General Baptist National Missions Blog

Failing Forward

August 25, 2008

Failure? Can we say that word? Isn’t it anti-spiritual to use failure when we speak about the things of God? While we may not come right out and say it, we think it. We use different phrases and words to candy-coat something that didn’t work out well. Like; “We will never know this side of eternity.” Or “We will never really know how many lives have been touched by what we did.” Maybe we will even say “Well that is just they way things will be as the end draws near.” It seems to me that in our attempt to super-spiritualize or rename a flat out failure, we miss the lessons that we might have learned through simply admitting, “We failed!”

Why do we fight so hard to keep from admitting failure? I believe that we have somehow we feel that we have to save God from embarrassment. The question you have to ask this: What would be worse, trying and failing, or never trying at all? What do you think God would celebrate? A quick look at parable of the talents will give us the answer. God never called us to be successful, rather He called us to be obedient. That great theologian, Woody Allen said, “If your not failing every now and again, it’s a sure sign you are not trying anything very innovative.”

Why all this talk about failure? Because church planting and failure are almost synonymous with one another. Church planting is rife with failure. In fact, failure can become the church planters greatest friend, if they leverage their failure. But it is in that failure that you learn the greatest lessons. Robert F. Kennedy once said, “Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” We tend to think that failure is to be avoided at all costs, but often our greatest success is birthed through our failure. If you are never failing, you are probably not achieving anything of any great value either.

Posted 8/25/2008 in Church Planting

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Three Big Questions

June 23, 2008

Last week I posted a blog about why we plant churches. Let me play off that blog. Every church planter needs to ask three big questions before planting a church.

1. Why do people need Jesus?
I know that is a simple question, but it strikes at the very heart of our faith. Your picture of Jesus will in large part determine how you answer that question. Why do we need Jesus in the first place? Why do we need what he has to offer? Why can’t we be good without God?

Receiving Jesus is more than neat thing to do, it is crucial. The scripture tells us that without Jesus there is no hope. "I am the way, the truth, and the life!" Jesus answered. "Without me, no one can go to the Father.” John 14:6 There is no other way. Jesus Christ is the only solution to the deepest longings of the human heart. He is the only answer to the problems that plague our society. Without Jesus, their life will be lost, not only now, but forever. Only he can change us and offer us hope and wholeness?

2. Why do people need the church?
This whole "Organic Church" movement has me a little disturbed. I understand that the Church (BIG C) is not a building or denomination, but this movement seems little more than a pendulum swing. They say they are not elitist, religious or legalistic but nothing could be further from the truth. The very nature of this movement is meant to condemn the organized church and proclaim that they have THE right way of worshipping. Honestly, this way of thinking involves everything spoken against by many leading this movement.

Many involved in this "new" way of thinking hold the idea that people just need to love Jesus and do not need to come to a church. After all we don’t need to come to church to be a Christian right? No! That’s wrong. Nowhere in the scriptures do we find this idea that we can be lone ranger Christians. Christianity is to be lived out within the context of the local church. The first thing Jesus did when he began his ministry was to gather around him the very first church.

People need the church, it’s not optional. It is essential to God’s plan for our lives. It’s the only place where God has designed for us to worship, fellowship, grow through His teaching and serve others. Being a part of a healthy congregation is a source of great joy and a means for personal growth in the life of a believer. Heb 10:25 “We should not stop gathering together with other believers, as some of you are doing. Instead, we must continue to encourage each other even more as we see the day of the Lord coming.”

3. Why do people need YOUR church?
This is really the "Big" question! There are so many other churches in your city, why do people need yours? What is unique about us? What do we have to offer? How are we uniquely equipped to reach this community for Jesus? What is our calling in the city?

If you can not answer this question then maybe God has not placed a vision in your heart. You may be simply looking for a way out of the establshed church. This is an important question. You must be able to answer.

Every flourishing church has something in common. It has a group of people that understand that the local church is the only hope for the world. Not a hope. Not one of many hopes, but the only hope.

Because of that conviction, they are courageously, passionately and sacrificially giving their time, talents and resources. They are tirelessly pursuing those who don’t know Jesus in order to tell them that only Jesus can heal their brokenness and make them whole. Without that deep conviction and commitment a church will flounder and eventually become powerless and ineffective.

