Church planting is filled with highs and lows, joys and frustrations. In every challenge planters face, there are opportunities for God to use his people. Here are two common challenges.
1. Church planters are underfunded. Anyone who is in church leadership knows that finances and budgets are rarely what we would like them to be. When it comes to church planting, budgets can be even more difficult.
Most people who join a church plant are new Christians or don’t know very much about what it means to be part of God’s family. They are still learning that being a follower of Jesus means he’s king of their finances. It takes time for them to start giving to the church they’re involved in. Many church planters are struggling financially, often relying on free health care or food assistance to support their families.
This is an opportunity for established churches to partner with church plants. This happens in the New Testament. When Paul knew of a need, he made it known to the other churches and they responded by sharing their resources. They wanted to continue the mission of Jesus outside of their own churches.
Partnering with a church plant could be as simple as sending a gift card, calling to check in on them, praying for them, or financially committing to their ministry monthly and making them a mission of your church. It’s a way of showing we care about the whole church and not just our church.
2. Sometimes there’s tension between church planting and established churches in the way that they look at each other. Church planters may think established churches and pastors don’t have much to offer them in terms of insight. On the other hand, established churches sometimes see new churches as competition or unnecessary.
Some of the most common things I hear said are, “Why do we need another church?” and “They’re drawing people away from other churches.” The reality is that church plants are growing by lost people getting saved. We need to plant as many new churches as we can and get them connected to as many established churches as we can.
The opportunity is for partnership and friendship. Church planters need to be in relationship with leaders who know what it looks like on the other side of the “new thing” that God is doing. They need to learn about structures that support continued growth as well as the potential pitfalls they will encounter.
Every established church and leader can also benefit from a relationship with a church planter and his congregation. It can be like when a person becomes a parent, or grandparent for the first time.
Kids are full of wonder and excitement and it’s contagious. Grandkids have a special way of keeping people young and active. Kids are never boring. A relationship with a church planter can remind established leaders of the joy of a God who hasn’t quit doing new things. When we start partnering in new things God is doing in other places, it sparks new energy is us. It starts to make us younger again.
Kevin Jones is IBSA Church Planting Director.