10 mistakes of starting a churchplant
By Jim Griffith
Taking Spiritual Warfare Lightly
Spend time in fasting & prayer (as an association, as a launch team, etc.)
Get God's perspective
Realize this is "war" and those involved are in the line of fire and will be wounded; therefore, adopt a plan to deal with the wounded.
Attempting to plant a church that reaches everyone
No Focus; therefore, no strategy
No target, no plan EXCEPT that it will change with each new addition
Identity: what makes us unique? -- Issue of Emphasis
Strategy: Forget to focus on what will put people in the seats
Premature Launch -- always shows up in "post-mortem"
Recruiting ceases after the "grand opening"
Point person now forced out of "recruiting role and into "pastoral" role
Majority of time spent on those who come through the door, rather than those who are not yet in the door.
No plan for the other 6 days of the week
Must have a process whereby people are connected to each other & to God, DURING the week
Orient attendees to the mission of the new church
Fear of talking about money until it's urgent
It takes money to conduct ministry
More ministry costs still more money
--failure to build in "rainy day" funds &
Absence of stewardship disciple making
Build in a "operations" budget
Conduct yearly one-time gifts
Not differentiating a church plant from an established church
It's a developmental issue
You have to "act your age"
Must have a few key elements in place so that you give the appearance of being developmentally sound
Formalize leadership too quickly
Once the project is up and running, Fail to reFocus on the target
Too much time discussing "church in a vacuum" creates hardening of categories
Must accommodate those who actually come and modify what's working and what isn't
Don't hold each other to those things which no longer matter
Failure to match target & strategy
Failing to adjust to what God seems to be doing
Relying on the Advice of Experts
Tempted to listen to successful people -- THEIR SITUATION IS NOT YOURS!
It's not my vision -- I keep my hands off
My role: To keep you sober; To make sure your judgment is clear!
