Mantra #1 –  Jesus is Our Senior Pastor I found this out on accident. Honestly. I planted a church on accident in a Starbucks in Europe. I had quit ministry and told Jesus I wanted nothing to do with his church anymore and labeled myself a deserter. Instead of shooting me, Jesus showed me the…

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We need to talk about the church planter’s gifting.  We live in an age that substitutes gifting for character or the Holy Spirit’s fire. Unfortunately, however, what often passes as gifting is really just charisma or personality.  Gifting is spiritual and is harder to explain and harder to nail down than a charismatic personality. Now,…

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In this episode we share the wisdom we have gained over the years in setting a pastors salary. We will help you navigate those waters with your leadership team and give you insight into finding that number for your church.  

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Launching with the right focus is essential if your plant is going to avoid defaulting into just another big church after you’ve grown. If you’re using the New Testament apostolic model, then the solution is hard-wired into your church already. You’re not wired to grow big, but to reproduce. As soon as the tender shoots…

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Now that you know that you’re called, what are you called to do? What are your mission directives from HQ? What is it you and your church are here to accomplish? Businesses borrowed the term “mission statement” from the church, because any biblical church is always on mission. A mission statement will help you ensure…

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So, you think you know what you want to do. Whereas Paul laid the foundation like a wise and Master builder, most church planters make a fundamental mistake at the foundational level. They’ve never defined what it is they’re going to do. They have more of an impression; a gut-feeling about what they’re supposed to…

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In the last Blog post we talked about COGs and catering your church plant to the community. But how do you find out what the community needs? I have a few suggestions. MEETING WITH THE MAYOR The easy way is to talk to the professionals. We met with the Mayor and asked her what the…

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COGS stands for Communities of grace. These are the best places to use your gifts. The gifts were given to the church, but like an old tie or wool knit sweater from grandma, they stay in the bottom of the drawer. Have you ever wondered why the position of elder has gifts wired into it…

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I don’t believe in sitting down and strategizing…the world’s needs are greater than my resources. I can’t do everything, but I can do something, and I will not let the everything I cannot do, keep me from doing the something that I’m called to do. Business models operate with the idea that you can draw…

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Paul was bi-vocational. It was partly so that he could eat. It was partly so that he could support his team (Acts 20:4). I believe, however, that Paul could have asked almost anything he wanted from his churches support-wise, but instead chose to go where the traffic was. In the same way, the apostles in…

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