night prayer. He sat inthe back of the auditorium only to find no mention in the weekly prayer list orin the prayers themselves concerning his family or the church plant.Disappointment is an understatement. Specific and fervent prayer is the mostimportant contribution the partnering church can make. The planter mustknow that his partnership churches are interceding in his behalf.

The level of missions team support. If the church plant is near the partneringchurch, frequent support of musicians, workers, and other needed personnelmight be appropriate. Many plants in new work areas rely on partnerships with


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churches hundreds of miles away. The church planter needs to be able to planhis strategy knowing that the partnership church will provide a certain amountof missions team support. He cannot adequately plan Backyard Bible Clubs,Sports Camps, Servanthood Evangelism activities, survey work, or the myriadof other labor intensive activities unless he has a dependable labor pool. Theplant and the partnering church will be blessed by the mission trips.

The amount of financial commitment. Without the Annie ArmstrongOffering®, the Cooperative Program dollars, NAMB assistance, the stateconvention, and local association involvement the church planter would beexperiencing greater difficulty in his efforts. But, as stated earlier, that is notenough to reach North America. The church planter plans his strategy bathedin prayer expecting great things from God while operating within a financialreality.

The Partnering Church Needs to Know . . .The church planter is a person of doctrinal integrity. Church planters whoreceive Cooperative Program support have an ethical responsibility to operatewithin the doctrinal parameters affirmed by the messengers of the SouthernBaptist Convention. The North American Mission Board’s interview processexamines the doctrinal beliefs of each applicant. Additional issues need to bediscussed.

The church planter is a person of moral integrity. Prior to NAMB’s approval,the church planter applicants are screened for anything that would bringembarrassment to the name of Christ and His church. After approval andappointment the church planter intern is expected to maintain that reputation!

Developing the CovenantThere are many ways to approach the development of a partnering covenant.One is to simply copy what others have done. The appeal to this approach isthat it takes only a few minutes and it does not require much, if any, personalcontact between the partnering church and the church planter. Such documentscan be filed away, only to see the light of day when a problem arises and a fingerneeds to be pointed. In the past 15 years, I have seen several partnering churchagreements where the form had been photocopied so many times that it wasalmost illegible and correction fluid had been used to change the names.


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Another approach is the fill-in-the-blank form that allows some personalizationand contextualization. Such a form is included in Appendix 2 and additionalsamples are available through www.ChurchPlantingVillage.net. Again, this type ofform is appealing due to its simplicity and uniformity. Unlike the correctionfluid approach, the fill-in-the-blank approach to developing a covenant general-ly requires someone from both groups to work to develop a working document.My experience with such forms is that they usually look like a team of lawyersdeveloped them, and they fail to effectively communicate the spirit and heart ofthe covenant. Such forms may be useful in more traditional church plantingpartnerships where cross-cultural and philosophical differences are minimal.

Due to the shortcomings of the first two approaches, some have begun to usewhat the Partnering Covenant Template found in Appendix 2. By asking thenew work team and the partnering church leadership to answer a series of ques-tions, using a scale of 1 to 5, it is possible to ascertain the areas of agreementand those of potential conflict. This has shown itself to be especially useful inlanguage church starts where linguistic and cultural barriers to communicationcan become an issue.

After the partnering church and the church planter review the results of thecompleted templates, a covenant can be developed that reflects the actual issuesthat the partnering covenant needs to address. Using a template form addressesthe time issue, as it provides a starting point for the covenant’s development,while resulting in a document that communicates the heart and spirit of theagreement. Another advantage is that the time spent developing the covenantpromotes the partnering relationship between the church and mission leadersduring the early phase of development. As with each approach, this one hassome liabilities. The primary disadvantage to this process is that it takes moretime and creative effort than the previous approaches. An originally unforeseenliability to using the template approach is that it can manifest differences in philosophy or ideology that might not have otherwise arisen. A case in pointwas a partnering situation that was stillborn following a philosophical disagree-ment between the partnering church pastor and the church planter on the roleof the pastor. In reality, it was likely for the good that these two did not enterinto a partnership. In spite of such liabilities, the time spent on covenant devel-opment will usually be time well spent.

Starting Points for Enlisting Planters and Partners While Clarifying Roles

❑ Put together a Missions Partnership Team/Committee.

❑ Identify partnering churches—including entry level partners.

❑ Survey membership for interested individuals.

❑ Contact local, state, and SBC entities.

❑ Start or participate in a Multiplying Church Network (MCN).

❑ Begin determining the responsibilities and expectations of all parties.

❑ Develop the Planter/Partner Covenant.

Cooperative Relationships1. Multiplying Church Networks (MCNs). See Step 5 for more details.

2. State Convention Church Planting Department and local associationdirector of missions. See www.sbcnet.net for a directory ofassociations.

3. NAMB, Church Planting Group. See www.namb.net for a directory ofservices and personnel.

4. Seminary Nehemiah Project directors www.namb.net/nehemiah .

Additional Resources1. To help build good fences for relationships, two resources are

included in Appendix 2. The first is designed to help develop a contextualized partnering church covenant between planter andpartners. The second is a more traditional covenant template.

2. NAMB’s Church Planting Web site: www.namb.net/cp.

3. NAMB’s Church Planting Group Partnership Network Web site:www.partnership.net.

4. The Prep Process for Church Planting: People Strategy: Designing the ChurchPlanting Plan, and People Sending: Discipling and Deploying a Core Group.

5. NAMB’s Discovery Tools, Does God Want Me to Be Involved in ChurchPlanting?


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Notes1. Bob Recorrd on partnering, OnMission magazine, March-April, 1999.

2. “Introducing MCNs to Denominational Workers and Pastoral Leadership” PowerPoint presentation, NAMB, July 30, 2001.

3. North American Mission Board, Church Planter Management System, version 4.2, A Manualfor Partnering Churches, p. 3. Now on www.ChurchPlanting Village.net. Partnering Church icon.

4. Church Planting and Evangelism Today, winter 2004, p.7.

5. The first time my wife and I were invited to participate in a pounding, my first thought was thiswas some severe form of church discipline. I soon discovered that poundings were traditionalmeans of ministry among members and community members that dated back to the days whenmembers would help one another by sharing a pound of butter, a pound of bacon, a pound ofsalt, et cetera with those in need.

6. Michael Ebert is director of Research and Public Affairs for the President’s Office of the NorthAmerican Mission Board. These thoughts were originally published in OnMission magazine,March-April, 1999.

7. Ibid.

8. Earle E. Caorms. An Endless Line of Splendor (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers,1986), p. 98.


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Discover andCommit Resources

“You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel,after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving andreceiving but you alone…And my God will supply all your needs according toHis riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:15,19, NASB).

STOP THE PRESSESResearch at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary bears out what mostof us have known for years: The greatest need church planters perceive isthe one for resources!1 Now, before coming to a premature conclusion thatchurch planters are vain or lacking in faith, put yourself in their shoes for a moment. Would you subject yourself (and your family) to the same challenges the planter will face? When was the last time your faith was tested to the degree the church planter is subjecting himself? Could you liveon the package being committed to the church planter—especially in lightof the day and age in which we live? Would you or your staff be willing todevote the time, effort, and sacrifice you are asking of the church planterand his family?

Moving beyond the planter and his family, consider the people strategybeing proposed to start the new church. Would a reasonably competentchurch planter be able to succeed with the plan being set forth? Or does thestrategy depend disproportionately upon the miraculous? Have theresources needed for a successful start been identified? Once identified,have these resourced been committed?


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4Step

Like the other steps, this one has a solid biblical basis. In Philippians 4:15 Paul commends the church at Philippi for its partnership in ministry of givingof resources. In his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul reminds the congregation “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:6-8). So, ask yourself, are the resources being planned for this new work being given cheerfully?

The church that best embodies committing resources was the church atAntioch. At Antioch, patterns were established concerning the reaching ofGentiles with the gospel and the commissioning and sending of church plantingmissionaries, Paul and Barnabas. George Thomasson writes:

“The Holy Spirit called for the commissioning of Barnabas and Paul.They were sent out from the Antioch church to pursue God’s plan for theirlives (Acts 13:1-2). Imagine how unselfish it was to release these two mento start other churches . . . the church at Antioch became a partner churchwith nine new congregations that Barnabas and Paul planted on theirfirst missionary journey (Acts 13:4-14,28).”2

The church at Antioch became a first-century missionary headquarters bybecoming a training base for church planters as well as a resource centerthrough prayer support, encouragement, and gifts to churches in need. MerrillC. Tenney says that the church at Antioch was the home of great Christianpreaching and compassion for the poor, and the headquarters of evangelisticmissions. From this city the missionary fire spread across the Roman Empire.3

“From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had completed. Onarriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that

God had done through them and how He had opened the door of faith tothe Gentiles” (Acts 14:26-27, NIV).

In addition to the giving of resources, this passage demonstrates Paul’s convic-tion that, as a steward of the resources the church provided, he would reportback to them an accounting of what God had done. The partnering churchshould not hesitate to request the planter to provide an accounting of theresources received.

In the book Partners with God: Bible Truths About Giving, the authors write:

Paul knew the success and provisions for his mission efforts came

from God. However, he also knew that God used the church at


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Philippi to share in his ministry through their grace-giving. This kind

of giving is not a requirement but rather an expression of concern for

the lost. The Philippian church stands as a glowing example to our

churches today in the area of mission giving. The challenge to reach

the lost is still before us.4

The book of Acts reminds us that it has always taken resources to get the jobdone. Churches today need to step forward to discover and commit resources aspart of their biblical missionary and stewardship responsibilities.

Understand Why People GiveAccording to Aubrey Malphurs,“there are several important, practical financialprinciples that will help church planters in their efforts to raise funds. Three ofthem are negative and focus on what distracts or even alienates some potentialcontributors. The last two are positive and aid in knowing what attracts potential givers.”5 These factors are condensed below.

• Givers don’t like to pay the bills. Paying the electricity bill or the mort-gage, though necessary, isn’t very glamorous. Outside contributorsmay be willing to help in other areas such as facilities where ministrytakes place, Bibles, sound equipment, and lighting.

• Givers don’t respond well to guilt or negativism. While they may giveonce or even twice, intelligent people resent this kind of approach andwill not give long-term to ministries that use this tactic.

• Givers don’t respond well to needs. For many, the appeal to need iscomparable to investing in businesses that are in the red. Most peoplelike to hear good news, not constant negative reports that concludewith a strong appeal based on present needs.

• Givers respond to visions. The key to giving is a dynamic vision.Consequently, in the early stages of starting a church, visionary churchplanters must spend a significant amount of time cultivating and com-municating a dynamic vision.

