Rev. Elder Arlene Ackerman, chair
December 2004
Focus of this Document:
To
encourage:
·
The implementation of a denominational church planting strategy
·
The planting of healthy, multi-celled MCC churches that are culturally respectful
and relevant.
What are you going to learn?
How are we going to teach
this?
Why is this important?
Quotes
The
three most powerful statements that guide our discussion regarding church
planting come from C. Peter Wagner in his book, Church Planting for a Greater Harvest.
1.
“Without exception, the growing denominations have been those that
stress church planting.”
2.
“The single most effective evangelistic methodology under heaven is
church planting.”
3.
“In any geographical area, the Christian community will grow or decline
according to the degree of effort given to planting new churches.”
Lyle
Schaller writes,
1.
“Church Planting continues to be the most useful and productive
component of any denominational church growth strategy.”
2.
“If you are interested in reaching new people, by far the most
effective way to do this is through church planting.”
MCC
was birthed to reach our “nation” with the Good-news message of Jesus Christ.
In fact, I believe that God loves us so much that if we fail to reach our
global nation, surely, God will raise up another.
Do
you remember what life was like prior to hearing the message that MCC brings? I
wonder how many more people out there are just like us. People are waiting for
a Good-news church with an inclusive message of God’s perfect love. People are waiting for MCC!
2. Are there currently enough Metropolitan Community Churches to service the GBLT and supportive community (our nation) in every major city worldwide?
How many churches are
needed globally to reach our nation? How
many more in your country? In your Region and in your community?
Clearly, MCC’s are needed
in countries where we currently have none. There are countries where we have
only one or two churches. Is that enough? We have major cities where our nation
has only one or two churches from which to choose. Clearly our people are
under-served. In fact, even in the
3. How many flavors of MCC are needed to reach our nation?
Is our nation all a like?
Do we all relate to exactly the same kind of worship experience or philosophy
of ministry? No!
So how many different
flavors (types & styles) of MCC are needed in each area? Liberal,
Christ-centered, liturgical, charismatic, contemporary, Spanish-speaking,
African American, French-speaking, hearing-impaired, mid-sized, large, and the
list is endless.
1.
Territorialism – fear that the new church
will “steal” sheep and weaken the existing church.
As Donald McGavran said, “Well fed sheep cannot be
stolen.” Our experience shows that you might loose a few but will gain even
more.
2.
Focus on building up
existing churches – the hardest churches to grow are the long-established church,
according to Lyle Schaller.
3.
Start-up costs are too high,
we can’t afford it – clearly this depends on our philosophy of planting churches.
·
Presbyterians - $500,000 per plant.
·
Assemblies of God - $2,500 per plant.
Part 3 What about strengthening our existing
churches?
The answer is not about choosing planting over strengthening our existing churches. We must dedicate ourselves to both.
· Some existing churches simply need resourcing to become more effective in reaching their communities.
· Others may experience growth following their next pastoral transition.
· Others talk about reaching out but really are happy being the size they currently are.
Churches
also have a life cycle. Our existing churches will experience growth, decline and some will
die. Hopefully, some will discover new
birth. If we do not plan for the birth of new churches we will eventually
decline denominationally simply by attrition.
UFMCC
must be committed to supporting the continued growth of our existing
congregations AND put together an aggressive plan to plant new, vibrant
churches.
Someone
once said, “It is easier to give birth than to raise the dead!”
Various
denominations have placed church planting among their top priorities.
·
Assemblies of God, one of the fastest-growing denominations in the
·
Southern Baptists – In 1976, set a goal of reaching 50,000 churches by 2000. In the
early 1990s, they were about 6,000 churches short of their goal. Consequently,
in response they decided to launch 1,500 churches a year for a total of 15,000
by the year 2000.
Peter Wagner writes:
“We
live in a time when general interest in church planting is higher than it has
been since the 1950’s. While some denominations continued to plant new churches
and thereby have grown during the last 40 years, others have virtually
eliminated that ministry with the exception of a new church here and there or a
cluster of ethnic minority churches. They have been paying the price”.
Later
he writes,
“Without
exception, the growing denominations have been those that stress church
planting.”
