If I Planted A Church Today…

I’ve written before about things that I would had done differently before on this blog.  The other day, I was thinking about the things I would do NOW if I were to just now be getting into church planting.  So if you’re thinking about church planting, here’s a short list of things I would start doing as soon as possible…

• Put in more time to spend with your wife and children – Church planting will eat ALL your time if you let it. And it WILL take a lot of time.  So you may have to cut down on golfing or fishing
• Read more than normal – If you’re not a reader now, become one. Read lots of books about lots of things; church planting, theology, business, culture, marriage, etc.  Become a student again.
• Spend time in your plant area – Don’t work from an office. Work at Starbucks, Panera, or a local dive that has wi-fi. Meet people and become known by the people you cross.
• Pray – Duh…but you wouldn’t believe how many times I’ve heard, ” I wish we would had prayed more about that”
• Let a mentor invest in you – Find a pastor that will pour into you that is a little further ahead of you and one that is way further ahead of you.  There are lots of coaching networks out there that can be great for this, but I bet there is pastor near you that wouldn’t mind investing in you.
• Read blogs – There are TONS of blogs devoted to things that will help you in church planting. When I started in church planting, there were not near as many.
• Remain Fluid – When things don’t work out the way you want, be fluid, adjust and devise a new plan around your old plan, but make sure it’s God’s plan.
• Stop spending crazy amounts of time looking for a location. Instead, invest more into your leaders. The location will happen I promise.
• Never forget you’re planting the Gospel, not just a church. You’re planting something for GOD’s Kingdom, not yours