The last point listed is critical. Church planters need to think big and cast bigvisions because they have a big God who wants to accomplish big thingsthrough them. Most knowledgeable givers understand this and want to give toministries that desire to have a significant impact for the Savior.

As the partnering church leader, you may have to help the planter communicatethe vision. If the vision isn’t from God, the vision isn’t worth communicating.


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Similarly, if the vision is from God, it should be communicated with passionand clarity.

Steps to Discovering ResourcesPartner churches need to play a key role in providing resources for their newcongregations. Ed Stetzer notes that the needs of the new church will be directlyrelated to the methodology needed to impact the ministry focus group. That iswhy committing resources before clarifying the vision and identifying the min-istry focus group is ill advised.

It should also be understood that resources include more than just financialassistance. Providing names of persons who could help financially or throughtheir contacts with materials and equipment, personal and volunteers; anddirected and specific prayer support are all ways the partnering church canhelp. This step may also involve the enlistment of additional partnering church-es, the local Baptist association, state/provincial convention, and others.

Another resource is the new church plant itself. A saying among those workingwith church planters is,“the resources are in the harvest.” The core group of thenew church should be committed to supporting the church. Core members,regardless of economic status, should be committed to the tithe and beyond. Ina traditional church plant, a core group of 20 families would provide the fullsupport needed for one full-time staff, or a part-time staff and rent.

Notice anything missing to this point? Hopefully, you are thinking,“What aboutprayer and the Holy Spirit?” It is much easier to secure and commit resourceswhen the conviction is shared that the project flows from the heart and the willof God. That is why Step 1 is foundational. The process of understanding theGreat Commission (will of God) and receiving a vision from God (direction)are products of prayer and obedience to the Holy Spirit’s leading. These, in turn,become keys to securing the resources needed and the courage to take the boldsteps of faith required of a sending-partnering church.

Resources for the Church Plant and the Partnering CongregationPreparatory Resources

• Multiplying Church Network (MCN). The MCN is designed for churchleaders who are committed to kingdom impact through church multi-


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plication. The MCN involves meeting with other kingdom-mindedleaders regularly for the task of prayer, accountability, and developingenvironments for church planting. There is a kit of materials availablethrough your local association or NAMB to help.

• Calling Out the Called. A tool designed to help members discover theirkingdom calling. The flagship event for calling out the called is theDiscovering Church Planting event.

• Discovery Tools. Help your members understand their spiritual gifts—including church planting. This self-administered assessment is anideal tool for identifying church members with an aptitude for churchplanting. It also is useful for helping members understand their“SHAPE” for ministry.

• Mentor Training. A one-day seminar designed to equip those who willbe mentoring church planters. Ideal for pastors and staff who will alsoserve in this capacity. Sometimes held in conjunction with BasicTraining for Church Planters.

Church Planter Resources

• Church Planting Village (CPV). CPV is a premier resource for churches and their partners. The CPV Web site is a comprehensivetool. The site also includes more than 700 resources for the churchplanter and partnering church, including sample constitutions andbylaws, sermons, and how-to manuals.

• Basic Training for Church Planters is an intensive seminar for churchplanters and team members. This training covers 15 areas essential tothe successful launch of any new church, including prayer, vision,values, evangelism, leadership development, and legal issues.

Through prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit partner churches willpledge their support and undergird the planting of new churches. The partnerchurch should focus and coordinate its efforts through its On Mission Team orNew Work Team. Some churches will use their Missions Development Council.The three key components in this work are: (1) determining the specificresources needed, (2) discovering the resources available, and (3) committingand managing the resources.

Determining the Resources NeededChurch Planting Proposal: Work with the church planter to prepare an effectivechurch planting proposal that presents the specific need to start a new church ina particular area. Produce a video showing the community, the focus group(s)


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and the potential for the new church.

“The proposal should also be very clear regarding the overall vision andstrategy that will be employed. If the potential donors know what group isbeing targeted, what strategy will be employed, what specific activities arebeing planned and what the anticipated results are, they will become moreexcited about this project.”6

More help with this is at www.ChurchPlantingVillage.net.

Preliminary Budget: Prepare a budget for the first 12 to 18 months of the project.Include cost details about missions pastor/staff support, publicity, programministries, administration/operation, Cooperative Program giving, new churchplants, and building utilities. (See sample in Appendix 6).

Discover the Resources AvailableThe Promises of God. The Lord Himself is our ultimate resource for churchplanting. Claim His promises for provision and blessings for your new church.Prayer teams and prayer networks can be used in this effort.

The Core Group. The core group members should provide as much of the financial resources as they can. Their commitment to the vision and their giving will set the pace for the growth and health of the new church.

Partner Church(es). This church should provide financial resources throughtheir budget and perhaps through special offerings and designated gifts. Theyshould help to enlist other partnering churches and interested individuals.Sometimes churches and individuals are more open to giving once they havebeen involved in the project as volunteers.

Denominational Support: Local associations and state conventions often haveresources and other assistance available for church planting projects. NAMB hasa variety of resources including training and equipping materials and strategiesas well as financial resources in partnership with state Baptist conventions and associations. Usually, denominational financial support is set up on a phase-down schedule. As the new church grows the outside support should be less. It is important to remember that the goal is for the new church to beself-supporting and not become dependent on outside resources. The newchurch will be more likely to partner new churches itself once it no longer needsoutside resources.


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Bivocational Planting/Mission Service Corp: Many are rediscovering that Paul’sstrategy of tentmaking (using an existing vocation to make a living while start-ing a church) allows for better acceptance by the ministry focus group. We mustface the twofold realities that many unchurched people don’t trust vocationalpreachers and many planters are deployed without adequate funding. Theauthor was a tentmaker for many years—working in health care while servingas a church planter. This career allowed for acceptance by the community andadequate resources to support my family while planting a church.

Other Resources: Financial resources may be available from special missionfunds and various foundations.

Commit and Manage Resources and Starting Points for This Step After determining the needs and discovering resources the partner church willcommit the resources according to the new plant’s vision and strategic plans.The partner church will also exercise good Christian stewardship by managingthe resources with the new church and its leaders. Good partnership covenantagreements will help to ensure good reporting and accountability. From thevery beginning the new church should use wise financial management policiesand teach Christian stewardship.

Partnership Covenant Agreements: Early in the process (before the planter hitsthe field), development of the partnering covenant is critical and should clearlyoutline the expectations and responsibilities for the partner churches and thenew church. This should include all of the promised resources and their source.On occasion, those involved in providing denominational support are also par-ties in these agreements.

Resource Management Team: The new church should have a team in place thatwill “oversee the ministries of the church to ensure that the new plant of thechurch is accomplished and to maximize the use of personal and fiscalresources in the local church to build the kingdom of God.”7

The partnering church leader should act as a mentor, encouraging the new workpastor to use the preaching and teaching ministry to biblically equip membersto be good stewards in every way. The challenge of local and global missions,including Southern Baptist mission offerings, should be presented. Financialand administrative issues should be clarified in the mission covenant, and the


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assistance from the partner or association given as needed as the new churchestablishes financial and bookkeeping procedures as well as procedures forreceipts and other legal and insurance issues.

These and other materials can be found at www.ChurchPlantingVillage.net:

• “Ten Ways To Finance a New Church and Dealing With Finances atChurch” by George Thomasson

• “Ten Things You Can Do To Help Your Church Planter”

• “Financing Your Church Plant Vision” by Tom Cheyney

Notes

1. J.D. Payne, “From the Trenches: Church Planters Speak on the Five Most Critical Issues in ChurchPlanting Today,” an unpublished research document reviewed by the author on October 1, 2003,page 1.

2. George Thomasson, The Church Blueprint: Practical Helps for Building the Body (Columbus,Ga.: Brentwood Press, 2002), p. 14.

3. See Merrill C. Tenney, New Testament Survey (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1961), p. 253.

4. Bobby Eklund, and Terry Austin, Partners with God: Bible Truths About Giving (Nashville:Convention Press, 1994), p. 90.

5. Aubrey Malphurs, Planting Growing Churches for the 21st Century, 2nd. ed. (Grand Rapids:Baker Books, 1998), pp. 53-54.

6. Daniel R. Sanchez, Ebbie C. Smith, and Curtis E. Watke, Starting Reproducing Congregations(Cumming, Ga.: Church Starting Network, 2001), p. 152.

7. Thomasson, p. 128.


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Mobilize SponsoringCongregations

“And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named,so that I would not build on another man’s foundation; but as it is written,‘They who had no news of him shall see, who had no news of Him shall see,And they who have not heard shall understand.’

“For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you; but now,with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for manyyears a longing to come to you whenever I go to Spain—for I hope to see youin passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyedyour company for a while” (Rom. 15:20-24, NASB).

Richard H. Harris of the Church Planting Group, wrote,“The person inthe pew wants a church where he or she can participate and be engaged. . . .The day of ‘I say it, you do it, and don’t ask questions’ was for another gen-eration and is gone.” He goes on to share the following principle learnedfrom years of experience: “involvement breeds commitment. People careabout what they have helped birth, nurture, develop, implement, and partic-ipate in the results. We care about that which we have a personal invest-ment in and ownership.”1

Mobilization—whether it be money, teams, or resources—is about people.It is about putting feet to our faith and provision to our promises.

In Romans 15:24, we read how Paul prepared the church in Rome for mission mobilization. The term mobilization has taken on a new meaning


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5Step

for a whole new generation of Americans following the events of September 11,2001. For those residing in the United States, nearly everyone can attest to having been impacted by friends or family members who have been mobilized—meaning they have been called up to fulfill a military service obligation. In asimilar way, mobilization is the process of fulfilling the parenting/sponsoringcommitment. It is at this point that some congregations experience actionamnesia.

Action amnesia is the term I use when churches or individuals renege on previous commitments. My former supervisor, Phil Langley, likes to say,“Theproblem with every great idea is that they always digress into hard work.”2

Hard work is a pretty good description of what it takes to effectively mobilizemembers of the sponsoring congregations. Mobilization is where the rubbermeets the road. It’s not uncommon for the sponsoring church to get all excitedabout the prospect of being a part of a church plant, but when it comes time tosend out members or secure commitments, action amnesia kicks in—or as Philwould say,“the great idea . . . digressed into hard work.”

Many church planters have experienced the setback of never receiving resourcesthey believed to be forthcoming. In many of these cases, a church pastor orleader suggested the church would be able to provide a resource. The plantertakes the suggestion at face value, and is disappointed when he discovers thatthe promised resources were never budgeted approved or requisitioned. Jesus’instructions were clear,“let your statement be ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no.” (Matt 5:37).A similar exhortation is found in James 5:17. It may be worth your time to callyour church planter during this step and ask,“In order to ensure that we are onthe same page, what resources are you expecting from the partnering church?”

