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