7 Big Church Planting Mistakes

I found this post helpful which is a summary of a talk given by Ed Stetzer on mistakes made when planting churches.  I excerpted a portion below. You can read the full post over at churchrelevance.com


"All too often church planters run gung-ho into church planting like they’re storming the beaches of Normandy but then get mowed down. I share mistakes, so that hopefully you can avoid them.

ED’S BIG 7 CHURCH PLANTING MISTAKES

1. Forgetting the mission.
   Our motivations can naturally be mixed. We often focus on our own agenda rather than God’s agenda. If at the end of the day, you could have done it without God, then God isn’t in it. The goal is God’s glory. You can’t become distracted by the tools.
2. Being married to a model.
   If you are more excited by the “how” than the “who,” then you are being distracted. I must be sure that I do not fall in love with someone else’s ministry model and mission. If you listen to other churches’ success stories, you can become distracted by the model. ...Too many church planters plant a church in their head and not in their communities.
3. Not taking care of yourself.
   (1) First and foremost, you need to take care of yourself physically. If you don’t take care of yourself, then you will not be able to properly prioritize God in your life.  If I am not taking care of myself, then I will never be able to be who God wants me to be.
   (2) You also need to take care of yourself spiritually. Your people need more a pastor who has been with God than an entrepreneur that is full of ideas.
   (3) And you need to take care of your family. Your family will be with you in the end, but often the people you start a church with are not the ones you finish a church with.
4. Arrogance.
   I was too sarcastic and didn’t listen well. There are different reasons people are arrogant, but my arrogance was from trying to desperately prove myself to others. I needed to realize that my Father in heaven is already pleased with me.
5. Not taking believers deeper.
   People who are yearning for maturity are longing for what Christ followers need. But I made the mistake of thinking their quest to go deeper was not aligning with the church’s mission to reach people. If your vision doesn’t take people deeper spiritually, then you have a bad vision. 
6. Ignoring hidden agendas.
   Every person in your church has a vision for your church, and it may not be the same as your vision for the church. Often the people you start with go away, and the people who stay try to hijack the vision a year later.
7. Afraid of finances.
   Part of why I was afraid of finances is because of the popular mindset of the time that said that talking about finances would offend seekers. Talking about money is fine… just don’t talk about money in a creepy way."

Good things for us to remember as we pray!

Practicing the Power of our Absence

Last week I had an injury that required hospitalization and I'm on the mend and doing well.  I had the opportunity to as Pastor Ayars says "practice the power of my absence."  When you can't be somewhere in person, be praying.  Four of our pastors went to Brookhaven Town Hall and prayed with view of township in sight.  In case you are not familiar, this is located on one of the higher hills on a mostly flat island and you have some pretty spectacular views.  They prayed for the harvest that will come as we move out in faith reaching the new community.  I've been praying more while I'm unable to do more.  Funny how that is so often overlooked.

This week I joined Joe and Paul at a breakfast for pastors sponsored by the Brookhaven Coalition for Religious Freedom.  It was an opportunity to meet and pray with elected officials and candidates for the town.  At this breakfast I saw a friend I used to work with "back in the day" who is now also in ministry.  It was a great reconnection.  He's part of a recent church plant and he and his senior pastor offered to share what they've learned.  What a blessing!  We are so looking forward to see God work as more and more people reach out into this community.

First Steps - Prayer!

Last night we had a great first gathering for those who are interested in praying for or even being a part of the church plant.  It was an incredible evening.  Pastor Ayars shared from the Great Commission and Acts 1:8 the motivation for going out and making disciples and moving outside of our community.  Joe Garofalo has conducted extensive research on the demographics of Eastern Long Island, and he presented the findings that are helping us to focus on planting in Brookhaven township.  I (Bob) challenged the group to pray, especially considering that we will be entering into "occupied territory" that is currently not being served by many God-honoring churches.  There will be opposition, and the remedy is to all commit to pray.

We then had a time of intercession, where I handed out a bookmark of some current known prayer needs for the church plant.  If you would like, you can download a copy of the bookmark to print out.  We would so appreciate your prayers.

We are encouraged by our first gathering, and trust that God will send others to pray and be used in Building His Church!

Building His Church - a starting point...

What an exciting time!  We will be using this blog to chronicle the progress on our new church plant in Brookhaven township.  It's important that we have people committed to pray for God to lead us and prepare the way as we move into this new area.  Unlike building a physical building where you can see progress as you drive by, much of what takes place here would be invisible.  However, this blog is where we hope to inform what God is doing, how we are progressing, and to share needs that come up.

Please check back in here regularly and pray as the Lord leads you.  Thanks!