Hopefully, you will find that both of you are on the same page. Just as it isimportant to ensure good communication with the church planter, it is criticalduring this step to communicate with the membership, Missions Committee,and others involved in the church planting partnership.

During the mobilization phase, it may be appropriate to conduct one or more ofthese types of events:

• New Work Baby Shower: Encourage the church planting team to pro-vide the partnering congregations with a list of items that are neededbefore or immediately following the public launch. These items canrange from inexpensive (folding chairs, $10 each, boxes of pens $5) tomore elaborate items, such as sound equipment, song books, video


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projectors, and Lord’s Supper sets. These events should be plannedand coordinated with all of the partnering churches, and can be agreat means of developing ownership among the membership.

• Mission Prayer Cards: Mobilize prayer through the printing and distribution of Mission Prayer Cards. Most members are familiar with the picture post card size prayer commitment cards used byinternational missionaries. Consider printing cards with the planterand family’s picture and prayer needs, and distribute to all membersand prayer partners.

• Covenant Service: Celebrate the signing of the partnering covenant asa special service.

• Commissioning Service: Host a commissioning service for the newwork team, recognizing God’s unique call upon their lives and thecontribution of the local membership.

• Develop a boiler-room ministry. Enlist members of the partner congregation to pray for the new church each week during its services. This may be an opportunity to create a new small group inthe partnering church.

• Host a core-group dinner just before the launch. Many planters andplanting team leaders are exhausted just before the launch. Considerhosting a “no work on their part required” dinner for the workers.

Multiplying Church NetworksA tool developed by NAMB to assist in the mobilization of sponsoring congregations is the Multiplying Church Network (MCN). The MCN processprovides an ongoing (often weekly) opportunity for church leaders to networkwith other church leaders to discuss ongoing issues as they relate to the multiplication and reproduction process. The following will provide anoverview of the MCN process, plus several ideas to make the mobilizationprocess less taxing.

The MCN is the component of the church planting process that is designed for existing churches. It was true in the past that the local church was oftenoverlooked in many church planting strategies. The MCN brings togetherchurch and associational leaders in small groups to help them effectivelyachieve the Great Commission task of reducing the unchurched populationthrough their church planting partnerships.


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Until recently, church planting focused almost exclusively on the church planter, overlooking the partnering role of the local churches. One result of thisoversight is that only 4.8 percent of our Southern Baptist churches are currentlysponsoring new work. The MCN bringstogether those who are involved in thechurch planting process regularly forthe purpose of prayer, sharing,sharpening, planning, and learning how to effectively mobilize their congregations to multiply themselves in starting healthy, growing, and reproducing churches. MCNs can take place anywhere. Some existing MCNs meet in coffeehouses, association buildings, churches, and homes. Many meetimmediately following the weekly pastors fellowship meeting or on Wednesdaynights following midweek services.

Who can be a part of an MCN? Associational missionaries, sponsoring churchpastors, ministers of missions, lay mission leaders, church planting missionaries,Church Leadership Development leaders—just about anyone with a heart forchurch multiplication. In areas without Church Planting Networks, such as inrural areas or pioneer settings, the MCN may also involve church planters.

Why be a part of a MCN? It is nice to know you are not alone. Being connectedwith others involved in church multiplication allows for the cross-pollination ofideas, sharing of resources and accountability. Some participants may be justbeginning to explore the possibility of partnering. For them, learning fromothers who are sponsoring new work can be a great blessing. Pastor PhillipDavis shares this testimony:

One of the challenges of church planting churches is that pastors often

feel that, “If I plant a new congregation I’m going to lose something.”

The fact is that when you plant a new church you are going to be

affected—and should be—that’s part of it. Luke 6:38, NIV) says, “Give

and it will be given unto you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken

together and running over. . . .” If you really believe the Scripture, then

when you give away people or resources to start a new church, it shall

be given unto you.


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Besides God Himself,the greatest resourcefor church planting isthe existing church.

We believe the Great Commission cannot be fulfilled without the planting ofnew churches. MCN participants gain the tools and know how needed to leadtheir churches to become on-mission partners with God in the GreatCommission.

Kingdom ValuesAt the heart of mobilization and the MCN process are kingdom values. Thesevalues are the driving force behind the MCN strategy. Each value is also a mobilization step for the partnering church.

1. Praying (Acts 1:14, 1 Thess. 5:17; Jas. 5:16)Prayer = Power. This simple equation derived from the book of Acts is the guiding element of the MCN process. Imagine if you will—a prayer bath!Prayer for one another and for multiplication takes place at every level of theprocess. Prayer will not be used as a starter, stuffer, or stopper. Prayer will beboth frank, spontaneous, directed, and solicited. We will be grateful to God! Wewill praise His name. We will acknowledge His grace and His leadership. We willseek His face and we will stand in awe of His mercy and goodness. We will recognize His power in our lives and give honor and glory for His excellence.We will ask God to lead us, to shape us, to change us, and to inspire us. Throughprayer we will ask our Father to make us sensitive to the physical, emotional,spiritual, and other needs of one another through this workshop. We will stop topray whenever we feel the prompting of the Holy Spirit through any of us. Wewill be free to pray with eyes open or to bow our hearts and heads before God.We will strive to never substitute action for prayer; rather we will seek to act as aresult of prayer.

Action Point: Has prayer (and fasting) been mobilized?

2. Evangelistic Church Planting (Acts 14:21-26)The objective is planting churches that value the reduction of the unchurchedpopulation. The redistribution of saints has become commonplace in manycommunities. Kingdom growth is limited or nonexistent in such situations.As the MCN discovers through prayer where God is at work, we can expectevangelistic church planting to result. In seeking wisdom in this process, it isimperative to remember,“ . . . and he that winneth souls is wise” (Prov. 11:30).

Action Point: Is our partnership mobilized in such a way as to win souls for Jesus?


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3. “Koinonia” Sharing (Prov. 11:14; 15:22; Rom. 12:15)One of the strongest elements in a spiritual community is fellowship.Developing a spirit of koinonia leads us to be open, caring, and to have a highspiritual regard for others. Fellowship helps us to be intentional and creative inour relationships. Sharing time allows participants to communicate needs andconcerns regarding our family, our responsibilities, and the new work.

Action Point: Is regular and heartfelt sharing and communication taking place?

4. Sharpening (Prov. 27:17)Learning is a lifelong endeavor. We will seek to sharpen our skills and understanding through assigned topics, sharing, and prayer each time we meet.We will endeavor to provide an environment conducive to learning new skillsand biblical truths as we move from the status quo into a new realm ofmultiplication in an ever-changing world.

Action Point: Has the congregation been adequately educated as it relates to ourparenting role?

5. Interdependence (Eph. 4:11-12)It is no coincidence that the New Testament contains dozens of “one another”passages.“Doing together what we cannot do by ourselves” is at the heart of ourconvictions. We seek to build upon the rich heritage of cooperation SouthernBaptists enjoy. MCNs will model interdependence through development ofstrategic partnerships among multiple churches. We will seek to bring thosewith pastoral, teaching, evangelistic, apostolic, and prophetic gifts together topromote church multiplication.

Action Point: Have all of the available resources been mobilized? Are there otherpersons, congregations, or groups that can be involved?

6. Celebrating (Luke 15:23; 2 Cor. 13:11)A spirit of celebration is born out of kinship and our joy in sensing what God isdoing in our lives individually and collectively. It is awesome to experience theleadership of God as He brings us together for the purpose of building up Hiskingdom. We will celebrate learning. We will celebrate His presence! We will celebrate sharing and fellowship.

Action Point: Have we celebrated the joy of giving and sending?


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7. Harvest and Deploy Resources (Matt. 9:38; Phil. 4:19) The resources are in the harvest. When churches act on faith, God provides.Church multiplication movements are unlikely in an environment ofself-sufficiency or a welfare mentality. Our existing churches and the newbelievers who are reached through evangelistic church planting are the mostlikely sources of money and people for church planting.

Starting Points for Mobilizing Sponsoring Congregations

❑ Analyze needs and then discuss them with the planter and planting team and sponsoring leadership.

❑ Implement the spiritual resources of the harvest—prayer, fasting,and unwavering faith—that God calls His church to employ.

❑ Host a “Calling out the Called” event.

❑ Ensure that the partnering covenant adequately covers issues concerning resources.

❑ Following prayer and fasting, determine other resources that maystill need to be mobilized (money, people, covenants, other partners).


Each Baptist association received an MCN Kit in 2003. The kit includes a videooverview of the MCN strategy, materials for starting an MCN, ideas for groupdiscussions and a CD-ROM of resources. Additional MCN materials can berequested from the North American Mission Board by calling (770) 410-6248.

For more information about MCNs, check out OnMission magazine, March-April2003 http://www.onmission.com/webzine/mar_apr03/assisting.htm.

Answer the Call: Mobilizing God’s People in North America. North AmericanMission Board, 2003. To order, call toll-free at (866) 407-NAMB and ask forproduct no. 220633010847


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Notes

1.“Planter Update,” Issue 4, no. 135, January 21, 2004.

2. Phil Langley, Sermon preached at First Southern Baptist Church, Shafter, Calif.,October 7, 2001.


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Support BirthingProcess and Ongoing

Evaluation“And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men offlesh, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for youwere not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for youare still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you notfleshly, and are you not walking like mere men” (1 Cor. 3:1-3, NASB)?

Paul understood that churches were not birthed fully mature, as Christiansdo not start out fully mature. Like people, they go through developmentalphases. Partnering churches that are aware of these phases will be able toprovide the needed support and ongoing evaluation resulting in the newchurch moving from milk to meat.

When Paul and Barnabas completed their first missionary journey, theyreturned to Antioch to report what the Lord had done through their efforts.These missionaries enjoyed a special relationship with their sending churchthat involved stewardship responsibilities and accountability.

Given this relationship between sender and missionary (planter), partner-ship is always more than sending money. Ralph Moore in his book Starting aNew Church writes that the sponsoring church gives more than money and abaton of leadership. It also provides the new church credibility and a spiri-tual heritage.1


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6Step

Church planter Keith Draper shared with a group of church leaders at theConnections 2002 conference that “too many churches are on the pill when Godsaid ‘Be fruitful and multiply.’” Not only do churches need to reproduce, thereproduction needs to be fruitful. To accomplish this, we need to be informedand prepared to support each phase of the birthing and development process ofthe new congregation.