When we look at the history of UFMCC we will see that we have not had a denominational church planting strategy. The planting of churches for the most part has been entrapenourial. Meaning, that if a clergy person or motivated lay person moved to a new area they might very well plant a new church, sometimes with the permission of Rev. Perry or Global Outreach or the District or a nearby MCC, and sometimes not. On occasion, a District planted a church if there was interest in an area. In my former district, the Mid Atlantic District, we spent over seven years exploring church planting strategies and effectively planted a number of churches but there was never a plan that went beyond that one District. The research and lessons we learned might be helpful as we denominationally create a Church Planting Strategy.
If
UFMCC wants to reach out beyond our current number of churches, it will be
because we create an effective plan that:
·
Sets church planting as a high denominational priority.
·
Finds ways to raise funds to adequately fund the startup of each church
plant.
·
Teaches church panting techniques to those entering the clergy in MCC.
·
Educates & inspires local churches to set goals of planting churches.
·
Values those who dedicate themselves to the planting of healthy
churches.
·
Sets culturally appropriate standards for church planting beyond the
single cell.
·
Creates lines of support and accountability within each Region.
·
Celebrates the successes and lessons learned in our efforts to plant
churches.
·
Creates a Denominational Church Planting Initiative that leads the
denominational effort.
With
all this said, the Board of Elders has established an MCC Church Planting
Initiative Team to develop and implement a denominational church planting strategy
and has listed church planting as a high denominational priority.
Prior
to beginning a church plant you must have:
1. An Authorized Work
a.
Authorization comes from the Region for all types of church plants.
Contact your Regional
Elder. Every new feasibility
study and church plant must be authorized prior to beginning.
b.
At the time the authorizations comes for the feasibility study the
Elder needs to assign a
church planting coach. The coach should be someone
who is experienced in church planting and is about a year ahead of the current
process. This coach may be from another region.
c.
The Elder or their designated person or team will serve as a mentor to
the church planter. The
mentor will assist the
planter in understanding the process and its importance, offer encouragement
and resources.
2. A church planter and/or team who is/has:
1
with developed leadership skills
2
the ability to be self-starters.
3
who is willing to be bi-vocational for at least one year.
4
willing to relocate.
5
friendly, outgoing personality
6
Willing to receive support and be held accountable.
3. A prayer team willing to support the church planting effort with daily
prayer.
The prayer team might consist of people from a local
church, region or from the denomination who will commit to daily prayer for the
church planting effort and leaders. Someone the Church Planter can communicate
with regularly with prayer requests. Every church plant must be inspired by God
and lifted up in prayer from the beginning.
4. A demographic study of the location you are considering
Learn all you can about the area you are
considering. What is the population? Is it growing or declining in population?
What are the economics, politics, and racial, educational and age demographics?
What can you learn about the gblt community? Interview leaders in the
community. What is the religious climate? Are there reconciling/welcoming
churches? Interview the pastors and visit the churches. Ask yourself if there
is a need for MCC in this city? Can this city support an/another MCC? Is the
church planter/team a good fit given the demographics of the area?
5. A clear philosophy of ministry – Avoids confusion and gives direction
A new church will most likely reflect the values,
gifts & calling of the person who leads the church plant. Have a clear
idea as to what kind of church you feel God is leading you to plant.
Clarify:
You must know what kind of church you hope to build. As people come to the new plant they will help shape the flavor but know from the beginning what you are hoping to build.
1.
Write out your core values and bedrock beliefs.
2.
Write out your initial vision statement, mission statements and core
values.
Are you trying to reach out to GBLT nation and those who walk with us? Are you hoping to specifically reach young GBLT families with young children? African American GBLT? Hispanic? Deaf? Be clear so that you can know what to pray for and program for.
Remember, after the core group is built the people
will help shape and mold the church but the initial clarity for what you are
attempting to build comes from the church planter/team.
6. A commitment to build a core group of 35 or more prior to beginning worship.
Without a solid core group, beyond the single cell (more
than 35), the harder it will be to grow the church.
Southern Baptist research indicates that the size of
the core group at birth may affect the new church’s ultimate survival. Churches
going public with under 50 have three times the rate of failure as those that
start with over 50.
