4 Things You May Not Know About Church Planting

By Josh Roberie

Church planters are the special forces of ministry. It takes courage to venture into the unknown to serve people you have never met. It’s a worthy cause filled with surprises along the way.

I have learned many common truths while working with church planters at Association of Related Churches (ARC), especially that church planting is risky. It’s beneficial to gain significant experience leading and teaching in a local church before launching. Oh, and don’t forget the coffee.

Here are four things you may not have considered about church planting:

1. Fundraising is easier and harder than you think

When you make fundraising about the vision and the people you are going to reach, it becomes much easier to ask for donations. You are not asking for you. You are asking for the people you are going to reach with your church. Take confidence in knowing people are giving to make an eternal difference.

Fundraising is a long process. Be faithful and considerate in the way you build relationships. Fundraising continues long after the launch as your church will continue to need financial resources to grow, reach more people, and serve those in need. 

2. There is a language to church planting

You must learn and speak the language of a church planter if you are going to start a church. When Jesus spoke, he used stories and illustrations that were common to his audience. Church planters must use the same technique.

You speak the language of a church planter when you translate insider Christian language into messaging everyone can understand. One way to do this is by communicating your reason for planting a church in a way that is meaningful to not only someone who already values faith and spirituality, but those you hope to reach as well. 

3. How you leave one season determines how you enter the next

If you want to reap in favor, then you need to sow in honor. Even the best transitions can cause disconnections. When you honor and respect the wishes of your sending pastor, you are investing in your future by attracting loyal followers.

When you go into your city, it’s easy to get lost in the needs of your new church plant. Remember you are entering a community of existing churches. One day, you will be on the other end of a new church planter moving into your area. Lead the way with honor. Create an environment of unity in your city by asking how you can serve the other churches in your community instead of asking what they can do for you.

4. It takes longer than you think

You may be able to launch your church with ARC within six months. This doesn’t mean everything you hoped to see will happen right away. It takes time to grow. Often God builds your capacity as a leader before he builds your church’s capacity to attract people. 

There are many aspects of your vision to start a church that will not be active at launch. Trying to get everything going all at once can lead to discouragement in you and exhaustion in your team. But dividing your focus prematurely can lead to neglecting the essentials. The process is never finished, so be persistent.

Church planting is an exciting journey filled with unexpected twists and turns but also brings the reward of witnessing the miracle of a new faith community being born. 

If you’d like to find out more about starting a new church with ARC, we’d love for you to connect with us. Please go to arcchurches.com and click “start a church.” We have some free resources available to you just for reaching out.

If you are a church planter, I would love to hear from you! What were some things you didn’t expect that you found out after launching a church?

You don’t have to build your ministry alone

At StartCHURCH, we know starting a church can be an overwhelming and daunting process. There are so many details to keep track of, and we don’t want pastors and ministry leaders to have to do it alone. Our specialists at StartCHURCH are well-prepared in this field and know what it takes for churches and ministries to thrive and grow. After you have completed the StartRIGHT Service, it is crucial that you find a church planting organization, like Association of Related Churches (ARC).

Read our blog, Why You Should Never Plant Alone to learn more about ARC and other great church planting organizations.

For more information on how to start a church or ministry, call us at 877-494-4655, or click the button below to have a specialist call you at your convenience. 

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