The church has been uniquely designed to do a job on this earth and the future of the world depends on how well the church does what it’s been designed to do. The unique power of the church is that it holds the key to the transformation of the human heart. No other entity in the world has this potential. Nothing else has the ability to change the world like the local church. If we don’t believe that, then nothing we do really matters.

Posted 6/23/2008 in Church Planting

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Why Do We Need New Churches

June 13, 2008

Okay, I know, So I haven't blogged in a while. Sorry for not keeping up with the times. On top of that I am going to blog on something that seems to be talked about to inifitum, but never seems to get through. I was confronted again by a faithful pastor who didn't seem to understand why we need new churches. The argument always seems to go like this; "Why do we need more churches, don't we already have enough? Why not put all that money into helping older churches?"

So, Here are a few quick reasons.

1. People need Jesus!
I know that you already believe this, but let me challenge you; this issue strikes at the very heart of our faith. Receiving Jesus is more than a neat thing to do. It is crucial. The Scriptures tell us that without Jesus there is no hope. "Jesus said to him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me” (John 14:6). There is no other way. Jesus Christ is the only solution to the deepest longings of the human heart. He is the only answer to the problems that plague our society. Without Jesus, lost people will stay lost, not only now, but forever. Only the savior can change us and offer us hope and wholeness.

2. People need the church!
Why can’t people just love Jesus and never go to church? After all, we don’t need to go to church to be a Christian, right? No! That’s wrong. Nowhere in the Scriptures do we find this idea that we can be lone ranger Christians. Even Jesus surrounded himself with believers. Christianity, in New Testament terms, was never only about joining with Jesus, but also to be a part of a body of believers.
People need the church; it’s not optional. There is no plan B. If the church fails to do what God designed it to do, then there is no backup plan. It is essential to God’s plan for our lives. It is the only place God has designed for us to experience worship, fellowship, growth, and the humility of service. Being a part of a healthy congregation is a necessity for the personal growth of a believer. Americans have distorted, even ignored the theological understanding of community. We must correct how we view the church. When an individual is saved into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, they are also saved into the church.

Honestly, the bigger question every church should ask is; "Why do people need this church?" If every church you go to is a cookie cutter of the last, what makes your church so differnt?

3. One local church can't do it all.
    There are so many other churches in your city, why plant another church when yours is not full on Sunday morning? This isn’t a question the believers in the book of Acts ask. Instead, in Acts 1:8 they ask, “How, when, and where can we plant more churches?” Church planting wasn’t a program for the early believers; it was a way of life. It was like breathing air for them. It was a natural need, an evangelistic expression of the Great Commission.
    How has Christianity changed from a faith that was spread primarily through church planting to a faith in decline? The answer is really fairly simple. American Christianity became an establishment and began to see the church plant as a competitor rather than a kingdom partner. In fact, the fear of that competition has become more important than reaching the unsaved. It’s time to get back to the basics.
    Face reality, your church isn’t reaching everyone in your area; and it never will. In fact, it wasn’t intended too. Just like there are multiple radio stations for multiple listeners, there should be multiple churches for different types of worshipers. No one church can ever be designed to reach everyone. That was never God’s intention. No single church can handle the load of helping every newcomer.

4. The church in the United States is losing ground.
    Over the last few decades, the church has lost its place and power in our society. It would appear that at a time in our history in America, when spirituality is at an all-time high, Christianity seems to be making little progress. “Today approximately 262 million people live in the United States…187 million of these people have yet to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.” There can be no doubt that most denominations have seen this trend and have already realized the need to plant new churches.

Over 32,000 churches closed their doors over the last decade. If you break that number down 3,200 churches closed every year, 267 closed every month, 62 closed every week, and 9 closed every day.

Posted 6/13/2008 in Church Planting

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Planting Fast-Growing Churches

October 30, 2007

A new book hit the market today called Planting Fast-Growing Churches. This book looks at the differences between slower growth, struggling church plants and fast-growing, dynamic church plants. Fast-growing churches are those that have reached 200 in average attendance and self-support within the first three years from public launch. This is a strongly reccommended book for any serious about church planting.

