What does a church planter look like?

by Steve Nicholson and Jeff Bailey (published in Cutting Edge Magazine, winter 1998)

The most important ingredient of any church plant is the team leader the church planting pastor. In fact, finding and preparing that person is one of the most difficult parts of church planting. Finding a likely place is easy. Finding the right person is a lot harder. Without the right leader, no ministry can take place and prosper, and without the right church planter, no healthy church can result.

Too often, however, established Vineyard pastors aren’t always clear on what criteria should be used to determine if someone really is a potential church planter. In fact, sometimes the reasons behind sending someone out to plant leave much to be desired. Here are some bad ways to go about selecting church planters:

• Holy Hunches

• To Get Rid Of The Trouble Maker From Our Church

• Desperation: The Person Has No Other Options

• Their Resume Looks Good

• They Have An Outgoing Personality

• They Are A Willing, Warm Body

• Their Location Will Not Hurt Us As A Mother Church

• We Don’t Want The Dirty Job Of Telling Them That They Are Not A Point Man For A New Church

Unfortunately, the average church is not immune from this sort of thinking. We simply know of too many cases where people have been sent out to church plant for one of the above reasons when, by any objective standard, they probably should not have been planting a church. Not that they weren’t called to ministry or even, perhaps, to be senior pastors. But church planting requires a certain set of gifts and skills and callings that not everyone has. To send someone out apart from frank assessment and prayerful consideration can be a very costly thing. Failed church plants are costly to the planter and his family. It’s costly to those who go with them. And its costly to the Kingdom the years the planter spent trying to establish a church may have been spent with much greater fruitfulness and fulfillment in a different ministry role much more suited to their calling and abilities. It is a loss when someone who is called to be an effective pastor of an already established church, or who is called to be a gifted administrator, ends up not using their gifts for a number of years, works outside of their strengths, and ends up tired and hurt all because no one had the courage or understanding to tell them that their call and abilities were not well-suited to church planting.

Church planting is a people-intensive, high-risk venture. We do not want to “play it safe,” we want to take risks, and we have no desire to set up unrealistic standards someone must meet in order to be considered for church planting. But we don’t want to play fast and loose with peoples lives in the Kingdom of God, either. We don’t want to be cavalier in our confirming and commissioning of church planters. To do otherwise is pastorally unwise and strategically ineffective. It’s much better to be clear up front just what were looking for in Vineyard church planters.

Some of the usual things people think about are actually not so important. For example, one of the first things people often ask is whether the person has a seminary degree. And although theological and biblical knowledge is very important and something we value the truth is a lot of the best church planters in the country never attended seminary. You might even find some great church planters among the businessmen and educators in your church. There are other ways to get a solid grounding in Bible and theology along the way.

It’s important to have a more practical set of criteria in mind when considering whether someone is a good prospect as a church planter. We usually begin with two thoughts in mind:

• Does this person have the ability to gather people, and

• Does this person have the ability to develop and lead leaders?

While there are many other important characteristics, these two are critical in identifying at least the potential to plant a church.

The AVC National Church Planting Task Force has done some work on specifying the prime areas we want to look at when trying to identify church planters. This development of this list is based both on the research that others have done in this area and also on our own experience in planting churches. In addition, our special thanks goes to Randy Knutson of the National Church Planting Task Force, who did a lot of work to refine this list of 12 characteristics and who has been training Vineyard leaders across the country in how to conduct half-day assessments of potential church planters.

Some of the following categories are things that can be worked on and developed; others are more intrinsic. Here are the 12 characteristics, by major categories, with specific questions to ask:

Calling & Vision

1. Exercises A Clear Sense of the Call of God

In a study Todd Hunter did several years ago of Vineyard church plants that failed, an interesting statistic emerged: half of those leading the failed plant were actually unsure of their call to church planting in the first place! The fact of the matter is, church planting can be incredibly difficult. The decision to plant will often be deeply and sometimes painfully tested. Often in the midst of the most difficult times when growth is slow, when leaders you’ve developed decide to leave, when the next steps forward seem very unclear the only thing that will keep one going is the sure, unshakable conviction that, “despite what I’m experiencing now, God has called me to this!” A call is more than thinking church planting is a neat idea, or something you just sort of “try out” among other options. No, the enormity of such a venture as church planting requires a clarity of calling that, while not immune to doubt, provides the foundation for tenacity in the midst of adversity and disappointment. Wise pastors will do well to discern the depth and conviction of call in those they are considering sending out from their church into the wilderness adventure of church planting.

