Diverse Culture, Diverse Church Planting?

A few days ago, I was sitting in a restaraunt in BWI Airport with almost 3 hours before my connecting filght home. . As I sat there eating a burger called a Gringo Burger (definitely a Mexican eatery), i practiced the art of something that my incredible wife taught me..the art of people watching.As I looked, a little boy passed by with his family. He wearing some sort of dinosaur outfit. What caught my eye is that it is blue...not your typical color of brown or purple. Then there was an African American woman wearing a bright yellow ethnic dress. Soon after that, an airport employee, as trash collector strolled by pushing a cart loaded with trash bags. I also saw a woman with a large brimmed straw hat glide by on the level escalator,reminding me of all the different people wearing different hats.  It does not take long, if you really look, to notice that the culture of our great nation is is vastly diverse to say the least.


You may be wondering why the rambling, especially on a church planting blog. I wondered as well.At least until u I reflected upon the conversations in a meeting earlier in the day.  The meeting was one of seeking God and brainstorming issues like strengths, weaknesses, dangers and opportunities that exist in the planting movement that I am priveldged to be a part of.

Over the course of that meeting, the conversation changed. Things that our teams saw as strengths perhaps were not as strong as thought and, our weaknesses began to look more like faith issues,Over time, the dangers all seemed to fade into the background as we realized that God had our back. We were left with opportunites. The list was not huge for we had narrowed it down for focus purposes. The take away? Perhaps, the opportunites are the greatest they have ever been, at least in my life. Some statistics suggest that as many as 85% of American culture is unchurched, that as much as 40-50% of our population will never connect to current expressions of church and therefore will never find Christ.

That brings me back to where I started. If people that are vastly different can be found in an airport, then they can be found anywhere. Therefore, should not our church planting efforts be producing expressions of church that will be as radically different as the people we seek to reach?

More than 10 years ago, my wife and I, along with a few others knocked on 1000 doors in the community we planted in. We had a spiritual survey with 5 questions, one of which was "if you were to look for a church, what would it look like?"  To my surprise, people did not have a clue. The primary reason was that in our area, Catholicism is the major spiritual influence, and Catholic churches all look and do alike. My reaction to this revelation was one of sadness.

Today, with church planting becoming more and more a normal part of the "church scene" , I find church planters' vision for the church they want to plant to be less creative and more cookie cutter. That saddens me as well.
We serve a creative God who was creative in the methods He used to reach lost people.  I am looking for planters that have a vision to get totally out of the box with vision to reach people for Jesus in new and fresh ways. Are you one?

Someone Who Gets It!

Yesterday I had an inquiry about the SENT NE planting network from a church planter that does not live in the Northeast. He had been on our website: www.sentnechurchplanting.com , and the Lord began to stir his heart for the Northeast. His email was a request for basic information. That's usually where people start. As I read his email, I came across a statement that caused me to pause and CELEBRATE! Here's the statement:

" I feel like God is stirring my heart to possibly move to a greater 'frontline.' I know in the Bible Belt everyone already "knows" about God and I know there are fewer true Believers in the north...."

Wow! He gets it! This guys understands the Northeast is truly the "frontline" of church planting. He understands the cultural and spiritual differences in our nation.

For years, the northeast has been labeled as a "church planters graveyard." Church planting can be hard work for any planter, yet in the Northeast, church planting is always hard work. I remember back in 2002 when we move to the Boston, South Shore and planted LifeQuest Community Church, a lot of people thought we were foolish, that we should go south where planting is easier. I have to tell you that there have been times that I wished I had. But nothing is more rewarding than working hard to develop trust, in order to develop relationship, in order to speak spiritually into a single life; and then having the privilege of introducing them to Jesus.

Come to think of it, there is something more rewarding. When church planting is consistently hard work, God shows up in consistently incredible ways!

Are you sensing a call to church planting? I want to challenge to pray for the Lord not to call you to a place that is comfortable and conveniently distant from the "frontline". Instead, pray for the privilege of planting on that front line, or better yet, enemy territory! If you are like the planter that emailed me, and God is sting your heart for the Northeast. Let me know!

Wisdom Gleaned at Church Multiplication Network Planting Bootcamp

Today I was privileged to spend the day at the Church Multiplication Network Planting Bootcamp with our newest network planter Jeff Tibbetts.

Here's some food for thought:

All experiences shape planting a church. how do you leverage your experiences both good and not so good?

God is " Provision" He is for us and since he is for us who can be against us!


Creative funding of plant-
Develop a community serving non-profit ahead of your plant
Bi-vocational ministry as a way to fund your plant
Create a "for profit" business that funds your plant

2 aspects of evangelism- attracting, presenting. I'm thinking that if you have either one without the other, it's not evangelism.

Every planter should have a circle of Critical Loyalty- people you trust that love you and will speak into both the good and the bad.

Discipleship is an intentional process and needs to built into a church's structure. Otherwise, it will not happen.


And finally, a quote from a good friend and network partner, Justin Meier, " if it's not reproducing disciples, groups and churches, it's not multiplication!"

Feel free to share your thoughts!

Looking For Church Planters @ Soulfest

The SENT NE Church Planting Staff is at Soulfest in Gunstock NH today through Saturday. If you believe God is calling you to plant a church in the Northeast, come check us out at our exhibit display located in the vendor area near the Gateway Cafe.

