My 18 year old son Nate is serving as an intern this Summer for Michael Bayne our family minister working primarily with middle and high school students. Recently he took it upon himself and made this video announcement to send to the students. It reminds me that the methods of communicating with our people are changing every day. Are you staying current? Does your church use Facebook, Twitter, text messaging and video messaging to stay current?
Summer is often a time for church leaders (unless you are youth leaders) to take vacations, chill out, and rest up. While I agree with that need, the fact is that fall gets here quickly and we need to be prepared for one of the best growth opportunities of the year.
Sometimes we keep doing what we are doing because God called us to do it, not because we are popular, the work is easy, or even that we are being well received at the time. Being obedient to the call of God is sometimes painful, unpopular, difficult, and seemingly unrewarded (at the time).
At the same time, our church has continued to grow and the needs for our ministries are greater than ever. This season has forced us to find ways to do more with less. We need to continue to train our people, learn new ways of doing things and keep up with current trends, but we can no longer afford to attend all the conferences we once could.
I work with lots of church plants and young ventures. I love the enthusiasm and momentum an organization has early in its life. I hope to always be a part of starting something. As I’ve gotten older, however, I’m equally as concerned about sustainability. The right energy and vision will create growth fast, but building an organization that lasts requires having a plan for maintaining viability.
My friend Tony Hill sent me this email this week asking me about our experience with church planting: (Tony is the mastermind behind my blog design.)
Years ago I participated in a one-day medical clinic in a slum near Rio, Brazil that remains nameless, because the government has yet to name it. It is literally built on the side of a steep mountain. Simply walking to the clinic was a huge task. My job was to evangelize the crowd waiting to see the doctors. My translator and I had several decisions to accept Christ, but remarkably we also encountered a good number of professing believers. When I told them that the desire was to eventually start a church in the slum, they were ecstatic. One lady began to jump up and down with excitement. They wanted a local church!
Daniel Doss, the amazing worship leader who helped launch Grace Community Church, announced to the church this week that he is leaving to help plant another church. Daniel has one of the most gifted voices I have ever heard and could easily find a position anywhere, including staying at Grace, but he is excited to be pursuing the dream of planting again (it does get in your blood) with a high school friend in Northern Indiana. Daniel is our first staff member to ever leave and we are surely going to miss his and Emily’s energy and passion for what we are doing at Grace.
This is a word for me as a church planter. This passage is not talking about a lack of growth, it’s talking about the failure to produce a good harvest. The goal at our church is the same as any other Bible-believing, Christ-honoring church. We want to produce growing disciples of Jesus Christ. We want people to look, act, and sound more like Jesus. We want to be lovers of God and lovers of people. We want to be holy, because He is holy. If we keep that as our aim, and allow God’s Spirit to work His way in our midst, we will never have to sing the Song of the Vineyard.
Church planting is in my blood. It didn’t occur to me until recently, but shortly after my mother came to Clarksville she was a charter member of a local church. They are celebrating their 50th anniversary today. Shortly after this my mother married my father and became a Baptist, but she has always loved her Lutheran heritage.