2. Possesses A Faith-Driven, Inspiring Vision

Vision is a God-given ability that is an essential part of the spiritual gift of leadership: an ability to “see” what could be; in this case, to cast a vision for a church that is compelling and inspires others to want to be a part of it. But a good vision doesn’t just leave it there. Rather, it not only lifts people sights to what’s ahead, but it articulates a way to get there, too. In that light, simply wanting to “plant a church” is not a “faith-driven, inspiring vision.” What kind of church? What will it look like? What kind of people will it reach? How will you gather people to get on board with that vision? A church planter must not only have a vision for the kind of church he wants to build, he has to be able to sell it, too to articulate it in such a way that it engenders faith, and honors God, and inspires other people to want to get on board with the vision, as well.

Church Planting Skills

3. Leadership Development Skills

In that same study by Todd Hunter of failed church plants in the Vineyard, the number one characteristic associated with an unsuccessful church planter was this: They were unable to identify, recruit, train, and deploy lay leaders. It was an overwhelmingly prominent statistic 95% of unsuccessful church planters faltered in this category alone.

The undeniable truth is, it takes a person with a certain mix of gifts and catalytic abilities to pull off planting a church. And among the most important is that they have to be able to attract and lead other leaders! They need not only internal spiritual authority but also basic, pragmatic competence in growing a church if they’re to attract, motivate and train others around them who can lead, as well. If a church planter can lead people to Christ and nurture them, but cannot develop and lead leaders, he will not be able to build much more than a large homegroup. The church will never grow beyond what the church planter himself can directly oversee and lead.

4. The Ability to Gather People

People are going to go about the gathering process in different ways. Some people are good at one-on-one conversations; their gifts and attractiveness naturally come out in personal interactions. Others more naturally gather people with their upfront skills: interacting with large groups, communicating, teaching, and casting vision. However it is expressed, though, the ability to gather people is one of the first and most fundamental of abilities that must be present in the church planter. And if someone doesn’t have a track record of being able to attract and gather people before planting a church it is unlikely they will suddenly be good at it once they’ve started, either.

Gathering people also means being able to attract and empower others who are themselves people-gatherers: people who are extroverts, or who are natural evangelists or “bringers and includers.” The leader who is skilled at gathering people will empower those in his core who are natural gatherers themselves because once the church gets to any size at all, his ability to connect with large numbers will be increasingly difficult. The relational connection so necessary to the gathering process in church planting will be more and more dependent on others besides the pastor who are skilled at gathering new people.

5. Healthy Communication Skills

The planter needs to show the ability to communicate and apply Scripture in a compelling way. Of course, people are going to have varying levels of skill, here as well as varying styles. By noting “Healthy Communication Skills” as a value, we are not trying to suggest that a church planter much be capable of sermonic pyrotechnics or be equal to the verbal abilities of those leading Americas largest churches. But there is no getting around the point: Church leadership is an inescapably communication-intensive enterprise. What gathers people, what feeds them spiritually, what motivates them to Kingdom-action, what creates a particular church culture is effective communication before large numbers of people. A church planter simply must have good communication skills if the plant is to be at all successful. It does not mean he has to be great. It does not mean he will not improve probably significantly, and sometimes dramatically within his first few years of ministry. But it does mean that, as a pastor, he is first and foremost one who preaches the Word. And as Scripture unyieldingly recognizes, a pastor must be “able to teach” (1 Tim. 3:2).

6. Creative Evangelistic Skills

Does the person show evidence of being able to reach the unchurched, since they are the prime people with whom we hope to build churches? This is something on which we want to continue “upping the ante” in the Vineyard. We intend to continue waving the flag of evangelistic intentionally, and want to identify those potential planters who have a lot of heart and at least some skills for growing churches by evangelism.

We must be about building our churches with the unchurched, one way or another, even if we have to go around walls or through windows to do it. If a church is to be healthy, if its to grow in a Biblical way, then the leader should have some sort of evidence of evangelistic orientation. Interestingly, George Barna did a study contained in his book, Evangelism That Works (Gospel Light Books, 1995). Of the churches growing in America due to evangelistic growth, he notes a fascinating (and liberating!) statistic: the majority of the Senior Pastors of these churches do not have the spiritual gift of evangelism. But without exception, every single one of them are passionate about evangelism. And that passion carries over into everything they do. It motivates their churches to be evangelistically focused. They consistently find ways to make heroes out of the natural evangelists and gatherers who are in their congregations. And they have worked hard to learn to communicate the gospel in relevant and compelling ways to the unbelievers who are coming to their Sunday services.

That’s what were looking for: church planters who will be passionate and intentional about evangelism.

