Video Transcript: Who Should Plant Healthy Churches? (Part 1)
Today we are going to continue the basic church planter training. Who should plant a church is what this topic is going to be about. Now in this training we've looked at why plant healthy churches? We're going to talk about two part series today and who should plant churches? Then we're going to look at what does the church we're going to plant established look like? And finally, we're going to look at what steps should we take to plant a church? This is that seminar style, that basic training for multiplication network. Okay, who should plant churches? Well, here's sort of the objective of this presentation is to provide a basic profile of some characteristics that a successful church planter should possess, provide a tool for the church planters self evaluation. So let's watch. And so if we think about these church who should plan to church church, let's talk first of all about the paradigm of two opposing paradigms that are all over the world. When it comes to planting churches. And the one, we find that the church planters have extensive amount of formal education, seminary, extensive Bible school, people who have gone four years to college and four more years to seminary, or three years of seminary, often those with the formal education, if they want to plant a church, they need right away to receive a large salary, so to speak, or at a comfortable salary to repay debt, or sometimes you'll have a planter later on in life, and they're looking for a church planting position. On the other side of the spectrum, are those with no preparation at all, maybe some ministry has contacted them. And this ministry has given the tools such as multiplication network, the tools to plant a church, and the very techniques and the nuts and bolts are something that a church planter can receive through ministries like multiplication network, what Christian leaders Institute does, is we want to take that formal online ministry training base, and then mentor, and deal with people who are called by God to plant a church and they don't know how to do it. But when in a sense, we're going to be in the middle of that arrow, those arrows, we have formal education, it's online, it's free, it's highly effective, it brings together some of the best teaching and formal education in the world. But it also has that feeling like no matter who you are, bi-vocational, you're not gonna have a lot of debt, you can learn how to plant a church. So what we're trying to do a Christian leaders Institute is bring the distance between the formal education and the middle preparation, bring that together. So formal education and CLI and just having the calling to plant a church is something that can come together. Okay. So, in planting the church, the issue of the selection of the church planter is always very, very important. And one mandatory principle that we've already talked about is the church planter must be called by God, that dispenser that, that Oikonos, you can't give what you don't have. In other words, if you are called to lead a church, you bring people to where you are. If you're already at home with the Lord, you are already in God's presence, you can share who you really are. That's an important piece. The church planter is someone who is called and shares who they are. The second thing is, as a church planter, you
are an ambassador of God, you represent your King, the Lord Jesus Christ. So as you walk with Him, and as God's ambassador, you are planting churches in God's behalf. So that calling is very important in that calling, first of all, is from God, it's divine. Secondly, it's confirmed. In other words, people have to see if you said to somebody, I think I'm called to plant a church. They have to see God in you that enthusiasm from God, are they confirming that? Very specifically, you may be called by God confirm, but maybe you're called to be a Chaplain. No specifically called to plant a church. And finally, is that calling fulfilling? In other words, you might have the divine call, you might sense God wants you to do something is comfirmed by other people in your life elders leaders is specific, you have the calling to plant a church. But if you're so stressed out in, you're basically going through depression, because it is absolutely not fulfilling. Some may say, You know what, maybe I am not called to plant a church. So these are four critical things. And we've been talking about call. And I like how Arturo Robles Pollares puts these call into four critical pieces that really give you that indication. So that's the call. Now, what have we seen are the successful characteristics of church planters. And we're going to talk about them. And I'm going to first mention all of them, and then we're going to look at half of them in this session, and the other half in the next session. Well, let's just talk about them at the 30,000 foot level. Are you visionary? Are you self motivated? Do you involve others? Do you love to reach nonbelievers? Do you have spousal support? Do you relate well with others? Are you dedicated to holistic church growth? Do you respond to the community? Do you use the gifts of others? Are you flexible? Do you maintain unity in the church? Do you adapt to the context? And finally, do you practice your faith? These are the things we're now going to look at to who should plant the church? Are you the one? First of all, let's talk about vision. Are you visionary, the effective church planter possesses the ability to see opportunity in the midst of circumstances. He or she sees a clearer picture of what the future can and should be, and can share it with those who are part of his team. His vision for planting a healthy church will help him persevere in difficult moments. Nehemiah saw in the midst of the desolation Jerusalem, he said this, why should my face not look sad when the city where my father's are buried lies in ruins? And if Gates had been destroyed by fire, if it pleases the king, and if your servant has found favor in his sight, let him send me to the city in Judah where my father's are buried so I can rebuild it. Do you see the vision of Nehemiah? So a church planters are visionary. church planters are self motivated. Are you self motivated? The planter is motivated internally for the task. Areas that concern the planter and this is from Stetzer, our evangelism, preparation of sermons and Bible studies administration, pastoral ministry, family, personal time, other responsibilities? Are you someone who just wakes up and says I am called to do these things? Are you self motivated? Or do you just have to be told what to do if you are self motivated? That is a core
characteristic of a church planter. The next one, are you able to involve others in ministry, the planter knows how to include others in ministry so that they feel a part of it. People join in the vision of the new church because the planter makes them an integral part of the mission two are better than one, Ecclesiastes 4:9. Now there are some dangers that we should really take note of here, more church planters than we like. Then we like to try more church planters than we'd like to try to plant a church alone. Hmm. They use people as mere servants who carry out their wishes and don't use the gifts and talents that the Lord has given each of his children. Now, and I have seen this, I have been around church planters all over the world and the ones who try to do it alone, who micromanage every task. Who don't give others the stage the authority, the calling that the sending out. Those church planters usually bottleneck the growth of a local church. The key by working in a team one stays strong in the work and as people learn as people lean on in both good and bad times. So what happens is, the key is to give develop a team and work with the team. Here's another characteristic of a church planter. Will you reach non believers? Do you have that passion? Do you feel comfortable? If the purpose of planting congregations is to seek the lost, we need to look for them where they are. Don't go fishing in a fish tank. In other words, there's this little area, you're not going to find fish in a specific fish tank. Jesus said to His disciples, I will make you fishers of men. Now, I want to mention a little bit about the nonchurched sort of calling and passion. Are you comfortable to talk to people very different spiritually than yourself without coming off too judgmental? In other words, you have to come off sort of like we're all sinners for all it is since seeking, and I want to help you take your next step as opposed to you know what, you're you're such a rotten nonbeliever. And I know something you don't know and I hope you get it. See, you need to have that sense of wanting and having that, in a sense of people smart abilities, even with non believers. We've mentioned this earlier, even in the first week, have the support of their spouse Do you have your support of your spouse, the married planter needs to have the support of his or her spouse. Together they should reach an agreement regarding the participation of each. Though the models and levels of support may vary, both the church planter and the spouse must be committed to the ministry. A serious but common error. The worst error a married church planter can make is to underestimate the importance of the spouse's participation in the ministry. No success in church planting can make up for the failure of one's marriage. One cannot do battle on two fronts for a very long time without losing one side. If you're married, don't plant a church without the support of your spouse. Here's the last one we're going to talk about today. And that is can you as a church planter establish relationships with others and maintain them. The church planter has the ability to make healthy connections with other people and has influence due to his or her social gifts. And again, this could be an introvert or an extrovert. There is a
people smart piece to church planting. The planter relates well to a team of leaders in a church plant. Those he wants to reach community leaders, people in the community, other leaders, people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. So here are the first set of characteristics today that we're going to look at. And these are important for planting a church who should the church planter be? These are characteristics that you must have if you're going to plant the church. Now somebody may say I'm strong in some a little weaker in others. I will tell you this if you have a teachable attitude, you can go very far and having the qualities and the characteristics to be a church planter