Southern Baptists have traditionally acknowledged a natural or biotic process ofchurch development through the use of nurturing terms. Examples of thisinclude the use of the term birth to describe the first service of a new church,mother to describe the sponsoring church, and marriage to describe the mergerof two churches. We tend to describe churches with developmental terms suchas young, old, and—at times—dead.

As in human development, there are steps that can be taken during the incuba-tion and early stages of the new church’s life to help ensure church healththroughout the congregation’s lifecycle.2 Just as prenatal classes help preparecouples for the joys and challenges of parenting, well equipped pastors andleaders can prepare a church for the joys and challenges of new work partner-ship. Remember, not every action point will be relevant for your church planting situation.

ConceptionPhil Langley, director of New Church Extension for the California SouthernBaptist Convention, observes that there are two kinds of conceptions: plannedand unplanned. His observation is that many church splits arise from churchesthat are pregnant and should be planning to reproduce and don’t.

In a planned conception, the partnering church is active in several areas, as seenin the following chart.


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CONCEPTION PHASE

Planned Conception:

• Clarify the vision—share thevision until it is a shared vision.

• Identify your ministry focusgroup.

• Identify the church plantingteam members. Initiate frequentcontact with the partneringchurch.

• Work with sponsors in develop-ing a covenant.

• Continue to recruit additionalteam members.

• Use the Discovery Tools to helpplanting team understand theirroles.

Unplanned Conception:

• Seek counsel from associationalor state leaders.

• Identify who the new churchwill be able to effectively reach.

• Confess and repent of actionsthat might have contributed tothe split.

• Seek God’s help in the buildingof the new church and Hisvision for the work.

• Consider enlisting partneringchurch(es) to help.

• Use the Discovery Tools to helpthe planting team membersunderstand their roles.

• Actively seek or adopt the visionfor the church plant. (Step 1)

• Put together a Missions Committee (and Planter SearchCommittee if needed).

• Learn as much as possible aboutthe ministry focus group (Step 2)

• Identify possible fears or objections that will be raisedthat might thwart the visionGod is giving. (Step 1)

• Begin developing the partneringcovenant with the church planting team. (Step 3)

• Identify and remove reproductive barriers.

• Seek to create a positiveenvironment for reproduction

among the membership.

• Identify potential members whofeel called to work with thechurch planting team.

• Initiate contact with associa-tional or state church plantingleaders.

• Develop partnering prayer network.

• Commission the planting team.

• Commit to a support package.

• Pray for the seeds of this newwork to fall upon good soil.

• Leaders commit to involvementin a Multiplying ChurchNetwork (MCN).


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Church Planting Team Partnering Church Action Points

PRENATAL PHASE

• Begin core group develop-ment—continue recruitingmembers throughout this phase.

• Identify core values.

• Development of written vision,purpose and mission statements.

• Develop and put into action anew work prayer network.

• Secure resources.

• Identity and secure a strategicmeeting place.

• Attend Basic Training forChurch Planters.

• Join or develop a church planting network.

• Plan preview services.

• Secure tax identificationnumber(s).

• Set up bank account.

• Identify core group members’gifts and roles in the new work.

• Conduct preview services.

• Organize publicity for the firstpublic service.

• Begin financial support of thenew work through core grouptithes and offerings.

• Begin cooperative mission giving.

• Work with the church planter infinding a strategic location.

• Budget preparation and securingresources.

• Meet at least monthly with thechurch planter.

• Join or develop a MultiplyingChurch Network.

• Attend Mentor Training if youwill be the church planter’s mentor.

• Deploy members who feel calledto work with the church plantingteam.

• Promote prayer for the newwork.

• Help with administrative andlogistical questions.

• Host a baby shower for the newwork.

• Offer to help with and evaluatepreview services.

• Take time to meet with the associational missionary orchurch planting missionary.

• Consider beginning financialsupport during this period.


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PrenatalThe prenatal phase follows conception. During the prenatal period, the partnering church assumes the role of a pediatrician. Again, the chart identifiessome of the roles for the church planter and the partnering church

BIRTH PHASE

• Conduct one last preview service.

• Consider hosting a prayerretreat or vigil just before thefirst service.

• First public worship. A time ofjoy and celebration.

• Begin modeling stewardshipthrough support of worldwidemissions.

• Immediate follow-up begins.

• Send prayer partners birthannouncements.

• Complete the first monthlyreport.

• Review the first service withassociational missionary andpartnering church leaders.

• Make adjustments as needed.

• Celebrate with the missionchurch following the first publicworship.

• Encourage concentrated prayerfor the birth.

• Provide encouragement andassistance with immediate follow-up.

• Host a dedication service for thenew church.

• Continue prayer support withan emphasis on prayer for theviability of the new work.

• Begin monthly review of reportswith the church planter.

• Contact the denominationalleadership with an update.


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BirthThe third phase, the birth, is the time of the first public service and the periodimmediately following. The focus should be on celebration and worship. This phasetruly tests the ability to assimilate the skills developed during the prenatal period.

INFANCY PHASE

• Rapid growth should be takingplace.

• A time of teething pains. Do not be afraid to discuss problemsand concerns with the partnering church leaders.

• Maintain weekly contact withyour prayer team.

• Revisit the strategy plan frequently.

• Determine which of the immerging personality characteristics of the church are positive and which may bedetrimental. Make corrections as needed.

• Ensure leadership reproductionis taking place.

• Enjoy discovering your uniqueidentity.

• Providing positive reinforcementand modeling for the new work.

• Remember that seemingly smallhurdles may appear to be hugebarriers for the new church.

• Continue to have regular contactwith the church planter and itsleadership.

• Avoid comparing the new workto other new churches. This iscounterproductive.

• Provide weekly photos of the new work to the congregation.

• Pray for the healthy developmentof the new work and for itsimmerging leaders.

• Provide leadership developmentopportunities for the new work.


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InfancyThe next phase is infancy. The focus shifts from anticipation and expectation toimplementation and growth. This phase is a time of either rapid growth or frag-ile dependence for the new work. The partnering church will need to respondappropriately to either condition. During infancy the new work is developingthe structure, leadership, and programs envisioned in the strategy plan.

CHILDHOOD

• Easily distracted from the goalsand objectives set during theprenatal period.

• Avoid the tendency to mindlessly copy what other new churches are doing.

• A time of high energy. Makesure the team is not sufferingfrom burn out.

• Evaluate the role of prayer during this phase. It is easilyoverlooked.

• Conduct a planning retreat withthe leadership team.

• Mistakes will be made. Shortmemory of mistakes.

• Observe and celebrate milestones.

• Lead out in short-term missionsprojects.

• Don’t become so active that youforget to have contact with thepartnering church.

• Have fun.

• Revisit the goals and objectivesof the new work with the churchplanter each time you meet.

• Encourage grace when (not if)the new work makes a mistake.

• Communicate to the congregation the milestonesthat are achieved.

• Ask questions rather than giveanswers.

• Begin praying about partneringwith another new work. (This issimilar to family choosing tohave more than one child).

• Support and encourage the new church’s early attempts atindependence.

• Consider a special celebrationservice with the new work toobserve a completed milestone.


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ChildhoodThe fifth phase is childhood. During childhood the new work will likely makesome dumb mistakes. It is important for the partnering church to rememberthat “children” rebound quickly from dumb mistakes whereas the members ofthe partnering church may be tempted to remember the mistake.

ADOLESCENCE

• A time of self-awareness. Thechurch has a clear identity.

• Recognize a tendency towardsrebellion against the establishedchurches and tradition.

• Prepare for self-support.

• Meet with associational leadership regarding membership and constituting.

• Seek to communicate to thecongregation the value of inter-dependence over independence.

• Model increased dependenceupon God for the churches’needs.

• Schedule a constituting service.

• Provide increased autonomyand prepare to let go.

• Decrease support and encourage new ideas.

• Don’t avoid contact with thechurch planter.

• Revisit the partnering covenantwith the new church leaders.

• Provide information regardingconstituting and incorporating.

• Discuss reproduction valueswith the new church leadership.

• Highlight the accomplishmentsof the new work publicly andencourage prayer for the workas they prepare for autonomy.

• Work with the new work andassociational leadership in planning a constituting service.


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AdolescenceThe adolescence phase can be approached with anticipation or dread. A com-mon complaint voiced by partnering church leaders is that the mission beginsmaking decisions without consulting them first. Adequate preparation in theearlier phases can ensure a smooth transition into and out of adolescence.


www.ChurchPlantingVillage.net, click on Partnering Church.

Notes

1. See Ralph Moore, Starting New Churches (Regal: Ventura, CA, 2003) 133.

2. There are a variety of opinions as to the number of phases a new church goes through. BillTinsley identifies four stages of new church development (Breaking the Mold, 39-52), DickScoggins, in his article “Seven Phases of Church Planting: Phase and Activity List” (EMQ, April1997, 161-165), identifies seven phases of church planting that are quite different from those I have identified. Bob Logan recognizes five phases in the lifecycle of the church (ChurchPlanter’s Toolkit, 1~6). My health care background combined with my theological understanding is the foremost influence for the phases I present.


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MaturityThe final phase is maturity. During this phase, the partnering church will let goof the new work as a partnering church and assume the role as a sister church.Following this phase, both congregations should be involved in reproduction.

MATURITY

• Conduct the constituting service.

• Evaluate the church plantingprocess just completed.

• Develop and engage in a processfor reproduction.

• Become a partnering church foranother new work.

• Help plan and participate in theconstituting service celebration.

• Evaluate the partnering processjust completed.

• Plan for additional partneringopportunities.

• Celebrate.


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Celebrate andCommunicate

ChurchMultiplication

“Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them in pairsahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come.And He was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.“Go; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. Carry no moneybelt, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. Whatever house you enter,first say, ‘Peace be to this house.’ If a man of peace is there, your peace will reston him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinkingwhat they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep movingfrom house to house. Whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what isset before you; and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, ‘The king-dom of God has come near to you.’ But whatever city you enter and they donot receive you, go out into its streets and say, ‘Even the dust of your city whichclings to our feet we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that thekingdom of God has come near’” (Luke 10:1-11, NASB).

When growing up, our family undertook a major road trip every fouryears. Our travels would often take us from one end of the country to theother. At times we ventured into Canada and Mexico as well. I always


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7Step

enjoyed those trips because, unlike those infamous marathon drives (think themovie Family Vacation), my parents enjoyed frequent stops along the way to cele-brate the journey. My love for learning, experiencing new places, and diversitymost likely developed from those wonderful trips. The partnership role shouldbe one that is seen as a journey—with many stops and opportunities to learn,grow, and celebrate.