7. Intentional, Strategic Planning Skills

Can the person plan out a large, long-term project in a prayerful and yet intentional way? After all, that’s what church planting is a very large and long-term project. Too many people start off a church plant without a big-picture idea of what it is they’re trying to build. They have an idea that they want to try something new, to start a new church but they lack clarity in their vision beyond the first few steps. Or, even if they’re clear in their vision, they lack the abilities to strategically and measurably plan out concrete steps towards accomplishing that vision. Similarly, some people have mistaken notions regarding the role of planning. Rather than recognizing the Biblical mandate for human plans done under the leading of the Holy Spirit, the counsel of others, in submission to the sovereignty of God, they take a more “mystical” or “spiritualist” approach which suggests that “planning” is somehow contrary to faith or walking in the Spirit. Our understanding, however, is that such an approach is neither wise nor Biblical, and that the best church planters are those who pray for Gods direction ahead of time, plan prayerfully, and then execute the plans.

8. Financial Management Skills

Church planting doesn’t require you to be a financial genius but it does require that one knows how to handle money wisely, is out of debt, and has a realistic understanding of the financial needs of a church plant in the beginning years. Debt or irresponsibility with money are prime “plant killers” owing to the pressures and conflicts they bring. Given the financial pressures typically accompanying the first few years of a church plant, a significant amount of debt makes planting very difficult. Additionally, financial planning and management skills are essential. Too often a church planter figures out how much hell need in his first year or two of planting to simply cover his salary or living expenses. But there are a lot of other things requiring additional capital: buying a sound system, renting space, purchasing children’s ministry supplies, paying for printing and advertising, obtaining necessary office and computer equipment, etc.

9. Vineyard Values and Methods

Since we are planting Vineyard churches, does this person actually understand firsthand the essential values of Vineyard church life? This means that more is necessary than a mere understanding of the idea of using supernatural spiritual gifts in church life gained at a renewal conference. Vineyard churches value renewal but our church life is about much, much more than that. Do they understand our theological commitments: to be “empowered evangelicals” committed to conservative, evangelical theology, expository preaching, and an emphasis on Scripture and evangelism and thoughtful discipleship as well ministering in the power of the Spirit and spiritual gifts? That we value a thinking approach to modern life?

Do they understand our style: a lack of hype, an avoidance of the sensational, a belief that you can’t manufacture a genuine work of the Holy Spirit? That we believe that the Holy Spirit, with the church, is able, willing and free to break in and carry on his work in non-spectacular, non-manipulative and surprising ways? Do they understand that we value authenticity, realness, and ministering to the whole person? That we value following hard after God, and holiness? That we believe that the grace and mercy of God changes peoples hearts more powerfully than human or religious “regulations”? Do they recognize our value of contemporary worship and that we believe that worship is an end in itself, and that it connects people to God in ways that change us and reorient us? That we value taking risks? That we value ministry to the poor believing that as we go to the poor we come into a Kingdom reality that releases Gods power and favor, and causes momentum within the local church? Do they understand that instead of emphasizing upfront “superstars,” we believe that the people are the ministers of the church, and are to be empowered and mobilized and released into ministry in the church and the world? That leadership in the church is a result of functional reality, not a position or reward? These are all things which are part of Vineyards values and methods that, in some fashion or another, need to be represented and part of the “DNA” of local Vineyard churches that are planted.

Godly Character

10. Solid Marriage and Family

If married, is the marriage solid and does the spouse support and agree to be involved in the church plant in some way? Without this cooperation the whole effort comes under a cloud. For something as large and dramatic an undertaking as planting a church, the husband and wife need to be on the same page in agreement that this is Gods calling for them, as well as in agreement regarding the timing of things. To be undertaking something like this and not being in sync with each other is asking for trouble from the very beginning. Better to wait to start the church plant until things on are more solid footing than to push on ahead and pay the consequences in the marriage and in the church.

11. Emotional Maturity and Resilience

Can the person adjust to changes, challenges, and corrections? Do they have a track record of learning from their mistakes and going at it again? Can they overcome failure? Because changes, challenges, mistakes and failures are all one piece of the experience of planting churches.

12. A Vital Spiritual Life

Does this person have a strong lifestyle of worship and prayer? Will they be starting the plant at a spiritual “high point” and with a depth of spiritual strength? When someone is deeply questioning their faith, or feel like they are in a spiritual “desert” experience or when someone has never really “connected” with the whole idea of intimacy with God, or has never developed the kinds of heart habits whereby they know what it is to walk in Gods presence and have cultivated the ability to hear God for themselves when those kinds of things aren’t present, they ought to be warning signs against starting the plant. A vital spiritual life is so fundamental to everything else. It is the “well” out of which ministry must flow for years to come. If that well is dry or if it has never been dug properly the spiritual resources so desperately needed in church planting will be inadequate to the task the spiritual ministry which will be required in the days ahead.