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“
We exist to glorify God throughlives changed by the gospel of JesusChrist.” 
Pitfalls in Church Planting
First Prepared for the Depth Church Planting Conference (sponsored by Acts 29Network , 2008
I wanted to write down some common pitfalls that church planters facein the first few years. These are not the fantastic or extraordinarypitfalls like sin, betrayal, addiction or church-splitting, but normativepitfalls that almost every church planter deals with. My hope is thatyou will be helped in avoiding some of these and encouraged that youare not alone when you do face them.The pitfalls listed assume you’ve clarified your calling and location andare on your way to planting. The most common pitfall we see with Acts29 applicants is men who are really excited about church planting andgifted for ministry but not called to plant a church. If you do not sensea distinct call to plant a church then that will be your biggest pitfall. If you’re not called to plant a church, go to one of the hundreds of goodchurches looking for staff people and give your life away there. Butassuming your calling is sure and you have a city in mind these arethings to watch for.
Pitfall #1 – FinancesEvery church planter has to realize you are the primary  provider for your church
. Yes, Jesus provides for his church and Godis the giver of all good things, but you must take ownership of thefundraising task. Most guys find the most stressful part of churchplanting is fundraising. You will need to personally raise funds inaddition to teaching your core group to give faithfully and sacrificially.Finances are one of, if not the limiting factor for ministry. Finances arethe difference in you being bi-vocational or full time, finding apermanent location or being mobile, having a great children’s ministryor baby-sitting. Every planter I know goes through some form of financial struggle. So how can you deal with it?You must accept your role as lead fundraiser. The Lead Pastor acts asthe provider for the church and its ministries. It is your job to go outand get the money and resources needed to continue the mission.Most planters clearly see their role as preacher, leader and counselorbut never take into account their role as fundraiser or provider and it iscrucial in the planting stage.It also needs to be said that
every church plant should have a
Giving Life, Giving Life Away.
a
100 Clark St, Suite C | Little Elm, TX 75068 |
t
469.362.1240 |
e
info@getmissional.com |
w
www.getmissional.com
 
financial plan
written down and have someone to manage it.Understand that financially, your church plant is a small business andneeds to be managed well. This is key for gaining and keeping outsidedonors and protecting the credibility of your church among new peopleand members. When you or your elders have developed and writtenout a plan (budget, priority spending, etc.) then
you should hand it off to someone else to manage
. As a lead pastor/church planteryou should not give yourself the power to write checks, make changesto the budget or affect financial records in any way. This is notbecause church planters are thieves and have a history of spendingofferings on Cheetos and new cars, but it will go a long way inprotecting your integrity. Setting up layers of accountability from dayone is essential. You have enough to worry about without dealing withaccusations that come from poor planning and weak financialstructures.
Pitfall #2 - Leadership
Leadership is one of the biggest pitfalls in church planting because theeffects of leadership are so pronounced. Good leaders brighten yourchurch-planting world. Good leaders can overcome a lack of resources,difficult situations or limited staffing. Similarly, bad leaders can’t win afixed game. With bad leaders you can’t raise enough money or gatherenough people to plant a strong church. Finding good leaders for everylevel of your church is key to planting well. Let’s take a look at twokey levels, elders and staff.Every planter is frantically looking for teammates and help as theyplant the church but
don’t 
 
install elders too quickly 
. This usuallyleads to hiring people who are not qualified or ready to lead or givingauthority to people who are not completely in sync with your missionand values. I know a church planter in North Carolina who hastilyinstalled a group of elders who proceeded to fire him in their firstelders meeting. Your first elders should be picked with almost asmuch care as your wife! (Unless you got married in Vegas.) Yourelders should feel a distinct call to pastor “your church” not just pastor “a church.” When you plant your church, it’s because you heard adistinct call from God to do so. Your elders should have had a similarexperience. Lots of guys install their closest friends as elders becausethey really like them and they want to do ministry so it seems like aperfect fit. Do not assume that someone else has experienced thatcall just because they like you and want to do ministry. Your bestfriend may not be called to your church and he may not know he’s notcalled until he’s been there a year or so. If you’ve given him the titleof elder, it’s going to be a major ordeal if he needs to leave. Give him
Giving Life, Giving Life Away.
a
100 Clark St, Suite C | Little Elm, TX 75068 |
t
469.362.1240 |
e
info@getmissional.com |
w
www.getmissional.com
 
“
We exist to glorify God throughlives changed by the gospel of JesusChrist.” 
a staff role or a seat on the leadership team but don’t give away thetitle of elder lightly.Be slow to give power and authority and be quick to take it away (
1Tim. 5:22
). A man should be tested and approved in your churchbefore you give the title of elder to him.Another key level of leadership is staffing.
 
In the beginning, youshould concentrate on
hiring the right staff positions.
You need tobuild your staff based on the needs of your community and culture,not a typical church planting structure. Every church planter hires thesame people in the same order. First it’s the worship leader, then asmall group’s guy, and so on. You should take a hard look at the needsa church in your culture will have. In our culture, the suburban Meccaof Frisco, I should not have hired a worship leader first. I should havehired someone to organize and lead a dynamic children’s program. Werun 1 child for every 2 adults (That’s a lot of kids.). I can hire a bandto come in and lead worship for 15 minutes every week, but good helpfor children isn’t as easy to outsource. Let your culture speak intoyour staffing strategy.
Then, move on to hiring the right people
– as quickly as you can,move on to hiring the right people, not just the positions you think youneed. Our elders have a saying when we’re staffing, “
We’ll take one“a” player over three “c” players
.” Instead of hiring someone to leadhome groups, can you hire the right guy who can do multiple jobs? Inthe beginning you also want to hire almost exclusively
self-starters
inyour church plant. Until you get to a size where you can hire goodmanagers, you will need people who can survive doing ministry withlittle resources, little direct coaching or an as-yet undefined plan. If you just hire good people who can’t self-motivate and self-start, youwill spend all your time keeping your staff happy and not moving themission forward.Church planters should also
consider “outsourcing” 
as much aspossible. You can outsource missions, counseling, finance andweb/technology in the first few years. You should concentrate on thatwhich is most important. You will be in a constant battle trying tofigure out how and where to invest time and energy. You should bedoing that which provides the greatest return for your investment.There will be a time for you to become a specialist and write a treatiseon divorce and remarriage but for now, steal that from another churchand figure out how to get a building!
Giving Life, Giving Life Away.
a
100 Clark St, Suite C | Little Elm, TX 75068 |
t
469.362.1240 |
e
info@getmissional.com |
w
www.getmissional.com
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tsupasat

Great document, but no downloads allowed? The way I see it, better to share your experiences and God's word. Why not allow people to download and share?

reply12 / 19 / 2009
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