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________See also Intro, Part 1 & Part 3_________

Here’s the first of 7 “best practices” that can contribute to building a healthy church plant via small groups. I noticed that because the “Part 1″ post was “Background,” the 7 best practices won’t correspond to the series numbers… Oops. But here we go.

1. Cast a unifying vision that includes the expectation of struggle and perseverance.

When church planters underestimate the difficulty of their task, they fail. On the other hand, “When the expectations of the church plant meet the reality of the church planting experience, the chances of survivability increases by over 400 percent.”[1] In other words, what’s between the ears trumps what transpires on the ground.

When the core group embraces the necessity of the Spirit’s involvement, they will find themselves prepared for obstacles and praying with greater fervency and hope.

Therefore, a wise leader will educate himself on the risks and hardships of church planting and convey a realistic picture of the challenge to his people, affirming that “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain” (Psalm 127:1 ESV).[2] A study carried out by the North American Mission Board concluded, “It is evident that a realistic picture of the joys and difficulties surrounding church planting is beneficial for both the church plant and the church planter.”[3]

When the core group embraces the necessity of the Spirit’s involvement, they will find themselves prepared for obstacles and praying with greater fervency and hope: “[Not every] every successful small-group meeting has to end with an earth quake. But we must realize the potential that exists when we gather. The same Lord who shook that upper room and shook off the chains of death is in our midst!”[4] Identifying the obstacles to planting a new church will pave the way for members to own their identity as the people of God incarnated in a specific time and place for the purpose of living out the gospel. What people fight for, they learn to appreciate.

One way to solidify this commitment is to have new group members sign a church covenant, signifying that they take their commitment to Christ and the church plant seriously. The covenant would cover topics like core beliefs, character, and conduct, and emphasize that the church is primarily a gospel endeavor focused on seeing lives transformed by Jesus.

Blog content: How have you gone about (or how do you anticipate) casting a unifying vision that’s both realistic and joyful? What do you mention? What do you omit? What would you add to what’s said here?

________See also Intro, Part 1 & Part 3_________

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[1] Ed Stetzer and Phillip Connor, Research Report: Church Plant Survivability and Health Study 2007 (Alpharetta, Ga: North American Mission Board, SBC, 2007), 19.
[2] All subsequent scripture quotations are taken from the English Standard Version unless otherwise indicated.
[3] Ed Stetzer and Phillip Connor, Research Reflection: How Many Church Plants Really Survive-and Why? (Alpharetta, GA: North American Mission Board, SBC, 2007), 2.

[4] C.J. Mahaney and Greg Somerville, ed., Why Small Groups: Together Toward Maturity (Gaithersburg, MD: Sovereign Grace Ministries), 42.