Ed Stetzer writes,“Christians without joy are an antievangelism strategy.”1

Personally, I think that statement deserves a little meditation time. To determineif this is true in your context, consider the percentage of members who knowthe story of how your church (the partnering congregation) came into exis-tence.

People love to celebrate the birth of a child. But what kind of parent onlycelebrates the child’s birth and overlooks other mileposts such as the child’s firststeps, first words, first date, and birthdays. My personal experience has beenthat some of the partnering churches I have worked with have forgotten thatchurch reproduction is filled with opportunities to celebrate mileposts in thelife of the church plant.

Paul wrote,“rejoice in the Lord always, again, I say rejoice.” The very fact thathe wrote these words also implies that he felt it was important to communicatethe importance of this truth. Church reproduction is a cause to rejoice. In1 Timothy 3:9 Paul rejoices over the joy he has over the church he helped plantin Thessolonica and shares his joy with the church.

Christian Schwartz, in Natural Church Development, notes that reproduction ina healthy church will take place at many levels. At the membership level, disci-plining should result in new members. In leadership, workers should reproducenew workers. At the small-group level, new small groups should result. And atthe church level, reproduction should result in new churches. He concludes bynoting that if the church is healthy, that eventually it will.2 Steve Sjogren advo-cates the church leader begin talking (and planning) for reproduction evenbefore the launch. He voices that if you don’t begin a new church within threeyears, then you probably won’t plant other churches.3 Each level and phase ofreproduction is an opportunity for celebration and communication. Just as theangels of heaven rejoice over a sinner born-again, the church should celebratethe birth of a new church, its first birthday, major milepost achieved, and theaddition of souls into God’s kingdom.


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During a mission trip in an impoverished Third World country, I noticed howhappy many of the people were. Despite having little food and almost no moneyor creature comforts these people had unmistakable joy. Every week my host family had cause to celebrate. This experience reminded me that happiness andthe resulting attitude of celebration and thankfulness flow out of relationship.

Take a moment to consider the meaning of the word celebrate.

• To observe (a day or an event) with ceremonies of respect, festivity, orrejoicing.

• To perform (a religious ceremony).

• To extol or praise.

• To make widely known.

All four definitions describe the attitude the church and members shouldembody as they carry out its missional role.

Here are 10 things the partnering church should celebrate—in no particularorder. Consider which “dictionary” definition each event best fits. Feel free toadd your own ideas to this list.

1. Celebrate every new birth in the life of the church. Consider someway of announcing the new developments experienced by the newchurch. (Consider having the same attitude as a grandpartner orgrandparent—that should make this step easy!)

2. Observe each anniversary during the partnering period. Often thiswill be three to five years—so plan a birthday party.

3. Remember the church planter’s birthday in a meaningful way. Forbonus points—remember the planter’s kids birthday.

4. Plan a church fellowship meal or banquet when a goal (such as fund-raising or completion of the community survey) has been reached.

5. Celebrate the season—especially those with Christian significance—with the new church.

6. Ask for time at an associational meeting to share a “partnering testi-mony.”

7. Baptisms are always a great time to celebrate.

8. Have a joint Lord’s Supper celebration.

9. Mark the completion of the partnering commitment with a festivity.

10. Host a Missions Celebration Conference in your church.


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In closing this step on celebration and communication, read (and hear) theheartfelt answers provided by six Southern Baptist church planting missionariesto the following two questions that reflect the importance of this final step. It ismy prayer your church will soon be writing your own success stories.

Linda Bergquist (San Francisco): There are four things, but the most impor-tant is prayer. The soil here is rocky. People could do region-by-region virtualprayerwalks on computers. Next, people could come here and be part of theteams that start churches of all kinds.

The Bridge (a church Linda helped plan) is still growing. It’s the first successful English-speaking church plant by the Southern Baptist Conventionhere in 34 years.

Frank Cornelius (Colorado): New congregations face the challenge of a lack oftrained leaders to be teachers, worship leaders, committee members, and churchofficers. We know we cannot import the people to fill these positions. Whatwould be helpful is to have laypeople who are experienced in church leadershipto come and stay one to six months and help train leaders in new congregations.

One success that Cornelius has seen is the chapel ministry in a local truckstop. God has used that ministry to provide worship and fellowship for drivers.Several have had life-changing experiences there. It has provided an opportuni-ty to make a difference, not only locally, but literally across the nation.

Kathryn Durocher (Georgia): Laypeople can pray that more church planterswill be sent to Georgia. We need more laborers. We also need more churcheswilling to partner new churches. Please pray for the partnering churches as well.

For three years, my husband, Steven, and I lived in a high-rise apartment indowntown Atlanta. We lived there with the intent of starting a ministry from theinside. There are more than 700 residents living in the upscale building. Whenwe moved, we were able to leave the ministry with a woman from within theministry. She became a leader though she had never led a Bible study. She will-ingly took over the responsibility and has been successful. The study has doubled in size.


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QHow can laypeoplemost effectively helpyou and your efforts QDescribe some of your

most rewarding successstories.

Robert Goette (Chicago): Take the time to pray for and understand the challenges of the second generation of immigrants (not from a European back-ground) who are very Americanized in their thinking and values, and yet arenot embraced by Americans of European descent because of the shade oftheir skin.

Recently, one of the church planters and I were enjoying God’s divinehumor. He came to know Christ after being caught selling drugs. After a fewyears of trials and appeals, he had to interrupt his seminary studies to go toprison. Now he’s out and planting a church in Chicago that happens to beattracting a disproportionate number of lawyers, district attorneys, and FBIagents.

Dennis E. Hampton (Nebraska): Prayer. Legitimate intercession. Some mightcome here (in very small groups or as a vacationing family) to prayerwalk innew targeted areas and un-entered counties. One exciting success would be theHome Fellowship begun in Knox County. A couple accepted Christ two yearsprior at a rodeo chapel service, but there had been no follow-up. A young man Iwas mentoring and I began the new Home Fellowship. The first week there were14 present; the second week, 18; the third week, about 24. This small farmhousehad no more space in the living room to accommodate people. We agreed topray for a week and then share God’s leading with each other. When I walkedinto the house I was surprised to see a wall knocked out of the bedroom thatadjoined the living room. In amazement I asked,“What have you done?” Hisreply was quiet and profound,“After praying for several days, it became appar-ent to me that reaching people for Jesus is much more important than having afourth wall on the bedroom—so I knocked it out. Don’t you agree?” I did agreeand in the months that followed I saw almost that entire group come to Christ.We saw two more Home Fellowships and a rural Sunday School begun fromthat group alone—all within the next 18 months.

Frank Miller (Pennsylvania): Pray specifically for our ministry. Volunteeryourself to go where needed on vacation or in retirement and assist the church starting efforts being carried out. Continue as a church to be faithfulcontributors to the cooperative program and the Annie Armstrong EasterOffering®. Find out what the needs are and commit to doing what you and yourchurch can to meet those needs.

In 1998 one of our African-American pastors told me that he was considering a new church start. We worked with him as he went through the


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various steps. He anticipated beginning with 20 to 30 people. My wife and Iwent to the first service and could hardly get in for the crush of people. In thefollowing months, the membership increased to about 250 people. Many havebeen become Christians.4

Where do we go from here?I don’t know of any parents who waited to have their second child until aftertheir first one had graduated from college. As unnatural as this would be amongmarried couples—it is also not the natural plan for the local church—the brideof Christ.

Consider partnering another congregation before the existing commitmentundergoes closure. Make church planting an ongoing activity of your church.Consider jointly partnering with your new work in a third-generation churchplant. The harvest is surely plentiful enough.

Starting Points to Celebrate and Communicate Church Multiplication

• Identify opportunities to celebrate your church’s missional role.

• Evaluate how well reproduction is occurring at every level in yourchurch.

• Develop plans for starting additional churches.


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To learn more about the Acts 1:8 Challenge, call NAMB’s Church PlantingGroup at (770) 410-6204.

To host an On Mission Celebration or World Mission Conference or for information, call toll-free (888) 634-2462.

Notes

1. Ed Stetzer, Planting New Churches in a Postmodern Age,(Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2003) p.139.

2. See Christian Schwartz, Natural Church Development, 3rd ed., (Carol Stream, Ill.: ChurchSmartResources, 1998).

3. See Steve Sjogren, Community of Kindness, (Regal: Ventura, Calif.: 2003), p. 124.

4. OnMission magazine, July-August, 1999.


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Appendix 1: Partnering Covenant TemplateInstructions: Please respond to each of the questions using a 1 to 5 scale, with 1being the mission and 5 being the partnering church.

Examples:

The person completing this form feels the selection of the church planter is the mission’s responsibility only. He or she would circle 1.

1. (Sample) The selection of the church planter 1 2 3 4 5

However, if the person completing this form feels the selection of the church planteris the responsibility of the sponsoring church, with some input from the missioncongregation, he or she would circle 4.

1. (Sample) The selection of the church planter 1 2 3 4 5

Please complete the following1. The selection of the church planter, if applicable. 1 2 3 4 52. Which group should decide on supervision issues

for the church planter? 1 2 3 4 53. Which group should select the meeting place and times? 1 2 3 4 54. To which group are the mission church members accountable? 1 2 3 4 55. Which group is responsible for the financial needs

of the new work? 1 2 3 4 56. Which group is responsible for handling the money

of the new work? 1 2 3 4 57. Which group will determine polity (how things are done) for the

new work, such as baptisms, Lord’s Supper, receiving members? 1 2 3 4 58. Which group will take care of tax and legal issues? 1 2 3 4 59. Which group will determine the name of the new work? 1 2 3 4 510. Which group will take care of the Annual Church Profile? 1 2 3 4 511. Which group is responsible for the development of goals and

action plans for the new work? 1 2 3 4 512. Which group will be responsible for the selection of leaders

and workers for the new work? 1 2 3 4 513. Should the church planter be considered a staff member of the

new work or of the sponsoring church? 1 2 3 4 514. Who should determine when the new work should constitute

as a church? 1 2 3 4 515. Which group will be responsible for sending in Cooperative

Program and associational monthly giving? 1 2 3 4 5

Name: ____________________________________ Date: _______________


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Sponsoring Church Work Sheet

To assist in development of your Partnering Covenant, please have the

pastor, minister of missions, or Missions Committee chairperson complete

this work sheet and share it with the director of missions or church planting

missionary.

1. Does the sponsoring church have a Missions Committee? ❑ Yes ❑ NoIf yes, what is the role of the committee in relationship to the new work?

