arieljvan.com

Before reading this, see Part 1 and Part 2.

Start the first group immediately after selectively recruiting a core team.

Your founding small group needs to be composed of the right people. Perhaps equally important, it needs to be kicked off at the right time. Ed Stetzer writes, “After field cultivation comes the time for small group design. The planter or team should locate interested members and then follow up immediately by involving them in a small group. Taking too much time between contact and involvement may squander good opportunities because some prospects may lose interest if not followed up quickly and appropriately.”[1] Therefore, the interim between recruiting team members and forming the first small group should be as brief as possible. When a threshold of eight to twelve invested adult members is reached, the first small group should be launched.

Related to this goal is the necessity of “being picky” when selecting invitees for the first small group(s): “The prospects of survivability in a new church plant diminish if in the early stage the church attracts too many nominal or hurt Christians who are unwilling or unable to change (i.e. church hoppers, burned out leaders, the chronically hurt, etc.). Also, if those initial members are unwilling to actively seek and welcome those who are different from themselves it can also reduce the health and survivability.”[2]

Therefore, founding small group members should be humble, teachable, others-focused people who love the gospel. The strong desire to recruit new members may tempt the church planter to take anyone he can get; this impulse must be resisted.

I’m currently working to build our core group–while also canvassing for potential sponsoring churches/networks–so this reflects where I am right now. Question, if anyone wants to take a shot at it: How did you find the people your plant needed to get off the ground? Did they come primarily from a sending church (not an option for us right now)? Were they new friends from new relational networks in your target area? How did you go about identifying those core members?

---

[1] Ed Stetzer, Planting Missional Churches (Nashville: B&H, 2006), 321.

[2] Ed Stetzer and Dave Travis, State of Church Planting USA: Improving the Health and Survivability of New Churches (Leadership Network, 2007), 5.

________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_________

---

[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.

Look them in the eye and say, “I want to plant a new, Jesus-loving church in urban Kansas City.”

Now pay attention very closely in the next couple seconds–no looking down to sip coffee, scratch your ear, buff your cell phone, whatever.

If their eyes light up like you just told a joke that was simultaneously profound and witty, you may have just met a prospective member. Those plans and dreams that keep you awake at night? Now’s the time to put them on the table.

If they look at you with a mystified but interested expression, you could still have traction. Throw out a few more specifics like bait on a hook and see if you get a tug.

If they stare at you blankly for the space of a couple beats, you may as well start talking about weather and the Royals. That conversation is going nowhere but “Oh, that’s nice.”