For more information on this book email Fastgrowingchurchplants@yahoo.com or go the ChurchSmart Resources and order the book. http://www.churchsmart.com/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=1141.

Read Ed Stetzer's Foreword, below the book cover.

PLANTING FAST-GROWING CHURCHES

FOREWORD BY Ed Stetzer

Throughout history, people have learned by oral tradition and from the stories of others. For centuries, workers’ skills and crafts were refined primarily by learning from others’ successes and failures. Today, however, this practice appears to be less common, particularly in Christian ministries like church planting.
It seems like everyone is a church planting expert nowadays. Many are making pronouncements about what works and what doesn’t; few are doing the work necessary to confirm their assumptions. Church planting books are being cranked out like romance novels—lots of promises and passion, but little facts on what does and what doesn’t help church plants succeed.
While common sense and intuition are often accurate, sometimes they are not. And while scientific data and the cold, hard facts are often helpful when predicting future performance, they are also fallible. However, common sense that is also backed by scientific research is a valuable resource, and a gift to those whose everyday work can be helped by the insight it provides. This is what Stephen Gray has given us in title.

Testing Common Assumptions
In this book, Gray tests the soundness of many commonly-held church planting strategies and theories by surveying plants from around the country and analyzing the significant differences between those that struggle and those that thrive. The results of this report offer an array of rich findings for church planters, planting coaches and denominational leaders, who should find in it encouragement and helpful information, as well as a few warnings.
Church planters should be encouraged that many of Gray’s findings support the conventional wisdom about church planting. For example, the study found that church planters who had strong emotional support, personal investment and conceptual freedom were more likely to succeed than those who had weaker support, investment or freedom. The research should also push planters to more and better preparation, as it confirms the effectiveness of the steady plodding by those who allot time to raise their own support and maintain relationships with coaches or other supportive figures.

Warnings to Note
The findings should also come as a warning to some—cautioning against three particular errors in planting. When we plant in a hurry, without freedom of vision, or with a poor funding system, we are more likely to fail.
The first error is haste, when the plant launches and consequently struggles because of insufficient planning or resources. These planters may have launched the plant too early, before the time was ripe and the necessary funding, staff or core group members had been gathered.
Birthing a church is like birthing a baby—certain systems must be in place for it to be successful. A premature baby may not survive if he or she is born too early, and, if they do survive, their development tends to take longer. So it is with successful church plants; a healthy birth requires the right amount of time for preparation and development.
The second error consists in planting a church with a top-heavy, agenda-driven structure, as the study’s results reveal that leaders who have little conceptual freedom are more likely to struggle. This might be a plant from a large church that is led by a pastor (or denomination, network, etc.) with a very specific, recognizable personality and ministry emphasis. Although not willing to invest themselves personally, the “overseers” are happy to throw money at the plant—so long as it remains faithful to the likeness of the mother church. Gray’s study shows that these “clones” tend to have a very poor life expectancy.
The third error deals with finances. Gray has again reminded us that planting a new church requires much more than just financial investment. Church planters need to pay close attention to this finding: The churches that received more funding for longer periods of time were overall less effective than churches that received less funding for shorter periods of time.
Granted, money can be a major factor in getting a church off the ground or getting the word out. But, when it comes to building an effective church, in the long run it appears that too much money has the reverse effect. A significant number of the successful new churches in Gray’s study became mostly self-supporting within the first 6 months of their launch.

Listen and Heed
So where do we go from here? “Listen, listen, listen!” the Proverbs repeat, reminding our prone-to-wander ears of the rewards of wisdom. When attempting a work as important to the Kingdom as church planting, this advice is essential. Gray’s report is a significant addition to the conversation about church planting strategies and, if the planter is prepared to accept it, a new tool to help church planters plant more and better churches.
It is not often that you get the advice of 112 church plants, with clear results from some that are thriving and some that are struggling. So, seize the opportunity provided by this unique book.
You will be encouraged as you read this book. If you haven’t planted a church yet, let this study soak in; you have much to learn, but don’t ever lose the teachable spirit you have right now. If you are a seasoned church planter, you may be challenged to think a little differently about the types of churches you create. Either way, consider this an oral history of lessons learned, passed on to you through this book.

Posted 10/30/2007 in Church Planting

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