2. Who will the church planter report to in the partnering church?

Name ____________________ Title _________________________________

Phone __________________ E-mail _________________________________

Address ________________________________________________________

3. How long will this partnering covenant be in effect?

❑ One Year ❑ One Year, renewable annually ❑ Two Years

❑ Three Years ❑ Five Years ❑ Other (Specify) ______________________

4. Can the sponsoring church provide liability insurance for the new work?❑ Yes ❑ No If yes, what is the name of your insurance company?

_____________________________________________

5. What is the projected financial support, if any, the partnering church is prepared to provide per month during the first year? $__________________

Is this amount negotiable following the first year? ❑ Yes ❑ No

6. What other benefits (such as use of a copier, phones, office, etc.) can thesponsoring church provide the new work?

7. What does the sponsoring church expect of the church planter and the newwork that is not addressed above?

Name: _________________________________ Date: ___________________


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Appendix 2: Suggested Covenant Guidelines for a Southern Baptist Church Plant

Purpose: To clarify the roles of all participants in the planting of a new churchunder the leadership and sponsorship of: (church name and address)

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

and assisted by the partners listed on the signature page of the “Church PlantCovenant Agreement.”

Objective: To establish a successful strategic partnership to facilitate the planting of a healthy, multiplying church with evangelistic passion, to be knownas ________________________________________________ Baptist Church,incorporating mutual participation, trust, and ownership. The general objectives that we will mutually agree and strive to accomplish are:

1. Establish mutually acceptable guidelines to which all participatingentities will adopt.

2. Commit to working relationships relative to ministry, support ofmissions, doctrinal beliefs, and accountability.

3. Participate in monthly (or quarterly) meetings for prayer,encouragement, and evaluation of progress on strategy and accomplishment of goals.

Responsibilities of Partners During the Covenant Agreement

Sponsor church(es):

• Enlist a prayer team for the church planting effort.

• Assist in developing a strategic plan to plant the church.

• Enlist and deploy volunteers to regularly assist with the church plant.

• Assist in the selection, supervision, mentoring, and accountability ofplanter/team members.

• Participate in the financial support for the planter (and team members when applicable), including assistance with salary, housing,and benefits.


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• Provide a process for facilitating: membership, discipline, ordinancesof baptism and the Lord’s Supper, accounting, insurance, and otherlegal requirements.

• Assist planter in submitting monthly reports and providing copies toall partners in the covenant.

• Assist planter in implementing doctrinal teaching and practice inagreement with the current “Baptist Faith and Message.”

• Guide the church plant to financial support of missions through the Cooperative Program and other local, state, national, and international missions entities.

• Assist in providing and/or securing and maintaining meeting facilities/location for the church plant.

Association and/or State Convention

• Mobilize prayer support for the church planting effort.

• Assist in enlisting, assessing, and evaluating the church plantingprocess, training, and mentoring of church planter/team members.

• Assist in developing a strategic plan for the church plant and daughterchurches.

• Assist with financial support and provide accountability for doctrineand mission support.

• Provide personal and event evangelism training for the church planterand church plant leaders.

• Assist planter in submitting monthly reports and provide copies to allpartners in the covenant.

Church Planter and/or Church Plant

• Cooperate with the sponsor church leadership in developing a strategic plan for the church plant.

• Commit to enthusiastically fulfilling all the functions of the newchurch (i.e., worship, evangelism, missions, ministry, discipleship,fellowship, etc.)

• Participate in the training and coaching/mentoring provided by thesponsor church, association, and/or state convention.


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• Commit to planting a Southern Baptist church as defined by a balance of:

A. Doctrine = Affirmation of Southern Baptist Convention (SBC)doctrinal teachings and beliefs as expressed in the current“Baptist Faith and Message.” Most churches will use Baptist inthe church name. If Baptist is not used in the name, there mustbe a stated affiliation with the SBC in all the founding documents of the church (constitution and bylaws, articles of incorporation, etc.).

B. Participate in Acts 1:8 Kingdom Missions = participate in mis-sion causes through the Cooperative Program. (It is suggestedthat a minimum of 10% of undesignated receipts be given.), aswell as extending missions involvement through associational,state, national, and international missions offerings.

• Incorporate an intentional plan to multiply/reproduce yourself annu-ally by starting new Bible study units, ministries, and church plants.

• Submit a monthly report to the sponsor church and copy all covenantparticipants.

• Participate in personal and event evangelism training provided by theassociation and/or state convention.

• Submit the Annual Church Profile (ACP) at the appropriate time.

• Demonstrate a working knowledge of Baptist distinctives includingthe doctrine and cooperative missions of the Southern BaptistConvention.

The undersigned parties enter into a covenant relationship, under the guidanceof the Holy Spirit, to plant a new church. All agree the final authority andresponsibility for the actions and activities of this new church plant rests primarily with the sponsor church and the church plant congregation.

The covenant agreement is a commitment of all the undersigned participants toprovide support to the church plant for up to a maximum of _____ years fromthe date of approval indicated below. If a participant is committing to a shortertime of support, this will be reflected in a brief statement in an attached adden-dum.

By the approval of the _____________________________________________Baptist Church (sponsor) by official church action on_______________(date),a commitment was made to sponsor _________________________________church plant according to the guidelines and time frame specified in this


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Church Plant Covenant Agreement. The signatures below represent a commitment of all participants to this Covenant Agreement and guidelines forthe above mentioned church plant.

Sponsor Church Representative Date

Church Planter/Pastor Date

Associational Director of Missions or Representative Date

Baptist State Convention Representative Date

Termination of This Covenant Agreement

A. Conditions in which any covenant partner can terminate participation in the agreement:

1. The church plant clearly departs from the doctrinal stanceexpressed in the current SBC “Baptist Faith and Message.”

2. The church plant ceases to fulfill the commitment to participatein giving to Acts 1:8 kingdom missions according to the agreedupon percentages.

3. Should the church plant constitute as a church without the agreement of all covenant partners, a partner may cease fundingsupport and participation in the partnership within 90 days.

4. The church plant significantly fails to live within the guidelines.

5. Moral or ethical failure on the part of the new church pastor.

B. Cooperating entities may terminate this relationship for other reasons after consultation of all parties and an agreed upon timeframe for termination.

C. The inconveniences associated with multiple congregations in onefacility, cultural differences, differing worship styles, or differentmodels of outreach and ministry shall not be sufficient reason fortermination of the relationship.


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Appendix 3: Sample Partnering Initiation Checklist (First 50 days**)

ORDER ACTIVITY/TASK DATE DONE CONSULTATIVEBODIES

1 Assign duties for practice Sunday to core group members.

2 Conduct practice Sunday.3 Conduct launch Sunday.4 Implement strategy for first 100 days.

(Share highlights on launch Sunday.) 5 Conduct a prayerwalk each month.6 Develop relational groups (Sunday

School/small groups) to reproduce themselves (sign up on Launch Sunday).

7 Communicate need for outreach through vision-casting weekly.

8 Adopt an outreach plan 9 Design limited/customized organizational

structure (teams, policies, pragmatics).10 Develop dynamic, relevant worship (adjust

as the congregation develops).11 Organize fellowships monthly

(small and large groups).12 Refine budget and stewardship training

(adjust monthly and prioritize spending).13 Begin newcomer assimilation process.14 Identify 2-3 priorities based on community

needs and congregational gifts and implement.(Use “Redemptive Ministry Planning” guide.)

15 Develop and adopt a two-year strategy plan.(Use “Planning for the First Two Years” guide.)

16 Send 2-3 direct mail pieces (special day,message series, events).

17 Enlist, train, and deploy new leaders.(Each leader should have an apprentice to multiply the leadership base).*NOTE: Ensure that balance is achieved in worship, evangelism, discipleship,ministry, and fellowship.

* Preach one or more messages and guide Bible studies on each of these topics to cast the visionfor the new church. Visuals, such as handouts, banners, give-aways, et cetera. will help.

**Adapted from The Church Blueprint: Practical Helps for Building the Body by George Thomasson,Brentwood Christian Press, Columbus, 2002, p. 32. Used by permission.


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Planning Calendar _______________________________________________

Month: Year:

What Who When

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5


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Appendix 4: Church Planting Rational

Early Church ExampleIn all church planting endeavors, it is important to remember that God is theone who builds His church. Inspired of the Spirit, Paul said,“I have planted,Apollos watered; but God gave the increase” (1 Cor. 3:6, KJV).

The Holy Spirit does not always follow the same pattern or process in beginninga congregation. The most important consideration for people should be theirsensitivity and response to the Spirit’s leadership. Paul and his church plantingteam had planned to go north into Bithynia,“but the Spirit of Jesus would notallow them to” (Acts 16:7, NIV). So they traveled west and planted the firstchurch in Macedonia.

People discover God’s direction through prayer. All church planting effortsshould be bathed in prayer. The instruction of James 1:5 to those who lackwisdom is that they should ask of God in order to receive it.

Paul’s pattern of witnessing and establishing churches was to preach as he trav-eled to many cities. Later, he went back to see how the believers were doing (seeActs 15:36). Southern Baptists have followed various patterns in planting hundreds of congregations. Some flourish, others falter. God expects us to usethe knowledge that experience and research bring.

Five Reasons for Planting1. Planting churches is biblical. Jesus instructed His followers in the

Great Commission (see Matt. 28:19-20) that they were to make otherdisciples and baptize and teach them as He had taught. How is this tobe accomplished today? God’s strategy for carrying out theCommission is the church—the people of God who confess Christ asSavior.“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon thisrock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevailagainst it” (Matt. 16:18, KJV). In New Testament days, Paul and hisfellow workers set the church planting example by establishingchurches in Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, and other places.

2. Planting churches is a typical Baptist action. The number ofSouthern Baptist churches grew from 4,126 in 1885 to 43,024 in2003. Starting churches in all kinds of places with all kinds of peoplehas made this possible.


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3. Planting churches is practical. Denominations that report a netincrease in total membership also report an increase in new congregations. The average Southern Baptist church baptizes oneperson for every 27 resident members. Based on the most recentstudy, the ratio for the average Southern Baptist mission congrega-tion is one person for every eight members.

4. Planting churches is rewarding. Most partnering churches experi-ence a new sense of mission and fulfillment in reaching others withthe gospel. Church members and leaders experience spiritual growth and develop a growing sensitivity and commitment to reaching theunsaved.

5. New churches usually stimulate the growth of existing churches. Theonly Baptist church in a city of 6,000 partnered in starting a newcongregation. The congregation baptized 55 people during its firstyear. The partnering church also experienced growth by reaching arecord number of new people. New congregations do not just trademembers; they reduce the number of unchurched people.

The Need for New Congregations1. More than 230 million people in North America are unchurched.