Aubrey Malphurs, author of Planting Growing Churches for the 21st Century writes, “the
more people you have in the core group beyond 50 adults, the better your
chances are of reaching a significant number of people for Christ.”
Preliminary approval for funding must be secured prior to doing the feasibility study. The Presbyterians plant very few churches each year because they prefer to purchase land, pay for a full time staff and all expenses for the first few years. (The Presbyterian Church is in major decline.) The Assemblies of God give a one-time grant of $2,500 to help with the initial start-up costs. (The Assemblies of God is the fastest growing denomination.)
Funding needs to come from the parent church, the
Region, the denomination or a partnership of two or more of them. Funding
must be secured before proceeding with building the core group.
MCC Funding Guidelines:
Once
the feasibility study is completed and approved, the Region or parent church
considers giving a one-time grant for the following:
·
Pastor’s ½ time salary, based on the cost of living for a given area,
for a period of one year. This gives one year for the church plant to become
self supporting and avoids setting the church up to become dependant on the
parent church or Region.
·
Give another lump sum, depending on local economics, for initial
advertising, business cards, cell phone and initial cost of meeting space.
·
The goal is to give enough start-up funds so that the church-planting
pastor does not have to work a full time secular job. Not paying a half time
salary will slow up the start-up time and put enormous stress on the church
planter and their family. A full time salary, on the other hand, does not help
the church plant happen any sooner and will make the church dependant longer
than one year.
·
Offerings of the new church plant begin with the first informational
meeting. If the church plant is not a success the remaining funds return to the
UFMCC Church Planting Fund to assist other church plants.
·
Denominational tithes/assessments do not need to be paid on the grant;
however, they need to be paid on all offerings and income from the beginning of
the planting process.
8.
Develop
Working
with your Region Elder, Regional Church Planting Team or through other means
come into a relationship with at least one other MCC in the denomination. This
may be a nearby church or an MCC on another continent. The purpose of this
relationship is three fold: 1. prayer support, 2. encouragement, and 3. financial
help (this may be as basic as receiving an occasional offering). Having sibling
church relationships helps both groups understand that we are not alone in
ministry and helps them maintain a larger perspective of MCC and of ministry
beyond that of their local church.
1. Old Method – put an advertisement in the paper and see who comes. Clearly, this method worked best in the 1960’s and 70’s and often produced churches with less than 35 in worship attendance. It requires a charismatic leader. Not recommended today.
2. Church
3.
a. Church planting pastor appointed by the Regional Elder and accountable to the Elder.
b.
Financial resources provided by the
Region/denomination or a financial plan approved by the Regional Elder.
c. Support coordinated by the Region using all Regional resources available.
d. Minimum of 35 people required in the core group prior to worship beginning.
4. Parish Extension –
a. Church planting pastor is a staff member of the parent church.
b. The church plant functions under the bylaws and procedures of the parent church.
c. Often a nucleus of people from the parent church makes up at least a part of the core group of 35+.
d. The target community usually is within commuting distance or families are willing to move.
If a local church serves as the parent church they must be willing to
provide the following:
a.
Regular
financial resources - this needs to be budgeted for or a plan developed and
approved by the Board of Directors. May also partner with the Region.
b.
Regular
prayer support
c.
Weekly personal
and spiritual support for the church planter(s)
d.
Resources
such as teachers, musicians, speakers, copying, materials, etc., as needed.
5. Church Within A Church – a local congregation begins a new church with a specific outreach within the context of their existing church, i.e. a Hispanic church within a predominately Caucasian congregation, or a deaf congregation within a predominately French congregation. Requires pre-approval from with the Regional Elder
a. Planting pastor is a member of the staff of the church.
b. Prior to worship the target of 35+ of a core group helps to get beyond the single cell.
c. The new plant may or may not ever become a separate congregation.
d. Support comes from the parent church.
e. Members of both churches serve on the board and are represented at all levels of planning.
Prior approval from the Regional Elder before starting any type of church plant does a number of important things:
1.
It gives local church pastors feedback from
an outside source.
2.
It assures that the process of church
planting has been well thought through.
3.
If a local church begins the process of church
planting and is unable to continue the church plant is already well established
from the beginning with the Regional Elder.
