Purpose Driven Planting

You’re probably aware of the gloomy statistics for church starts.  The numbers I’ve heard range anywhere from 60-80% failure rate within the first two years.  That’s pretty harsh!  Especially when it’s YOU putting your heart and soul into this launch!

Here’s a strategy to increase your success rate.

1. Nail Down Your Calling
Are you the one to launch this church at this time and place?  You’ve got to nail this down.  Everything else depends on it.  God doesn’t guarantee you will be successful but you need an attitude that says, “Do or die, I believe God is leading me to do this.”

Before we started Harvest I was an Associate Pastor at a church for 5 years.  During that period of time I became “pregnant” with this idea to start a new church.  I really felt like it was a “God thing” growing inside me.  But I was running into road blocks.  If this really was from God, was everything supposed to fall into place?  Things weren’t doing that.  My denominational leaders were slow to warm up to the idea of launching a new church.  I was getting a lot of “No’s” and “Let’s wait awhile.”  I felt stuck.

One night I had a dream.  I died and was standing before Jesus.  I was glad to see Him smile at me.  (That’s a good sign!)  He welcomed me in, told me He loved me and was proud of me.  But then the expression on His face changed.  He didn’t look angry but hurt and a little disappointed.  In my dream, my heart sank.  He looked straight at me and said, “Jim, why didn’t you start that new church I told you start?” 

My first words were, “I wanted to…but they wouldn’t let me!”  I went on, rapidly explaining all my reasons/excuses.  Not enough money.  I didn’t know how.  The conference wouldn’t let me.

Jesus didn’t say a word.  He just lowered His head and looked down.  My words trailed off as I heard how pitiful my “reasons” sounded.  My Savior, the King of the Universe had asked me to do something for Him…with Him!...and I hadn’t done it because I was afraid and paralyzed.

When I woke up my heart was breaking.  In my dream I had let Jesus down.  But let me tell you what that did for me.  It put a fire in my belly. I got out of bed and said, “Dad gum it”…(I’m a South Georgia Boy)…”I’m not going to let Jesus down if I can help it!”

I’m not saying you have to have a dream.  But you do need to nail down your calling.  If He’s telling you to do something, do it with passion and confidence.  In those first years your faith and calling will be tested and challenged.  Sometimes the fact that Jesus told you to do it is the only thing you have to hold on to.  That’s reason enough.

Then go to Step 2.

2. Get Prepared
Have you heard this statement?  The number one cause for new business failure is “uneducated enthusiasm”.  The same is true for new church starts.  Enthusiasm isn’t enough.  Calling isn’t enough. You need skills.  You need a plan.  You need to prepare.

Have you every watched the long jump in the Olympics?  Those guys get a running start, hit the board and launch into the sky pumping their legs as if they are running on air.  It’s amazing how far they can jump.  There’s another event called “The Standing Broad Jump”. That one always looked a little goofy to me.  They just stand at the board and leap forward as far as they can.  But of course, it’s never as far as the guy who gets a running start. 

Here’s the point.  Preparation = Running toward the launch.  Preparation helps you launch farther and be more successful.  It lets you hit the board running with velocity, energy and momentum.  Here are some specific things to work on in the Preparation Stage.

1) Lead Large – The stronger you are as a leader, the better chance for success.  Read books.  Listen to cd’s.  Hang out with great leaders.

 2) Choose a Model – No, this isn’t a new reality show with Tyra Banks. This is a system that answers the question, “How am I going to start this church?” Choose one church launch model and stick with it. There’s a danger in “Information Overload” and mixing and matching systems.

I have a friend who started a church a few years ago.  He intentionally decided not to start with a specific model because he thought that would limit him.  He said he wanted to get on the field and play it by ear according to the peoples needs.  He’s a great guy with a lot of charisma.  He started the church with 30-50 people about three years ago.  He spent his time jumping from one idea to another…trying to find something that would work. This year he’s closing the church with about 30-50 people. 

I’m a happy practitioner of the PD Model.  (For more info on the PD Model check out the Archives:  “Why Start A PD Church” by Ron Sylvia.) 

I’m a strong believer that average people can get great results when they use a great system.  I’m an average guy.  We launched Harvest Church 5 years ago using the PD Model.  Today we average @ 800 in worship.  Our testimony in a nutshell:  We followed the model.  That doesn’t sound very glamorous.  But I’d rather have results (over 200 commitments to Christ in 5 years!) than be flashy.

3) Get Trained In Your Model
McDonalds doesn’t train its crews how to make spaghetti.  They don’t even explore the many ways to create a hamburger.  They train their people how to consistently make a Big Mac. You may not like a Big Mac but evidently they’ve served about a kachillion people!  They’ve concentrated and they’re doing something right.

If you’re starting or about to start a new church, you probably don’t need a lot of theory.  I was convinced about the “Why”.  I just desperately needed someone to teach me the “How”.  After I chose a model, I needed someone to teach me how to work it.

Your training should be concentrated to increase success.  There are a lot of ways to start a church.  But you can’t do all of them.  Choose.  Concentrate.  Get trained in the model.  As you grow and the church grows you can expand your repertoire.  But in those first couple of years…work the model.

4) Get a Coach
Everything looks easier in a seminar!  The testimonies are exciting.  The energy is high.  You leave pumped up and ready to change the world.  But you don’t get a lot of one-on-one time in a large conference. A Coach is there to answer the question, “Now what do I do?”

One of our best moves in the first year was hiring a Coach. He was on the West Coast and we were on the East but technology is great.  He helped me adapt the model to my context and answer some of the millions of questions I had after we launched.

Jesus doesn’t promise us success.  He didn’t say anything about being easy.  But He did say He’d be with us.  Let’s do our part to hit it hard, be prepared, lead large and bring people into the Kingdom.

Jim Cowart is the founding pastor of Harvest Church – A United Methodist Congregation in Warner Robins, GA.   Harvest was a recipient of the 2005 PD Church Health Award.  Jim serves as a Coach for the PD Coaching Network.  www.harvestchurch4u.org