Planting churches can accelerate the rate of winning people toChrist.

2. Planting churches is the most effective way to reach unchurchedpeople. Over 60 percent of adults who join new congregations werenot active in church immediately before joining.

3. New congregations grow faster than established congregations.They reach about two-and-one-half times more people per mem-ber than older churches.

4. New congregations are the best stewardship of our mission dollars.New congregations reach and baptize far more people per dollar.

5. Sometimes, people perceive traditions of older churches to be barriers to participation. Some people may be more likely to attendand participate in a new church that does not have traditions.

6. Mission congregations are needed in places where spiritual vacuums result from churches moving away.

7. Racial and ethnic groups need churches that recognize their background, language, and cultural needs.


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8. Pockets of people may be missed by churches. Some people groups,because of lifestyle, socioeconomic status, or other reasons, maynot respond to existing churches. A new church can use approachesrelated to the immediate needs of these groups.

9. Communities with large numbers of unchurched people needevangelical congregations.

10. Housing patterns may be a hindrance to reaching people. A newcongregation may be needed within a housing development,multihousing unit, or high-rise.

11. New communities and newly developed areas need new congregations.

12. New congregations enlist additional people to work in kingdombusiness, providing opportunities for expanded Christian serviceand growth.

13. Multiplying congregations means multiplying Christian workers,missionaries, baptisms, witnessing church members, Bible studygroups, mission support, and spiritual growth.

14. Planting congregations opens new doors for people to enter the church.


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Appendix 5: Six Church Planting Approaches

1. Program-based church planting is the planting of a church thatwill minister to people and grow through a variety of church pro-grams. These programs will consist of some combination of evangel-ism, discipleship, youth, children’s, men’s, women’s, music, missionsand social ministries.

2. Purpose-based church planting is the planting of a church that willfocus on the five purposes of a church as identified by Rick Warren.The five purposes are outreach, worship, fellowship, discipleship, andservice.

3. Seeker-based church planting is the planting of a church that intentionally targets specific seeker populations and positions itself to respond to the target population’s needs.

4. Ministry-based church planting is the planting of a church that willgo into the community, impact people’s lives and draw them towardsthe gospel.

5. Relational-based church planting is relatively new and attempts tosolve the riddle of reaching and congregationalizing postmoderns.Relation-based churches are nothing more than networks of singlecell churches. These churches are fluid and spread along relationallines through people networks.

6. Affinity-based church planting involves the planting of a churchamong a specific people or cultural group. The culture can bedefined ethnically, by language, socioeconomic factors, lifestylepreferences, or other distinguishing characteristics.


78

Appendix 6: Budget Worksheet

Monthly Annual

Missions:

Church Planting

Association

Other

Salaries:

Pastor

Other Staff

Staff Benefits:

Insurance

Housing

Automobile

Annuity

Building Fund:

Rent

Utilities

Advertising

Education:

Sunday School

Discipleship

Children’s Ministries

Youth Ministries

Women’s Ministries

Men’s Ministries

Music Ministry


79

Appendix 7: MCN Scheduling Options

A note to facilitators: Flexibility is at the heart of the MCN process. Weexpect that many of you will appreciate having scheduling options to helpguide you through the start-up process. Negotiate with your MCN thescheduling option that best meets your needs.

1. Monthly MCN Meeting. Time 2 – 2-1/2 hoursThe meeting begins with a time of welcome and fellowship to reconnect thegroup members. During the sharing and update time, each member shares keyhappenings in his life or ministry. In time, the focus ideally moves from superficial issues to those that affect our emotional, family, and spiritual life.The update time provides members an opportunity to inform the group of thestatus of new and proposed works. The prayer time focuses on the issues sharedand the partnership issues related to the new works themselves. During thesharpening time the facilitator will present materials provided in the MCNfacilitator’s manual. During the solutions time, implementation planning or specific new work issues are discussed. It is suggested that the facilitator put intowriting follow-up plans and assignments.

In this format, a church or associational conference room will often work best.Consider celebrating with a meal following the meeting. Participants should beencouraged to share several things that are happening in their lives and min-istry. Plan for a minimum of 40 minutes of prayer.

Sample Monthly Schedule:

Welcome and Fellowship: 10 - 20 minutesSharing and Update Time: 35-40 minutesPrayer Time: 40 minutesSharpening (lesson and learning activity): 20 - 30 minutesSolutions (implementation planning): 10 – 15 minutesWrap-up: 5 minutes

2. Biweekly 1-1/2 – 2 hoursMeeting every first and third or second and fourth week has the advantage ofallowing additional time for skill building and discussion. The meeting placeshould be one that encourages attendance. Evenings work well for this schedule.


80

Since the group meets frequently, there is generally no need for a wrap-up time;otherwise, the meeting components are the same as the monthly plan.

Sample Biweekly Schedule:

Welcome and Fellowship: 10 minutesSharing and Update Time: 25-30 minutesPrayer Time: 25-30 minutesSharpening (lesson and learning activity): 20 - 30 minutesSolutions (implementation planning): 10 – 20 minutes

3. Weekly 1 – 1-1/2 hourThis schedule has the benefit of high accountability and regularity. Attendeesgenerally make this a part of their weekly routine. Scheduling such a meetingfollowing an already planned event such as a weekly pastor’s fellowship orWednesday evening services often works well. Holding the MCN at a locationsuch as a local book store or coffeeshop has worked well for some clusters.

Sample Weekly Schedule:

Sharing and Update Time: 20 – 30 minutesPrayer Time: 20-30 minutesSharpening and Solutions: 20-30 minutes


81

Appendix 8: Facility Needs Work Sheet

Facility NeedsWork SheetInstructions:Place a + or – in the box for each trait.

Room is provided to compare multiplesites.

Schools /Colleges

Store Front

Theater

Sponsor Church

Other Church

House

Apartment

Warehouse

Business/Office

Hotels

Community Centers

Portable building

Lodges

Restaurants

Tents

Other Sites


82

Cos

t

Park

ing

Sign

age

Pro

xim

ity

to

Targ

et G

roup

Spac

e to

gro

w

Acc

essi

bilit

y

App

eara

nce

Set u

p/te

ar

dow

n w

eekl

y

Liab

ilit

y is

sues

Ade

quat

e E

d.Sp

ace

Facility Work Sheet Instructions

The Facility Needs Work Sheet is a tool to evaluate potential meeting places.For each trait, place a plus sign (+) if the trait is positive. For example, if alocal school has good parking, place a plus in the grid. If the trait is a nega-tive, place a minus sign (–). For example, if a local movie theater costs $700per week to rent, that amount may be a negative.

In the above scenario, it appears that what Chavez Junior High offers wouldbe the best meeting place. The two negatives for this location would be alack of signage (for example, the school does not allow signs to be set upexcept while the school is being rented) and the church would have to set-up and tear down each week.


83

Facility NeedsWorksheetInstructions:Place a + or – in the box for each trait

Room is provided to compare multiple sites

Schools

Cos

t

Park

ing

Sign

age

Pro

xim

ity

to

Targ

et G

roup

Spac

e to

gro

w

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essi

bilit

y

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eara

nce

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p/te

ar

dow

n w

eekl

y

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ilit

y is

sues

Ade

quat

e E

d.Sp

ace

Mapel School

Jefferson High

Chavez Jr. High

Appe

ndix

9: P

lant

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mun

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atch

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88

State and Canadian Southern Baptist Convention Directory

Alabama Baptist State Convention P.O. Box 11870 • Montgomery, AL 36111-0870 • (334) 288-2460 or (800) 264-1225 www.alsbom.org

Alaska Baptist Convention 1750 O’Malley Road • Anchorage, AK 99507 • (907) 344-9627 http://www.alaskabaptistconvention.com/

Arizona Southern Baptist Convention 2240 N Hayden Road, Suite 100 • Scottsdale, AZ 85257-2480 (480) 945-0880 or (800) 687-2431 www.azsobaptist.org

Arkansas Baptist State Convention P.O. Box 552 • Little Rock,AR 72203-0552 • (501) 376-4791 or (800) 838-2272 (in Arkansas) www.absc.org

California Southern Baptist Convention 678 E .Shaw Avenue • Fresno, CA 93710-7704 • (559) 229-9533 www.csbc.com

Canadian Convention of Southern Baptists (Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador,

Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Quebec,

Saskatchewan, Yukon)100 Convention Way • Cochrane, AB T4C 2G2 Canada (403) 932-5688 or (800) 442-CCSB www.ccsb.ca

Colorado Baptist General Convention 7393 South Alton Way • Englewood, CO 80112-2302 • (303) 771-2480 or (888) 771-2480 www.cbgc.org

Dakota Southern Baptist Fellowship (North and South Dakota)P.O. Box 6028 • Bismarck, ND 58506-6028 • (701) 255-3765 www.dsbf.org


89

District of Columbia Baptist Convention 1628 16th Street, NW • Washington, DC 20009-3099 • (202) 265-1526 www.dcbaptist.org

Florida Baptist Convention 1230 Hendricks Avenue • Jacksonville, FL 32207-8696 (904) 396-2351 or (800) 226-8584

www.flbaptist.org

Georgia Baptist Convention 2930 Flowers Road S • Atlanta, GA 30341-5512 • (770) 455-0404 www.gabaptist.org

Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention 2042 Vancouver Drive • Honolulu, HI 96822-2491 • (808) 946-9581 www.hpbaptist.net

Illinois Baptist State Association P.O. Box 19247 • Springfield, IL 62794-9247 • (217) 786-2600 www.ibsa.org

State Convention of Baptists in Indiana P.O. Box 24189 • Indianapolis, IN 46224-0189 • (317) 241-9317 www.scbi.org

Baptist Convention of Iowa 2400 86th Street, Suite 27 • Des Moines, IA 50322-4300 • (515) 278-1566 www.bcisbc.com

Kansas-Nebraska Convention of Southern Baptists 5410 W Seventh Street • Topeka, KS 66606-2398 • (785) 228-6800 or (800) 984-9092 www.kncsb.org

Kentucky Baptist Convention P.O. Box 43433 • Louisville, KY 40253-0433 • (502) 245-4101 or (800) 266-6477(Kentucky only) www.kybaptist.org

Louisiana Baptist Convention P.O. Box 311 • Alexandria, LA 71309-0311 • (318) 448-3402 or (800) 622-6549 www.lbc.org


90

Baptist Convention of Maryland/ Delaware10255 Old Columbia Road • Columbia, MD 21046-1716 • (410) 290-5290 or (800) 466-5290 www.bcmd.org

Baptist State Convention of Michigan 8420 Runyan Lake Road • Fenton, MI 48430 • (810) 714-1907www.bscm.org