4.
It assures that the high standards are
maintained.
Part 7 Three Steps For Birthing A New Church
Assuming that you have been authorized by the Regional
Elder to proceed.
1. Conception - feasibility study
2. Prenatal Development – gathering and organizing the core group
3. Giving Birth – worship begins
1. Conception – Feasibility Study 1– 3 months
The feasibility study is needed for all forms of church planting.
Robert Schuller: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”
Address the following:
A. A UFMCC clergy person who feels called and is gifted to plant a church.
WITHOUT A CHURCH PLANTER DO NOT PROCEED or an
authorized Church Planting Team
B. A target location – a specific city or area
C. A Prayer Team – people who are willing to pray daily for the proposed church plant
D. A target audience – be more specific than just GLBT. Identify if you are trying to reach young adults or GLBT families with small children or the retired community or those who prefer praise music and contemporary worship, or Hispanic GBLT, etc. Of course all people will be welcome but the more clearly you focus the identity of your target audience the more specific you can be in your marketing, programming and outreach. People will come when their specific needs are identified and met.
E. Demographic Study
a. What can you learn about the target location and audience: Population, economics, religion, race, age, history, the area, and the trends? What about the GLBT community?
b. Visit with community leaders. See if there is an interest in MCC coming into the community.
F. One Year Budget – put together a one year
budget. List items such as phone/cell phone, Post
Office Box, meeting space rental, business cards, internet, ½ salary
based on salary levels for the area, insurance, supplies and advertising.
Income on the budget needs to show the seed money secured and modest income
from offerings received beginning with the first organization meetings. Do not overestimate income. The budget can be
revised as the year progresses. Remember, that assessments to UFMCC are not
paid on the grant but are paid on all offering income.
G. Seed money secured – from the parent church, Region or
other sources. There are a number of
viable options for obtaining the seed money. You may want to apply to your Regional Elder for a Church Planting Grant. You may want to obtain pledges from those who support the planting of a church. (One church has recently been successful at securing enough pledges to cover the first year’s budget). Your parent church might budget money to cover some or all of the first years budget. You might discover that two or more MCC congregations might be willing to either budget money for the new plant or receive regular offerings to support the church plant. In other words, there are many ways to secure the seed money to cover the expenses of the first year. What is important is that there is a reasonable plan and the Regional Elder approves the funding plan to assure that adequate funds are available for a successful church plant.
H. During conception do not over promise. State that you are exploring the possibility of
starting a church.
I. Do not name the church until later, in the next stage of development.
J. Maintain a list of contacts, especially email addresses.
If the feasibility study is not promising do not proceed. Send thank you notes to those you visited and send a final report to your sponsoring body and the Regional Elder.
If the feasibility study is favorable send a full report to your sponsoring body and Regional Elder with a request to move to stage 2.
Remember, not every attempt to plant a church will result in a new church plant. Some communities simply are not yet ready, or the right local leadership has not been found. What is important is that we be clear as to whether or not there is clear evidence that a successful church plant is possible.
2. Prenatal Development – gathering and organizing the core group 3 – 8 months
· You can now give the new church plant a name.
·
Prior to
building a core group make sure that you have received liability and directors insurance.
Many rented buildings require insurance however, you will want the coverage if
someone should fall and be hurt or threatens with legal issues.
Developing a strong core group committed to planting a church will make the difference between success and failure! DO NOT BEGIN PUBLIC WORSHIP WITHOUT A CORE GROUP OF AT LEAST 35!
The size of the core group at the time public worship begins will determine the size of the church within the next few years.
Question: What size church are you hoping to plant? _____ Sunday worship attendance.
Initial Core Group Worship
Attendance Goal
30 or less less than 25
35 – 50 75 - 100
50 – 100 200 +
Definition of a core group member:
Someone seriously interested in seeing an MCC church planted in his or her community. They are willing to commit time and energy to see the church planted and willing to make a financial investment. This will be their primary church. Their commitment is more than just a name on a list of interested people.
A. Finding Core Group Members
1. Hiving off a group of individuals or families from a parent church.
2. Hold events such as Homosexuality & the Bible workshops or relationship seminars, coming out series, concerts, bring in guest speakers from UFMCC, etc.
