For a church plant to find its way to stability we believe there are four areas where active conversations are needed: faith, collaboration, focus, and leadership. We want to engage church planters in these topics through this blog. We also want to be open to other more direct ways to interact with church planters which could include forums like: on-line group sessions, temporary advisers for new churches (possibly meeting via conference calls or Go-to-Meeting type set ups), and one-on-one coaching for key leaders. We are looking for effective ways to walk alongside church planters and encourage them to apply what they are learning in the context of their local culture. With the right level of interest from participants we believe we can facilitate very productive conversations in each area and significantly increase the likelihood that a church plant will reach stability as soon as possible.
Faith – The church is the bride of Christ and we are merely His servants. No one can plant a church without a growing and vibrant faith. Any effort to plant a church must begin with a strong conviction that God is calling you to do this and that you must depend on God to provide your every need. Any group that is supporting church planters must also share these beliefs. We are asking God to provide the church planters (with whom we will work) the funds we need to support our efforts. We are also asking God for the wisdom we need to help His church. We will use the knowledge and understanding God has given us individually and collectively and we will keep man’s wisdom subservient to God’s wisdom as revealed through the Bible. This conversation should regularly occur across each forum and will become the most intense with “loaned” advisors and coaches because of the more personal nature of these forums.
Collaboration - Our vision is for church planters to be open to one another and to work together to improve on the human elements for which God gives us responsibility in His church. This collaboration should also extend into church plants as core groups, volunteers, and staff work together in ministry to grow a local church. None of this is easy, but it is essential. This conversation will occur extensively in the blogs and in the on-line group sessions. There will also be specific in-depth discussions about how to use collaboration and team-development in the coaching forums and in the loaned advisor forum.
Focus - The fewer the resources, the greater the need for focus. Church plants that target unchurched people are engaged in what is really “change management.” And for any organization that deals with change, focus is essential to gain enough influence to see positive movement. Understanding how to effectively apply focus in a variety of church plant settings will be one of the most valuable lessons church planters can learn. This conversation will occur extensively in each forum with more personal applications coming through the loaned advisor and coaching forums.
Leadership - If focus is the key tool, leadership is the engine that drives meaningful change. Because resources are always in short supply in a church plant, leadership is how a planter will identify and develop volunteers. And trained volunteer leaders will greatly impact the church plant’s ministry to the people God brings. The primary skill for all paid staff will likely be leadership. This will also be true for several levels of volunteers working in each ministry area. We will discuss it, demonstrate it, describe it, and explore how to effectively develop it in the shortest amount of time possible. Each forum will examine leadership in a variety of ways to make sure we do all we can with this valuable skill. The loaned advisory forum will address the specific challenges a planter faces. The coaching forum will provide insight and accountability the lead planter and a few other key leaders need to develop and apply their leadership skills.
Our hope is that all of the forums we will consider, with the exception of coaching, will require little or no cost from the participants, other than the investment of their extremely valuable time. We will work to make all activities as brief as possible while being effective. The individuals involved in starting Lean Churches are volunteering their time and providing all the funds needed for all operations except coaching. Because coaching requires a specialized set of skills that is best provided through organizations with specific certification standards, we strongly recommend using only certified coaches and compensating them at market based rates. We are aware of some organizations that are willing to provide certified coaching for churches with fee schedules based on church attendance and/or that help identify scholarships for some of the coaching fees.