A Huge Problem For The Multiplication Church Planting Movement

Most of us are familiar with the phrase "elephant in the room". For those that are not, the "elephant in the room" is that huge hairy thing in the midst of a gathering of people that is so obvious that there can be no freedom or movement until it's dealt with. Unfortunately, few people want to acknowledge the "elephant" because they do not know how to remove it.

This is my second year attending the Exponential Conference in Orlando. For those who are unfamiliar, Exponential Conference is the "largest gathering of church planters on the planet". You can learn more at www.exponentialconference.org/

The first session was led by Dave Furguson and Allan Hirsch. Both, while very different in ministry approaches, share the same passion for an ever increasing missional movement. During their session, they exposed the "elephant in the room" of the the multiplication planting movement.

The elephant? The overwhelming majority of churches we are planting are a viable option of reaching people with the gospel to only about 40% of western population. The elephant? No matter how many churches we plant, we will be unsuccessful at reaching our nation for Jesus. WOW!

The elephant has been exposed. Having said that, the reality is, removing the elephant is not so quickly done. It will require breaking out of our churchianity box. To do that there will need to be a new breed of dreamers, innovators and changers. Are you one of them? Could it be that the vision you possess is so contrary to our current ways that it could only be by the creativeness of the Holy Spirit? If so, I would love to hear from you. Feel free to comment!

SENT Conference

This week I was privileged to be part of the SENT conference in Melbourne Florida. SENT is the national church planting multiplication network of the Churches of God, General Conference. The network I direct, SENT Northeast, is one of 5 regional networks and part of the Eastern Regional Conference, Churches of God 2020 Initiative.

National SENT Conference in Melbourne Florida

The SENT conference in Melbourne was our first national network gathering with more than 30 planter/planter couples from all over the country. Our three day gathering included network vision casting, and some awesome equipping by Ann & Jared Roth from Evergreen Christian Center in Hillsboro Oregon. Vince ans Jen Antonucci from Verve Church in Las Vegas were also with us. They did some great teaching on "how to reach people that are far from God." Some of the take aways from the Roths include:

• Multiplication- New churches should invest from the start, become pregnant in first 3 years, continuously cast multiplication vision and develop a culture of recruit, resource, release and reward.
• Tribe- Relationships that are healthy & sustainable are reciprocal. 
• Resources (time)- prioritize time with minimum of 15% in pre-Christian relationships, the majority of the rest being with team and raising leaders. It's all about relationships!
• Resources (financial)- Invest in what you value, have a sustainable economic model, fund the mission not the institution.
• Church plant- Have a plan that answers: What does God want to do? Who am I? Who has God sent me to? Who will do it with me? How will we evaluate our progress? Plan should only forecast out 12 months and then be revised around the ninth month for the next 12 months.
• Coaching- Get one! Look at chemistry & competency, frequency of contact, method of interaction and time frame. Planter, not the coach should be proactive.

The SENT Conference also provided planters opportunities to interact with other planters, field directors and conference staff in warm and sunny Melbourne- quite a treat for those serving in snow country!

You Might Be A Church Planter If...

It's been over 8 years since my wife and I planted LifeQuest. The funny thing is, more than 12 years ago, I was asked to consider planting a church. The problem was, I could not see myself as a church planter. Now, while my role has changed, I realize that church planting is part of my DNA.

I recently began thinking-  "how many people are out there that are just like I used to be?" So, for those that wrestle with a calling to plant but are not convinced, let me offer a few thoughts.

You might think one could be a church planter if..

• they are cool. 
• they are a natural born fundraiser. 
• they have all the latest electronic gadgets.
• they use some of culture's more colorful words.
• they have a Seminary or Bible college degree. 
• they have access to tons of money. 

Here's what you really need to know.

• Even though church planting is the "sexy thing to do right now" (as Ed Stetzer suggests) cool has nothing to do with planting a church. Church planting is not about "cool", it's about reaching a lost and broken world.Even nerds can do that!
• Fund raising is a skill that can be learned, practiced and mastered by anyone.
• Technology is only one means of connecting with the culture. There are many others. Besides, tech people gravitate towards church plants,
• There are enough descriptive words in the dictionary apart from culture's colorful words.
• While professional training for ministry is good, Seminary and Bible college tend to prepare pastors, not planters. I have observed that most planters do not make good pastors and most pastors do not make good planters. Church planting is also a skill that can be developed and when combined with vision, spiritual gifts and personality makes a person a planter. Also, never forget that the greatest movements in church history we not led by educated clergy.
• You can start a church with little to no money- in a home, a business, community center, etc.

So what does it take to be a church planter? Well, you might be a church planter if...

• You have a passion to see lost people and communities transformed by Jesus.
• You have a holy dissatisfaction with church as usual.
• You are entrepreneurial. That is- you have the ability to envision a better future and the ability make it happen.
• You sense God is calling you to plant.
• You are passionately Spirit-led.
• Other's encourage you to plant.
• You have invested your life in others that they would grow as disciples of Jesus.  

Of course there are some other things we look for in church planters. That's where our planter assessment process becomes valuable.

Finally, you might be a church planter if you walk with God in the process of discerning your call to see if planting in your call. SENT NE is here to walk you through the process. If you are reading this and are even the slightest bit curious as to whether you might be a church planter, I would love to talk with you!

Mike