Minnesota-Wisconsin Baptist Convention519 Sixteenth Street, SE • Rochester, MN 55904-5234 • (507) 282-3636 www.mwbc.org

Mississippi Baptist Convention Board P.O. Box 530 • Jackson, MS 39205-0530 • (601) 968-3800 or (800) 748-1651 www.mbcb.org

Missouri Baptist Convention 400 E . High Street • Jefferson City, MO 65101-3253 • (573) 635-7931 or (800) 736-6227 www.mobaptist.org

Montana Southern Baptist Convention P.O. Box 99 • Billings, MT 59103-0099 • (406) 252-7537 www.mtsbc.org

Nevada Baptist Convention 406 California Avenue • Reno, NV 89509-1520 • (775) 786-0406 or (877) 428-3753 www.nbcsbc.org

Baptist Convention of New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont)87 Lincoln Street • Northboro, MA 01532-1742 • (508) 393-6013 www.bcne.net

The Baptist Convention of New Mexico P.O. Box 94485 • Albuquerque, NM 87199-485 • (505) 924-2300 www.bcnm.com

Baptist Convention of New York (North Jersey and New York) 6538 Baptist Way • East Syracuse, NY 13057-1072 • (315) 433-1001 www.bcnysbc.org


91

Baptist State Convention of North CarolinaP.O. Box 1107 • Cary, NC 27512-1107 • (919) 467-5100 or (800) 395-5102 (North Carolina only) www.bscnc.org

Northwest Baptist Convention (Oregon and Washington)3200 N.E. 109th Avenue • Vancouver, WA 98682-7749 • (360) 882-2100 www.nwbaptist.org

State Convention of Baptists in Ohio 1680 E. Broad Street • Columbus, OH 43203-2095 • (614) 827-1777 www.scbo.org

Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma3800 N. May Avenue • Oklahoma City, OK 73112-6506 • (405) 942-3800 www.bgco.org

Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania/South Jersey4620 Fritchey Street • Harrisburg, PA 17109-2895 • (717) 652-5856 www.bcpsj.org

South Carolina Baptist Convention 190 Stoneridge Drive • Columbia, SC 29210-8239 • (803) 765-0030 or (800) 723-7242 www.scbaptist.org

Tennessee Baptist Convention P.O. Box 728 • Brentwood, TN 37024-0728 • (615) 373-2255 or (800)-558-2090 www.tnbaptist.org

The Baptist General Convention of Texas333 N Washington • Dallas, TX 75246-1798 • (214) 828-5100 www.bgct.org

Southern Baptists of Texas ConventionP.O. Box 168585 • Irving, TX 75016-8585 • (972) 953-0878 www.sbtexas.com

Utah/Idaho Southern Baptist ConventionP.O. Box 1347 • Draper, UT 84020-1347 • (801) 572-5350 www.uisbc.org


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Baptist General Association of Virginia P.O. Box 8568 • Richmond, VA 23226-0568 • (804) 915-5000 www.vbmb.org

Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia 4101 Cox Road, Suite 100 • Glen Allen, VA 23060-3320 • (804) 270-1848 www.sbcv.org

West Virginia Convention of Southern Baptists One Mission Way • Scott Depot, WV 25560-9406 • (304) 757-0944 www.wvbaptists.org

Wyoming Southern Baptist Convention P.O. Box 4779 • Casper, WY 82604-0779 • (307) 472-4087 http://www.wyomingsbc.org/


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Glossary of TermsBasic Training for Church Planters (BT): BT is an intensive three-day trainingevent to help church planting teams begin to design and put together the ingredients needed to begin a new work. Time spent with a mentor and otherchurch planting teams is a significant component of this training. A follow-uptraining, Basic Training II, is also available.

Church Multiplication System (CMS): The CMS is the umbrella under whichthe various church planting resources available to churches, associations, churchplanters, and their teams are provided.

Church Planter Assessment: Trained assessors evaluate potential churchplanters and their spouses in 13 to 16 skill areas related to church planting. Thetool takes into consideration only past and present behavioral characteristics,and is an ideal tool for evaluating church planting potential.

Church Planter’s Network (CPN): The CPN is a gathering of planters, spouses,mentors, and possible key lay leaders, for the purpose of prayer, networking,and group learning. Generally, meeting monthly, the CPN is a support networkfor church planters.

Church Planting Missionaries/Strategists (CPM): CPMs are apostolic missionaries working with church planters, partnering churches, associations,and states to develop strategies, secure resources and enlist church planters andsponsors for multiple church starts each year. CPMs can be assigned geograph-ically or among certain ethnicities. To qualify, CPMs must have church plantingexperience and meet the appointment criteria of NAMB.

Mentor Training: Mentors are trained leaders who work alongside churchplanters in the area of coaching and mentoring during the critical first two yearsof the church plant. Ten hours of training provide for mentors who precedetheir participation in Basic Training

Mission Development Council (MDC): The MDC is the associational council responsible for the mission activities of the association. The MDC will coordinate with local church, associational and state leaders to provide aproductive environment for church planting.


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Multiplying Church Network (MCN): MCNs are clusters of church leadersrepresenting various churches that meet regularly for the purpose of prayingfor, learning how to, planning for, and leading their respective congregationsto reproduce themselves in starting healthy, growing, and reproducing congregations.

Nehemiah Partnership: A strategy for college and non-SBC seminary studentsto train church planters.

Nehemiah Project: A cooperative intern strategy with SBC seminaries to intentionally prepare and equip church planters to plant healthy, reproducingchurches.

New Church Start Team: This team consists of pastor, spouse, core group, andother team members who will be actually planting the new church.

New Work Team: The associational leaders, mentor, CPM, MCN members, andothers directly working with the church planting and providing support,resources, and leadership for the new work team.

On Mission Team: State and NAMB team that provides training and resourcingfor both the church planter and new work team members.

State Director of Mission (SDOM): The SDOM is responsible for coordinatingtraining and allocating State and NAMB resources to churches and associations.

Probe 2: A tool designed to assist church planters and church planter strategiststo identify and understand the people groups and population segments living ina city or community in order to evangelize every unreached group with a cul-turally appropriate church planting strategy.

The Village: This is the interactive church planter Web site communitydesigned for interaction of planter with planters. To connect with the growingresources on The Village simply go to www.ChurchPlantingVillage.net and searchthe various libraries within the site.


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Seven Steps for Planting Churches (Parenting Church Edition)BibliographyThe Classics (Pre-1996)Allen, Roland. Missionary Methods, St. Paul’s or Ours? Grand Rapids: William

B. Eerdmands Publishing Company, 1962.

________. The Spontaneous Expansion of the Church and the Causes Which Hinder It. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmands Publishing Company, 1962.

Brock, Charles. Indigenous Church Planting. Nashville, Broadman Press, 1981.

Cairns, Earle E. An Endless Line of Splendor. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale HousePublishers, 1986.

Chaney, Charles L. Church Planting in America at the end of the Twentieth Century. Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers, 1982.

Drucker, Peter F. Managing the Non-Profit Organization. New York, Harper Collins, 1990.

Faircloth, Samuel D. Church Planting for Reproduction. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1991.

Hesselgrave, David J. Planting Churches Cross-Culturally: A Guide for Home and Foreign Missions. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1980.

Lewis, Larry L. The Church Planter’s Handbook. Nashville: Broadman Press,1993.

Logan, Robert E. Beyond Church Growth. Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H.Revell Co., 1989.

Logan, Robert E., and Steven L. Ogne. Church Planter’s Toolkit. Pasadena, Calif.:Charles E. Fuller Institute for Evangelism and Church Growth, 1991.

Malphurs, Aubrey. Planting Growing Churches for the 21 Century: A Comprehensive Guide for New Churches and Those Desiring Renewal. GrandRapids: Baker Book House, 1992.


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Nevius, John L. Planting and Development of Missionary Churches. Nutley, N.J.,Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1958.

Redford, Jack. Planting New Churches. Nashville, Broadman Press, 1978.

Ridley, Charles R. How to Select Church Planters. Pasadena, Fuller EvangelisticAssociation, 1988.

Starr, Timothy. Church Planting: Always in Season. Fellowship of Evangelical Baptist Churches of Canada, 1978.

Strobel, Lee. Inside the Mind of Unchurched Harry & Mary. Grand Rapdis,Zondervan Publishing House, 1993.

Tidsworth, Floyd Jr. Planting and Growing Missions. Durham, N.C.: Moore Publishing Company, 1979.

Wagner, C. Peter. Church Planting For a Greater Harvest. Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books, 1990.

Warren, Rick. The Purpose-Driven Church. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995.

Contemporary (1996-Present)Anderson, Leith. Dying for a Change. Bethany House Publishers, 1998.

Bisagno, John. Successful Church Fund-Raising: Capital Campaigns You Can Do Yourself. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2002.

Downs, Tim. Finding Common Ground: How to Communicate with Those Outside the Christian Community…While We Still Can. Chicago: MoodyPress, 1999.

Hesselgrave, David J. Planting Churches Cross-Culturally: North America and Beyond. 2nd ed. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 2000.

James M. Kouzes, Barry Z. Posner, Tom Peters. Leadership Challenge. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996.

Malphurs, Aubrey, Planting Growing Churches for the 21st Century. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2nd Edition 1998.


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Moore, Ralph. Starting a New Church: The Church Planter’s Guide to Success.Ventura, Calif.: Regal Books, 2003.

Murray, Stuart. Church Planting: Laying Foundations. North American ed.Scottdale, Pa.: Herald Press, 2001.

Rainer, Thom. The Unchurched Next Door. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

________. The Book of Church Growth. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1998.

________. Effective Evangelistic Churches. Nashville: Broadman & Holman,1996.

Sanchez, Daniel R., Ebbie Smith, and Curtis E. Watke. Starting ReproducingChurches. Fort Worth: Church Starting Network, 2001.

Schaller, Lyle. What Have We Learned? Abingdon Press. 2001.

Schwarz, Christian A. Natural Church Development. Emmelsbull, Germany:C & P Publishing, 3rd ed., 1998.

Seven Steps for Planting Churches, Planter Edition. Alpharetta: North American Mission Board, 2003.

Sjogren, Steve, and Lewin, Bob. Community of Kindness. Ventura, Regal Books,2003.

Stetzer, Ed. Planting New Churches in a Postmodern Age. Nashville: Broadman &Holman, 2003.

Thomasson, George. The Church Blueprint. Atlanta: [email protected],2002.

Rainer, Thom. The Book of Church Growth. Nashville: Broadman & Holman,1998.


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Documents

Seven Steps for Planting Churches Partner Edition