Are You Actually Called to Plant a Church? | Daniel Im

the question am I called to be a church planner is not a straightforward one it's not like should I breathe or should I love others as Jesus does the question am I called to be a church planter it's kind of like asking should I go into an arts program science or trade what's implied behind this question is the importance of further education so the question is more matter of which route will you take when we look at the biblical commandment to go therefore and make disciples of all nations the natural outflow of that is the planting of new churches we see this through the early church and how the Apostles preached the gospel made disciples and planted churches and then preach the gospel made disciples and planted churches I mean just look through the book of Acts and then look at how the New Testament was written to new churches in their respective life situations essentially the New Testament can be seen as an anthology of church plans so the fact is just like we all need to eat food or we'll die we need to all be about church planting or the church will die and the better question that we need to ask is am I called to be about church planting and let me make this easy for you if you're a follower of Christ the answer is a default yes now there are people who will object to church planting and will say things like isn't one larger Church better than a lot of smaller churches well the fact is it's not really an either/or both are good and necessary but according to our recent state of church planning research at new churches calm we discover that new church plants are extremely effective at winning people to Christ so while there isn't anything wrong with larger churches there's definitely something wrong if we don't plant new ones or maybe people give this objection we have enough churches well based on the census data from 2011 there are approximately 11 churches for every 10,000 Americans now unless there are mega churches in every neighborhood in this country which there aren't there simply aren't enough churches around add that to the fact that our population continues to increase and the numbers speak for themselves we all need to be about church planting in the second edition of planting missional churches Ed Stetzer and I walked through a few of the characteristics of Paul the church planter throughout the New Testament here a few of his characteristics number one he was an evangelist number two he was entrepreneurial 3 he empowered other leaders 4 he cared for people 5 he stayed committed to his calling despite the sacrifice so how many of those 5 characteristics do you identify with it's not enough to just be excited about the idea of planting a church being the boss and not having to do ministry the way others do planting a church is much more nuanced than that so those are the types of reasons that are pushing you to plant you will fail the enemy will have his way and the cumulative aftermath will be devastating so who is the ideal church planner what does a church planner look like there certainly isn't one type of church planter since there isn't just one type of church so depending on the model you choose and the context that you plant in the type of planter will be different so regardless of model and context the fact is every planter and pastor needs to first put themselves up against the biblical qualifications of pastoral ministry as outlined in passages like 1st Timothy 3 so when we think about church planters specifically planters need to be above reproach they need to be able to teach self-control not lovers of money and so on so be sure to read through this passage and and others like it to put yourself up against it now in addition to that list there are a few other indicators that will give you a glimpse into whether or not God is calling you to be a church planter specifically differently than a pastor number one are you a starter do you have a pattern of starting things maybe lemonade stands Bible studies compassion based ministries are they still around after you've left you'll be doing this over and over again in church planting number two are you an equip do you always have to be the one doing the work of ministry or can you lead and equip others to do the work of ministry now how about leading others who lead others this is our task as church leaders and pastors to be equip or so without this your church will never break the fifty barrier or grow beyond your personal leadership lid number three are you a dreamer do you long to make a greater impact and change this world do you see the world in a different way can you help people catch that vision this hunger and drive is critical for church planters number four are you a doer no I'm not contradicting myself from a previous point instead I'm asking do you execute do you follow through and you get things done there are many pastors church planters and visionaries who love the Dreaming stage so much that they can actually get things done so if you see those four indicators in your life God may be calling you to plant if you see some but not others perhaps this is the best time to develop those competencies now what if you said yes to all four of those indicators well then you need to ask yourself a few qualifier questions do I have a burden and a calling to specifically plant a church in your time with God is this something that God continues to bring up I'm not asking if you're interested in the idea I'm asking if God is laying this on your heart here's another question does my family support us planting a church if you're married God will not lead you to start a church if it means you have to leave your spouse and kids this is because you can't see planting a church as your day job and expect it to not seep into the rest of your life on our new church's Q&A podcast we recently received a question from a guy who became a follower of Christ after getting married and who is now in ministry his spouse is still not yet a believer yet he feels called to plant so the answer is not yet wait and lastly does my church support me do others affirm this calling if your church and friends are hesitant about your calling and gifting to plan to church then should also be hesitant are you allowing others to speak into your life are you currently sitting under the authority of another pastor denomination or team if not then why if yes then what are they saying about your decision so involve them involve others into your decision-making process as soon as possible so if you answered yes to all of those questions and indicators here are a few next steps that I did encourage you to consider number one get pre assessed using a tool like the CPC a assessment by LifeWay research this is the only statistically verified Church planning pre assessment out there so check it out number two check out our course essential church planting at new churches calm and then I developed this course for this very purpose now let's remember we're all called to be about church planting but we're not all called to be church planters God may be calling you to be a student director an executive pastor a worship minister a launch team member a funder and elder or to be a pastor of a church that multiplies and sends out church planters so regardless of your specific role the fact is we all are called to be about church planting you

Channel: Lifeway Christian Resources

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Keywords: daniel im, church planting, church plant, new churches, churches, church ministry, new ministry, new church plant, should I plant a church, pastors, new pastors, planting missional churches, missional churches, planting churches, church planter, lifeway, lifeway voices, voices, lifeway christian resources, newchurches.com

Id: u00lSx9m76w

Length: 8min 3sec (483 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 22 2019