3. Hold informational gatherings, provide snacks, and discuss your vision, mission and core values and let people know about MCC.
4. Advertise – utilize the gay press, offer them press releases.
5. One to one contacts – meet community leaders, attend gblt events and group meetings, ask to if they can help get the word out about the possibility of a church plant.
B. Ideas For Developing A Core Group – 35+ committed people
1. Begin small groups/cell groups in homes for relationship building, faith building and prayer.
2. Create a start up team. Choose 4 or 5 people to serve as a start up team to assist with the planing. This is a precursor to a board of directors. Begin looking at the Models of Governance, insurance, risk management, meeting space and financial management. As you get near to the 35 core group ask the Regional Elder about having the church incorporate, seek legal recognition.
3. Begin to establish ministry teams such as pastoral care team, prayer team, music team, choir and so forth as leadership is found. Be sure to consider not only talent but also character in appointing new leaders. Be sure that all appointments are for 3 months, they can be renewed. This gives you and them a chance to end the appointment in an easy way should it not work out; this is imperative if you are working with people you do not know very well.
4. Be sure that your basic infrastructure is in place, the work of the start up team is progressing, ministry leaders are in place and meet regularly.
5. Ministry should be in place prior to public worship beginning such as a choir, small groups, bible study, prayer group, worship team, etc. You must be prepared to meet the needs of those who will come to the church for worship.
C. Obtaining Approval To Give Birth
Once you believe your core group is solidly built contact your Regional Elder. They will either come or send an official representative to meet with the core group, along with the pastor of the parent church if this is a parish extension. They will look for the following:
1. Are there at least 35 people present who view themselves as part of the core group?
2. Through dialogue with the core group
a. why do they want this church and how they will support it?
b. in what ways they are already involved?
c. what are their hopes for the future of the church and its ministry to the community.
Why is it important to have an outside representative come and meet with the core group? It creates momentum knowing that the standard has been set and that shortcuts can’t be taken. Experience has shown that when we have not held to this principle that the group begins prematurely and we end up planting a small church.
If there is solid evidence that the core group is developed the Regional Elder or their
designee will give the go ahead to birth the new church. If not, set a date when the
Elder will return to meet again.
If after another few months of trying to build a core group you only have a small number of committed people seriously consider not moving forward at this time with starting a church. Instead, consider having the group become an ongoing Bible study, prayer group or cell group and work to have it function under the auspices of a local MCC or the Region.
D. Giving Birth – The first public worship
service.
Delay worship services until the core group is built and the Regional Elder has given the go ahead!
Robert Logan writes, “If a church rushes into its first public worship service without having developed properly, it can suffer the same fate of a miscarried or aborted child. On the other hand, if a church spends too much time in prenatal development it will loose life giving momentum and vision as a child looses life-giving blood and nutrients with the breakdown of the placenta.”
Preparation For Public
Worship
a. Train all worship leaders, including greeters, readers, communion servers, etc.
b. Host a dress rehearsal with the core group – afterwards critique it so you can make improvements. Your first public worship service must be done with excellence!
c. Advertise, advertise, advertise - be sure everyone in your target group knows about this first service.
d. Be prepared to follow-up with all of your first time visitors within 3 days of the first service.
e. Remember, your second public worship service is as important as your first. Give people a reason to return. Let them know what is coming up.
Your first worship service will generally reflect about double the number of your core group. The second worship service will most likely reflect a more realistic number of the people interested in the future of the church.
Questions:
· How will you integrate the new people into the life of the church?
· What events and activities will be planned following your first few worship services that will help new people feel welcome?
· Will there be new cell groups or bible studies ready to receive new people.
Church Planting is a process.
When public worship begins this signifies that the initial foundational steps
have been established. It takes around seven years for a new church
plant to become fully established.
Part 8 Next Steps In Building A Healthy Church
1. Parish
Extensions many choose to
continue as a parish extension while others will
seek to become their own MCC church. If they remain with their parent
church they simply continue at the direction of the parent church and follow
their bylaws and procedures. If they choose to seek to become their own MCC
church follow the steps on 3. Regional Plants below.